Digital Camera - Ken Gilbert

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CanoneoS 50D
Big and burly, but a little past its prime
D eserving
of itshigh rating
when we first reviewedit
overayearago,the D
is nowshowing itsage
and adropinstreet pricebringsit
into our test band.
Although manyofits features
and specifications areoutclassed by
Canon’snew 550D,it’sstill agood
‘photographer’s’ camera, bypassing
any video capabilities in favour of a
morephoto-friendlyset of advanced
controls, which offer dedicated dials
Around the back… CANON EOS 50D
Power, as they say, is nothing without control
Viewfinder
The pentaprism
viewfinder offers
0.95x magnification
and 95% coverage
LCD screen
The fairly standard
920k-pixel threeinch
LCD is good as
opposed to great
DigitalCamera July2010
and buttons for quick access to
almost every shooting parameter.
The chunky, solid body feels more
prosumer than consumer, based on a
magnesium alloyshell thatshould be
as tough as old boots. There are also
some smart up-marketfeatures
“The ability to fine-tune
autofocus for individual lenses
is a major bonus of the 50D”
Multi-controller
This gives speedy
access to AF points,
whitebalance and
menu adjustments
Quick control dial
Enables youtoeasily
adjust exposure
compensation and
aperturesettings
Second LCD The top plate LCD is flanked by
four dual-purpose shooting option buttons
Custom settings The Mode dial gives access
to two user-customised shooting set-ups
tucked away in Canon’stypically
intuitive menu system, including the
ability to fine-tune autofocus for
individual lenses, which is amajor
bonus if some of the lensesinyour
collection have slight front or rear
focusing inaccuracies.
Like the newer 550D, the heart
of the 50D’s imaging system is based
on the latest generation of DIGIC 4
processor, which makes good use of
the 15.1Mp CMOS sensor. Even so,
there’sstill afair bit of swapping
required between the various picture
styles,such as Standard, Landscape
and Portrait, to get the best results.
Sadly, the 50D lacks Canon’s new
iFCL metering system, as featured
in the Canon 550D and 7D,and
we found the 50D a little prone to
over-exposureinhigh-contrast
scenes. Unlikethe Nikon and Pentax
cameras on test, the 50D has no
facility for automatically correcting
chromatic aberration (colour fringing),
which putsgreater demands on the
quality of lenses you use with the
camera. Overall, the 50D is a highquality
camera, but is past its prime
and starting to show its age.
FEATuRES
IMAGE QuALITy
Overall
hANDLING
VALuE