Cameras
Canon EOS 50D
The EOS 50Ds 15.1 MP CMOS sensor and DIGIC 4 processor deliver superb high-ISO performance.
Canon EOS-50D Review
Canon EOS-50D Review
A interesting review from What Digital Camera.
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The EOS 50D’s 15.1 MP CMOS sensor and DIGIC 4 processor deliver superb high-ISO performance.
15.1 MP (APS-C) CMOS sensor
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6.3 fps with up to 90 JPEG image burst
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DIGIC 4 processor
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ISO range up to 12800
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3.0” VGA LCD with Live View
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High precision wide area AF
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Magnesium alloy body
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EOS Integrated Cleaning System
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EF/EF-S lens and EX Speedlite compatibility
15.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor
Canon’s APS-C sized CMOS sensor delivers ultra-detailed, low-noise images – ideal for large-scale reproduction and creative cropping. Redesigned pixels with gapless micro lenses extend light gathering capability for exceptional performance throughout the ISO range.
6.3 fps continuous shooting
Perfect for sports, wildlife and action sequences, the EOS 50D captures 6.3 frames per second for continuous bursts of up to 90 JPEGs with a UDMA card.
DIGIC 4
DIGIC 4 is the EOS 50D’s powerful processing engine, working with the CMOS sensor to deliver 14-bit image processing for smooth gradations and natural looking colours. Fast enough to power 6.3 fps continuous shooting, DIGIC 4 is also responsible for the EOS 50D’s near-instant startup time and quick image review following shooting.
ISO range
For fast shutter speed shooting in low light, the EOS 50D features base ISO speeds to 3200, expandable to an ultra-sensitive 12800.
Clear View LCD
The 3.0” 920,000 dot VGA LCD screen offers exceptional clarity, perfect for checking the focus and composition of your images. The large viewing angle coupled with Live View mode makes photography at awkward angles a breeze.
Live View mode
Live View mode allows users to accurately frame images when using the viewfinder is impractical. The dedicated Live View button displays real-time images on the LCD, offering three types of auto focus: Quick AF, Live AF, and new Face Detection Live AF, which focuses based on faces detected in the frame.
Wide-area AF with 9 cross type points
The high-precision AF system employs 9 cross type points for precise focusing on both horizontal and vertical planes. The central AF point offers sensitivity up to f/2.8. Points are spread out across the AF frame to better accommodate off-centre subjects.
Magnesium alloy body
Built for demanding daily use, the EOS 50D’s lightweight, durable magnesium alloy body incorporates environmental protection for performance you can rely on.
EOS Integrated Cleaning System
Canon’s EICS combines special component materials to reduce dust generation, a fluorine coating on the low-pass filter to repel dust, and a Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit to shake dust free at power up/power down.
Accessories
The EOS 50D is compatible with over 60 EF and EF-S lenses and all EX Series Speedlite flash units.
| IMAGE SENSOR | |
| Type | 22.3mm x 14.9mm CMOS |
| Effective Pixels | Approx. 15.10 megapixels |
| Total Pixels | Approx. 15.50 megapixels |
| Aspect Ratio | 3:2 |
| Low-Pass Filter | Built-in/Fixed |
| Sensor Cleaning | EOS integrated cleaning system with fluorine coating |
| Colour Filter Type | Primary Colour |
| IMAGE PROCESSOR | |
| Type | DIGIC 4 |
| LENS | |
| Lens Mount | EF/EF-S |
| Focal Length | Equivalent to 1.6x the focal length of the lens |
| FOCUSING | |
| Type | TTL-CT-SIR with a CMOS sensor |
| AF System/ Points | 9 cross-type AF points (f/2.8 at centre) |
| AF Working Range | EV -0.5 - 18 (at 23°C & ISO100) |
| AF Modes | AI Focus One Shot AI Servo |
| AF Point Selection | Automatic selection, Manual selection |
| Selected AF Point Display | Superimposed in viewfinder and indicated on top LCD panel |
| Predictive AF | Yes, up to 8m ¹ |
| AF Lock | Locked when shutter button is pressed half way in One Shot AF mode or AF-ON button is pressed. |
| AF Assist Beam | Intermittent firing of built-in flash or emitted by optional dedicated Speedlite |
| Manual Focus | Selected on lens, default in Live View Mode |
| AF Microadjustment | C.Fn III-7 +/- 20 steps Adjust all lenses by same amount Adjust up to 20 lenses individually |
| EXPOSURE CONTROL | |
| Metering Modes | TTL full aperture metering with 35 zone SPC (1) Evaluative metering (linked to any AF point) (2) Partial metering (approx. 9% of viewfinder at centre) (3) Spot metering (approx. 3.8% viewfinder at centre) (4) Centre weighted average metering |
| Metering Range | EV 0-20 (at 23°C with 50mm f/1.4 lens ISO100) |
| AE Lock | Auto: In 1-shot AF mode with evaluative metering exposure is locked when focus is achieved. Manual: By AE lock button in creative zone modes. |
| Exposure Compensation | +/-2 EV in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments (can be combined with AEB). |
| AEB | +/- 2 EV, 1/2 or 1/3-stop increments |
| ISO Sensitivity* | Auto (100-1600), 100-3200 (in 1/3-stop or whole stop increments) ISO can be expanded to H1: 6400 and H2:12800 |
| SHUTTER | |
| Type | Electronically-controlled focal-plane shutter |
| Speed | 30-1/8000 sec (1/2 or 1/3 stop increments), Bulb (Total shutter speed range. Available range varies by shooting mode) |
| WHITE BALANCE | |
| Type | Auto white balance with the imaging sensor |
| Settings | AWB, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, White Fluorescent light, Flash, Custom, Colour Temperature Setting. White balance compensation: 1. Blue/Amber +/-9 2. Magenta/ Green +/-9. |
| Custom White Balance | Yes, 1 setting can be registered |
| WB Bracketing | +/-3 levels in single level increments 3 bracketed images per shutter release. Selectable Blue/Amber bias or Magenta/ Green bias. |
| VIEWFINDER | |
| Type | Pentaprism |
| Coverage (Vertical/Horizontal) | Approx. 95% |
| Magnification | Approx. 0.95x ¹ |
| Eyepoint | Approx. 22mm (from eyepiece lens centre) |
| Dioptre Correction | -3 to +1 (1/m) (dioptre) |
| Focusing Screen | Interchangeable (3 types, optional). Standard Focusing Screen Precision Matte Ef-A |
| Mirror | Quick-return half mirror (Transmission: reflection ratio of 40:60, no mirror cut-off with EF600mm f/4 or shorter) |
| Viewfinder Information | AF information: AF points, focus confirmation light. Exposure information: Shutter speed, aperture value, ISO speed (always displayed), AE lock, exposure level/compensation, spot metering circle, exposure warning, AEB. Flash information: Flash ready, high-speed sync, FE lock, flash exposure compensation, red-eye reduction light. Image information: White balance correction, CF card information, monochrome shooting, maximum burst (2 digit display), Highlight tone priority (D+). |
| Depth of Field Preview | Yes, with Depth of Field preview button. |
| Eyepiece Shutter | On strap |
| LCD MONITOR | |
| Type | 3.0" TFT, approx. 920K dots |
| Coverage | Approx. 100% |
| Viewing Angle (Horizontally/Vertically) | Approx 160° |
| Coating | Dual Anti-reflection |
| Brightness Adjustment | Adjustable to one of seven levels |
| Display Options | (1) Quick Control Screen (2) Camera settings |
| FLASH | |
| Built-in Flash GN (ISO 100, meters) | 13 |
| Built-in Flash Coverage | up to 17mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 27mm) |
| Built-in Flash Recycle Time | Approx. 3 seconds |
| Modes | Auto, Manual Flash On/Off, Red-Eye Reduction |
| Red-Eye Reduction | Yes |
| X-Sync | 1/250sec |
| Flash Exposure Compensation | +/- 2EV in 1/2 or 1/3 increments |
| Flash Exposure Bracketing | Yes, with compatible External Flash |
| Flash Exposure Lock | Yes |
| Second Curtain Synchronisation | Yes |
| HotShoe/ PC Terminal | Yes/ Yes |
| External Flash Compatibility | E-TTL II with EX series Speedlites, wireless multi-flash support. |
| External Flash Control | via camera menu screen |
| SHOOTING | |
| Modes | Auto, Creative Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Night Portrait, No Flash, Program AE, Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual, A-DEP, Custom (x2) |
| Picture Styles | Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, User Defined (x3) |
| Colour Space | sRGB and Adobe RGB |
| Image Processing | Highlight Tone Priority Auto Lighting Optimizer (4 settings) Long exposure noise reduction High ISO speed noise reduction (4 settings) Auto Correction of Lens Peripheral illumination |
| Drive Modes | Single, Continuous L, Continuous H, Self timer (2s, 10s) |
| Continuous Shooting | Max. Approx. 6.3fps. (speed maintained for up to 90 images (JPEG)¹ (with UDMA card), 16 images (RAW)) ² |
| LIVE VIEW MODE | |
| Type | Electronic viewfinder with image sensor |
| Coverage | Approx. 100% (horizontally and vertically) |
| Frame Rate | 30 fps |
| Focusing | Manual Focus (Magnify the image 5x or 10x at any point on screen) Autofocus: Quick mode, Live mode, Live Face detection mode |
| Metering | Real-time evaluative metering with image sensor Active metering time can be changed |
| Display Options | Grid overlay (x2), Histogram |
| FILE TYPE | |
| Still Image Type | JPEG: Fine, Normal (Exif 2.21 [Exif Print] compliant) / Design rule for Camera File system (2.0), RAW: RAW, sRAW1, sRAW2 (14bit, Canon original RAW 2nd edition), Digital Print Order Format [DPOF] Version 1.1 compliant |
| RAW+JPEG Simultaneous Recording | Yes, any combination of RAW + JPEG, sRAW1 + JPEG, sRAW2 + JPEG possible. |
| Image Size | JPEG: (L) 4752x3168, (M) 3456x2304, (S) 2353x1568, RAW: (RAW) 4752x3168, (sRAW1) 3267x2178, (sRAW2) 2376x1584 |
| Folders | New folders can be manually created and selected |
| File Numbering | (1) Consecutive numbering (2) Auto reset (3) Manual reset |
| OTHER FEATURES | |
| Custom Functions | 25 Custom Functions with 74 settings |
| Metadata Tag | User copyright information |
| LCD Panel / Illumination | Yes / Yes |
| Water/ Dust Resistance | Yes ¹ |
| Intelligent Orientation Sensor | Yes |
| Playback Zoom | 1.5x - 10x |
| Display Formats | (1) Single image with information (2 levels) (2) Single image (3) 4 image index (4) 9 image index (5) Magnified view |
| Slide Show | Image selection: All images, by Date, by Folder Playback time: 1/2/3/5 seconds Repeat: On/Off |
| Histogram | Brightness: Yes RGB: Yes |
| Highlight Alert | Yes |
| Image Erase/Protection | Erase: Single image, All images in folder, Checkmarked images, unprotected images Protection: Erase protection of one image at a time |
| Data Verification | Original image verification data can be appended to the image (OSK-E3 required for verification) |
| Menu Categories | (1) Shooting menu (x2) (2) Playback menu (x2) (3) Setup menu (x3) (4) Custom Functions menu (5) My Menu |
| Menu Languages | English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Arabic, Thai, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese" |
| Firmware Update | Update possible by the user. |
| INTERFACE | |
| Computer | USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (Mini-B) |
| Other | HDMI mini output, Video output (PAL/ NTSC), Extension system terminal (for WFT-E3) |
| DIRECT PRINT | |
| Canon Printers | Canon Compact Photo Printers and PIXMA Printers supporting PictBridge |
| PictBridge | Yes |
| STORAGE | |
| Type | CompactFlash Type I/ II (Microdrive compatible, UDMA compatible), external storage with WFT-E3 |
| SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEM | |
| PC & Macintosh | Windows 2000 (SP4) / XP (SP2/SP3) / Vista inc SP1 (excl. Starter Edition) |
| OS X | v10.3-10.5 |
| SOFTWARE | |
| Browsing & Printing | ZoomBrowser EX / ImageBrowser |
| Image Processing | Digital Photo Professional |
| Other | PhotoStitch, EOS Utility (inc. Remote Capture, WFT utility*, Original Data Security Tools*), Picture Style Editor * Requires optional accessory |
| POWER SOURCE | |
| Batteries | Rechargeable Li-ion Battery BP-511/BP-511A or BP-512/BP-514 (BP-511A battery supplied), 1xCR2016 for date & settings |
| Battery Life | Approx. 640 (at 23°C, AE 50%, FE 50%) ¹ Approx. 540 (at 0°C, AE 50%, FE 50%) |
| Battery Indicator | 4 levels |
| Power Saving | Power turns off after 1, 2, 4, 8, 15 or 30mins. |
| Power Supply & Battery Chargers | AC Adapter Kit ACK-E2, Compact power adapter CA-PS400, Battery charger CB-5L, Battery charger CG-570, Car Battery Cable Kit CB-570, Compact Power Adapter CA-570 |
| PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS | |
| Body Materials | Magnesium Alloy body covers |
| Operating Environment | 0 – 40 °C, 85% or less humidity |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 145.5 x 107.8 x 73.5mm |
| Weight (Body Only) | Approx. 730g |
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Please note that this list is for guidance only. We will always advise you if for any reason the equipment is to be supplied with a different number of batteries.
Where applicable, all batteries will be fully charged before dispatch, except in the event of a turnaround where the client will be advised accordingly.
The following accessories are available to hire with the Canon EOS 50D -
| Daily Hire | £49.17 (£59.00) | Weekend Hire | £75.00 (£90.00) |
| Weekly Hire | £188.33 (£226.00) | 2 Weekly Hire | £296.67 (£356.00) |
| 3 Weekly Hire | £385.83 (£463.00) | Deposit | £163.00 |
Prices shown above as Ex VAT in black (Inc VAT in red). These prices are for hire only - courier charges will apply. All equipment will be delivered by 12pm on the day before the hire period and collected the day after the hire has finished. For more details, visit our How to Hire section.
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Digital SLR Photography Rating - 91/100 While the EOS 40D disappointed a little in respect of certain features, such as its resolution, the same cannot be said for the EOS 50D, which represents a real 'tour de force' in this sector of the market. While its handling and ease-of-use are excellent, the factors that will appeal the most to potential users are the depth of features and, in particular, the 15.1-megapixel resolution, which compares favourably with its main rivals. As you’d expect, the EOS 50D delivers very high quality results and it's a real alternative to the likes of Nikon’s superb D300. The only real black mark against it is the rather steep guide price set by Canon, but dealers are already selling it at much lower prices, making it very good value for money. The Canon EOS 50D is a real enthusiasts’ DSLR and comes highly recommended. |
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