Canon EOS 50D Review

My personal expectations for the 50D were a mixture of highs and lows; experience has taught me that Canon's updates to their mid-range DSLRs usually tend to be evolutionary, but I honestly expected to see some significant improvements over the old Canon 20D that I used several years ago. As it turns out, I was both pleasantly surprised and a little disappointed by what I experienced with the 50D.

The 50D continues to prove that Canon has one of the fastest (if not the fastest) AF systems, extremely high-resolution CMOS sensors with very impressive high ISO performance, and now offers (for some users, at least) a functional live view system. Where the 50D disappoints is in the areas of default image processing (bland), menu bloat (way too difficult to figure out basic controls), and auto white balance performance that hasn't really improved much (if at all) in several generations of cameras. Of course, it's easy to overlook these frustrations when you consider that amazing lens selection, flash options, and available accessories for Canon DSLRs, making the Canon EOS system one of the most versatile advanced camera systems on the planet.

For advanced amateur photographers, issues like flat default image processing, heavy camera weight, and overly complicated menus may indeed make the 50D a less-than-ideal choice. Professional photographers might find those issues frustrating, but working pros will probably find auto white balance quirks and inconsistent AF with various lenses in terms of critical focus more frustrating. Still, the rugged built quality, overall range of features, and solid performance of the 50D make it a powerful photographic tool. Combine that with Canon's very complete and very versatile system of lenses, accessories, and other camera bodies, and it makes perfect sense to buy into the Canon EOS system with this very solid camera.

As with previous Canon releases, the 50D is a fairly conservative upgrade, but this camera still sits at or near the top in its category.

JerryJ

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