Fast
Built well
Highly capable
Drives pixel peeping nerds crazy

High sensor and LCD resolution team up to fool you into thinking you have a bad image.
Battery life not great

This camera is not new, you can find all kinds of reviews analyzing it's image quality etc, so I won't bother about that here. You shouldn't worry too much about IQ anyway. More important is how the camera functions.

So first, I bought this camera because of the price ($1150 w/17-85mm IS USM). It is my first digital camera after a long wait to switch from film. Even after so many years of digital domination, my experience with film (scanned with a good film scanner) is that even this camera does not come close to the quality of a good 35mm film scan. With that being said, this camera is still excellent.

Many have commented on this camera's perceived problems with focusing accuracy on fast moving subjects with the 17-85mm IS USM lens. After many weeks of real world testing, I can say that focusing accuracy when shooting in a high FPS / tracking situation has more to do with your technique. The center sensor is very sensitive (maybe too sensitive?) and reacts to any shake or misplacement of the focus point. You also must use a higher than obvious shutter speed in these situations as well. Yes the AF occasionally misses, but it is acceptable. Forget IS here, it mostly is useful in static situations only.

Secondly, the LCD screen is too good. I shows so much resolution, (more than the screen on my MacBook) that you can easily be fooled into thinking that you missed the shot. This applies to image sharpness, noise, and overall exposure. It will also show your lens' "imperfections" very clearly, but don't worry this has nothing to do with making a good image. I've learned at least one thing with this camera; do not pixel peek on the LCD screen at maximum magnification, you'll just frustrate yourself for no reason.

The camera is built well, feels very solid. The viewfinder is also very good, not as big as my old film cameras, but I really don't notice it's smaller size. Battery life could be better, so just buy a second battery. Colors are great, there are many options for subtly tweaking colors. I never get bad flesh tones, just differing degrees of good. I also like the B&W options for varying filters, very fun.

Digital Photo Professional is really, really good. For RAW shooters, it has built-in lens corrections for CA, distortion, vignetting, etc. Very user friendly, I actually like it better for some things than Aperture.

Overall a good camera, but honestly I think it is a victim of both of it's own ability to show you exaggerated "imperfections" and the scrutiny pixel-peeping nerds have put it through. It's a great camera capable of photographing in just about any situation.

Customer Service

Used CS for my kit lens after a problem. Service was very good.

Amazing

good image quality, robust construction, better menu, good grip, good battery life, auto turn off

on/off button is not in proper place, live view is not so good, more pixels(actually no need this much 15 mega, if some body working for really professional works, they will not use this semi pro dslr, absolutely they will go for some higher catogery canon or some medium formats), autofocus assist only works with external flash on

I purchased this Canon 50d 4 months ago, looking around the previews and other, finally i purchased. mostly previews i seen the problem of image quality the mentioned. i'm using 18-55 one kit lens also canon's brand new 24-70 2.8L usm. result is different, i agree but that any body can simply say. we're paying 12-13 times more money than to a 24-70 instead of an 18-55. then there must be difference in all ways.and i like the micreo adjustment in the 50d, its perfect, sometimes u will get it also razor sharp images even in your 18-55, if your adjusting the micro adjustment in the 50d/5dMK2.

Customer Service

good

Similar Products Used:

Nikon d200

resolution, Resolution, RESOLUTION!

a little more noise than the 40D, but not much.

I read dpreview's disparaging summation of this camera. I thought, hey, this is CANON we're talking about! A dud? Sorry, bud. Don't believe it.

I had a 40D. I loved the 40D. I had not a single issue, or problem with it. I saw a 50D on at Circuit City, during their going out of business sale. I bought the cam and another 28-135 IS lens for the price you see, above. I did not need a camera. I could have waited a bit then sold it on Ebay, and made a little money. I just had to know.

Buying a camera in Feb. when you live in the Midwest is not a good idea. It just sits there, bugging you to use it. I did a few shots indoors - mostly at a local museum called Hulman and Company. That's Tony Hulman - mafia dawn, and father of the 500 mile race. His old business, which supplied stock to hundreds of mom and pop grocery stores, still has many of the items that were used in the early 20th century.

When I got home I learned the meaning of the term "resolution." The detail jumped off the image and hit me, right between the steely grays! Since then I have had the chance to use the cam a little more, but not nearly as much as I would like. In every pic it has taken that amazing detail is better then I ever got, with film!

I had a 20, 30 and 40D. I STILL may not know what I have in the 50D but I found out a lot more when I went to Louisville last month and shot the city at night, from across the river. I had done that shot several times before. The 50D made the rest look sick - REALLY sick!

My name is not Agnes. I don't use the cam to shoot the grandkids (sic). My web site is http://www.MageProductions.com. I know what I'm talking about.

This cam has more IN YOUR FACE resolution than any other you can buy, today. Yes, the noise is a little higher at ridiculous ISO settings. But not that much. Anybody that uses those settings should expect noise. The noise I see it still a lot less than it would be with film. That kind of film aint cheap, and you don't buy it at Wal Mart!

I have an image I shot with a 70-300 IS, 300 feet away from a log cabin. I can see spider webs, in the corners of the windows! The detail in the leaf litter is unbelievable and the purple fringing where the sky is behind the branches is GONE - completely gone! I have done about 15-20 minutes worth of post processing, using several filters, in order to get what comes right out of this cam!

Ah, but the bottom line is, will YOU like this cam? Maybe. Do you like resolution? Do you like to see detail in your pics? If you're a portrait photographer, you are going to have to do some blurring. But you have to do that even with a 5D. The rest of it, well, it's progressing too, and at a rate you would expect. The color rendition, the auto-focus, the metering - all marginally better on this cam, as is the burst rate, etc. And there's enough gizmoz so you'll need to grow another brain...

Bottom line - if you're into image quality, this is the one (as of 04-2009).

Maybe dpreview got a poor copy ... ???

Customer Service

never used

Similar Products Used:

20D, 30D, 40D

Great low light performance, IQ, build quality & quality feel, works great with Canon flash units.

Can't think of any...

The price I paid included the 17-85 IS lens. I have 2 Canon L lenses so was not really looking for another lens however the price was so good that I could not turn it down. I am glad I also got the lens. The focal range is excellent and after comparing several shots using this lens and my 17-40 L lens.....I can't see any difference. That is after enlarging several times on my iMac screen. I am now wondering if I should sell my 17-40 lens and keep the 17-85???
As far as the camera goes I am very happy with it. Before selling my XTi I did some comparison shots between the 2 cameras using the tripod and exact same settings and lens. The differences showed up the more you enlarge the pictures. The XTi did take pretty good shots with the L lenses but the 50D is even better. Also the lower light ability of the 50D is nice. It definitely takes better low light shots than the XTi. Also for some reason I am getting way better flash shots with the 50D then I got with the XTi. This is when using my older Canon 550EX flash unit. I was ready to sell the flash when I had the XTi - now no way.
The screen on the back of the camera is way better then any other I have seen which is a big plus. The live view feature is an addition but I don't seem to use that a lot and it also seems to run the battery down a little faster when using it. There are several other features about the camera that just make it a nice unit to use. Overall I would have to say that the digital SLR's have got so good over the past year or 2 that it is getting hard to tell differences. I think where you are going to find differences is in the quality of your lens that is attached to the camera. A great lens may be what makes most of the difference. A cheaper lens on a great camera is going to give you questionable results. A great lens on an entry level camera such as the XTi gives excellent pictures.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Canon rebel XTi 10MP, Canon rebel 6MP, Canon Elan 7

High resolution. Excellent features. Moderate price.

Could be smaller in the hand. Some controls could be better placed. Would be improved by weather proofing.

Anyone who would give this camera a rating below a 4 of 5, really can't be trusted. This is a fine little camera. It is a much better camera than the 40D, with improved resolution, rear LCD, and a terrific micro focusing feature for over 20 lenses.

The other two reviews here are totally unreliable. They are either written by the totally inept or by blatant liars. And since one claims to be a professional, I suspect him of being both.

Read more reviews before dismissing this piece of equipment.

Customer Service

No experience thus far.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 1DS MKII, MkIII, and Canon 40D.

Great features, much better LCD on the back with improved resolution.

Lots of noise, low detail.

I agree with the previous review. I upgraded from the Rebel XT to the 50D but returned it within a week after shooting about 500 pictures outdoors. I like to crop tightly and thought the extra MPs would help, but I was wrong. Every picture was soft and noisy and I could get none of the detail I expected - even in full sun. I was using EF-S lenses but I think that with so many pixels jammed onto an APS-C sensor any issues in lens quality will show up. If you look at the specs, the pixel size is very small which would probably account for the increased noise. I would recommend only using L-series lenses with this camera, unless of course you like the softer look. I returned the camera and now have a 40D - older technology but tried and true.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Canon Rebel XT

Great Features

Soft images, pixel density too high.

This camera is let down by a noisy and soft sensor. It has great features, but not enough to offset its image quality. It is currently has the highest pixel density of any Canon digital SLR 4.5mp/cm(squared) which is much higher than the 40D's density of 3.1mp/cm(squared). The result is higher noise and less sharpness. Even though it has a larger file size it only represents at best a marginal increase in resolution.
I thought it was soft enough to return for a refund. I will wait until Canon revamps this camera or save up for a 5D/5DMkII

Similar Products Used:

20D,Rebel XSi,