14 DAY TRIAL // Rumors regarding the EOS 50D have been "floating" around the Internet for quite a while now, the most important confirmation being a more or less "accidental" leak on Canon's Chinese website, a few days ago. However, Canon has finally decided to put an end to speculations and officially announced the launch of EOS 50D, a rather expected upgrade of the previous 40D model that offers quite an interesting set of features for the advanced amateur digital SLR photographers.
According to the company's own statement, the EOS 50D builds upon the platform of the 40D, with a few visible enhancements. For example, its 15.1-megapixel CMOS APS-C size image sensor has been improved thanks to the use of newly designed gapless microlenses over each pixel to reduce noise and expand sensitivity up to ISO 12800.
Moreover, the faster processing speed of the camera's DIGIC 4 image processor contributes to the fast 6.3 frame-per-second (fps) continuous shooting capability (for bursts of up to 90 Large/Fine JPEGs or 16 RAW images on a UDMA CF card). The Canon EOS 50D camera provides ISO speeds from ISO 100 up to ISO 3200 in 1/3-stop increments, along with two high-speed settings - H1 and H2 - of ISO 6400 and ISO 12800, respectively. Along with a wide ISO range, Canon's new DSLR camera offers multiple levels of noise reduction during high-speed shooting.
The digital camera sports a viewfinder featuring 0.95x magnification and the same high-performance Autofocus (AF) system as the EOS 40D camera, namely nine cross-type sensors with lenses possessing maximum apertures of f/5.6 or faster and a high-precision diagonal center cross-type AF point that's effective with f/2.8 and faster lenses. Furthermore, the AF Microadjustment feature, originally found in the Canon EOS-1D Mark III professional digital SLR camera, has also been added to the EOS 50D.
Another interesting feature of the EOS 50D is the peripheral illumination correction, which automatically evens brightness across the image field, a function previously accomplished through post-processing software on a personal computer. Additionally, the Auto Lighting Optimizer analyzes the brightness of subjects and automatically adjusts dark images so that they appear brighter.
It's also worth mentioning that the Canon EOS 50D camera has been equipped with a 3.0-inch Clear View LCD screen which features 920,000 dot/VGA resolution, four times the pixel count of the EOS 40D camera's screen, as well as with a built-in HDMI output for displaying the photos directly on a High-Definition TV.
Now, for the pricing and availability details. According to the company's statement, the Canon EOS 50D Digital SLR camera is slated to arrive in stores at some point in October and will retail a body-only configuration at an estimated selling price of $1,399.00. However, Canon will also offer the device in a kit version with its EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM zoom lens at an MSRP of around 1,600 US dollars.
Beside the EOS 50D, Canon has also announced the release of an all-around lens, the EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens. This new accessory (which works with pretty much all EF-S compatible EOS SLR cameras), has a focal range equivalent to 29-320mm in the 35mm format and features Canon's built in Optical Image Stabilization system, which gives the equivalent effect of a shutter speed roughly 4 steps faster, for better image clarity, even in shaky shooting conditions. Moreover, it has a minimum focusing distance of 0.45m/1.5 ft. at all zoom settings and will sell for an estimate 700 US dollars, when it arrives in stores in October.
