50D My Gateway to Action Shooting

[3Percent]

Canon's 50D has a place in my heart. It was the first camera that I chose to use to attempt serious flight photography. It was the 50D that helped me to really begin to understand the behavior of servo autofocus, as well as the joy of simultaneously using the Multi-controller direct auto focus point selection and high speed continuous drive while shooting.

Up to that point, I was fixed on using Aperture priority mode and manual focus or single point autofocus only. And while I was still able to get single shots of flying subjects here and there, it wasn't until I used the 50D that I began to take this kind of photography seriously.

With the 50D, I was actually able to succeed in making the quality of images I thought were only possible from giant white lens and the boat anchor camera bodies I saw lined up along the flight lines and shore lines here in Southern California. To my surprise, I made some very respectable aircraft photographs with it and the (economical) 55-250mm STM lens!

So, If you practice something enough, you get better. Crazy concept right?

Well indeed I practiced. And as I began to hone and tighten up my skills a bit, I soon realized that I wanted more control, speed, and better image quality from a camera body and lens than the 50D combos I used had provided. My time using the 50D as an action camera was relatively short (less than a year), but nonetheless it was vital as a gateway camera into action shooting.

Today my 50D mostly sits next to my 40D on a shelf. Occasionally I clean it, charge the battery, and take it out on an evening walk/shoot. It looks as new as the day I bought it. It feels as good in my hand as the day I bought it (oh that grip is awesome). And of course it's just as capable now as the day I bought it.

Since the time I had with the 50D, I have used a large array of cameras and lenses for flight photography from a few different brands. I've finally settled on which bodies and lenses perform the best for my needs but nonetheless I may never have got where I am without the 50D. So yeah this review is a bit of an homage.

I hardly recommend this camera to anyone anymore, there are reasons for that which have nothing to do with the camera's capability or characteristics. Fact is, prices have come down so far on all DSLR's that I usually end up recommending cameras that are more capable and exhibit better image quality. That's not to say the 50D isn't capable for a wide range of photography, or that it's not able to make beautiful images, in fact quite to the contrary it is quite capable of both.

Time does change a lot of things, that's just life.

Of course the marketing divisions of camera companies would love it if all consumers would just forget about all of the previous designs and instead buy the latest and greatest cameras (this applies to most camera reviewers too subsequently). But not all photographers are just consumers, some also have a passion for photography gear whether that be the newer or in this case the older designs.

We photographers often tend to bond to our gear, and for good reason. Camera's allow us to capture moments of life, whether that is for a paid profession, for pleasure, or as an artistic tool. There's a sort of personal homage we pay to our cameras for that almost miracle like capability. And when we actually enjoy using them too... we'll that's just icing on the cake isn't it?

Even though the 50D isn't my favorite Canon DSLR of all time, it's still a very capable machine and in the hands of the motivated. With some internal motivation, you can make beautiful lasting memories, a paycheck, or award winning art with it. It's really up to you and, for you to choose the right tool for the job.

Canon's 50D was the last XXD design that catered specifically to still shooters. After the 50D all successor models incorporated video to the mix, making them more multi-functional devices than previous designs. So it may be a good choice if you don't want to have the temptation or, the added complexity of video shooting options and controls to content with.

Pro's

• Built like pro body, reliable, weather sealed, and tough as nails
• Supremely comfortable grip (feels like it's a single piece of carved rock)
• Reliable and generally very quick 9 point autofocusing in good light
• Decently quick frame rate (6.3fps)
• Great rear LCD in bright light or in the dark
• Nice viewfinder, especially if you use the MG-Eb magnifier with it
• Generally very good image quality even compared to today's standards*
• Still shooters only design, no video
• Modern Menu system and icons etc.
• Excellent battery life (even in the super cold climates)
• Excellent external controls, AF joystick, dual control dials, nice buttons, top LCD, typical older Canon layout mostly (with exception to row of buttons under the lcd)

Con's

• *Fixed Image banding is prevalent (in Jpegs and Raws) if you don't expose images correctly (see pros above), and sometimes no matter what you do (highest isos)
• Autofocusing speed or acquisition in very low light levels
• No dedicated separate AF assist lamp (it's pop up flash is cumbersome and annoying)
• Buffer is mediocre to okay when using Raw/Jpeg combinations
• Auto White balance is very warm indoors
• Contrast detect autofocus in live view is very slow and sometimes unreliable (best to find a high contrast focus point)

 

[quirk_finder]

Interesting from a production viewpoint how come the 15 MP sensor was included in so few Canon models..? Mysterious to this day to me.

 

[3Percent]

Interesting from a production viewpoint how come the 15 MP sensor was included in so few Canon models..? Mysterious to this day to me.

My take is that all manufactures were trying to chase the trend of the desire for more megapixels while making sensors more efficient for better noise control (also desired) at the same time. Probably as simple as that.

I like 15mp inherently. Sony made the 16mp sensor that was game changing at the time, huge DR unseen previously from any chip. Might have had something to do with that too.

 

[quirk_finder]

Heya, thanks a million for responding to me, I just saw that I was writing in a ~2 year old thread.

I am struggling to understand the following about the 50D (acquired one out of nostalgia, to own a once-top-tier body etc).

The autofocus seems snappy, servo focus never stalls and the feedback I get in the viewfinder tells me that overall the AF system is well above average.

However, when using a fast lens (like a 1.8 prime), I often get out of focus results even for static objects (let's say, a test shoot at home).

My thinking is that 1. the higher pixel count makes it very, very obvious when focus is not spot on, and, 2. the small AF point, while usually an advantageous feature, sometimes takes the liberty to notice different things from the subject it's 'looking at'.

Happy to hear your recollection from shooting wide open with your 50D.

 

[3Percent]

Heya, thanks a million for responding to me, I just saw that I was writing in a ~2 year old thread.

Glad to. Old threads are okay, despite some of the weird feedback you see on the forums. Valid once, always valid I say.

I am struggling to understand the following about the 50D (acquired one out of nostalgia, to own a once-top-tier body etc).

The autofocus seems snappy, servo focus never stalls and the feedback I get in the viewfinder tells me that overall the AF system is well above average.

However, when using a fast lens (like a 1.8 prime), I often get out of focus results even for static objects (let's say, a test shoot at home).

The 50D has a micro focus adjustment you can do for 20 lenses in memory. It could be the lens or the camera that aren't calibrated just right. You can make some adjustments and the camera will remember your lens.

My thinking is that 1. the higher pixel count makes it very, very obvious when focus is not spot on, and, 2. the small AF point, while usually an advantageous feature, sometimes takes the liberty to notice different things from the subject it's 'looking at'.

See above Another consideration is what kind of light you are shooting in, you'll notice accuracy gets better the more light there is.

Happy to hear your recollection from shooting wide open with your 50D.

It's AF system is antiquated but only in comparison to newer bodies. At the time I did a ton of aircraft in flight photography with it, and it was a gateway into more serious shooting for me. You can get great results in good light with the 50D.

To get a seriously better AF system than the 50D, I mean a major jump forward, the cheapest route would probably be the 7D mark II, 5D mark III. If you want even better, get the 5DS/R models as both have a much more comprehensive 150K RGB + IR metering system that can see subjects much more clearly (same AF system but better metering always makes the AF points work better).

In my experience I did not see a major improvement from the 5DSR to the 5D Mark IV in the AF segment, at all.

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