The new Canon EOS 50D digital SLR camera and a new 29-320mm equivalent all-around lens will hit store shelves this fall, targeting prosumers.
Canon today announced the Canon EOS 50D Digital SLR camera with a 15-megapixel sensor and Canon's new DIGIC 4 image processor. Designed to offer improved quality and image control for the prosumer photographer, the Canon EOS 50D includes an expanded ISO range, improved noise reduction, and in-camera photo editing features.
The manufacturer has loaded the Canon EOS 50D with a number of enhancements and some trickle-down technology from Canon's professional DSLR cameras, as well as a new Creative Auto Mode (CA) that gives users more flexibility to make image setting adjustments without the need to be a photo expert.
The Canon EOS 50D builds upon the EOS 40D model, which will remain in Canon's line, and carries over the 14-bit Analog-to-Digital conversion process for smoother tones, and also includes enhanced noise reduction at especially high ISO ranges. Capable of shooting 6.3 frames per second (fps), the Canon EOS 50D is supposed to be ideal for shooting everything from night landscapes to fast-action sports.
The Canon EOS 50D sports a 15.1-megapixel CMOS APS-C size image sensor, which 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. The faster processing speed on the camera's DIGIC 4 image processor contributes to the fast 6.3 fps continuous shooting capability (for bursts up to 90 Large/Fine JPEGs or 16 RAW images on a UDMA CompactFlash memory card).
The Canon EOS 50D 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. The camera also offers multiple levels of noise reduction during high-speed shooting, as users can choose from one of four settings (Standard/Weak/Strong/None) to help reduce digital noise that can result from poor lighting conditions.
As part of the camera's internal image processing, the Canon EOS 50D conducts peripheral illumination correction, which automatically evens brightness across the image field, making an image of a blue sky even toned throughout, a function previously accomplished through post-processing software on a PC. Thanks largely to the DIGIC 4 processor, this automatic adjustment can be made in-camera during shooting with JPEG images or corrected in post-photoshoot processing with RAW images through Canon's DPP software.
Canon's enhanced Auto Lighting Optimizer analyzes the brightness of subjects and automatically adjusts dark images so that they appear brighter, ideal for subjects in shade or in backlit situations. The Canon EOS 50D can optimize images while they are taken and during playback afterwards.
A significant upgrade to the Canon EOS 50D is its 3-inch LCD screen which features 920K/VGA resolution, four times the pixel count of the EOS 40D screen. The camera also includes an HDMI output, and support for UDMA cards for faster writing of image files.
The camera is also equipped with a viewfinder featuring 0.95x magnification and the same Autofocus (AF) system as the EOS 40D with nine cross-type sensors for accurate target subject acquisition with lenses possessing maximum apertures of f/5.6 or faster and a diagonal center cross-type AF point that's effective with f/2.8 and faster lenses. The AF Microadjustment feature, originally introduced with the Canon EOS-1D Mark III pro DSLR, has also been added to the Canon EOS 50D.
Canon has also answered the call from prosumers looking for a solid all-around lens with the introduction of the new EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens. With a focal range equivalent to 29-320mm, the new EF-S 18-200mm lens will enable shooters to capture both standard as well as telephoto images. The lens has a minimum focusing distance of 0.45m/1.5 ft. at all zoom settings. The lens will be available in October 2008 for $700.
The Canon EOS 50D will be sold in a body-only configuration at an estimated selling price of $1400. It will additionally be offered in a kit version with Canon's EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM zoom lens at an estimated selling price of $1600.
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