Is the 50D worth the extra £300-£400 over the 40D?

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rob200sx

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I'm in a position now, to upgrade from the 400D but I'm tied over the 40D and 50D. I'm nowhere near being able to afford the 5d mkII yet.


Is the 50D good enough to justify the extra £300-400 over the 40D?

I've already used a 40D and have liked it. Am going down to Digital Depot today to try out the 50D but I really can't decide over them. the 15mp would be nice to have I guess, but do I really need to pay a premium at the moment for that?

Things I need out of an upgrade

Better handling than the 400D at high ISO
Quiet shutter mechanism (none of the click..whirr of the 400)

What I'm using it for

Events
Portrait/Studio
Motorsport/Airshow
Wildlife
Landscape

(so pretty much everything then :) )
 
I've recently done the move from 400D to 40D. The performance of the 40D at higher ISO is vastly better than the 400D. The build quality of the 40D is superb, the size is much more confortable (for me anyway), and when I put my 400D and 40D next to each other, the 400D looks like a toy.

I've not felt the need for higher mega pixel count, even when doing some tight(ish) crops on sports shots. I've never used a 50D, but can honestly say that I haven't wanted anything more than the 40D offers.

For the price point, the 40D is top class. For me, I would (and intend to) put the 300-400 quid difference towards some more L glass (y)
 
when i got my 50D i had money to burn and coupled it with some nice lenses. If you are on a budget the 40D is enough. Infact i am looking for one for a 2nd body soon. As mentione put the extra to a lens if you dont already have good glass.
 
I have a 400D backup body/my sons camera and have recently moved from the 40D to 50D, it cost me £230 to upgrade (I had vouchers to replace my 40D when it couldn't be fixed under warrenty).

For that price it was a great upgrade for me. Like you I shoot sport, motorsport and generally everything else.

The higher res rear screen is nice when using manual focus, live view and 10x zoom, the higher pixel count means you can crop harder, or get greater detail in the image. I've recently shot a trackday where the water droplets off the car are crisp and sharp.

There's a couple of settings you need to turn off in custom mode, and if using lightroom it's worth downloading the beta camera raw profiles and checking out the portrait profile, which seems to put the colours etc back to how the shot was taken.

I think, though can't prove it, that the write speed to flash is quicker on my Extreme III cards, as it doesn't seem to backlog the write to card so much after a burst of shots. The high ISO performance is great, better than the 40D and you have 12800 for when you must get the shot. Pretty noisy but noise ninja does a reasonable job on it.

If you can afford it then I'd say get it, otherwise you'll be wondering/wishing otherwise, but you won't be disappointed with the 40D either if you're strapped for cash.
 
Sam S said:
I've not felt the need for higher mega pixel count, even when doing some tight(ish) crops on sports shots. I've never used a 50D, but can honestly say that I haven't wanted anything more than the 40D offers.
Click to expand...

Motorsport you can usually get easily within range of a 300-400mm lens on a 1.6 crop camera.

I don't do it often, but if birding then the cropping comes into play. This shot is cropped about 20% of the original shot:

110242884.jpg


My first weekend with the camera and I spotted the kingfisher. It was taken with my 100-400 with a 1.4x TC and manual focus. I wish I'd have thought about using the live view and 10x zoom to focus it correctly, but it was all quite new then. Still not bad for a manula focus through the view finder.
 
I recently went from a 400 to 50 and have not regretted it, I went for the 50 over the 40 for the pixels (this will benefit my stock work and pay for itself over time), otherwise I would probably have gone for the 40 as this is a tiny bit faster for horse sports.

I must admit it also helped that I had a 15% off voucher from Ebay which helped prompt my decision :)
 
I have a 40d... and honestly i wish i had brought a 30/20d... go for the cheaper body... trust me, give it a year or so, and youl be sat thinking... ' well, ive got all these useless megapixals, but damn... if only i had brought some extra glass instead'...
 
The way I see it the 50D is not worth the extra over the 40D unless you really need to do the heavy cropping those MP allows.

What subjects are you shooting?
 
RichardtheSane said:
The way I see it the 50D is not worth the extra over the 40D unless you really need to do the heavy cropping those MP allows.

What subjects are you shooting?
Click to expand...

I would have to agree. The differences between the 40D and 50D aren't that significant and although you get the extra MP's with the 50D, that introduces other problems when you have to up the ISO because of the pixel density, actually the 40D performs slightly better than the 50D when it comes to the control noise at higher ISO's and as you've stated that you wanted Better handling than the 400D at high ISO the 40D would meet your requirements. Have you thought about the 5D MK I secondhand prices aren't too bad and its an ideal camera for landscape and studio work.
 
I own a 40D and a 50D and much prefer the 50D the Digic 4 processor is a good improvement and captures more color in the dark areas of the photograph, I also love the brighter LCD. Both camera's are good but given the choice It's the 50D all the way for me.
 
Everyone with a 50D had the choice of a 40D or a 50D and obviously chose the 50D.

So everyone you see with a 50D (including me) thought it was worth it.

You need to decide yourself. The 15mp done it for me, but I did want the HDMI as well. I use Live View quite a bit and generally will make use of the 50D's features. It's newer technology completely.
 
Can't help you decide that one unfortunately, as i've a 40D and very pleased with it and as yet, not tried the 50D. I have read though on similar threads re 50D your lenses appear to be more critical to get the very best from the 50D - perhaps someone who has the experiance of it will comment on this for you. (y)
 
I went to Jessops with the intention of buying a 40D, once I had looked at them side by side, the main thing that stood out for me about the 50D was the screen. That and the fact they didn't have any 40Ds left in stock prompted me to spend a little more and get the 50D. I'm not disappointed and as others have said, those extra pixels allow you to crop more aggressively. I have even carved two pictures out of one shot which I wouldn't have been able to do with the 400D.
 
The best camera for you is the one you can afford, if funds stretch to the 50D get it or you'll just end up hankering after it and evtually spedning the money anyway after loosing money on the 40D.
 
awaiting for my 50D to arrive! :D TRied both the 40D and the 50D in Jessops, I was very tempted by the 40D but I like to crop my images which with the 50D and the extra pixels, helps
 
I'm not a Canon user, but every review I've read on the 50D says less dynamic range than the 40D... I'd consider that very important. Don't get caught up in the megapixel race, it's just stupidity... people who know nothing buying P&S buy based on megapixels...

Is it worth the extra - only you can decide that...
 
Well, I purchased the 50D in the end, the fact they didn't have any 40's in stock helped expedite that decision. I wasn't going to base my decision on that fact it's a 15mp camera, that wasn't my prime motivator.

They did have some 5d mk1's in stock at the same price, the reason I didn't go for that was the fact I only have 1 EF lens and selling the 17-55 & 55-250 wouldn't cover the cost of getting a walkabout EF lens or telephoto
 
I will go for the 50D when I have the readies, if I had a 40D I don’t think I would up to the 50D but coming from a lower spec it a good move.
One point no one has said is the 50D has a much better weather protection as well. Along with all the other points already made.
I will say after seeing the demo by Canon at the Focus on Imaging show I was impressed with its ability at low light plus looking at a very large print that was on show, one point to get max out of the resolution you do need good glass.
 
I've currently got the 40D , my main area of interest being Motorsport , also do a bit of landscape. I'm currently in the position to purchase some more equipment, and from what people (fairly good motorsport shooters) have said , they've made the upgrade from the 40D to the 50D and wished they'd stuck with the 40D and got some more glass.
I'm now thinking of getting another 40D as i need a second body, or possibly a 5D , i wouldn't even consider a 50D now after the shots i've seen from it (in comparison to the 40D), and after what people have said. And also with the extra couple hundred quid, i'm going to put it towards a 300mm prime lens.

But at the end of the day, it's only you that can make that choice (y)

Cheers,
 
Iv just done the upgrade from 400D to 50D last weekend and love it. The extra MP are nice but the rear screen was the clincher for me over the 40D. Its just beautiful, especially from the 400D.
Prices are coming down at the moment so hunt around, there are deals to be made on the 50D that make it more attractive all the time.
Good Luck
 
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