Possible upgrade... 400-> 500/50/5

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coldpenguin

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I am possibly going to upgrade from a 400d, and have been looking at the 5 range of cameras. (possibly upgrade, I want to determine which camera would be most suitable first, then determine whether it is camera or lens I require most),

I think it is the 50d which would be most suitable.

I think I understand most of the differences between these 3 cameras, however, in my mind, I thought that the quality/features of the cameras were 500 most basic, 50, then 5d
What confuses me, from Canon's website, it sounds to me that the 50d has a less 'useful?' AF system than both the 500 and 5d
Is this the case?
500d is listed as 9AF, f/5.6, with extra sensitivity on the centre at 2.8
50d is listed as 9AF, (f/2.8 at centre)
5d is listed as 9AF, +6 assist

I think that I misread this as the 500d has an extra sensitive point at the centre?

Does the 50d have the shaking sensor like the 400d?

Can the 50d still autofocus when in live-view mode (i,e, is there a setting to change to allow it to?)

ISO range appears to be available between 6400 and 12800, whereas it is listed as either H1 6400 or H2 12800 for 50d (one of the things I wanted is a better ISO handling, I an reticent to use the 400d above 400 due to the noise, my understanding is that the 5 range is much better, but suspect I wouldn't go beyond 3200 anyway)

One thing that did confuse me, if the range is as I thought, was that the budget 500d, and the top of the range 5d have video, but not the 50d?
Video is not a necessity, we have a camcorder, which we never view the films from (too much hassle), but it would seem to me that the video from these would be better quality than the camcorder.

Are there any gotchas I would need to look out for if I were to move from the 400d to the 50d?
 
Actually, I am assuming that the 50d still has the 'heads up' display in the view-finder, is this any easier to read than the 400 (as I found that quite difficult)
 
The 50D is a really good camera, but it depends on what you're photographing.

A 5D II would be better for weddings and general picture quality, but it's pretty slow. The 50D is brilliant for sports.

I'd rule the 500D out. It's not really upgrading, it's just buying the newer model.

For me, it'd be the 50D (hence owning one).

The 500D has video but it's priced highly too. If the 50D was to have video it'd probably be more like £900-£1,100+ instead of the £700-800 that it is now. The 5D is nearly £2,000.

I use ISO 1600 on my 50D without problems, but I'm reluctant to go higher but it still can get some decent results. The 5D will handle ISO better but you get what you pay for.

Yes, they all 'shake' the sensor to help prevent dust.

If you move from 400D to 50D, unless you have fast CF cards you'd ideally need those (SanDisk Extreme III) to take advantage of how quick the camera is at firing. You'd need to buy new batteries as they wouldn't fit, new remote, new battery grip and so on (if you need them). All your lenses will fit, as well as flashguns and so on.

Here's a video I made comparing the FPS between my 450D and my 50D:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tOQygxp-nM
 
I think most people will tell you to upgrade the glass rather than the body but it depends what glass your already using really.

I upgraded from a 400d to a 50d and havnt regretted it. But i also upgraded all my glass as well. The 50 will show any flaws you have in your "poorer quality" lenses.

It does have the vibrating sensor cleaning, it has a few autofocus modes in live view including a face detect one but to be honest i rarely use it.

No video on the 50d as you pointed out and its one of those gadgety things i certainly dont miss or want.

The build quality on the 50 should be better than the 500, i would asume the 500 is still plastic (correct me if im wrong) where as the 50 and the 5 are magnesium based.

The autofocus is very good a world apart from the 400d.

If you decide to go 5d remember its full frame so EF lenses only.

Hope that helps
 
Also don't forget if going up to a 5d its full frame - so any lens you have wont be quite as long as you thought they were on the old body!

Rog
 
auto focus in live view mode, on the 40D and I assume then the 50D needs to be activated, then you can use the AF button to focus,. it takes 1/2s or so to allow the mirror to drop, the focus to work and the mirror to raise again.
 
50D has a couple of autofocus modes, the usual and face detection but that can take a while to detect and focus.

However, one trick I use liveview for is using a teleconvertor with my 100-400 lens. As this doesn't autofocus, getting accurate manual focussing by eye is quite difficult, but if you switch to liveview and use the 5x or 10x zoom function of liveview, you can get accurate focussing.
 
Thank you very much for your replies. I think that this has helped to crystalise my thoughts that the 50d is indeed the next camera for me.
If I won the lottery, then maybe the 5d, as I could still crop, but, to start with (as I haven't) then I think I need the extra 1.6 crop factor of the 50d with my 300mm lens. My 'budget' at the moment is basically for a single 'box', so perhaps I can use the 'but look how much it could have cost' effect to wangle a second 'box' for a better lens later. I now need to consider whether the 50d+possibly kit, would be a better investment against a new lens on my 400d. I need to go away and compare the relevant 'next-step' lenses
Thanks again all.
Gareth
 
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