CANON'S most junior DSLR, the EOS 1000D kit, costs only $1,099. Compare this with $2,999 for the kit III version of Canon's latest serious amateur DSLR - the EOS 50D.
Why pay $2,000 more for a DSLR? In a word: confidence.
The 50D comes with a super-strong magnesium alloy body - it can shrug off more punishment compared to the 1000D's plastic body.
The durable shutter of the 50D is rated at 100,000 exposures. The 1000D's shutter life is undisclosed.
The 50D's resolution is upped by 50 per cent to 15.1 megapixels, compared to its predecessor, the 40D. That is more than enough for six top quality 4R photos. Or a single stellar 40x27cm photo, which is almost the size of an A3 print.
The 50D now reigns as the king of resolution - short of DSLRs above the $4,000 mark.
One would expect this huge resolution leap to slow the 50D. Nope. It blazes away at 6.3 frames per seconds (fps) - leaving Pentax's 14.6-megapixel K20D (the former resolution king) and its 3 fps in the dust.
New brains and sensor design are the 50D's two secret weapons.
Its brains, the fourth generation Digic 4, represents the sum total of Canon's photographic lore mashed into a chip. This latest-generation chip ups the 50D's speed, sensitivity and noise control. It even compensates for the optical flaws of lenses, like dark corners which it will lighten up.
Then there is the sensor, based on a new design which increases the light captured, reducing noise and expanding sensitivity up to ISO12800.
Again, the 50D wins the crown for sensitivity - if you do not count the top-tier DSLRs.
I shot more than 100 photos inside a church sanctuary at a wedding ceremony at ISO3200, a sensitivity that junior DSLRs cannot match.
Not a single dud. Details and colours were well captured and the noise control was superb.
The 50D is built to show off your shots. Photos, even the camera's menus, look splendid on the 3-inch LCD monitor. At 920,000 pixels, it is four times the resolution of its predecessor.
Finally, Canon fans have their own 18-200mm zoom lens. Nikon has one since 2005. With the launch of the 50D, Canon has closed this gap. The 29-320mm (35mm equivalent) lens weighs 600g and is just 100mm at its most compact and 160mm at its longest.
With this lens, the 50D weighs 1,439g - just slightly more than four cans of soft drinks. It is not the sharpest lens but this all-in-one compromise is great as a travelling lens.
The high-pitched yammer of Canon cameras firing at high speed is a familiar sound in the movies. The 50D's shutter release sound, though, is discreet. Finally, a Canon that does not whine.
Canon EOS 50D $2,999 (kit III: EF-S18-200mm 3.5-5.6 IS), from authorised dealers
Final say
Packed full of goodness so you can ramp up your photographic confidence.
This article was first published in Digital Life, The Straits Times on Oct 22, 2008.
