Review der 50D ist raus:

Conclusion - Pros

Detailed and clean image output (but not as detailed as we would have expected from a 15 megapixels sensor)
Chroma and luminance noise well controlled at higher sensitivities
Wide range of image parameter adjustment (-4 to +4 for most)
Effective Highlight tone priority option delivers smooth highlight roll-off
Four levels of high ISO noise reduction (including Off)
Effective vignetting control feature
No noticeable hot pixels with long exposures and NR off
Nine point auto focus system accurate, even in low light
Large, clear and bright high-res screen
Well-built magnesium body, weather-sealed
Good viewfinder, optional focusing screens
Excellent ergonomics and refined user-interface
Quick control menu allows direct access to many important settings
Attractive refreshed menu design
Fully customizable MyMenu
Programmable FUNC button
Two user memories via 'C1/C2' on mode dial
10x magnification in live view allows reliable manual focusing
Instant power on, camera feels snappy and responsive at all times
Fast continuous shooting (6.3 fps)
Excellent data throughput and processing speeds (with fast CF cards)
Very fast PTP transfer speed
AF-Micro-Adjustment
Comprehensive Software package
Very quiet mirror mechanism (plus 2 silent shooting options in live view)
Any combination between RAW and JPEG image sizes possible
Dust reduction from Canon's 'Integrated Cleaning'
Good battery life
Optional WFT-E3 wireless transmitter (802.11 b/g) / vertical grip
HDMI output

Conclusion - Cons

High ISO performance worse than 40D
Reduced dynamic range in the shadow areas compared to EOS 40D
Per-pixel detail not as good as on good 10 or 12 megapixel cameras
High-end lenses required to get the most out of the camera
Poor white balance performance under artificial light
Flash must be up for AF assist lamp (although AF is good even in low light)
Live view not as accurate as on 40D (framing very slightly off-center, in contrast detect AF mode not possible to magnify right out to the extreme corners)

Overall conclusion

It's exactly eight years ago this month that Phil posted his review of the Canon D30. The camera was Canon's first 'developed in house' DSLR and therefore a milestone in digital photography. But it was also the first model in the popular line of cameras of which the EOS 50D is the latest descendant. Technology has moved on at the speed of light since the year 2000 but each generation of x0D cameras left its mark in the marketplace and the photographic community alike and there is no reason to believe to 50D would be any different. Or is there?

Like its predecessors the 50D sports a well built magnesium body that now features improved environmental sealing. Canon has also had more than eight years to optimize the camera's handling and it's done a good job. The ergonomics feel well sorted, all the controls are in the right place and even the formerly rather pointless Direct Print button now serves a purpose: Press it and you'll enter live view mode. Another useful addition is the Quick Control screen. Press the SET button to enter this newly designed menu which gives you access to the most frequently used settings. Even users who are new to the EOS system will find their way around the 50D in no time. The Quick Control screen and the revamped menus also look great on the new bright and clean 3.0 inch VGA screen.

The camera's performance doesn't leave anything to complain about either. Power on is as good as instant, the camera is always ready when you need it and it is quite impressive at what speed the huge 15 megapixel files are being written, processed and transferred through the imaging pipeline. Canon's new DIGIC IV processor certainly pulls its weight.

Let's have a look at the really important stuff then: Image quality. Below ISO 1600 image output is clean with well balanced contrast and colors and as you would expect from a DSLR with a 15 megapixel sensor the 50D delivers a fair amount of detail. Having said that, in terms of per-pixel sharpness the 50D cannot quite keep up with the better 10 or 12 megapixel APS-C DSLRs in the market. At higher sensitivities the smaller photosites are clearly producing more noise (as shown from our RAW comparisons) and so Canon is having to apply more noise reduction to keep to acceptable noise levels, this of course means a loss of detail from ISO 1600 upwards.

It appears that Canon has reached the limit of what is sensible, in terms of megapixels on an APS-C sensor. At a pixel density of 4.5 MP/cm² (40D: 3.1 MP/cm², 1Ds MkIII: 2.4 MP/cm²) the lens becomes the limiting factor. Even the sharpest primes at optimal apertures cannot (at least away from the center of the frame) satisfy the 15.1 megapixel sensors hunger for resolution. Considering the disadvantages that come with higher pixel densities such as diffraction issues, increased sensitivity towards camera shake, reduced dynamic range, reduced high ISO performance and the need to store, move and process larger amounts of data, one could be forgiven for coming to the conclusion that at this point the megapixel race should probably stop. One consequence of this is that the 50% increase in pixel count over the 40D results in only a marginal amount of extra detail.

We're by no means saying the 50Ds image quality is bad but it's simply not significantly better than the ten megapixel 40D. In some areas such as dynamic range and high ISO performance it's actually worse and that simply makes you wonder if the EOS 50D could have been an (even) better camera if its sensor had a slightly more moderate resolution.

The EOS 50D has to stand its ground in a highly competitive bracket of the DSLR market. It is currently almost $500 more expensive than the 40D, almost $500 more expensive than the Nikon D90 and for an extra $100 you can bag yourself a Nikon D300. Looking at the specification differences between the EOS 40D and our test candidate it appears you pay quite a premium for the 50D's extra megapixels and as we've found out during this review you don't get an awful lot of extra image quality for your money. The Canon EOS 50D still earns itself our highest reward but considering its price point and our slight concerns about its pixel-packed sensor, it only does so by a whisker.

Der Test ist schon seit gestern raus.
Es ist übrigens nicht so gerne gesehen, wenn so viel Text kopiert wird. Eine Zusammenfassung oder kürzere Passagen plus Link müssen reichen.

Ach sonorman, nicht jeder kann sich so kurz fassen wie Du.

Es geht dabei um copyright.

Der allerwichtigste Teil ist jawohl der: FF-Zeiten nähern sich.

Sitox
Genau darum kauf ich mir nächste Woche ne 5D und keine 50D..

Ne "alte" 5D oder eine MkII?

Kauf «Die Alte»!

Macht Unmengen Spaß und hat im Moment einen guten Preis! Der wird denke ich nicht mehr fallen, bleibt also preisstabil...

Spricht schon sehr viel für ne alte 5D, habe ähnliche Überlegungen. Physikalische NR ist viel wert, FF hätte ich gerne und mit 21MP "dicken" Fotos muss ich mich nicht unbedingt rumschlagen.

Bei Imaging Resource klingt es etwas anders. @@

Ich hab mich nach reiflicher Überlegung für ne "alte" 5D entschieden. Bei der 50ziger hat schlussendlich einfach der Crop-Faktor das ausschlag gebende Argument geliefert. Ich wollte einfach ne FF Kamera. Und 21MP sind einfach zuviel, die würd ich zu 80% der Zeit auf 10MP fahren, daher reicht ne "alte" 5D auch.

...eine 40D kostet mittlerweile um die 750€...was auch ein Wort ist, gerade, wenn man zur 5D einen Zweit-Body sucht oder so.

So schlecht kommt die 50D dann auch wieder nicht weg bei DPR, dass man gleich zu IR ausweichen muss. Aber man kommt ja nicht drumherum festzuhalten, dass man mit der heutigen Technologie - besonders bei dieser Pixeldichte - mit der Zeit an Grenzen des Machbaren stösst. Dass man, um die maximale Leistungsfähigkeit des Aufnahmemediums zu erreichen, auch hochwertige Objektive verwenden muss, war ja schon immer so. Aber nun, bei der 50D und allen andern Kameras mit vergleichbarer Pixeldichte, gilt es diesen Umstand noch mehr zu berücksichtigen. Ich komme jetzt aus Zeitgründen nicht dazu, die Review von IR zu lesen, aber wenn das die Conclusion ist, dann ist das schon fast ein wenig zu einseitig. Wir sind noch weit entfernt von Perfektion, vielleicht ist Canon dabei am nächsten.