Canon EOS 50D

This post is research into this camera as a replacement for my Canon 350D. I am deciding whether to change over to a Nikon D90 or stay with Canon as I have 3 lenses that are canons. I mainly want to find out what advantage if any the Nikons have over Canon.

Great indepth review by DPreview:

Review based on a production Canon EOS 50D with firmware version 1.02 by Lars Rehm and Richard Butler, October 2008

Almost exactly a year after the arrival of the EOS 40D, Canon has announced the 50D, which we're assured will be a sister-model, rather than a replacement. Recent history has seen Canon release new models every 18 months-or-so but it's been a busy year with newcomers such as the Nikon D300 getting a lot of attention in the 40D's keen-amateur/professional segment. The 50D is essentially a 40D body wrapped around a newly-developed 15 megapixel sensor that finally rectifies the situation in which Canon's XXD range trailed the company's entry-level line, in pixel terms. Canon is claiming that the new sensor's design (new manufacturing processes, redesigned photo diodes and micro lenses) mean that despite the higher resolution image noise has improved, something we'll be putting to the test later.

The other big change is the inclusion of a new, high-resolution LCD screen. 920,000 dots mean that it can convey 640 x 480 RGB pixels, making it effectively a VGA standard monitor. Three anti-reflection layers built into the screen do their best to keep it useable in bright conditions, too.

Read full article:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos50d/

The pros & Cons of the new 50D vs the 40D

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/E50D/E50DA.HTM

Sample photos comparing quality at 100% viewing

Canon 50D	Nikon D90	Canon 5D Mark II
Priced from: $1700	Priced from $1600	Priced from $4000
Cropped to 100% un-editied ©Dpreview	Cropped to 100% un-editied ©Dpreview	Cropped to 100% un-editied ©Dpreview
http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/canoneos50d_samples/	http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/nikond90_samples/	http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/canoneos5dmarkii_samples/

After looking at both the sample photos at 100% I can't see a difference in quality between the 50d or d90, I don't really love either of them. To me the quality isn't up to the standard I am wanting but my budget doesn't allow for a $5000 camera. The verdict, you get what you pay for. Improvements could be made in lens quality and I will now compare a high quality lens on each camera.

More 50d samples:

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_canon_eos_50d_3.php

Sample photos from different lenses:

This forum has an extensive list of lens comparisons.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=107

http://www.pixel-peeper.com/

New lens wish list:

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM	Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM	More soon
Priced from $1100	Priced from $2000
Photo by TSmith	Photo by Glyde
Samples: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=134756	Samples: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=173736&page=1