| Overall Rating: |
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4
out of 5
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Good Value--Shaky packaging,
07/01/2009
For me, the 50D was one of only four cameras that made any price/performance sense: the Xsi, T1i, 50D, and 5D.
The chip was a bit of a worry: the pixel density in the CMOS is the highest ever from Canon, and noise was a big concern.
I bought the 50D, and it has been fine. Low-light noise is (and always will be) a problem, but low-light is the bane of all photographers' existence after all. The high-end ISO settings are strictly for emergencies--1600 and 3200 ISO shots are not eligible for big enlargments--but if you need a shot at any cost, you can usually get it with this camera.
It's Canon's best camera for the money that's not full-frame. The 5D is better in almost every respect related to image quality, but it costs over twice as much.
For speed, though, the 50D is amazing. It's hard to imagine "needing" more than 6.3 frames in a second, but the camera delivers.
The other huge seller for me was the Digic IV interface. It's the best Canon has ever had, and with a couple of tweaks to custom settings, it is truly usable in the field, under almost any circumstances. I value the quick-screen settings from the remarkable VGA quality 3-inch screen--they are big enough to see well in lousy light no matter how bad your eyesight.
All in all, the 50D is a great leap forward in the very few years since Canon started this line with the 20D. And of course, it is a much more serious camera than the point-and-shoot field can offer.
As for my Wal-Mart experience, the price was the best anywhere (except for the rip-off shops on the East Coast, who unpackage cameras and sell you the battery separately, etc.) That's not always the case, but it was this time. The only one negative was the packaging: I received the camera and lens in the standard Canon box, inside a much larger shipping box, and one sheet of mashed brown paper to cushion the blows inflicted by UPS drivers. Shameful. But the camera was seemingly unaffected by the mistreatment, and is working well.
| Value: |
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5
out of 5
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| Meets Expectations: |
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4
out of 5
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32 of 33 people found this review helpful.