Zoom-in Online

Canon finally released the official press release detailing the newest in its line of DSLR cameras, the 50D. This is a camera in the prosumer class, aimed at the serious hobbyist. It sports a 15.1 mp DIGIC IV sensor capable of shooting at ISO 12800, which should allow for some crazy cool high speed photography. Canon promises low noise due to the newest generation sensors, though because this is not in the pro-series, the sensor is not full frame but has a 1.6x magnification factor.

There are two interesting new features on the camera, that are cool for different reasons. The first is the new CA-mode, which allows people who have no clue about the technical aspects of photography, to still play around with creative settings, such as darkening/lightening of the image, depth of field etc. Initially, I thought this was a stupid idea - why not encourage people to learn instead of dumbing things down. But then, after mentally comparing to a lot of the photos I see in the iStockphoto queue, I changed my mind. There are many photographers out there, who buy DSLRs without ever truly understanding how they work. For those people, the new CA-mode is a great addition.

The second new addition, that I really like, is the two smaller RAW formats. Previously, shooting in RAW also meant shooting at the highest resolution possible, but with the 50D Canon has introduced two smaller RAW resolutions (at 7.1 and 3.8 megapixels respectively). This is great news for people who don't need the huge resolution, but like the freedom shooting in RAW gives.

On top of this, Canon has also improved the live view feature with a better display (higher resolution) and a HDMI output for reviewing photos in an HD television. These are features I could take or leave. I try not to use the display too much while shooting anyway, and though I have an HD tv, I just don't see myself hooking the camera up to it directly (I'd rather process the photos first and view the final results via my Apple TV).

The price ($1,399 for the body only) is very reasonable, considering what you'll be getting. No doubt this is going to be a great camera for its target audience. Will it be able to compete against the rising sale of prosumer Nikons? I don't know. Personally, I'm still holding my breath for the new version of the 5D, but that's a whole other story.

Rasmus Rasmussen is on loan from iStockphoto, where he is part of the image inspection team.