400D - 50D....Should I?

futureal33

futureal33

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Hiya :)

I currently have a Canon 400D camera which I have had for about 2 years, and until recently it has hardly been used.
I have now got a weekend job doing night time photography in a club and also my personal interest in photography has had its flame "re-lit" and I find myself taking photos of any and everything!
I have a couple of lenses, the kit lens (18-55 non IS), the nifty fifty (50mm f1.8) and a Tamron 28-75 f2.8

Although I am happy with my photos and the quality thus far has been very good, and noise levels are acceptable... I keep finding myself wishing I had a newer and better SLR, mainly the 50D.

So I just have a couple of questions really relating to this

1) First question is would I notice a huge difference in changing from the 400D to the 50D in terms of image quality?

2) The 50D comes as either body only, or with a 17-55 IS kit lens - which seems to get good reviews. With the lenses I currently have (listed above) would I be better getting it with the kit lens and selling my other lenses, or buying it body only and using my Tamron lens with it? This is probably the most important question in my mind at the moment.

3) Would the 50D be a wise move? I have considered the 550D as well but reviews tend to favour the 50 unless movies is a desired feature.... which it is not for me..

4) Where is the best place to buy a 50D from? I have seen it new for £660 as body only on CameraBox - is there anywhere cheaper?

Thanks for any help you can offer :cool::cool:
 
the 50d is a very capable camera, the metal body and higher FPS and larger rear screen are a big help, and the ability to microadjust lenses is also.

Personally i would look for a good quality second hand one *cough*
 
matty said:
the 50d is a very capable camera, the metal body and higher FPS and larger rear screen are a big help, and the ability to microadjust lenses is also.

Personally i would look for a good quality second hand one *cough*
Click to expand...

You dont know how tempted I am by yours, I must have looked at your advert 20 times today lol

I just need to make sure I am 100% about it because its a lot of money to spend if the photos are no different than my 400D pictures at the end of the day!

Could you explain what you mean about micro adjusting the lenses?
 
I just up graded from the 400D to the 50D and I am happy with it.
As for all your questions

1. alot depends on the user, as to image quality and can it be used in a way to get the best, better glass will definatly give you better images.
2. the 17-55 will replace the 18-55 you already have but be a better lens as it will have IS so will allow you to go a couple stops.
3 loads of comparasons on this site with 550d vs 50D and to be fair if movie aint your thing then 50D all the way, better build bigger body etc etc.
4. try Kerso on here he has some good deals going.

Someone else might beable to answer your questions better than me but the 50D is the way to go.

spike
 
Facing same dilema....50d or 550d? Arguments for 50d seem to centre mainly around build quality and handing rather than picture quality and low light performance.
 
niv2 said:
Facing same dilema....50d or 550d? Arguments for 50d seem to centre mainly around build quality and handing rather than picture quality and low light performance.
Click to expand...

the 50d is a very capable camera, the metal body and higher FPS and larger rear screen are a big help, and the ability to microadjust lenses is also.

Personally i would look for a good quality second hand one HERE *cough*



:D
 
The package must be very pricy using the 17-55mm as a kit lens, thought it was more usual to offer the 17-85mm lens
 
To answer your questions, I have a 50D and a 400D second body.

Would you notice the difference? Yes.
You can push a couple of stops higher ISO for the same noise, plus you get a higher resolution meaning you can crop harder. I'll happily shoot ISO 1600 in a club/gig or 3200 with use of noise reduction such as lightroom/noise ninja.
All the useful controls are instantly accessible on the 50D, there's no fumbling around menus or button pushes.
Write speed to CF is faster and it has a bigger buffer.

I'm not sure the IS lens would give you anything for nightclub photography.
The 50mm f1.4 would give you an extra stop, but it depends on how much you use the current 50mm.

Other things to consider is that the 50d is weather resistant (or drinks?) the 400d isn't, but it does weigh a little more and takes different batteries (although the batteries last longer - about 700 shots for mine).
 
Byker28i Thanks for that subjective view on the two cameras....that's the sort of information that is very useful. I shoot indoor sports (horse jumping) in winter (outdoors in summer) and find the 400d limiting only in terms of ISO so if I can get a couple of extra stops then I would be very happy.
 
50D was a great camera and I only traded because I wanted to go full-frame otherwise I would have kept it. To get the most out of the fps, I found you needed Extreme VI or faster (the UDMA 60mb/s cards worked fantastically) because of the speed and resolution.

I had a 400D before it and you can definitely feel the quality difference. I really liked the Auto ISO which made using full manual a lot quicker on occasions.
 
admirable said:
the 50d is a very capable camera, the metal body and higher FPS and larger rear screen are a big help, and the ability to microadjust lenses is also.

Personally i would look for a good quality second hand one HERE *cough*



:D
Click to expand...

Noted and I am interested......I have responded in the correct thread...
 
gman said:
50D was a great camera and I only traded because I wanted to go full-frame otherwise I would have kept it. To get the most out of the fps, I found you needed Extreme VI or faster (the UDMA 60mb/s cards worked fantastically) because of the speed and resolution.

I had a 400D before it and you can definitely feel the quality difference. I really liked the Auto ISO which made using full manual a lot quicker on occasions.
Click to expand...

But I don't want to "feel" the difference, I want to see the difference in my photos!
 
You say that you are doing night time photography in a club. What exactly are you doing and what restrictions do you have. Is it gig photography (3 songs / no flash) or general club images and where will the images end up?

Can't comment on either the 400 or 50 but I have used 40D's for the last couple of years and have been very happy with them, even at 1600 and 3200 (with Neat Image software) but your lens choice will be a major factor (depending on its use). Just had a 30 x 20 inch poster printed for someone and I'm very happy with it.

£660 is about as cheap as I can find it.

I would say go for the 50D but decide what lens you really need for what you are doing.
 
niv2 said:
But I don't want to "feel" the difference, I want to see the difference in my photos!
Click to expand...

The lens you use will probably be the main contributing factor to image quality, but obviously the camera sensor does matter as well.

The 50D is newer technology and also uses gapless technology so that the increase in pixels on the sensor doesn't have such a detrimental effect on noise etc.

Here's a shot from my 50D when I had it, using the nifty fifty. Seems ok to me. :)

beau-closeup.jpg
 
I also owned the 400D before a 40D and 50D. I can also add that the 40/50D focus a lot quicker. If you shoot action, it will definiteley help espcially when you use faster glass. You will "see" the difference by higher keeper rate.
 
strobemonkey said:
I also owned the 400D before a 40D and 50D. I can also add that the 40/50D focus a lot quicker. If you shoot action, it will definiteley help espcially when you use faster glass. You will "see" the difference by higher keeper rate.
Click to expand...

Did you notice a difference in noise at high ISO between the 400d and 50d?
 
niv2 said:
Did you notice a difference in noise at high ISO between the 400d and 50d?
Click to expand...

definitely.. IIRC 400D ISO400 noise was comparable to ISO800 or ISO1600. I was happy to use up to ISO800 on the 400D, but with the 40/50D I'm happy to use 1600 and even 3200.
 
Noise performance is very dependant on you.

If I didn't ever do any noise reduction, 800 would be as high as I'd take it.

But with careful selective NR, 1600 is very usable.
 
My wife found the AF on the 400d very un-impresive especially in low light conditions, she's much happier now she has nicked my 50D. IQ is improved all round.
She uses high/very high Iso to get a 'impressionistic' feel to her photos on the 50D as they are very noisy.

Matt
 
Got my 50D for £508 refurb on ebay.
It had 150 shots when I put it through Eosinfo the day I got it. Plus I got about £4 cashback through quidco.

It handles a lot better than my 450D did, and there isnt a huge difference in IQ, but certainly slightly cleaner High ISO files, and the layout is a lot more logical and easy to adjust on the fly.
 
Well I've taken the plunge and opted for a 50d as my next step in cameras.

I have found it very difficult to get a subjective view on different cameras and how much difference I can expect......some tell me that I will defiantly see a difference and others seem to say that I won't see much change. I'm just hoping that a more expensive and more modern camera supposedly further up the scale will help me gain better results in low light situations....the rest is up to me!
 
Lens wise you have a decent 28-75 F2.8 forget the kit lens, put the money towards either of the following.

Tamron 17-50 F2.8 non vc to replace your 18-55
Canon 50mm F1.4
Canon 85mm F1.8
 
Now all I have to do is get 100 posts so I can sell my 400d!
 
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