50D Owners Thread - Anything 50D related

westley byford said:
although for what circimstances would i use MLU, macros on a tripod?
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Anything on a tripod where you want maximum sharpness, especially when you are shooting in a shutter speed range of something between 1 second and 1/100 or around there. The subject could be macro, landscape, distant wildlife, the moon. All sorts of things. The fact is that the mirror, when it flips up, causes vibration throughout the camera. At high shutter speeds it won't have much effect, and at very low shutter speeds the period of vibration relative to the total exposure will be negligible, but there is a range of shutter speeds where the vibration can affect a significant part of the exposure.

Shooting with Live View also causes the mirror to be raised, so that automatically gives you MLU.

If you need low vibration and instant shooting then a good tripod and good tripod technique can help. If you rest your left hand over the lens collar, causing gentle pressure downwards over the mounting point then your hand will help quench vibrations. Of course, it can also be a source of vibrations if you are not careful, so be careful. A remote release will also mean no risk of shutter button jabbing - another common cause of vibration and poor IQ. Some tripods will also allow you to suspend a weight from them (a bag of rocks or a camera bag, for example), to pin them firmly down and further reduce vibration from wind and anything else. Nobody benefits from a floppy tripod.
 
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Hi all, I've had my 50D for a few days now and been impresssed so far as an upgrade to my 30D. I have many questions but I'll start with some basics as I'm curious to know how other prefer to set their AE Lock, metering, AF etc...

When I got the camera, I was pressing the shutter btn halfway to focus but nothing was happening so realised the * btn was set to AF and the shutter btn set the metering (half press)

Still early days but wondered what others thought...
 
dangermoose said:
Hi all, I've had my 50D for a few days now and been impresssed so far as an upgrade to my 30D. I have many questions but I'll start with some basics as I'm curious to know how other prefer to set their AE Lock, metering, AF etc...

When I got the camera, I was pressing the shutter btn halfway to focus but nothing was happening so realised the * btn was set to AF and the shutter btn set the metering (half press)

Still early days but wondered what others thought...
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It's a matter of personal preference. Some people swear by having the AF on the * button, whereas I much prefer it all on the shutter button.

Actually on the 7D they've provided a dedicated AF button on the back of the camera so you can either use that or the shutter button to focus.
 
CT said:
It's a matter of personal preference. Some people swear by having the AF on the * button, whereas I much prefer it all on the shutter button.

Actually on the 7D they've provided a dedicated AF button on the back of the camera so you can either use that or the shutter button to focus.
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The AF-ON button? This is on the 50D too.
 
Nifkin said:
The AF-ON button? This is on the 50D too.
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You know I had an idea that was the case but wasn't sure - I don't use the 50D much now - the missus has snaffed it.

It sounds like the shutter button AF is disabled then in dangermoose's menu settings.
 
Shutter button for me!

I understand the reasons behind it, but two buttons is way too fiddly and I find I'm just more likely to snap an un-focused picture than a better one.

I'd sooner switch to MF when needed, or use focus points, or one-shot focus...
 
CT said:
It sounds like the shutter button AF is disabled then in dangermoose's menu settings.
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Yep, thats exactly it.. Ive been reading through the manual and its easy enough to alter the settings so will have a play with a couple of different options. I've been used to half pressing the shutter btn to focus but I do see there might be value in using the * or AF-ON for this purpose... As you say, time will tell and I'm sure I'll find it easier one way or another.
 
I've tried the thumb button focusing and it's not for me, but it obviously works for many others.
 
i noticed a few post up, that the camera was metering, whats this mean? auto ev?? if so is it any good or best to judge yourself.. im still getting my little head around exposure settings and how to find whats good without shooting loads of test shots off..
 
I'm not the person to advise you as I'm still in the early days but I can tell you what I do and see what others advise.

As an example I was experimenting last night in the garden to see how the 50D dealt with high ISO's. I will generally look for something that I can meter off, in the case of the shot below (which is nothing special admittedly) I metered (using * as AE Lock) off the pavement as it has a good mid range colour, not too bright or dark. It seemed to give me a decent exposure although there is quite a lot of noise in this shot, it was evening and cloudy.

Try metering in a variety of ways and see the difference it makes to the exposure, expose for the sky and then something darker and compare the shots.

Again, I could be completely wrong in my technique and there are lots here who will provide some expert advice which I'd like to see myself!


4690402504_7e5551feaf.jpg


4690403356_db2e975a2c.jpg

a%3E
 
Does anyone have any favourite settings that they find works well. Im talking about altering sharpness, contrast etc from the default settings.
 
Les Key said:
Does anyone have any favourite settings that they find works well. Im talking about altering sharpness, contrast etc from the default settings.
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I shoot raw and sort those things out in my raw editor. I don't want a "one size fits all" approach to things like sharpening, contrast, noise reduction, white balance etc. and I don't want to be faffing about altering those things as I go around shooting stuff.

I shoot with Neutral picture style so that the preview image from which the in camera histogram is generated is not artificially pimped by the camera. It makes picture on the back of the camera look pretty lifeless, but that doesn't matter if I end up with a histogram that is more dependable. All I'm doing with the camera is recording image data. I make the actual image later on.

I turn off all the silly nonsense like HTP and ALO. HTP is a dreadful idea (IMHO) for raw shooters and ALO is a gimmick that will not help you improve as a photographer. It might dig you out of a hole or it might toss you into one. I'm not a gambling man. I like to decide how my images look.
 
Hi 50d brothers and sisters

I was wondering if you can use the c1 and c2 dial settings to preset aperture, iso, and shutter speed. The reason I ask is that if I am indoors at an event i always start with f/8, 1/60s, and iso 400. When i wander out of the room my settings change completely, for example if it is daylight i typically go straight to iso 100 etc... When i go back in to the room it would be awesome to get back to my indoor settings of f/8, 1/60s, and iso 400 with the flip of a dial.

Is this possible and if so how?

Tia
Dub
 
Thanks Tim & Westley
I shoot mainly in apature or manual mode using raw & jpeg, the jpeg purely to give me an idea of the colours of things for when Im processing my raw image.
Doing Shire horses bedecked in Red Green and yellow braids pulling red carts or blue machinary etc I have to be certain of getting the correct shade of red or whatever as the owners will pick out the difference straight away. Will give Neutral ago today, been using Standard and Landscape so far the latter being quite succesfull in some lights. Well its pack the gear into the car time and head off time to the gentle giants. Thanks for you advice.
 
Sorry if this is a little of the topic being discussed.
I have had my 50d for around a year and am still struggling to get anything decent from it picture wise,noise and sharpness are horrendous.
I have tweaked all the settings that i have come across in threads in this forum but all to no avail.
Dont get me wrong the 50d is a lovely camera and easy to use.My theory on this is that there seems as though there must have been a dodgy batch(and i got one...lol)
I have viewed photos form some 50ds and they are totally awsome,mine are not!
I am not a professional by any means but i know what i see and i can tell you my 50d does not perform as it should.
I upgraded from an EOS400d and fortunately i kept it,this little camera knocks spots off the 50d in my opinion.
Yes i shoot in raw and do my editing in LR3 and CS5,befor you say anything i have tried DDP and still i do not get good results from the 50d.
Any help on settings or technique on the 50d would be much appreciated.
I use Sigma18-200is,canon 50mm 1.8,Canon 28-135is,Canon f2.8 100mm Macro Canon flash EX43011.

Thanks in advance
Vince
 
Umm Worth setting all the settings back to default, this is found in the Menu (Last but 2 from the end) also check the firmware Mine is 1.07. see http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eos50d/firmware.html. Then I have to be honest I prefer in the Picture Style to shoot in Natural which has all the setting at Zero, as this is similar to my 1Ds MkII and therefore my setting in LR3 are the same. Start point
 
goldkoi34 said:
Sorry if this is a little of the topic being discussed.
I have had my 50d for around a year and am still struggling to get anything decent from it picture wise,noise and sharpness are horrendous.
I have tweaked all the settings that i have come across in threads in this forum but all to no avail.
Dont get me wrong the 50d is a lovely camera and easy to use.My theory on this is that there seems as though there must have been a dodgy batch(and i got one...lol)
I have viewed photos form some 50ds and they are totally awsome,mine are not!
I am not a professional by any means but i know what i see and i can tell you my 50d does not perform as it should.
I upgraded from an EOS400d and fortunately i kept it,this little camera knocks spots off the 50d in my opinion.
Yes i shoot in raw and do my editing in LR3 and CS5,befor you say anything i have tried DDP and still i do not get good results from the 50d.
Any help on settings or technique on the 50d would be much appreciated.
I use Sigma18-200is,canon 50mm 1.8,Canon 28-135is,Canon f2.8 100mm Macro Canon flash EX43011.

Thanks in advance
Vince
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Vince

I suffer from more noise than anyone else seems to as well :). You are not alone. Things have got a little better since I started to use a technique called expose to the right. You will find info on it here as well as a link to a page about it in my blog (http://akphotographic.blogspot.com/2010/06/expose-to-right-ettr.html). Basically I found that I had worse than usual noise when my shots were underexposed a little and I had to fix this in post processing. Slightly overexposing (but not enough to get blinkies) helps a lot. When yup bring exposure down you don't seem to get as much noise as when going up.

I have also noticed that noise is more visible on certain textures. For example I took a pic of my baby with my dad. You see lots of noise on her face but NONE on his!

Having said all of that bear in mind that noise is much more visible on screen looking at the image at 100% than in your final printed or reduced image. For example, that pic I took of my dad and baby showed a lot of noise as I had taken it at ISO1600 by mistake. However, even printed at 10x8 the noise is not that noticeable.

Keeping your photos bright and to the right on the histogram does help.

Dub
 
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Vince, if you want to see what the camera is capable of then I think you have to eliminate the things that might be potential limitations. Here's what I'd do....

1. Shoot from a tripod with a remote or timed release to avoid all camera shake. This will also constrain any movement after focus has been accomplished.

2. Use the 100 macro lens as it ought to be the sharpest lens in your collection. Shoot at maybe f/4, stopped down enough for super sharp results but not so far that you get iffy shutter speeds or diffraction.

3. You can aim at any subject you like, so long as it is well lit and contrasty enough for the AF to get a good lock. You want to keep shutter speeds up and ISO down, at least for starters. In bright sunshine, at f/4 you can shoot at 100 ISO and 1/1600. That should be enough for anybody. You must expose correctly. Underexposure is not a fair test of the camera. It is poor technique. So whatever the lighting conditions, make sure your exposure is suitable. Use the histogram to check, not the image on the LCD screen.

4. Disable all image processing gimmicks like HTP, ALO, noise reduction etc. Shoot with Standard picture style for representative saturation, sharpening, contrast etc..

5. Focus using Live AF rather than Quick AF. This will eliminate focus calibration errors from the equation.

6. Take a shot and see how it looks. If it is sharp and noise free you're on the right path.

7. Now raise the ISO to 200, adjusting shutter speed to suit and try again. Repeat at 400 ISO, 800 ISO etc. as high as you wish to go. Do not use intermediate ISO values like 125, 500 etc..

7. When you evaluate results, do not obsess about 100% pixel peeping and expect perfection at high ISOs. You won't get it. The question is - can you get a good picture at high ISO. You cannot expect to get good pixels.

8. If your results are acceptable then your camera is working fine. Your problem in every day shooting probably lies either with your lenses, your AF calibration, your technique in shooting or processing, or your expectations.

If your results are unacceptable then I think either you have a duff camera or your expectations are unreasonable. Remember, there is a place for pixel peeping, but it's the pictures that matter, not the pixels. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
 
Tim, I never head of live af and quick af. What are they and where do you choose them?
 
dubcat said:
Tim, I never head of live af and quick af. What are they and where do you choose them?
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When in Live View you have a choice of AF options. The traditional AF can be used, and that is called "Quick AF". It has to drop the mirror, focus in the usual way and then raise the mirror again to continue Live View. It is quick(ish) but subject to the same problems of miscalibration that AF in normal use is.

There is also "Live AF", which uses a contrast detect method of AF instead of phase detect. This system works like compact cameras. It is slow but accurate because the camera is judging focus accuracy at the sensor, not with some other sensors on a different optical path.

There is also a Face Detect AF mode. See pages 121 onwards in the manual for a description.

I will often use Live AF when shooting with a tripod and especially when adding a 1.4X teleconverter to my 100-400 lens.
 
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Hmmm... I never use live view. What are the situations it is best used in? Seems I am missing a trick.
 
dubcat said:
Hmmm... I never use live view. What are the situations it is best used in? Seems I am missing a trick.
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Typically when using a tripod and putting priority on pinpoint focus accuracy over speed. Examples might be for macro photography, product photography, anything with shallow DOF, and as I mentioned, using a lens that is outside spec for "normal" AF operation - i.e. slower than f/5.6 wide open.

Another situation would be where you simply can't get your eye to the viewfinder, perhaps because you are shooting at ground level or over a high wall or some other obstruction.

Another example would be where you wish to operate a camera remotely, but have a feed from the camera back to a laptop or PC - tethered shooting - so that you can see a live histogram and make adjustments to focus and other things from afar.

There may be some useful stuff in this old thread, started when the 40D was released. I don't know whether it has been updated to cover new features of the 50D and later.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=428535
 
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Thanks dubcat you made me feel a whole lot better :lol:
This camera has been puzzling me for a whole year,glad i'm not the only one.
ttodd thankyou for your advice i will try out some of the techniques you mention and see what happens,like i said i'm no proffesional so may be it is something i am doing.
I love the feel of this camera and its size so am reluctant to give up on it just yet, so hopefully the methods you describe will help me.
thanks
Vince.
 
So I manage to get noise at ALL ISO's... even 100 sometimes. It's cos I underexpose probably. But sometimes I just get lucky and I still don't properly understand HOW! :(

This photo was taken today at ISO 800. I was using live view by the way for the first time. I don't seem to have ANY noise!!! I wish I knew how i pulled this off but the reality is I just got lucky and have no clue - depressing!!!

The only post processing I did for this photo was the lightroom preset sharpening for portrait, resizing, and up the saturation and vibrancy by 10. No cropping, no noise reduction, no nothing else.

 
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Hi everyone

I'm looking to get a new DSLR and have decided on the 50D.

Can anyone advise on the best place to buy? Best deal? Am I better off getting the bundled lenses included or buying superior lenses separately?

Thanks for any pointers.
 
Try Kerso, his prices are hard to beat, with great customer service to boot!

Not sure about bundled but I bought the 50d body and chose lenses that fit my needs separately.
 
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I got mine from Kelso here.

Lens choice really depends what you want to do with it.
 
dubcat said:
The only post processing I did for this photo was the lightroom preset sharpening for portrait, resizing, and up the saturation and vibrancy by 10. No cropping, no noise reduction, no nothing else.
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So you filled the frame, exposed correctly and adjusted the sharpening parameters to apply a mask to areas that should be soft and smooth, rather than sharpened mercilessly. Perfect! That's photography. :)

Lessons to be taken from this...

- Don't underexpose;
- Don't crop heavily into images at high ISO - the higher the ISO the less you can crop;
- Don't sharpen noise. Lightroom (and ACR) default settings will.
 
dubcat said:
Ahh - i did just sharpen the whole thing.. oops
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But the portrait sharpening preset should reduce or remove the sharpening of featureless areas, like smooth skin. Are you saying now that you did not apply the portrait sharpening preset? Either way, it is good practice to be selective with your sharpening. The sharpening mask is a useful tool to localise sharpening only to edges and contrast boundaries while avoiding applying sharpening to noise in individual pixels.

If it turns out you were sharpening everything then you have room for further improvement. :)
 
The shot is still quite soft Amir, look at those eyes - the focus should be on the eyes and they need to be sharp. The eyelashes and eyebrows are a good indication of when you've optimally sharpened.

The wb is wrong too mate - those skin tones are very red....
 
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CT white balance is my nemesis - i am colour blind :) I think i just need to invest in one of those colorchecker passports!

The eyes look sharp to me! Are they really soft!?
 
dubcat said:
The eyes look sharp to me! Are they really soft!?
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They look a little soft but it might be your PP rather than your photography. As you use Lightroom, I wonder whether you use any output sharping on export. When you resize an image a lot of the finely tuned sharpening you applied at 100% gets swallowed up when you merge around 25 pixels from the original into one. It is usually good practice to apply output sharpening after resizing and saving.

Have a read of this thread and note the three flavours of sharpening....

- capture sharpening;
- creative sharpening;
- output sharpening.

Be sure to check out the sequence of images from the unsharpened original to completed product. Big difference.

So, you may have a sharp original, but you may not be displaying it at its best.
 
dubcat said:
CT white balance is my nemesis - i am colour blind :) I think i just need to invest in one of those colorchecker passports!

The eyes look sharp to me! Are they really soft!?
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A lot of people are colour blind to some degree Amir, so I can symathise - that must be a problem.

They were a mite soft mate- enough to take the edge off those eyes which are the mirror of her soul and the very heart of your image - those eyes are compelling and they need to be sharp to grab your attention.

You can'r reduce an image from full size down to this size and expect it to be sharp, especially from an image as large as one from the 50D, when you're trying to shove a gallon into a pint pot, irespective of whether you've sharpened it at the larger size or not (in fact you shouldn't do - just sharpen the image at it's final output size.

Sorry mate, I just realised that your edit box isn't ticked and I shouldn't have edited your image - say the word and I'll delete it, although it's often a lot easier to help someone with an edit rather than a couple of thousand words.
 
CT im happy for you to edit!! :) Soz really tired. Will look at all this in the morning... so much to take in for such a small mind :)
 
dubcat said:
CT im happy for you to edit!! :) Soz really tired. Will look at all this in the morning... so much to take in for such a small mind :)
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It's not a race and the 50D is a great camera. ;)

I'll remove my edit until such time as you tick your edit box Amir or I'm gonna have the mods on my case. :D
 
Couple of quick questions:

Spot metering, center point only or active focus point?

I'm thinking you have to spot meter with the center point and either recompose or remember the settings and switch to another focus point. Is that correct?

FE lock as above really, center point only or active focus point?

Cheers
 
Thread resurrected due to my recent upgrade! Great thread, found some of the tips very useful (esp the joystick / focus point tip!).

Keep em coming!
 
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