Canon 550D is here 18MP & HD video

bartoszwozniak said:
I do not see Canon's logic and strategy here. In my personal opinion, they rush the cameras and they just bring them out one after the other too quickly. The 50D seems 'old junk' now!! What about the 7D, the 550D, the 500D and even the 450D??? They are just all coming in and out too quickly.
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Such is the way with bodies! I recently bought a 50D, and while I don't think of it as new, i just need to remind myself that it's still a fantastic camera, and while there may be better ones now, it'll still far out-perform me :thumbs:

I don't know why Canon haven't done with the 550 what they did with the G11. Take a step back from the megapixel war, and concentrate on low-light capabilities, and the other more subtle features.

The only reason I can see for this is that as DSLRs become more popular, the lower-end models are going to be more aimed at people who have less understanding of the ins and outs of sensors, noise etc etc, and think more megapixels is better!
 
I am beginning to worry about Canon and their obsession with megapixels especially in a camera that being a XXXD is aimed at more of a consumer rather than a prosumer market,or is that it people upgrading from a compact are obsessed with megapixels.However Nikon seem to be taking a more logical approach improving things like noise whilst keeping the pixels at a more reasonable and perfectly adequate 12 meg
 
Thought that the 500D was pushing it a bit with 15mp, but obviously not

Seems that the pixel war carries on, I thought it more likely to become the battle of the high ISO

Do agree its a strange choice when a 60D looked a much better candidate to replace an older model
 
CaptainPenguin said:
I am beginning to worry about Canon and their obsession with megapixels especially in a camera that being a XXXD is aimed at more of a consumer rather than a prosumer market,or is that it people upgrading from a compact are obsessed with megapixels.However Nikon seem to be taking a more logical approach improving things like noise whilst keeping the pixels at a more reasonable and perfectly adequate 12 meg
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100% in agreement personally I'd rather clean ISO6400 with 12mp than slightly noisy 3200 at 18mp.

I think it would be nice to see canon make a 5d style camera with proper AFand just 12mp but good high ISO and a 7d price tag.
 
CaptainPenguin said:
I am beginning to worry about Canon and their obsession with megapixels especially in a camera that being a XXXD is aimed at more of a consumer rather than a prosumer market,or is that it people upgrading from a compact are obsessed with megapixels.However Nikon seem to be taking a more logical approach improving things like noise whilst keeping the pixels at a more reasonable and perfectly adequate 12 meg
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Thank you. Its nice to see someone with a similar approach to me.
 
Totally agree with those with reservations about the pixel density.. I doubt anyone really needs 18mp; especially at the entry level of the market.

Just think how much less noise and more dynamic range could have been offered with current gains in technology, had the pixel count been kept to something sensible.

I'm very happy with my 40D at the moment, but even if I had the inclination and money wouldn't humour the "upgrade" to any of Canon's newer crop bodies.

Would like a 5D II but would be tempted to go with a D700 instead as a tip of the hat to Nikon's more rational and less marketing driven approach to sensor design.
 
bartoszwozniak said:
The 50D seems 'old junk' now!!
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I dont agree with that at all. I used to have a 400D, when I upgraded to the 50D the difference is night and day. 50D is more solid to hold and easier to use due to the second control wheel. Also the 50D autofocus is better, fps are faster etc...

The 550D is a nice camera with some great features but it will still feel like a toy compared to a 50D or any of the other XXD range. The only reason I want one is because of the video features, it will be complimenting my 50D not replacing it. I'd replace the 50D with a 60D if Canon ever release one but not with a 550D for sure.
 
I see no reason to upgrade to 550d.. better get a used xxd for the better iso :D
 
any one know the release date in america
off to las vegas towards the end of the month and one could fall into my bag :naughty:
 
terryuk said:
any one know the release date in america
off to las vegas towards the end of the month and one could fall into my bag :naughty:
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Fancy getting two? :)

anyone prepared to guesstimate a timescale as to when the uk price may drop?
 
now this sucks butt big time. Only had 500d for a couple of months and already replaced :(

here starts yet another similar to computers and mobiles. U buy brand new a couple months later its been replaced killing u off price wise without even started
 
djbolf said:
Fancy getting two? :)

anyone prepared to guesstimate a timescale as to when the uk price may drop?
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As soon as retailers have stock I think the price will drop by £100, then within a couple of months I think the price will fall further to around the £600 mark. I'm hoping to pick one up just before the end of May for about £600 anyway. I'm sure importers and Kerso will be able to better that price also.
 
P-Chan said:
now this sucks butt big time. Only had 500d for a couple of months and already replaced :(

here starts yet another similar to computers and mobiles. U buy brand new a couple months later its been replaced killing u off price wise without even started
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But is there anything wrong withh the 500 does it do all you want,if so why change unless you have an urge to always have the latest version
 
CaptainPenguin said:
But is there anything wrong withh the 500 does it do all you want,if so why change unless you have an urge to always have the latest version
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my 500 is a little angel for me cant complain. The only thing i liked more about the 550 is the better iso. Not keen about having latest eitehr. Its just u buy a brand new car and a month later a newer model comes out. If I wanted to sell my 500 in a couple months now for a full frame upgrade then its gonna be harder now unless u lower the money considerably. My thoughts at least
 
Be interested to see how anyone here would spec up a mythical 60D without it being a 7D. Has the xxD line reached its end?
 
dlh said:
Be interested to see how anyone here would spec up a mythical 60D without it being a 7D. Has the xxD line reached its end?
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Does rather make you wonder why Canon didn't call the 7D the 60D as the 550D was in the pipeline, as it certainly seems to have left nowhere for the xxD range to go.
 
I was really hoping for this package of features rolled into the 50D chassis as my next upgrade. According to the release notes in the press releases section yesterday, they're also taking the opportunity to kill off the 450d, so it's going to be the 550,500 and 1000 as the small body size kit...
 
TheBigYin said:
I was really hoping for this package of features rolled into the 50D chassis as my next upgrade. According to the release notes in the press releases section yesterday, they're also taking the opportunity to kill off the 450d, so it's going to be the 550,500 and 1000 as the small body size kit...
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I thought I read it was going to be 450,500 & 550.... IIRC the 450 is staying as a 'low end' camera...

Terran
 
P-Chan said:
my 500 is a little angel for me cant complain. The only thing i liked more about the 550 is the better iso. Not keen about having latest eitehr. Its just u buy a brand new car and a month later a newer model comes out. If I wanted to sell my 500 in a couple months now for a full frame upgrade then its gonna be harder now unless u lower the money considerably. My thoughts at least
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Wouldn't worry about it tbh - although the 550D ISO goes higher, I'd expect the quality to be pretty ropey. Might even get better results underexposing with the 500D and pushing them in post processing ;)
 
tijuana taxi said:
Seems that the pixel war carries on, I thought it more likely to become the battle of the high ISO
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Canon seem to be fighting this war on their own. Nikon are quite clear that their strategy is to focus on image quality and low noise at the expense of MP. Canon seem to sacrifice IQ and noise for MP. If Pros can survive on a D3S why go any higher than 12MP, which is just enough for a 50MB file typically required by agencies?
 
P-Chan said:
my 500 is a little angel for me cant complain. The only thing i liked more about the 550 is the better iso.
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But the chances are that the 500D will have better ISO performance than the 550D as at 18mp the pixel density will be so high that noise is inevitable. Just because the numbers go higher on paper doesn't make it better.
 
The Technology is advancing so fast, it was only a few years ago when I bought a 350D and that had 8mp and iso1600!

1000D

550D

50D

7D

5D mkII

1Ds mkIII

1D IV

Am I right in thinking this is the current line up? Why would they replace the 50D, I assumed the 7D was replacing the XXD series???
 
To be honest the 7d was logically the successor to the 40d/50d, but I think when they priced it out it was too expensive to make at the XXd pricepoint so they aligned it to the Xd's instead.
 
Is there any need for such high MP? What is the optimum megapixel on a cropped sensor before you see no huge performance?

Also surely the higher the megapixel the more need for better lenses and if this sells like 500D (many friends who bought this saw it as a starter model) then many people will have poorer image quality as the lenses they have tend to be lower range models.
 
wingo said:
Is there any need for such high MP? What is the optimum megapixel on a cropped sensor before you see no huge performance?

Also surely the higher the megapixel the more need for better lenses and if this sells like 500D (many friends who bought this saw it as a starter model) then many people will have poorer image quality as the lenses they have tend to be lower range models.
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I don't think consumers need that many MP. We are into billboard territory already, and most will print 6x4 or 8x10 max. For A3 and A2 it does make sense even after a little cropping.

Also note, that the prints will not look any worse than they come from the lower mp cameras. Effectively they end up resized to a given print size at ~300 dpi, making the final output files very similar. If I remember correctly 6x4 only needs 1800x1200 px.
The difference only becomes visible at 100% magnification. Furthermore, photos taken with bad glass like 18-55mm kit lens look horrible even at flickr sizes. Good glass is always needed for decent output, regardless of MP.
 
Perhaps Canon will surprise us and bring out a 60D with 12 megapixels and superb high ISO performance, bearing in mind that the 50D is the APS-C camera of choice for a lot os sports/action shooters.
 
People are obviously buying these 'consumer' end upgrades though, otherwise Canon wouldn't keep releasing them. I upgraded to a 450D when it came out from a 400D, as I wanted spot metering and live view but I've seen little need to upgrade since then. If I did, would I get a 500D or 550D?? No, I'd probably get a refurbed 40D or new 50D, as I'd like to have the improved AF sensors, and the shutter sounds nicer!! :D
 
They could make it a 60D simply by putting the same internals in a 50D chasis so you get the top screen and the jog wheel and then up the fps slightly.
 
I see that they are already being discounted, £725 at Best Cameras.
 
The best reason I can see for massive MPs is that it allows more flexibility to crop the image later. For example, I love wildlife (and especially big cats in the wild), but getting close even with 300mm+ lenses (looking to hire 500mm IS next time to Tanzania) is often very difficult. SO you get the shot that you can and then crop it later in PP.

If you start from 10MP, then you are limited as to how far you can crop before the results are disappointing. At 18MP you can have a 30% greater magnification.
 
TheBigYin said:
To be honest the 7d was logically the successor to the 40d/50d, but I think when they priced it out it was too expensive to make at the XXd pricepoint so they aligned it to the Xd's instead.
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I think TBH that with the release of the 500D the xxD lineup was coming to an end. Canon then released a 1000D and still sold the 450D, total confusion to me and it's just getting worse. It used to be so simple, the xxxD for the beginners, xxD for intermediates and xD for Professionals and a pretty logical step up each series, now it's all over the place.

I've always been tempted by the 7D, just the high MP issue was pushing me away, I would much rather have 10-12mp and much better ISO performance any day of the week.

Perhaps Canon will release a 60D with 10-12mp and make it a high iso performer, leaving the others for the high mp users (sort of like the 1D and 1Ds comparison). If they don't i'd be seriously considering moving over to Nikon before I get any more new lenses. The problem with Nikon is the almost primitive nature of the video modes (which I am interested in).
 
grahamsewelluk said:
The best reason I can see for massive MPs is that it allows more flexibility to crop the image later. For example, I love wildlife (and especially big cats in the wild), but getting close even with 300mm+ lenses (looking to hire 500mm IS next time to Tanzania) is often very difficult. SO you get the shot that you can and then crop it later in PP.

If you start from 10MP, then you are limited as to how far you can crop before the results are disappointing. At 18MP you can have a 30% greater magnification.
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The problem with that is even the sharpest lenses start to blur in this range, so a 50% crop wouldn't be something I would want to blow up to any decent size. Yeah massive crops are fine for those that only ever post on forums at 800x533 but not for those that want to print at A4 and bigger.
 
That looks real sweet...got me tempted....still way too pricey for me though. :'(
 
I bought a 3.2mp p&s about 6 years ago, it took better pictures than cheap 10mp cameras until it broke last year. My point being that less than 1% of all people need 18mp, I hate how people continue to think camera's are better because they have more pixels!!! I bet it wont be able to take better pics than a 10mp 40D :razz:
 
The 550D is now available at Jessops. I think prices will start dropping by the end of March :)
 
pauljs said:
I see that they are already being discounted, £725 at Best Cameras.
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that's still a ridiculous price for what is essentially a 450D with video and more pixels - which is all what the 500D was as well.
 
trencheel303 said:
that's still a ridiculous price for what is essentially a 450D with video and more pixels - which is all what the 500D was as well.
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Shop around, you can get a 550D body for less than £600 if you know where to go ;)
 
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