Stone the crows, the EOS 550d is DAMN good!

Moos3h

Moos3h

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Spent a nice lunchtime fondling an EOS 550d and taking some sample shots in the (amazingly bright) midday sun.

I am blown away by what a fine little camera this is. The colours, contrast and 'depth' to the shots, even the out of camera JPEGS are really very nice. The build is good, shame about the poxy viewfinder but I'm spoilt with the 1D series there...

But seriously, that is a FAB camera - well done Canon, it's light years ahead of the 450d and 500d in my opinion.

Cheers,
James
 
Moos3h said:
Spent a nice lunchtime fondling an EOS 550d and taking some sample shots in the (amazingly bright) midday sun.
Click to expand...

Isn't this the proviso? Only really better than the 500d at base ISO? I don't know, I'm a Noinker :thinking:
 
It's supposed to be very good at high ISO too and features a new AF system.
 
I have had my 550D for a few weeks now and I'm very impressed with it - and I had a 40D, 5D and 5D Mark II before it (sold the latter on here very recently due to sheer lack of time to use such a fab, but expensive, camera).

I wanted something a fair bit smaller and lighter than all of those - I think the size of the 550D is great - a little small for some but perfect for me. It makes me take it with me more often - I found the 5DII was getting left at home a bit too much for my liking!

The IQ is stunning - as good as the 7D it seems - and it is excellent at high ISO (up to 3200). I have no problem with shooting at ISO 800 or 1600 all day if necessary, given that I don't need to make huge prints.

The 3:2 LCD is stunning and far better than the 4:3 one on my 5DII.

I'm currently sorting out my lens collection to get the best out of it.

Lenses I'm trying include:

Serious stuff:

17-55 2.8 IS - Had one of these already and love it - but it's heavy. Brilliant versatility with constant 2.8 and IS. Even the 24-70L doesn't give you that on full frame...

Tamron 17-50 2.8 - Briefly tried one the other day - awesome lens, very compact, great colours & contrast, well made, super sharp wide open and amazing value. I have a new one on order from OneStopDigital. The 17-55 IS might well have to go!

50mm 1.8 Mk1 - think I'll keep this for its light weight, IQ and my copy is mint - and they are quite rare nowadays with the metal mount, distance scale etc etc. Only reason I'd sell it is because I have the focal length covered with a fast lens already.

85mm 1.8 - simply stunning for portraits, low light, events, and long enough for candid shots. Marvellous lens!

70-200 F4L IS - what can I say....this one isn't going anywhere! Hooked up to my Canon 1.4x TC when required it's perfect for motorsport and anything else, for that matter.

Lightweight lenses / Travel:

18-55 IS (Kit lens) - brilliant for it's size & weight - no brainer - keeping it! Only worth £65 anyway!

17-85 IS - Love this lens (great range and very sharp) but it's a bit slow (compared to the 2.8 zooms!)

55-250 IS - Cheap, well made, amazingly sharp for £150 wide open throughout the range including 250mm (yes, really!). If you have a crop sensor Canon and want a cheap zoom - this is the one. Try it - you'll be amazed for the price. I think it's as good as my old 70-300 IS was (at twice the price).

Sorry this has almost turned into a quick lens review. Fact is, they all perform very well on the 550D. I think the 550D IQ is better than my old 40D was, more detail, and better at ISO 800 & 1600 for sure.

I've tried it at Mallory Park on a test day and the AF copes absolutely fine with fast cars / panning etc so no problems there.

The only negative I can find about it is the ISO increments - 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 etc - i.e. nothing in between. I used that a lot on the 5DII.

All in all I'm delighted with my 550D so far. If anyone wants to know anything specific....feel free to ask :thumbs:
 
It does sound like a very big upgrade of the 500d on paper.

I saw a reseller offering cash-back if you trade-in your 50d in a mag. Is this the end of the xxd series, can it be that good? On paper it seems to make a xxd could offer very little extra without stepping on the toes of the 7d except having a nicer body and more FPS.
 
I think the xxD bodies just offer better build and in some people's opinion better ergonomics, as well as some more 'features'. Really I'd be extremely surprised if the 40D can deliver better image quality than the 1000D, and the 50D better then the 500 or 550D.

There are certain people that will swear blind that an xxD body is better than an xxxD body in every way possible but I think it's carp tbh - and they usually offer no explanation other than the usual tripe - bigger viewfinder and more holdable... come on.
 
And there are other people who are so envious of the xxD series that they feel the need to diss it at every opportunity.

Seriously the biggest drawback of the xxxD range for me is the size, even with a grip attached I find them too small. I also find it easier to change settings with the extra controls and top LCD on my 50D.

Having said that they are cracking cameras but just don't suit me.
 
Sorry forgot to ask have you tried the hd video recording if
So is it any good
Cheers
 
I keep meaning to try out the video on mine but, to happy snappin for now.

is there a list somewhere of what lens = what when used on the 550D ?

50mm = 85mm
28mm = 50mm

and If I got the 28mm will the IQ be as good as the 50 everyone raves about? aaaaggh I got a headache thinkin about it lol
 
martyp said:
I saw a reseller offering cash-back if you trade-in your 50d in a mag. Is this the end of the xxd series, can it be that good? On paper it seems to make a xxd could offer very little extra without stepping on the toes of the 7d except having a nicer body and more FPS.
Click to expand...

remember that the 50D is due for replacement any time soon, various rumours going around. the xxd and xxxd series are both very different beasts, i remember seeing similar things when they brought out the 400d or 450d....


I recently bought a 50D, i considered getting a 550d but decided against it, its simply too small for my liking and whilst a cracking camera, it wasnt for me! the 50d provides much more for me personally, jog wheel, joystick, viewer on the top and overall size, 1.3rd stop ISO etc all count in the favour of the xxd series.
 
Sausages said:
is there a list somewhere of what lens = what when used on the 550D ?

50mm = 85mm
28mm = 50mm
Click to expand...

Just multiply by 1.6 to attain crop equivalence.

10 - 16
18 - 28.8
55 - 88
100 - 160
200 - 320
250 - 400
300 - 480
400 - 640
500 - 800
600 - 960
 
Sausages said:
I keep meaning to try out the video on mine but, to happy snappin for now.

is there a list somewhere of what lens = what when used on the 550D ?

50mm = 85mm
28mm = 50mm

and If I got the 28mm will the IQ be as good as the 50 everyone raves about? aaaaggh I got a headache thinkin about it lol
Click to expand...

on a 1.6 crop camera just multiply the focal length by 1.6 to give you the 'crop' focal length.

so a 50mm lens becomes an 80mm, your 28mm becomes a 44.5mm lens so pretty much a 50mm all said and done!
 
I LOVE my 550d. I find it the perfect size and weight and the functions are easy to hand and feel nice in use. I just need to find a really decent lens. I have the 17-50 Tamron but find it too short. I found while on holiday that I kept hitting the 50mm end and wanting more.

Looking at 24-105L IS or maybe the 15-85 IS. I found that most images I took on holiday were beyond f2.8 so f4ish would be fine and I'll get a f1.4 prime for those bokeh moments!
 
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