help with upgrading, 50D vs T2i

[mandyatm]

I get the impression that the T2i is more on the consumer end, whereas the 50D is more mid-level. I need to upgrade my camera for my business and can't decide between these two models. The T2i has more megapixels and video capabilities, and is in the same price range, so why is it considered less of an upgrade? Can someone explain the differences further?

I am also considering the 7D for the video capabilities, but I am trying to understand the difference in price before taking the plunge. Thanks!!!

[inkista]

My advice? Wait a month or two if you can. The Photokina product announcements are almost upon us, and the rumors of a 60D are flying. What most folks are hoping for is a 50D successor that will bring the sensor technology of the camera up to the 7D/T2i sensor, and maybe a few 7D features thrown in--particularly HD video.

As for what's going on with the prices, most cameras lose value over time. The longer a model's been out, the less it costs. The 50D, when it was introduced, MSRPed for $1300 (body only). It's been out for more than two years. This table on Wikipedia lays out the age and tier of each camera model, it should make the picture a little clearer. But yes, the 50D is more of a mid-range model than the T2i. Bu the T2i is newer with more advanced sensor technology.

[look_yau]

If you can afford, go for 7D.

T2i & 7D got the same sensor and T2i is effectively a strip down version of 7D.
But 7D got a much better body build and it is easier to control.

[mandyatm]

Thanks! I would love the 7D, but I was hoping to get a body and a new lens in this upgrade! I guess I just need to understand how one will benefit me over the other.

My main issues right now are slow focusing and noise at high ISO - high by being more that 200 on my Canon Rebel. I hate that. It is fine in my home studio since I have my strobes, but for outdoors when I am trying to shoot an hour before sunset, I have to push the ISO occasionally and I notice the noise big time even at 400. So I need a camera that will help with this.

If I decide on the 50D, I will definitely wait for either the price to go down or get the 60D when it comes out. But I wonder if it will cost as much as the 7D anway.

Also, the lenses I use are the 50mm 1.8 and 28-135mm IS. Will upgrading my camera alone help with the noise or will I need to upgrade the glass too? I plan to get one more lens, not sure which yet.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by mandyatm

My main issues right now are slow focusing and noise at high ISO - high by being more that 200 on my Canon Rebel. I hate that. It is fine in my home studio since I have my strobes, but for outdoors when I am trying to shoot an hour before sunset, I have to push the ISO occasionally and I notice the noise big time even at 400. So I need a camera that will help with this.

You want the 7D or a full-frame then. THe 50D isnt exactly stellar at higher ISO.

[mandyatm]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

You want the 7D or a full-frame then. THe 50D isnt exactly stellar at higher ISO.

But is it a significant improvement over the Rebel XT?

[inkista]

The 7D is an improvement over the 50D, but I found the 50D to be significant improvement iso-wise to my old XT. About a stop's worth of noise cleanup (i.e., iso 800 on the 50D looks a lot like iso 400 on the XT), and the extended range are both very useful. I'm not sure I'd go around shooting things at 6400, but here's a photo I took handheld at night at iso 3200 on my 50D:


Canon 50D, adapted Contax Zeiss Planar T* 100/2. iso 3200, f/4, 1/100s. Shot RAW, handheld, processed in Lightroom.

full size here.

I may have applied some noise reduction, but nothing more than basic messing with the sliders in Lightroom.

Most people who mouth off about the "lousy" high-iso performance of a 50D have never actually shot with one. While it's not full-frame performance by any means, it's certainly not piss-poor either. And, as I said before, it's definitely better than the XT.

Where the 50D might actually disappoint you vs. the XT is at the other end. iso 100 and iso 200 are nigh-on indistinguishable on the 50D, and the dynamic range certainly has a little less latitude: you've got to be a bit more careful about placing your exposure in the histogram. But the higher resolution certainly makes up for a lot of that persnicketiness.

[mandyatm]

Thanks! What do you mean about the problems on the other end - with 100 and 200 ISO? There is noise?

[inkista]

What I mean is that with the roughly-one-stop improvement, you'd hope that when you got the 50D, that iso 200 would look like iso 100 on your XT, and that iso 100 would look like a theoretical iso 50 on the XT. But what you get are an iso 100 and iso 200 that both look the same: kind of like iso 100 to iso 200 would on an XT.

The noise/pixel character between the sensors is different. It's just not going to look like what you expect (which is why you'll want to take a look at that full-size image I linked to above). I was already acquainted with this from switching from my S30 to my G9. It's not so much that the 50D is sooo much better than the XT--it's really only marginally so, aside from the resolution jump, but it is different, and you may not like that difference, at least at first--particularly if you're used to pixel-peeping. But the 7D, 500D/550D will exhibit this exact same difference of "flavor."

[inkista]

Suddenly realized nobody explained the difference between the T2i and the 50D. In general, all of the additional features of the 50D are about usability, not so much about image quality. Stuff the 50D has that the T2i doesn't would include:

• Heavier/larger magnesium alloy body. It can take a bit more abuse than the dRebel plastic body, and for many has a more comfortable grip.
• Dual-wheel controls (e.g., one wheel for aperture, the other for shutter speed in M mode. No need for an AV-+/= "mode" button, and a dial & joystick vs. four-way direction buttons)
• Pentaprism instead of pentamirror. (brighter, clearer)
• Secondary LCD display and dedicated buttons on top of camera for quick settings changes without going through the menu.
• Slightly larger view in the viewfinder (.87x vs. .94x)
• PC port for off-camera flash triggering
• Faster max. shutter speed (1/8000s vs. 1/4000s)
• Custom menu settings [i.e., you can store two new "modes" from the current camera settings.]
• Faster frame rate (6fps vs. 3 fps) for continuous bursts
• Damped shutter sound.
• Interchangeable focus screens
• Autofocus microadjustment
• More sophisticated autofocus sensor array; all are cross-type, not just the center one.
• Optional Wi-Fi grip for untethered remote shooting.

On the flip side, the 550D has some stuff the 50D doesn't.

• Video capable.
• Higher resolution (18mp vs. 15mp)
• Improved sensor technology
• Larger EC range (+/- 5EV vs. +/- 2EV)
• Higher resolution LCD.
• Ability to use an infrared remote (RC-1, RC-5)