I recently ditched my 30D for the 50D. Among the principal reasons I decided to get the 50D instead of waiting for the 5D MkII model to come out was that I was able to utilize everything I already had for my 30D since they are compatible. This is a great feature because I can continue to use my batteries, grip and remote without a problem.

What caught my attetion is the new screen, it is perhaps the most perceptible upgrade to anyone who has used a 30 or 20D, the screen is really clear and the better resolution is visible from the instant you turn it on.

The Digic 4 system is a far easier sustem to get along with when you compare it with previous models, not to mention the user custom menu which permits you to configure your preferred settings all in one place.

If I have to be honest though, the 15 megapixel sensor is overkill in my opinion. Anoter thing is that there’s a tad much attention driven to the ‘make it higher everytime’ aspect of these gadgets given by the camera companies. I would consider 8 megapixels to be more than enough for the average person and it’s big enough for most regular size prints, I have printed almost 13 inches without a problem. The one advantage the extra mega pixels will give you is the ability to crop closer in post processing.

The Live view feature is nice, but I probably won’t use it. Among the causes I prefer the DSLR over the point and shoot is the way the view finder allows me to see the shot and frame exactly the way I want with no distractions. I personally think that Live view is a curious feature to store in a mid to high range DSLR, but I’m able to see where the company would like to aim for those folks accustomed to point and shoot cameras. This is likely something designed to quietly drive us towards the video/still camera fashion of which the 5D mkII is the future I am sure.

I have to admit that I was at first somewhat concerned of how sharp the images looked at the full resolution. I shoot with the 24-105 F4/L and 70-200 F/4L and both of these lenses look incredibly sharp on my 30D. Nonetheless, I consider now that it’s the software that is to blame, To be fair, I have never been really impressed with Canon’s software systems and I am pleased that Adobe released Camera RAW 4.6 to permit me to return to Bridge and Photoshop. I trust that Lightroom 2.1 arrives soon as that’s my normal line of work, as well as my image management application program.

The JPEG files managed in camera are fine… that’s until you discover what the RAW files are able to do. Still, it is nice to use in camera JPEG’s while I am merely doing point and shot.

The camera is really solid, not to metion the build quality which is excellent. The main scroll wheel is much better than the one in my 30D which I always felt was a little soft on the clicks.

I’m worried that for the first time on this day I got the err99 that a lot of people have reported and I can only hope that it was a one off and not a sign of what’s to come as a result of a hardware failure in a camera which is almost new. There are a good deal of comments out there on dpreview.com discussing these issues and I would suggest that you read them.

All in all, I’m content with the upgrade (assuming the err99 doesn’t become a recurrent problem), although when it comes to the images, I do not understand what makes up for the upgrade price for any 30D owners, let alone the 40D owners. The main reasons I upgraded would be the new screen that at last enables me to check focus and also the sensor cleaner (Which is great because dust was always a problem on my 30D sensor).