Thoughts about the new Canon EOS 50D
There have been some discussions about the new 50D and its image quality on different forums lately, many adressing the IQ on higher ISOs. I have done some testing on my new 50D, comparing it with both 40D and 5D and have come to the same conclusion as many others; the 5D is doing better at 3200 ISO, and the 40D do have some more noise. Banding is visible at 6400 and 12800 ISO.
What few people seems to be aware of is the IQ at lower ISOs. I have done som testing comparing the 50D image quality with 100 ISO - and is quite impressed. The following samples are done with the same lens (Canon 24-105 L IS) at f8, 1 sec exp time and small adjustments in zooming to correct sensor size. Images are all done in RAW and processed in DPP.
As test target I used an old Paterson testcard. It is for comparision only, res numbers can not be read out from the numbers on the board, but you will see differences in the ability to resolve the finest lines. Also take a look at the siemens-star in the bottom left corner, and note where the lines start bending.
As you will see here the 5D is holding res longer than 40D (no surprise..), and 50D is doing a good job holding res as expected from a 15 mp camera. As you can see in others samples on the web overall IQ at lower ISOs is great on the 50D!
Next workshop coming up; Arctic light in Alta Norway 29.11 - 04.12.08. More on this here: nordisknaturfoto.net
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Spring workshop; Birdlife in Alta and Finnmark Norway 22.05 - 28.05.09. More on this here: nordisknaturfoto.net
