Canon USA Officially Launches 15MP EOS 50D Digital SLR

Canon EOS 50D Digital SLR

After days of speculation and false posts (which to the jaded eye is of course part of the whole marketing game) Canon USA today officially announced the EOS 50D digital SLR, updating its predecessor the Canon EOS 40D.

Among the major improvements: a 15.1-megapixel CMOS sensor powered by Canon’s new DIGIC 4 image engine. This faster processor makes automatic adjustments in-camera such as peripheral illumination correction which was previously done in post-process. The faster processing speed of the camera’s DIGIC 4 image processor also allows 6.3 frame-per-second (fps) continuous shooting capability (for bursts of up to 90 Large/Fine JPEGs or 16 RAW images on a UDMA CF card).

The new EOS 50D is targeted at advanced amateur photographers. It features a new Creative Full Auto setting (CA) which allows users to make adjustments before shooting while still in an Automatic mode, without needing to know the meaning of technical terms such as aperture, shutter speed, etc.

In this mode, Canon said, the camera menu on the back screen spells out options in common language for average photo enthusiasts, allowing them to “blur the background” or “lighten or darken the image.” These easy-to-comprehend image options will help amateur photographers improve the shots they are capable of taking, while helping them learn new techniques. When in the new CA mode, users will be able to adjust flash settings, brighten or darken images, blur the background, set the camera’s drive mode, and select a picture style directly on the camera’s LCD screen.

The Canon EOS 50D will ship in October with retail prices at $1400 for the body only, and $1600 kitted with Canon’s EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM zoom lens.

[Via: Canon USA]

Published by Chris Malinao

Chris teaches Lightroom as workflow software to photography students at the FPPF, Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation. He also teaches smartphone photography.