an upgrade at x-mas?
· Saturday August 23, 2008
As you all probably know already, I am in the midst of thesis hell at the moment. The word count is floating somewhere around 35,000 words, with 80ish figures floating about the pages. I have one chapter of results left to write, then the discussion and conclusions chapter, followed by all the appendices, current corrections, and then one final round of conclusions. All to be done in the next 5 weeks! Yay!
So why, in the midst of all this, am I looking at camera bodies in anticipation of x-mas? Well, for one, a number of websites published (more-reliable-than-usual) rumors of Canon 50D specs on Friday. This website tells the story of how the specs were ‘leaked’ on the Canon China website. Here are the supposed stats from the fredmiranda website:
1.6x crop
15.1MP —- 4752 × 3168 pixels
JPEG´s + RAW + sRAW1 + sRAW2
Dust Reduction
Digic IV
Auto Brightness Processing
95% viewfinder .97 magnification
9 point af (All Cross Type)
AF Fine Tuning [AF microadjustment]
Face recognition for AF
ISO 100-3200 Expanded 6400-12800
Auto ISO 100-1600
LCD VGA type 920,000
6.3 FPS (high speed) 3fps (low speed)
Buffer: 16 RAW – 60 JPG – 10 RAW+JPG
Pop-Up flash (13/43 at ISO 100)
UDMA Support
Camera User settings C1 & C2
Shutter Actuations: 100,000
All in all, it sounds like a 40D with greater resolution, ridiculously high ISO capabilities, and faster processing. What follows is basically just me thinking aloud about cameras to which I might upgrade; if this bores you, feel free to pop back when returning to regularly scheduled photo-talk (in, oh, 5 weeks or so after I hand in my thesis).
I’ve had my 350D for more than 2 years now, and we’ve had a lot of fun together. And yes, we all know it’s the photographer that makes great pictures, not the camera… but… shiny!! I’ve been considering upgrading for a while now that I have a bit more cash in the ole account, so x-mas this year seems sensible.
There’s also been talk of a 5D Mk II, an updated version of Canon’s lower-end full-frame dSLR; this would make a lot of photographers out there very, very happy (and much, much poorer). So here are my potential upgrade options, in order of descending price:
1. 5D Mk II (if it’s on sale by x-mas)
2. 5D Mk I
3. 50D
4. 40D
5. 450D
Guessing at prices around Christmas, I’d say these bodies will go for somewhere between $2500-3000 at the upper end down to $600ish at the lower end (in US stores, of course— UK stores typically see a 40ish% markup).
450 vs 40
- The 450 has 12.2 megapixels vs the 40’s 10.1. This isn’t a big deal to me, because in 3 years of serious(ish) photography I’ve printed ONE 12×18” photo, and it looked pretty darned good from my 8 megapixel sensor =)
- both have the DIGIC 3 processor
- the 450 now uses SD cards (a good thing) while the 40 still uses CF cards
- the 450 has 14-bits of A/D conversion, whereas the 40D is still at 12-bit
- both have a sensor-cleaning mode
- the 450 is about half as expensive as the 40 on amazon right now.
Based on this list, it seems like the 450 is a clear winner. The major pros that the 40D holds for me are the ISO 3200 capability, a bigger viewfinder (0.95x vs 0.87x), and better construction (sealing). But at double the price, that’s a tall order.
450 vs 50
To be honest, there are very few practical differences between the 40 and the 50 for me (on paper), so I’d probably still go for a 450 for the cheaper price if it were just between these two.
450 vs 5D vs 5D Mk II
Well, who knows when the new 5D will be released. I’ve been reading rumors pages for weeks, which seem to suggest early September may be the time to expect an announcement (before or around Photokina). But given the 5D’s current $2300 body-only price tag on Amazon, you can bet the new one ain’t gonna be cheap. Will the new features be worth the wait? Well, we have to wait to know if it’s worth the wait, haha.
But really, 450D vs 5D is a tough call. The 450 is currently 1/4th the price of the 5D, a point which is not insignificant to yours truly, ladies and gentlemen. If the 5D falls below $1800, it would be seriously tempting; though this seems unlikely due to its continued popularity.
People talk about the film-like quality of the 5D’s images, and its fantastic low-light resolution due to the larger sensor. But there are several major downsides for me right now— the price (duh), the weight, and the fact that most of the lenses I own are built for a crop body (EF-S type).
The 5D weighs 1.8 pounds vs the 450’s 1.1 pounds. This might not seem like much, but when it’s around your neck all day, it definitely makes a difference. I have enjoyed the lightweight nature of my 350D, and especially with the 18-55mm IS kit lens, it hardly wears on you at all.
As for the lens issue, it’s not just that most of my lenses are crop-type; I’ve read that you really should have a high quality lens on a full-frame camera to make the most of it. Though having easy-access to wide angle lenses on the FF sensor would be nice :-)
Alas, it’s all still a bit unclear. I think the prices nearer to x-mas will be a determining factor. Or I could break out and go Pentax, with their great lineup of prime lenses and in-body image-stabilisation. And if all else fails, I can just buy more lenses =) Like… a nice wide-angle!
— Emery Ku
Thoughts?
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