The Canon EOS 50D performs very well and deserves an excellent rating among DSLR cameras. Image quality is certainly good with low-noise, good color accuracy and reliable exposure. The 50D is also one of the fastest and most quiet DSLRs.

 

When the Canon 50D is compared to its predecessor, the Canon EOS 40D, results are somewhat surprising. It turns out that the older 40D actually outperforms the 50D in several key areas including dynamic-range, retention of details and speed. Now, the differences are slight and the 50D offers a much better LCD among mostly minor improvements. The conclusion from this is that owners of a 40D should not upgrade to the 50D and, as long as the 40D is still available, the 40D is clearly the better buy. Plus, since the 40D goes for a few hundreds less, the difference can be spent on higher quality lenses which would improve total system performance.

 

The closest competitor to the 50D is the more expensive Nikon D300 which features a 100% coverage viewfinder, faster 8 FPS continuous drive and a 51-point autofocus system. In terms of image quality though, these perform very similarly with the Nikon D300 having a noticeable edge in terms of dynamic range.