Released August 2008

• 15.1 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
• 6.3fps continuous shooting, max. burst 90 JPEGs with UDMA card DIGIC 4 processor
• ISO 100-3200, expandable to 12800
• 9-point wide area AF
• 3-inch Clear View VGA LCD with Live View mode & Face Detection Live AF
• Magnesium alloy body, with environmental protection
• EOS Integrated Cleaning System
• HDMI connection for high quality viewing and playback on a High Definition TV
• Full compatibility with Canon EF and EF-S lenses and EX-series Speedlites

Image Sensor
Type 22.3mm x 14.9mm CMOS
Effective Pixels Approx. 15.10 megapixels
Total Pixels Approx. 15.50 megapixels
Aspect Ratio 3:2
Low-Pass Filter Built-in/Fixed
Sensor Cleaning EOS integrated cleaning system with fluorine coating
Colour Filter Type Primary Colour

Image Processor
Type DIGIC 4

Lens
Lens Mount EF/EF-S
Focal Length Equivalent to 1.6x the focal length of the lens

Focusing
Type TTL-CT-SIR with a CMOS sensor
AF Points 9 cross-type AF points (f/2.8 at centre)
AF working range EV -0.5 - 18 (at 23°C & ISO100)
AF Modes AI Focus;One Shot;AI Servo
AF Point Selection Automatic selection, Manual selection
Selected AF point display Superimposed in viewfinder and indicated on top LCD panel
Predictive AF (7) Yes, up to 8m
AF Lock Locked when shutter button is pressed half way in One Shot AF mode or AFON button is pressed.
AF Assist Beam Intermittent firing of built-in flash or emitted by optional dedicated Speedlite
Manual Focus Selected on lens, default in Live View Mode
AF Microadjustment C.Fn III-7; +/- 20 steps. Adjust all lenses by same amount.Adjust up to 20 lenses individually

Exposure Control
Metering modes TTL full aperture metering with 35 zone SPC
(1) Evaluative metering (linked to any AF point)
(2) Partial metering (approx. 9% of viewfinder at centre)
(3) Spot metering (approx. 3.8% viewfinder at centre)
(4) Centre weighted average metering
Metering Range EV 0-20 (at 23°C with 50mm f/1.4 lens ISO100)
AE Lock Auto: In 1-shot AF mode with evaluative metering exposure is locked when focus is achieved.
Manual: By AE lock button in creative zone modes.
Exposure Compensation +/-2 EV in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments (can be combined with AEB). AEB +/- 2 EV, 1/2 or 1/3-stop increments
ISO Sensitivity (8) Auto (100-1600), 100-3200 (in 1/3-stop or whole stop increments) ISO can be expanded to H1: 6400 and H2:12800

Shutter
Type Electronically-controlled focal-plane shutter
Speed 30-1/8000 sec (1/2 or 1/3 stop increments), Bulb (Total shutter speed range. Available range varies by shooting mode)

White Balance
Type Auto white balance with the imaging sensor
Settings AWB, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, White Fluorescent light, Flash, Custom, Colour Temperature Setting.
White balance compensation:
1. Blue/Amber +/-9
2. Magenta/ Green +/-9.
Custom White Balance Yes, 1 setting can be registered
WB Bracketing +/-3 levels in single level increments3 bracketed images per shutter release. Selectable Blue/Amber bias or Magenta/ Green bias.

Viewfinder
Type Pentaprism
Coverage (Vertical/Horizontal) Approx. 95%
Magnification Approx. 0.95x (4)
Eyepoint Approx. 22mm (from eyepiece lens centre)
Dioptre Correction -3 to +1 m-1 (dioptre)
Focusing Screen Interchangeable (3 types, optional). Standard Focusing Screen Precision Matte Ef-A
Mirror Quick-return half mirror (Transmission: reflection ratio of 40:60, no mirror cut-off with EF600mm f/4 or shorter)
Viewfinder Information AF information: AF points, focus confirmation light.
Exposure Information Shutter speed, aperture value, ISO speed (always displayed), AE lock, exposure level/compensation, spot metering circle, exposure warning, AEB.
Flash information: Flash ready, high-speed sync, FE lock, flash exposure compensation, red-eye reduction light.
Image information: White balance correction, CF card information, monochrome shooting, maximum burst (2 digit display), Highlight tonepriority (D+).
Depth of field preview Yes, with Depth of Field preview button.
Eyepiece shutter On strap

LCD Monitor
Type 3.0" Clear View TFT, approx. 920K dots
Coverage Approx. 100%
Viewing Angle (horizontally/vertically) Approx 160°
Coating Dual Anti-reflection
Brightness Adjustment Adjustable to one of seven levels
Display Options (1) Quick Control Screen (2) Camera settings

Flash
Built-in Flash GN (ISO 100, meters) 13 Built-in Flash Coverage up to 17mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 27mm)
Built-in Flash recycle time Approx. 3 seconds
Modes Auto, Manual Flash On/Off, Red-Eye Reduction
Red-Eye Reduction Yes
X-sync 1/250sec
Flash Exposure Compensation +/- 2EV in 1/2 or 1/3 increments
Flash Exposure Bracketing Yes, with compatible External Flash
Flash Exposure Lock Yes Second Curtain
Synchronisation Yes
HotShoe/ PC terminal Yes/ Yes
External Flash Compatibility E-TTL II with EX series Speedlites, wireless multi-flash support.
External Flash Control via camera menu screen

Shooting
Modes Auto, Creative Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Night Portrait, No Flash, Program AE, Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual, A-DEP, Custom (x2)
Picture Styles Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, User Defined(x3)
Colour Space sRGB and Adobe RGB
Image Processing Highlight Tone Priority
Auto Lighting Optimizer (4 settings)
Long exposure noise reduction
High ISO speed noise reduction (4 settings)
Auto Correction of Lens Peripheral illumination
Drive modes Single, Continuous L, Continuous H, Self timer (2s, 10s)
Continuous Shooting Max. Approx. 6.3fps. (speed maintained for up to 90 images (JPEG)(1)(with UDMA card), 16 images (RAW)) (2)

Live View Mode
Type Electronic viewfinder with image sensor
Coverage Approx. 100% (horizontally and vertically)
Frame Rate 30 fps
Focusing Manual Focus (Magnify the image 5x or 10x at any point on screen)
Autofocus: Quick mode, Live mode, Live Face detection mode
Metering Real-time evaluative metering with image sensor active metering time can be changed
Display Options Grid overlay (x2), Histogram

File Type
Still Image Type JPEG: Fine, Normal (Exif 2.21 [Exif Print] compliant) / Design rule for Camera File system (2.0), RAW: RAW, sRAW1, sRAW2 (14bit, Canon original RAW 2nd edition),Digital Print Order Format [DPOF] Version 1.1 compliant
RAW+JPEG simultaneous recording Yes, any combination of RAW + JPEG, sRAW1 + JPEG, sRAW2 + JPEG possible.
Image Size JPEG: (L) 4752x3168, (M) 3456x2304, (S) 2353x1568,
RAW: (RAW) 4752x3168, (sRAW1) 3267x2178, (sRAW2) 2376x1584
Folders New folders can be manually created and selected
File Numbering (1) Consecutive numbering (2) Auto reset (3) Manual reset

Other Features
Custom Functions 25 Custom Functions with 74 settings
Metadata Tag User copyright information
LCD Panel / Illumination Yes / Yes
Water/ Dust resistance Yes (6)
Intelligent Orientation Sensor Yes
Playback zoom 1.5x - 10x
Display Formats
(1) Single image with information (2 levels)
(2) Single image
(3) 4 image index
(4) 9 image index
(5) Magnified view
Slide Show Image selection: All images, by Date, by Folder
Playback time: 1/2/3/5 seconds
Repeat: On/Off
Histogram Brightness: Yes
RGB: Yes
Highlight Alert Yes
Image Erase/Protection Erase: Single image, All images in folder, Checkmarked images, unprotected images
Protection: Erase protection of one image at a time
Data Verification Original image verification data can be appended to the image (OSK-E3 required for verification)
Menu Categories
(1) Shooting menu (x2)
(2) Playback menu (x2)
(3) Setup menu (x3)
(4) Custom Functions menu
(5) My Menu
Menu Languages 25 Languages
English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese, Finnish, Italian,Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Arabic, Thai, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese
Firmware Update Update possible by the user.

Interface
Computer USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (Mini-B)
Other HDMI mini output, Video output (PAL/ NTSC), Extension system terminal (for WFT-E3)

Direct Print
Canon Printers Canon Compact Photo Printers and PIXMA Printers supporting PictBridge
PictBridge Yes

Storage

Type CompactFlash Type I/ II (Microdrive compatible, UDMA compatible), external storage with WFT-E3

Supported Operating System
PC & Macintosh Windows 2000 (SP4) / XP (SP2/SP3) / Vista inc SP1 (excl. Starter Edition) OS X v10.3-10.5

Software
Browsing & Printing ZoomBrowser EX / ImageBrowser
Image Processing Digital Photo Professional, Other PhotoStitch, EOS Utility (inc. Remote Capture, WFT utility*, Original Data Security Tools*), Picture Style Editor * Requires optional accessory

Power Source
Batteries Rechargeable Li-ion Battery BP-511/BP-511A or BP-512/BP-514 (BP-511A battery supplied), 1xCR2016 for date & settings
Battery life Approx. 640 (at 23°C, AE 50%, FE 50%) (5) Approx. 540 (at 0°C, AE 50%, FE 50%)
Battery Indicator 4 levels
Power saving Power turns off after 1, 2, 4, 8, 15 or 30mins.
Power Supply & Battery ChargersAC Adapter Kit ACK-E2, Compact power adapter CA-PS400, Battery charger CB-5L, Battery charger CG-570, Car Battery Cable Kit CB-570, Compact Power Adapter CA-570

Physical Specifications
Body Materials Magnesium Alloy body covers
Operating Environment 0 – 40 °C, 85% or less humidity
Dimensions (WxHxD) 145.5 x 107.8 x 73.5mm
Weight (body only) Approx. 730g

Accessories
Viewfinder Eyecup Eb, E-series Dioptric Adjustment Lens with Rubber Frame Eb,
Eyepiece Extender EP-EX15, Focusing Screens Ef (with Grid Ef-D, Super Precision Matte Ef-S), Angle Finder C
Wireless File Transmitter Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E3
Lenses All EF and EF-S lenses
Flash Canon Speedlites (220EX, 380EX, 420EX, 430EX, 430EX II,550EX, 580EX, 580EX II, Macro-Ring-Lite, MR-14EX, Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX, Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2
Battery Grip BG-E2N, BG-E2
Remote Controller/ Switch Remote control with N3 type contact, Wireless Controller LC-5
Other Original Data Security Kit OSK-E3

All data is based on Canon standard testing methods except where indicated.

8 Recommended Exposure Index Subject to change without notice.

4 with 50mm lens at infinity, -1m-1 dpt

5 Based on the CIPA Standard and using the batteries and memory card format supplied with the camera, except where indicated

6 Memory card and battery door only

7 with EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM at 50kph

1 Large/Fine(Quality 8) resolution

2 Based on Canon's testing conditions, JPEG, ISO 100, Standard Picture Style.

Varies depending on the subject, memory card brand and capacity, image recording quality, ISO speed, drive mode, Picture

Style, Custom functions etc.
 

3 Compatible with large memory card capacities, including cards of 2GB and more (camera may require firmware update).

CMOS

Canon’s CMOS technology is one of the company’s key competitive advantages, with noise reduction circuitry at each pixel site delivering virtually noise-free images. In comparison with CCD technology, the lower power consumption characteristics of Canon’s CMOS sensors also contribute to longer battery life.

Signal conversion in Canon’s CMOS sensors is handled by individual amplifiers at each pixel site. Unnecessary charge transfer operations are avoided, vastly speeding up the process of getting signal to the image processor. Noise generation is reduced, power consumption is limited and faster frame rate potential is increased.

DIGIC

Image data captured by the CMOS sensor is processed by Canon’s purpose-built DIGIC image processors before being written to the camera's memory card. DIGIC technology uses advanced image processing algorithms to ensure precise, natural colours, accurate white balance, and advanced noise reduction. Ultra-fast processing speeds result in highly responsive camera operation and near-instant start-up times.

DIGIC chips work with a high speed DDR-SDRAM image buffer – reading, processing, compressing and writing image data fast enough to keep the buffer clear during long continuous shooting bursts. And because DIGIC integrates all key processing functions, power consumption is kept to a minimum.

EOS Integrated Cleaning System

The EOS Integrated Cleaning System combats sensor dust in three important ways: Reduce, Repel and Remove.

Reduce - Internal camera mechanisms are designed to minimise dust generation. The redesigned body cap prevents dust generation through wear on the cap itself.

Repel - Anti-static technologies, including a special fluorine coating, are applied to the low-pass filter covering the front of the sensor so as not to attract dust.

Remove - A Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit uses hi-frequency vibrations to shake dust from the infrared filter for a period of approximately one second after each start up. For instant shooting after power up, this feature is disabled immediately the shutter release is depressed.

Canon has also developed an internal Dust Delete Data system, which can map the position of visible dust on the sensor. This can then be deleted automatically after the shoot with the latest Digital Photo Professional software.

Picture Style

Picture Style pre-sets simplify in-camera control over image qualities. Picture Style presets can be likened to different film types – each one offering a different colour response. Within each selectable pre-set, photographers have control over sharpness, contrast, colour tone and saturation. The camera’s factory default configuration is set to deliver immediately-usable JPEG images without need for additional menu settings. Picture Style presets applied to a RAW image can be revised with Canon’s Digital Photo Professional software.

The six pre-sets are:

• Standard – for crisp, vivid images that don’t require post-processing

• Portrait – optimises colour tone and saturation and weakens sharpening to achieve attractive skin tones

• Landscape – for punchier greens and blues with stronger sharpening to give a crisp edge to mountain, tree and building outlines

• Neutral – ideal for post-processing

• Faithful – adjusts colour to match the subject colour when shot under a colour temperature of 5200K

• Monochrome – for black-and-white shooting with a range of filter effects (yellow, orange, red and green) and toning effects (sepia, blue, purple and green).

The User Defined Picture Style can be used to store up to three customised pre-sets, or any of the pre-sets available for download from Canon’s web site at www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/picturestyle/file/index.html.

Software

Digital Photo Professional

Digital Photo Professional software provides high speed, high quality processing of lossless RAW images. Processing with Digital Photo Professional allows real-time display and immediate application of image adjustments, giving control over RAW image variables such as white balance, dynamic range, exposure compensation, noise reduction and colour tone – plus the ability to view Auto Focus points on an image. The Lens Aberration correction tool allows precise correction of different types of distortion caused by certain cameras.

Images can be recorded in camera with sRGB or Adobe RGB colour space. Digital Photo Professional supports sRGB, Adobe RGB, ColorMatch RGB, Apple RGB and Wide Gamut RGB colour spaces. ICC (International Colour Consortium) profiles can be attached to TIFF or JPEG images when converted from RAW. This allows faithful reproduction of colours in software applications that support ICC profiles, such as Adobe Photoshop. For improved efficiency, a set of image adjustments can be saved as a recipe and applied.

EOS Utility

The latest version of EOS Utility provides essential support for Live View remote shooting, camera configuration and image transfers. Tightly integrated with Digital Photo Professional, EOS Utility can be configured to monitor ‘hot’ folders, automatically renaming and moving incoming images to a structured file system. Users can also tag their images with EXIF data, including copyright information.

Picture Style Editor

Picture Style Editor allows users to create individual Picture Styles that fit with their personal requirements. Each Picture Style contains detailed information on how specific colours should be represented within an image. Once new Picture Styles have been created, they can be uploaded directly into the camera and applied to JPEG or RAW images. When working with RAW files in DPP, both personal Picture Styles and the 6 predetermined Picture Styles can all be adjusted.

Press release 26 August 2008

With the demand for digital SLR cameras reaching unprecedented levels, Canon is answering the call with the announcement of the next evolution in advanced amateur digital SLR photography. The EOS 50D digital SLR camera comes with 15.1 megapixel resolution and Canon's new DIGIC 4 image processor.

Designed to offer extraordinary quality and image control for the advanced photographer with a passion for the art, the Canon EOS 50D includes an expanded ISO range, improved noise reduction, and in-camera photo editing features. Canon has loaded the EOS 50D camera with a number of enhancements and some trickle-down technology from Canon's professional digital SLR cameras, as well as a new Creative Auto Mode (CA) that gives users more creative flexibility to make image setting adjustments conveniently without the need to be a photo expert.

The EOS 50D Digital SLR camera carries over the EOS 40D's 14-bit Analog-to-Digital conversion process for smooth tones, and also includes enhanced noise reduction, especially at higher ISO ranges, which will help bring those romantic nighttime shots into greater focus and clarity.

Capable of shooting 6.3 frames per second (fps), the EOS 50D Digital SLR camera is ideal for shooting everything from beautiful night landscapes to fast-action sports.

"Advanced amateur photographers blur the line between the hobbyist and the professional, looking for professional features and capabilities in their equipment that will allow them to capture that awe-inspiring image. Canon is constantly striving to provide these shooters with the most advanced imaging technology, like the new EOS 50D Digital SLR camera, to fuel their passion for photography, and help them achieve their creative potential," stated Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A.

Improved image quality

The EOS 50D’s 15.1-megapixel CMOS APS-C size image sensor has been improved, thanks to the use of newly designed gapless microlenses over each pixel to reduce noise and expand sensitivity up to ISO 12800.

The faster processing speed of the camera's DIGIC 4 image processor contributes to the fast 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), to give shooters the tools they need to capture that perfect moment in perfect clarity. 

The EOS 50D provides ISO speeds from ISO 100 up to ISO 3200 in 1/3-stop increments, along with two high-speed settings - H1 and H2 - of ISO 6400 and ISO 12800, respectively.

Along with a wide ISO range, Canon gives shooters more tools to help maximize clarity and color. The camera offers multiple levels of noise reduction during high-speed shooting. Users can choose from one of four settings –Standard/Weak/Strong/None – to help reduce digital noise that can result from poor lighting conditions. 

As part of the camera's internal image processing, the EOS 50D conducts peripheral illumination correction, which automatically evens brightness across the image field, making an image of a blue sky even toned throughout, a function previously accomplished through post-processing software on a personal computer. Thanks largely to the DIGIC 4 processor, this automatic adjustment can be made in-camera during shooting with JPEG images or corrected in post-photoshoot processing with RAW images through Canon's Digital Photo Professional (DPP) software (supplied with the camera).

Helping to ensure each picture's subject is clearly visible, Canon's enhanced Auto Lighting Optimizer analyzes the brightness of subjects and automatically adjusts dark images so that they appear brighter – perfect for subjects in shade or in backlit situations. The Auto Lighting Optimizer on the EOS 50D has been updated not only to optimize images while they are being taken, but can also optimize images post-capture, during playback, to help ensure the subject of each image does not appear too dark. Post-capture enhancement can help maximize image quality without the need of a computer.

A significant upgrade to the Canon EOS 50D camera is its large, clear 3.0-inch Clear View LCD screen which features 920,000 dot/VGA resolution, four times the pixel count of the EOS 40D camera's screen, for better clarity and color. To help show off those fantastic shots, the EOS 50D camera includes an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) output to display crisp, clear images on a High-Definition TV. The EOS 50D recognizes the needs of today's photographers, and the faster processing speed of the DIGIC 4 processor helps support UDMA cards for faster writing of image files.

The camera is also equipped with a high-performance viewfinder featuring 0.95x magnification and the same high-performance Autofocus (AF) system as the EOS 40D. It has nine cross-type sensors for accurate target subject acquisition with lenses possessing maximum apertures of f/5.6 or faster, and a high-precision diagonal center cross-type AF point that's effective with f/2.8 and faster lenses, helping photographers ensure better focus of their targets.

The AF Microadjustment feature, originally introduced last year with the Canon EOS-1D Mark III professional digital SLR camera, has also been added to the EOS 50D for maximum control over focusing precision.
 

Canon gets creative for advancing amateurs
 

Canon is taking steps to give advanced amateurs more flexibility with a new ‘CA’ Creative Full Auto setting on the EOS 50D mode dial. This new setting goes a step beyond Full Auto, allowing 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, 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.
 

Better Live View
 

For photographers who prefer to frame their shots using the camera's 3-inch Clear View LCD screen, Canon has improved the Live View function of the EOS 50D to include "Quick Mode AF," "Live Mode AF," and "Face Detection Live Mode AF" that detects up to 35 individual forward-looking faces for better focus and clarity when taking group or portrait shots.

The camera's Quick Mode AF setting flips the mirror down and carries out regular phase-detection autofocus, while the Live Mode AF and Face Detection Live Mode AF use the camera's CMOS image sensor for contrast detection autofocus. Two detailed grid displays have also been added to Live View shooting as optional settings for easier composition. 
 

Two small RAW formats
 

In addition to the RAW and JPEG image capture modes that photographers are accustomed to, the EOS 50D now offers more manageable resolution settings and file sizes with two sRAW recording formats, sRAW1 and sRAW2.

At the sRAW1 setting, resolution is 7.1 megapixels with a file size that is approximately 25 percent smaller than a standard 15.1 megapixel RAW image. With the sRAW2 setting, resolution is 3.8 megapixels at less than half the file size of a standard RAW image, retaining all of the flexibility and creative possibilities associated with full-size, conventional RAW images. The EOS 50D is the first Canon digital SLR that allows the use of RAW and sRAW settings in Basic Zone as well as Creative Zone shooting modes, even further improving the camera's flexibility. 
 

EOS Integrated Cleaning System
 

The Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit for the Canon EOS 50D has also been upgraded and now includes a fluorine coating on the low-pass filter for better dust resistance. The Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit uses ultrasonic vibrations to shake dust particles off of the low-pass filter in front of the sensor each time the camera is powered up or shut down. The second part of the system includes a software component where sensor spots are mapped and saved as Dust Delete Data that is attached to the image file for removal during post processing using Canon's DPP software.

Pricing & availability

The EOS 50D (body only) is available in the UK and Europe from the end of September 2008 priced at £1199.99 / €1599.99 RRP inc. VAT. In the USA the camera is scheduled for delivery in early October 2008 at an estimated selling price (body only) of $1399.

The EOS 50D EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM kit is available in the UK and Europe from end of September 2008 priced at £1499.99 / €1949.99 RRP inc. VAT. In the USA, the camera will sell as a kit with the EF 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM lens at an estimated price of $1599.