upgrade to 50D ?

[911newbie]

Ladies and Gents,
I'm toying with the idea of selling my 40D + 17-85mm lens kit on ebay/here, and using the funds to upgrade to a 50D.

Your opinions please on -
1. What can I expect for the kit on ebay or second hand in general (seems like prices are £500+) but I'd prefer to hear what final prices are
2. Is there a big enough difference to go from a 40D body to a 50D body ?

I mainly do family portraits and still life stuff.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisywilly99/

[LukeBird]

911newbie said:

1. What can I expect for the kit on ebay or second hand in general (seems like prices are £500+) but I'd prefer to hear what final prices are

Have a looked at 'finished listings' (it's in the advanced search options) and see what they went for
Personally I'd consider upgrading to one, but I think I'm going to stay with the 40D and spend the money I would save for a 50D on some nice glass
Would like the video mode though...

[LMC]

I just bought the 40D yesterday. I did consider "going the whole hog" and getting the 50D, but I read that with the extra megapixels you really need hideously expensive lenses to get the best out of it. That was enough to make me stick to my plan.

[VxDuncan]

LMC said:

I just bought the 40D yesterday. I did consider "going the whole hog" and getting the 50D, but I read that with the extra megapixels you really need hideously expensive lenses to get the best out of it. That was enough to make me stick to my plan.

I'm not a canon man, but surely a move to full-frame would be more appropriate? Is there really an advantage to a newer APS-C?

[Kermit power]

VxDuncan said:

LMC said:

I just bought the 40D yesterday. I did consider "going the whole hog" and getting the 50D, but I read that with the extra megapixels you really need hideously expensive lenses to get the best out of it. That was enough to make me stick to my plan.

I'm not a canon man, but surely a move to full-frame would be more appropriate? Is there really an advantage to a newer APS-C?

There's a slight problem with cost on that one...

OK, you'll be able to find deals, but then you could find deals on any of them. If you look at Canon RRP though, the 50D is priced at £1,370. Against that, you've got the choice of a 5D which is pretty dated now (lower pixel count, smaller screen, DIGIC II vs IV processor etc...) but still has an RRP of £1,860 or the admittedly much higher spec 5D Mk II at £2,690.

Not exactly easy to just move to full-frame!

[SamHH]

Can't help with the price but as mentioned looking at completed listings on eBay is a good guide. Re. whether it's worth changing, except for the higher res sensor, I think most of the differences are to do with convenience stuff, not anything that'll allow you to take better photos. It depends on whether any of the things that are improved on the 50D bother you on your current camera (the screen quality, menu system etc.). For me I don't think the difference would be enough to justify the price and certainly not ahead of other equipment.

LukeBird said:

Would like the video mode though...

I don't think it has that feature.

Edited by SamHH on Wednesday 11th February 20:18

[VxDuncan]

Kermit power said:

VxDuncan said:

LMC said:

I just bought the 40D yesterday. I did consider "going the whole hog" and getting the 50D, but I read that with the extra megapixels you really need hideously expensive lenses to get the best out of it. That was enough to make me stick to my plan.

I'm not a canon man, but surely a move to full-frame would be more appropriate? Is there really an advantage to a newer APS-C?

There's a slight problem with cost on that one...

OK, you'll be able to find deals, but then you could find deals on any of them. If you look at Canon RRP though, the 50D is priced at £1,370. Against that, you've got the choice of a 5D which is pretty dated now (lower pixel count, smaller screen, DIGIC II vs IV processor etc...) but still has an RRP of £1,860 or the admittedly much higher spec 5D Mk II at £2,690.

Not exactly easy to just move to full-frame!

Ah. See what you mean. Although...

• cough*

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/prod658.html

[RobDickinson]

50D offers bugger all image quality upgrade over the 40D.

Its 15mp add noise and unless your using absolute top quality primes it doesnt offer any more real world resolution either.

It does offer a better LCD and a few other tweaks, but IMO not enough to justify the price.

I think the 17-85IS is at best a average piece of glass. You'll see far far bigger improvements in images if you sell that and use the money to buy a quality lens like the 17-55f2.8IS (or 24-70f2.8, or tamron 18-50f2.8 + a good 70-200f2.8 or such).

[LukeBird]

SamHH said:

LukeBird said:

Would like the video mode though...

I don't think it has that feature.

Aaaah yeah, thinking about it that was on the 5D Mk2, wasn't it?
In which case I probably wouldn't even bother considering upgrading!

[MartinP]

I've had my 40D for well over 12 months and wouldn't consider upgrading to a 50D as there is so little difference. For my next step, the camera would need to offer something significantly more, such as a full frame sensor.

I'd add my vote to investing your money in high quality glass and think that would give a more noticeable difference to your images.

[911newbie]

Thanks Ladies and Gents.
Some thoughts -

"surely a move to full-frame would be more appropriate? Is there really an advantage to a newer APS-C?"
Yes I'd love to but the prices are prohibitive at the mo (see later comment)
This is the key question I was looking for answers to - is there, in anyone's experience, much of an advantage to justify the pric ?

I see I get a frank and helpfull answer -
"50D offers bugger all image quality upgrade over the 40D"
Ergo I've no interest in upgrading. Brilliant, thanks.

I agree about the 17-85 mm lens, it's not v good (which is why I'm happy to get rid of it). I have some much better glass such as a 50mm f1.2 (and a f1.8), a 28mm f2.8, and a 70-200mm f4 IS. But unless the quality of the pictures is better then there's no point in chaging the body at all.
I did read somewhere the Digic IV processor was giving sharper images, but then I'd not really noticed a problem in that dept anyway.....

Next stop is probably some sort of training, or just getting out more and taking more pictures (two young kids + dmenading job doesn't help)

Cheers
Chris

[LotusJas]

The upgrade from 40D is the 5Dii.

50D is arguably worse in some ways than the 40D (dynamic range, high ISO noise), and better in a number of others (new features such as micro lens adjustment, better live view). Many would say the 15MP resolution is a step too far for a crop sensor. I agree.

40D is probably the most camera Canon ever gave us for the money. 50D is not better, overall IMHO.

In some ways, the 5Dii qualifies re the value for money argument too, as it offers better IQ than cameras costing three times more, and better video than any camcorder this side of £50k.