The magic of Canon

I have used my new Canon 50d for roughly a month now and after nearly 600 actuations, I must say it is a truely amazing midrange camera from Canon. Don't get me wrong though, I still absolutely love my first dSLR, the 400d but this 50d just opens out so much more options for me to play with. The most useful feature that I found (and sadly missing from the 400d but available through later 450d and 1000d) is the auto ISO mode and in the 50d, it switches between 100-1600 in auto mode.

Pairing it with the large aperture of 50mm f1.4 lens, the 50d takes amazing handheld night shots. Another plus is a significantly lower noise level at higher ISO of up to 1600. Although it goes all the way up to ISO 12800, things start to get a bit too grainy for my taste above ISO 3200. Another important plus is the maximum shutter speed of 1/8000 seconds, which allows the use of bigger aperture in bright daylight for portrait work without the need to use ND filters. Oh yes, did I say the 3" HR LCD screen is a godsend? It's just amazing that Canon can pack the resolution of a standard VGA monitor into a 3" screen!

The photo of this beautiful singer was taken at ISO 1250 with minimal lighting at Bistro38, Joondalup Resort. She performed for nearly 3 hours continuously while we were feasting on the buffet. Just in case you are thinking about having your next all-you-can-eat round there, my advice is you are more likely to get your money worth at the Jetty Restaurant at the Hillary Boat Habour. The buffet is worse or on par with the Atrium Restaurant in Burswood and you will be paying through your nose!