giovan

[giovan]

i have a eos 50d with the new fireware update version 1.7it takes really good pictures i am wondering is it a good buy after reviewing it in photo mags that give it a not so good review

[ianpinion]

Hi giovan and welcome to the forum.

It's a superb camera and if you're capturing images that you're happy with then I shouldn't worry what the reviews say. It's often the case that if you have the right lens for the job on the front of it you will get the results you're looking for. Sometimes these reviews are carried out using only the basic kit lens, which isn't always up to the tasks it's being asked to perform and the results suffer accordingly. However, if they did the same test with a more appropriate lens the results would be 100% better. So if you're lucky enough to have a few L Series lenses for it then I wouldn't worry in the slightest.

[giovan]

i forgot to mention that it came with a 18-200mm kit lens as i have only just stared taking photos it does suit me at the moment i really dont have any trouble with the photo quality i also have a50 1.4 ef lense from a eos 3 fim camera

[ianpinion]

Hi giovan,

How much photography experience do you have? Have you been taking your photography seriously for long, or before did you just snap away without too much thought about what you were doing? The reason I ask, is the lens you have is fine for just learning the basics with and experimenting to see how adjusting the aperture, shutter speed and ISO will have on your pictures. You can also see what happens when you take a shot at 18mm and compare it to shots taken at 50mm, 100mm and 200mm of the same subject.

The other lens you have, a prime lens because of it's fixed focal length, will give you very sharp images when compared to your superzoom lens. You'll also find it's very good for taking portaits with, as you can use quite a wide aperture to help you throw the background out of focus. It's also a very good lens to use when the light levels are getting very low again because this lens has a very wide maximum aperture that lets more light get to the sensor in a short period of time.

[giovan]

i take the occasional family snaps as far as experience goes it is pracically nil as im working for the railways

[ianpinion]

Originally Posted by giovan

i take the occasional family snaps as far as experience goes it is pracically nil as im working for the railways

In which case, I wouldn't worry at all a this stage if your a relative novice. The 50D is regarded as an enthusiasts camera, one up from an entry level camera, so it still has many of the basic settings you can use until you start to feel more confident about how to set the camera up yourself for each shot. It will also be a camera that once you've mastered those basics you can really start to experiment and use some of your creative flare using some of it's more advanced settings, but one thing at once.

If you're feeling a bit daunted by how much there is to learn about photography, watch some of the video tutorials on this site that will teach you some of the rules of how best to compose your pictures, how to get perfect exposures by controlling either your shutter speed, aperture or ISO and how each of these react with one another. You could read books on this, or you could go on a training course to learn some of the basic techniques. Best of all, once you've read up on the theory, get out there with your camera and put what you've read into practice as this is the best way to cement it into your memory, so you can recall what do next time you're out their taking photographs.

[giovan]

thanks for the idea i will try the videos and get out more to take photos ill see how it all goes