40d and 50d

hi all
i have been messing about with my mates 40d and when i compared the images to the same ones taken on my 50d i noticed the 40d results were sharper and all round better.

a while back i posted about the sharpness problems with a 300 l f/4 on my 50d, today i used the same lens on the 40d and the reesults were a lot better.

i am thinking thet the problem lies with the 50d

i dont no why this should be, any help would be appreciated

jingler

Have you micro-adjusted your lens to your 50D? I wouldn't try to hunt down any other problem until you have performed that exercise.

What lens are you using? Is it the same for both cameras? As an owner of both cameras, I much prefer the 50D (for a variety of reasons). My 50D produces very sharp images, but always has great glass out front.

i used a 15-85 and a 17-40 l f/4 for most of the shots also the 300mm l f/4 is
i downloaded info on micro adjustment and have been trying to pair up the 15-85 and 50d but so far mixed results.

jingler wrote in post #12732270
i used a 15-85 and a 17-40 l f/4 for most of the shots also the 300mm l f/4 is
i downloaded info on micro adjustment and have been trying to pair up the 15-85 and 50d but so far mixed results.

Any of those lenses should make for sharp 50D files. Maybe you have an AF issue with your camera...

Post examples?

This is a pretty common phenomenon... lower resolution camera files tend to look sharper straight from the camera, compared to higher resolution. For example, we've read and heard same when folks compare 5D classic (13MP) with 5DII (21MP) as well as many other models.

I bet you're zooming in to 100% or 200% on your computer monitor when comparing images from both cameras. Probably using the same high level of magnification on both.

Think about it... 10MP camera files might look fine at that size. But you are actually viewing the 15MP images from the 50D much larger, so much more critically.

So, either back off on the magnification of the 50D's files for a more fair comparison. Or make a downsized file from the 50D image, that's more comparable to what's coming out of the 40D.

Ultimately, it's always better to compare prints made with a good printer on smooth, matte paper.

50D sensor is much more densely crowded, too.... Might be using stronger anti-alias filter or heavier noise reduction, either of which would need more sharpening after the fact to bring detail and sharpness back out. (I can't say for sure... haven't personally compared 40D and 50D very closely... But I do see this effect going from 50D to 7D.... 7D files need much more sharpening than 50D's... but the detail and sharpness is there).

I agree... 50D has Micro Adjust feature... Use it! You will probably find it more difficult to MA zoom lenses. Test those at three or four different focal length settings... you might find they need slightly different amount of MA and will have to compromise. A prime like the 300mm is easier to MA, and more likely to need it since often with longer lenses you have relatively shallow depth of field that's less forgiving of focus error.

You might want to test your lenses at various apertures, too. Might be different, which apertures work optimally on 50D.

Can you post a few pics?