40D or 50D?

I'm looking to upgrade from my Rebel XT and am considering either a used 40D for around $600 or a new 50D for around $900. Any thoughts??

I really like my 40D and never really saw a reason for me to upgrade to the 50D. But If I was buying now I would get a new 50D just because it comes with warranty. Plus the 50D has some nice updates. If you don't plan on keeping your XT you should look into the Canon Loyalty program. I am not sure the current price for the 50D, but I understand it is pretty good.

Sethch wrote in post #9915831
I'm looking to upgrade from my Rebel XT and am considering either a used 40D for around $600 or a new 50D for around $900. Any thoughts??

Either would be a great upgrade from the XT. I kept a perma-smile on my face for the first hour's experience because of the stunning all-around feel & feature upgrade vs my XSi.

Exactly the same ergonomics 40D vs 50D.
50D has much nicer higher definition LCD.

ask yourself what features you want.
10mp (40D) will produce a very high quality 11x14" photo.
The 5mp gain over the 40D did not produce as much of an actual resolution increase as there should have been...
Apparently the 50D's ISO is 'on par' or not as good as the 40D at higher ISOs. (most of these points cam be found in dpreview.com 50D review.

Oh, I like how the 50D recognized my 70-300mm lens and offered to fix a light periphery issue... it will also allow micro-adjust for your lenses too (not sure if the 40D offers that feature.

I'm thus far quite pleased with the 50D

Sethch wrote in post #9915831
I'm looking to upgrade from my Rebel XT and am considering either a used 40D for around $600 or a new 50D for around $900. Any thoughts??

what will you be using it for? for general photography as a hobby, you cant go wrong with either. but with the savings on the used 40D, you can use the money to get a good walkaround lens or (if you already have a lens like that) use it for a flash.

sixsixfour wrote in post #9915958
what will you be using it for? for general photography as a hobby, you cant go wrong with either. but with the savings on the used 40D, you can use the money to get a good walkaround lens or (if you already have a lens like that) use it for a flash.

Good point, if the 40D fits your ideal camera.

50D if you can afford.

More MP, better LCD, microadjust.

I bought my 40D back when the 50D was just hitting shelves, due to feedback I got from some early adopters that the images weren't quite as clean coming out of the 50...but based on results that I regularly see around here, I'd say it really comes down to your budget and what you're comfortable with.

I love my 40; I've been contemplating scooping up a couple used bodies as the prices come down just so I have them as backup when this one dies. You won't regret picking one of these up of you go that route.

However, the 50 does offer some nice perks such as micro-adjust for your lenses; it'll allow you to tune the body/lens combos you use in case there are slight focus discrepancies without requiring a trip to a service center...

You'd also get UDMA support for faster writes to your CF cards (assuming you use UDMA compatible cards as well), higher resolution sensor and significantly increased ISO range.

If you are comfortable with the extra $300, I'd say that a new 50D is probably your best bet. You would get those perks plus a warranty that the used one may not have.

I mainly shoot with a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 and my Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro. I've been pretty happy with my XT, but lately my hand has been cramping when using it for more than a couple of minutes. I also want to get a body that will allow me to make some large prints with cropping. The LCD on the XT is also pretty useless at this point.

I'll be going to Glacier National Park this summer and will most likely rent a Canon 10-22 and 70-200 f/4L. I assume they'll perform better on a 40D or 50D than they will on my XT. Is that a correct assumption?

Sethch wrote in post #9916213
I mainly shoot with a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 and my Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro. I've been pretty happy with my XT, but lately my hand has been cramping when using it for more than a couple of minutes. I also want to get a body that will allow me to make some large prints with cropping. The LCD on the XT is also pretty useless at this point.

I'll be going to Glacier National Park this summer and will most likely rent a Canon 10-22 and 70-200 f/4L. I assume they'll perform better on a 40D or 50D than they will on my XT. Is that a correct assumption?

if your hand is cramping when using something as light as an XT with a 100mm 2.8 macro, imagine the stress of holding an XXD series body.

in that regard, you are better off with a newer, lighter rebel body.

I'm guessing the cramping is coming from trying to grip something so small as a Rebel body...One of the things I preferred about the XXD line was the size increase from the XXXD line.

Setch: I think that the question of whether those lenses would perform better on a newer body is largely irrelevant; it's going to be more to do with the body itself rather than performance of the lenses.

Also, I'm confused by the phrase "large prints without cropping". What do you mean by that? Cropping reduces the amount of data in an image, so I don't see how cropping would ever allow for larger prints anyway. So, I think I'm just not quite grasping what you're really asking to do there.

I don't think it's the weight - I think it's the small grip.

The 50D has some very useful features the 40 doesn't but really won't improve your IQ. The Microfocus adjust is the biggest improvement on the 50D. Shop around more you can find 40d's cheaper than that.

Rebels feel so tiny after having an xxd.OP I was in the same predicament. I was able to find a 40D for 500 and a 17-40L for 550.

Having both, I would say the 50D having the micro adjust is what sold me, the screen on the back is also very nice. The only down side is in some pics I find the less noise with the 40D when using high ISO

I think either would make a nice upgrade youll be able to notice from your current camera. I would personally go for the 50. The nicer screen and micro adjustment options are reason enough for me to choose the 50.