50d and 7d advice needed

I've done many searches on the site and the internet.

I am looking at possibly upgrading from my 20d to one of these cameras. I shoot Sigma glass and in this order, sports, family, and portraits.

I primarily shoot sports (soccer, wrestling, baseball, golf) of my kids. Family photos (portraits) and parties. And some strobist work. Just getting into that area.

I am wondering if the 50d can do a good job on the sports side. Especially wrestling. Gyms are dark and I am shooting at iso 800 on the 20d and getting great results.

Can the AF of the 50 do the job along with the AI Servo? And the high iso performance?

The reason I am questioning between the two is, do I need video and is the auto focus and high iso performance that much better on the 7d?

I am not interested in upgrading my glass at this time, my Sigma 70-200 2.8, 100-300 f4, and 24-60 2.8 are doing fine by me. And I cannot afford an upgrade to comparable Canon glass.

Just upgrading the body will be a tough sell at this time. Any thoughts and recommendations would be appreciated.

Scott

Both will do better than the 20. If your at ISO800 with the 20, you'll probably be at ISO 1600 on the 50D and ISO 3200 on the 7D.

As to video, it's sure nice to have.

As to the performance? The 50D will outpace the 20D in all categories and the 7D will outpace the 50D.

The iso jump will be that much higher even with a 50d.

The reason I am 800 with the 20d is because I am shooting 1/250th with a mounted flash gun. Shouldn't be able to shoot at a lower iso with the 50d and 7d?

I don't understand why I wouldn't be able to shoot at a lower iso, especially with the 7d if the iso performance is supposed to be better? Maybe I am looking at this wrong.......

Scott

it can shoot at higher ISOs and with in camera noise reduction, noise is controlled quite well. I'm just tossing numbers out but from my experience, the improvements in sensor technology gains you about one stop between the 20/30D and the 40/50D and the 7D gains another stop. This is the raw image, no noise processing. With noise processing enabled the jpeg the camera produces is much better though at a slight loss of detail.

The higher ISO capability is based on an algorithm and signal amplification. The 7D has a slightly more advanced signal amplification capability than the 50D. However, with the higher sensor resolution (18MP), there is always the chance to get higher amounts of noise. The 7D will allow you to get more usable images at higher ISOs than the 20D as long as you are not too critical of the increased noise at the higher ISOs.
If you want to shoot at lower ISO, get a faster lens and/or change your shutter / aperture settings.

I realize that getting a faster aperture or ss will allow for a lower iso setting. But if you have not shot sports in a high school gym, then you don't know the lighting you are working with.

And if you are shooting flash, your camera synch speed comes into play unless you have a lot of light available via AB or something like that.

That is why I am asking about the iso and the AF system of both bodies.