The Canon 50D was confirmed as of August 21, 2008 and was officially announced on August 26, 2008. Read the full Canon press release here. The Canon 50D carries a retail price of $1399.99 for body only and $1599.00 with the EF 28-135mm kit lens.

You can order the Canon 50D now from Amazon.com via the following links:

Canon 50D (body only)

Canon 50D (w/ 28-135mm kit lens)

The Canon 50D is pictured top left with the simultaneously announced EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens, which carries a retail price of $699.99 USD.

Read Photography Bay’s Canon 50D Review.

Canon 50D Key Features

• 15.1 megapixel CMOS sensor
• DIGIC 4
• 1.6x crop
• Dust Reduction
• Auto Brightness Processing
• 95% viewfinder .95 magnification
• 9 point af (All Cross Type)
• 35 meter area equipped with high-precision sensors
• AF Fine Tuning
• ISO 100-12800
• 6.3 fps (high speed) 3fps (low speed)
• Buffer: 16 RAW – 60 JPG – 10 RAW+JPG
• 920,000 points VGA 3.0-inch LCD monitor
• 100,000 cycle shutter
  
• Rugged magnesium alloy body

Canon 50D Reviews

DP Interface

The camera offers a lot of functionality for photo enthusiasts and professionals, yet still has a small handful of scene modes and Creative Auto mode which appeal to users who want to enter and test the waters of the digital SLR world (if they’re daring enough to start out with this camera).

Neocamera

The Canon EOS 50D performs very well and deserves an excellent rating among DSLR cameras. Image quality is certainly good with low-noise, good color accuracy and reliable exposure.

Shutterbug

Overall, the 50D is an excellent photographic tool that’s flexible and delivers very good image quality.

Digital Photography School

The Canon 50D is a great mid range camera. Not quite a professional level camera in that it’s not using a “full frame” sensor but by no means “entry level” This camera will produce great results for you.

Steve’s Digicams

The combination of speed and performance makes this the perfect camera for the enthusiast or anyone looking to upgrade from an entry-level dSLR.

Bob Atkins

The ultimate test of a camera for me is whether I’d want to own it, and I’d want to own the EOS 50D.

The Digital Picture

If you are serious about your photography in general and can afford the higher price, the Canon EOS 50D is my recommendation over the XSi.

Digital Camera Review

The 50D continues to prove that Canon has one of the fastest (if not the fastest) AF systems, extremely high-resolution CMOS sensors with very impressive high ISO performance, and now offers (for some users, at least) a functional live view system.

Imaging Resource

So while the 40D is great, and will remain in the market, the Canon 50D incorporates plenty of enhancements worth the couple-hundred extra bucks. The Canon 50D is an excellent digital SLR.

Let’s Go Digital

It is an all-round DSLR camera for the enhanced hobby photographer who can deal with any branch of photography with this camera.

DP Review

Below ISO 1600 image output is clean with well balanced contrast and colors and as you would expect from a DSLR with a 15 megapixel sensor the 50D delivers a fair amount of detail.

Digital Camera Info

The 50D is a solid performer, but didn’t outshine the alternatives. If you’re already a Canon user, possibly moving from entry- to mid-level SLRs, and with a lens or two already in your hands, then it could be a good choice for you.

Camera Labs

The Canon EOS 50D is a worthy update to the already excellent EOS 40D, equipping it not just with the latest features, but also a significant boost in resolution without compromising noise levels.

Cnet

Though the 50D isn’t the successor to the 40D, it offers numerous improvements that may be worth the upgrade–or the outright new purchase–depending on your priorities. After having experienced the quality and depth of color in the new LCD screen it will be very difficult to go back to the 40D and to other comparable models in its class.

PhotoReview

Interestingly, low-light performance was generally outstanding, with no visible noise in shots right up to ISO 1600 and very little noise at ISO 3200. By ISO 6400, noise was visible – although not obvious.

TechRadar

The extra resolution, and the addition of three anti-reflective coatings makes a huge difference to clarity and visibility in both bright and poor light. Arguably, the EOS 50D is the first Canon DSLR that really shows sharp images as properly sharp on the LCD, which makes checking critical focus in playback much easier than it was in the past.

PhotographyBLOG

Considered on its own terms, the EOS 50D is a more than worthy addition to Canon’s semi-pro DSLR line-up. It boasts a significant number of refinements to a proven design that current EOS users will welcome, whilst adding enough features to catch-up with and in some ways surpass the Nikon D300.

Roland Lim

It is overall a nice camera and I don’t think most poeple would be disappointed with getting the 50D. However, the only caveat is that, do not expect the 50D to show any real imrpovement in high ISO performance comapred to the 40D and the competition.

DP Review (hands-on preview)

One of the most striking differences is the provision of a greatly improved LCD. The size remains unchanged at 3.0″ but the resolution rises from 230,000 dots to 920,000. This is effectively a change from 320 x 240 RGB pixels to 640 x 480 RGB pixels, putting it on a par with the latest high-end Nikons and Sony A700.

Canon 50D Official Images

Canon 50D ISO 1600 Official Sample Image (Click for Full Size)