Another day at the races: Canon 50D vs. Nikon D90 [Updated]

 

Canon 50D

Canon released their successor to the rather anticlimatic 40D, and DPReview got their hands on one. Actually, Canon claims that the 50D is more like a brother to the 40D rather than a successor, which I find to be a strange strategy, as the 50D has been introduced at the same 1300USD price that all the X0D cameras entered the market. So this probably means that the 40D will see a price reduction.

I can’t say I agree with this strategy, the marketplace is already pretty crowded with all kinds of entry level DSLRs, bridge cameras, semipro compacts and all that fuzz, and this will only make a new comer more confused. I would have guessed that having less clutter in the lineup makes for stronger products, Canon however seems to believe in the “more is more” thing. But fortunately this is not the only place where they seem to have shifted to the “more” mentality.

Which brings me to the fact that the 50D is a much more impressive update to the line than the 40D was to the 30D (maybe these two should have stayed “brothers”). Some of the important ones are the new 14MP sensor (promising even better low light performance than the previous 40D), Digic 4 image processor (which gives it the ability to deliver 14bit RAW files at a speed of 6.3fps) and last but not least environmental sealing (which brings it closer to the pro table, even if there’s that “not full frame” thing).

Being a current user of the Canon 30D, I must say that this is a very compelling upgrade, unlike the 40D, which basically left me yawning.

Nikon D90

The race between Nikon and Canon is tighter than ever, now that Nikon announced the D90. Even though people pit the Canon 50D against the Nikon D90, I don’t really see them as such, the Canon having more resolution (OK, just marginally), faster frame rate, higher ISO settings, environmental sealing. The Nikon has that movie shooting thing though, which is quite nice, even though it uses the Live View sensor for it and not the photo sensor,* you can use some real nice lenses to shoot 720p video. And the Nikon is $300 less than the Canon.

*EDIT: Thanks to David Chin for pointing out in the comments a misleading fact (okay, error, whatever) in this post: the D90 hasn’t got a separate Live View sensor, and it’s using the main sensor for all three functions: photo, live view and video. (Nikon isn’t very specific about the way Live View is captured, but video certainly uses the full sensor). That being said, I will only add that the more I think about it, the more I find that this is a sweet feature. And I’m waiting for Canon to add something similar to their cameras. I know they will. Eventually. Hopefully sooner than later.

I’m glad to see that Nikon is pushing the envelope, and I think this is amazingly good for the supporters of both camps. One example of the fact that this race is being taken seriously by Canon is that even though Canon’s laterst flagship cameras, the 1D series, are still stuck in 230k pixel screen territory, they blessed their 50D with a 920k pixel screen, something Nikon had for a while now. And the way the new Nikons handle high ISOs and low light really gave Canon a run for their money.

All things considered, the new Canon is a worthy successor, erm… brother, to Canon’s double digit D series, and I can’t wait to pair my Canon 10-22 EFS lens (which already produces stunning results on my Canon 30D) with the new beast.

Now, on with the show! Can’t wait for the in depth review from DPReview.

The trailer review dump

I’ve been looking through the trailers of the latest movies that are slated to appear soon or have already been released. I might be in a bad mood today, but what a sad bunch of movie going season this seems to be. While I have been wrong about a movie just by judging it from the trailer before, I have a very good track of being right about a movie just by watching the trailer. So here are my humble comments on some of the trailers that are available on the Apple trailers page:

Saw V: Why are people even going to this? While the first one was sort of new and fresh, with every subsequent sequel the “franchise” got staler and staler until, judging by the current trailer, it’s already stinking up the place. Definitely not going to see it.

 

 

 

 

 

Disaster Movie: While I may not be the sharpest knife in the shed, my intelligence was blatantly insulted by this trailer. So my intelligence strongly advises me to stay away. Funny thing is, I actually like parodies, just not when they are so utterly idiotic that it shows from the trailer.

 

 

 

 

Beverly Hills Chihuahua: The trailer starts promisingly (as promisingly as Disney movie trailers can go), but then they start singing the Chihuahua song with added rap to make it “funny”. Now that really took the cake and ate it and then crapped it and then ate it again. I hate the song even without the added rap, I hate films that make it look like animals are actually moving their lips to speak. I can’t even imagine dog lovers liking this. A definite NO NO.

 

 

 

Watchmen: I like the song they used (Smashing Pumpkins’ The beginning is the end), but the trailer is just made of slow motion sequences that give me the impression of watching a 3D Studio Max showreel rather than a movie trailer. Still, I could be wrong about this one, and the script might be longer than one page full of special effects details and a few lines of dialogue.

 

 

 

The Spirit: While actually having voices within it, this trailer suffers from the same “slow motionitis” like the Watchmen trailer. However, I find the visual imagery more compelling that the Watchmen trailer, and while I’m being a little put off by the “brought to you by the creator of 300″ bit in the description, I’m actually looking forward to seeing it. I just hope it’s not Sin City 3 with added color scenes.

 

 

 

The Longshots: Citing from the description: “From Ice Cube, the star of such hits as Are We There Yet?, Are We Done Yet? and First Sunday, comes a feel-good family comedy, THE LONGSHOTS”. Such hits? They must be using the ’such’ word as a replacement for mildly boring, or somewhat uninteresting. Such hits. Please. How about such hits as Is it over yet?, Can I have my money back now? and Never ever in my life.

Do I really need to explain why I haven’t even bothered to see the trailer for this “feel-good family comedy”? I can already imagine the jokes… and they are *such* not funny.

 

It seems like the problem is that, even if people are not happy with this kind of crappy productions, somehow they still find their way into the movie theaters, watching this very same crap each time, over and over. So people should stop going to this kind of redux of redux of utter shit and vote with their wallets. That is the only vote that will stop the studios from financing the next Saw and Something Movie.