Canon EOS 50D

The EOS 50D is a mid-sized DSLR released in 2008. Its APS-C sensor and Canon EF-S mount sit in the brand's crop-frame system, and the 822 g body carries weather sealing.

It suits photographers who like composing through an optical pentaprism viewfinder, and it also offers live view for tripod work. There is no video recording and no wireless connectivity.

Day to day, the camera runs on CompactFlash cards and a BP-511A battery, both worth arranging before a first shoot.

At the heart of the 50D is a 15.1 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor paired with the Digic 4 processor. That resolution leaves room for crops and large prints, while the ISO range runs from 100 to 3200.

Shooting pace is a strength: the camera fires at up to 6.3 frames per second and reaches a 1/8000 s shutter speed, a combination that suits sports, wildlife and other fast-moving subjects. Burst conditions such as AF mode and buffer depth are not recorded, so treat 6.3 fps as a maximum rather than a sustained rate.

Autofocus uses 9 points. A point count alone does not establish focusing speed, accuracy or coverage, so those aspects remain untested here.

There is no in-body stabilisation, so sharp results at slow shutter speeds depend on a stabilised lens, steady technique or a support. Framing happens through a pentaprism optical viewfinder.

The 50D does not record video. It is a stills-only camera, so it cannot capture clips alongside photographs.

Anyone who needs moving images will have to use a separate camera. That makes the 50D suitable only when video is outside the shooting brief.

There is also no built-in intervalometer, so timelapse sequences require an external timer or manual frame-by-frame shooting.

Framing and review happen on a fixed 3-inch TFT screen with 920,000 dots. That dot count makes for detailed playback, but with no touch control or articulation, high and low angles are awkward to compose.

Live view is on board, which helps with tripod work and precise focusing when the optical finder is less convenient.

The body is weather sealed, and lighting options run from a built-in flash for quick fill to an external flash when you need more power. Neither sealing nor flash makes the camera waterproof, but the build suits outdoor use.

Connectivity shows the camera's age: no Wi-Fi, no Bluetooth and no GPS. The absent touch screen and Bluetooth cost points in a modest Features score of 54, while weather sealing, live view and the screen earn most of their available points. That places the camera around the middle of cameras in our database for Features.

Photos land on a single CompactFlash slot that accepts Type I and II cards, including UDMA models. Since the format is not SD, make sure any card reader and spares you own match. With one slot, nothing copies your files as you shoot.

Power comes from a BP-511A battery rated for 800 shots. The measurement conditions are not recorded, so treat the figure as a rating rather than a promise of real-world endurance.

The camera does not support USB charging, so the battery cannot be topped up over a cable. Anyone shooting long days will want at least one spare pack.

These choices add up to a limited Storage & Battery score of 35: the single card slot and absent USB charging earn no points, while the 800-shot rating earns partial credit.