Canon EOS 50D

Size / Portability (7.25)
While not as large or as heavy as a full-frame SLR, the 50D is not to be taken lightly. You're not going to casually throw it in your purse for a night out. In fact, if you casually throw it anywhere, you're likely to do someone significant damage. The body, without lens or battery, is 5.7' wide x 4.2' high x 2.9' deep (145.5mm x 107.8mm x 73.5mm) and weighs in at 25.7 oz (730g). Once you attach the 28-135 mm lens and battery, the weight bumps up to just over 46 oz (1300g). That's just short of 3 lbs, a not insubstantial amount. Once you adapt to it, however, it's not too much to handle. As long as you keep the neck strap attached, and try and shoot with two hands whenever possible, you should be able to shoot without trouble.

Handling Ability (8.00)
As we mentioned, this is not a wee slip of a camera, and your ability to handle it is going to depend considerably on your own forearm strength and hand size. It's not the heaviest camera around, and Canon have done a good job of adding extra grip however possible. The handhold is large, and even the lankiest of fingers will be able to comfortably hold on. There's also a nice depression for both your pointer and middle finger on the handhold, which does make it a little more comfortable to hold. The area for resting the thumb and ball of your palm while shooting is large and clear of obstacles. Your right hand is able to get a death grip on this camera, if you want, and no force will be able to rend you asunder from it. The 50D also has a small amount of rubberized plastic on the left side of the body, so if you're shooting in Live View, you can hold the camera out from your body like a point-and-shoot, and still remain stable. When we handed the camera to a colleague with slightly smaller hands, they were able to deal with the grip well, and felt as if they had a solid hold on the 50D, so even those of you not gifted with over sized mitts will be able to use this without much issue.

A firm grip is a must with the 50D

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (7.50)
The 50D control system takes a bit of getting used, due to the multiple methods of input. There's the control dial by the shutter release, the wheel on the back of the camera, and the joystick. Each is generally used for separate functions, yet there is a certain degree of overlap. Perhaps the feature that takes the most adjustment is that you use the joystick to navigate menus and options, and the wheel to navigate choices within the option. Of course the great advantage to having multiple dials is that it allows you alter important settings more quickly. Most importantly, while shooting in Manual Mode, the front dial controls shutter speed, and the rear changes aperture. This avoids the need for a toggle, which is always a pain. Also, if you're changing your setup using the monochrome LCD on the top of the camera and its surrounding buttons, then each button has two functions, one for the forward dial, one for the aft. For instance, there's the metering/WB button, after pressing which the front wheel shifts metering, the back white balance.

The buttons, dials and controls universally feel tough but responsive. None of them are difficult to press or adjust, but they seem like they'll be able to take a bit of abuse, and are sealed well enough that they'll stand up to at least some hostile environments, though the camera's certainly not waterproof.

One small problem that we did find was that the power switch is a little awkward to reach, and if you happen to be shooting with just one hand, for whatever reason, it's almost impossible to flip. This is minor though, and won't be a concern most of the time.

The 50D has a number of functions that can be customized to suit your shooting style. Firstly, the Func. button can be set to LCD brightness, image quality, exposure comp/AEB setting, image jump with front control wheel, or Live View function settings. The Set button in the center of the rear control wheel can be disabled, or set to image quality, picture style, menu style, image replay or quick control screen. These are both bound via the Custom Function IV options. There's also the My Menu screen, which allows you to bring your most frequently used options to a single location in the Menu.

Some of the more commonly used controls are placed near the
monochrome LCD

Shooting 2
Exposure Compensation/AEB	1/3 stop increments, ±2 stops
White Balance	Auto, Sun, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flash, Custom, Manual (2500-10000K)
Custom WB	Set custom WB
WB Shift/Bracket	WB Correction/Bracketing
Color Space	sRGB/Adobe RGB
Picture Style	Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, User Defined 1, 2, 3
Dust Delete Data	Obtains data for dust delete

Playback 1
Protect Images	Erase-protect images
Rotate	Rotate vertical images
Erase Images	Erase Images
Print Order	DPOF
Transfer Order	Select images to be transfered to computer
External Media Backup	Backup images with extra wireless transmitter

Playback 2
Highlight Alert	Disable/Enable
AF Point display	Disable/Enable
Histogram	Brightness/RGB
Slide Show	Play Time, Repeat
Image Jump with front control dial	1 image/ 10 images/ 100 images/ Screen/ Date/ Folder

Set-up 1
Auto Power Off	1 min/ 2mi/ 4 min/ 8 min/ 15 min/ 30 min/ off
Auto Rotate	Camera/Monitor On, Monitor On, Off
Format	Format memory card
File Numbering	Continuous, Auto Reset, Manual Reset
Select Folder	Create and select a folder
WFT Settings	Used when wireless transmitter WFT-E3/E3A is attached
Record function and media select	Used when wireless transmitter WFT-E3/E3A is attached

Set-up 2
LCD Brightness	1-7
Date/Time	Set date and time
Language	Set language
Video System	NTSC, PAL
Sensor Cleaning	Auto Cleaning (enable/disable), Clean Now, Clean Manually
Live View Function Settings	Live View Shooting, Exposure Simulation, Grid Display, Silent Shoot, Metering Timer, AF Mode

Set-up 3
Information Button	Normal Display, Camera Settings, Shooting Functions
Flash Control	Flash firing/ Built-in flash function setting/ External flash function setting/ External flash C.Fn setting/ Clear external flash C.Fn setting
Camera user setting	Register current settings to modes Custom 1 or Custom 2
Clear settings	Clear all settings/ Delete copyright information
Firmware Version	Displays firmware version

Custom Functions
C.Fn I: Exposure	exposure level increments, ISO speed increments, ISO expansion, Bracketing auto cancel, Bracketing sequence, Safety shift, Flash sync. speed in Av mode
C.Fn II: Image	Long exposure noise reduction, High ISO speed noise reduction, Highlight tone priority, Auto lighting optimizer
C.Fn III: Autofocus/Drive	Lens drive when AF impossible, Lens AF stop button function, AF point selection method, Superimposed display, AF-assist beam firing, Mirror lockup, AF Microadjustment
C.Fn IV: Operation/Others	Shutter button/AF-ON button, AF-ON/AE lock button switch, Assign SET button, Dial direction during Tv/Av, Focusing screen, Add original decision data, Assign FUNC. button
Clear All Custom Functions	Cancel, OK

My Menu
My Menu Settings	Register, Sort, Delete, Delete all items, Display from My Menu