Canon EOS
50D
 vs
Sony Alpha
DSLR-A550

Canon EOS 50D

67
Winner

Canon EOS 50D
"The ergonomics feel well sorted, all the controls are in the right place and even the formerly rather pointless Direct Print button now serves a purpose"
dpreview.com | talking about the 50D's button-layout
"The EOS 50D has to stand its ground in a highly competitive bracket of the DSLR market."
dpreview.com | talking about the 50D's overall-performance

Reasons to buy the Canon EOS 50D

Startup delay
 Almost no delay when powering up
300 ms startup delay
Shutter lag
 Barely any delay taking photos
131 ms shutter lag
Badge
 Built-in focus motor
Autofocuses with more lenses
Fastest shutter speed
 Fast shutter speed
1/8000 of a second
Sony Alpha DSLR-A550

62

Reasons to buy the Sony Alpha DSLR-A550

Image stabilization
 Image stabilization
Sensor shift
Light sensitivity
 High ISO
12,800 ISO
Continuous shooting
 Rapid fire
7 fps
Screen flips out
 Flip-out screen
Great for movies
Storage slots
 More storage slots
2
Badge
 Built-in focus motor
Autofocuses with more lenses

differences

Advantages of the Canon 50D
Lens availability Significantly more lenses available 162 lenses vs 92 lenses
Help
 Around 80% more lenses available
Viewfinder size Larger viewfinder 0.59x vs 0.52x
Help
 Around 30% larger viewfinder
Viewfinder Has a pentaprism viewfinder Pentaprism vs Pentamirror
Help
 Pentaprism viewfinders are typically brighter
Thickness Significantly thinner 2.9" vs 3.3"
Help
 More than 10% thinner
True resolution Slightly higher true resolution 15.1 MP vs 14 MP
Help
 Capture around 10% more detail in your photos
Fastest shutter speed Much faster max shutter speed 1/8000s vs 1/4000s
Help
 2x faster max shutter speed
Light sensitivity (boost) Has boost ISO 12,800 ISO vs None
Help
 Allows taking photos in darker situations, often at the cost of additional noise in the image
Canon EOS 50D Learn more about
the Canon 50D

Advantages of the Sony DSLR-A550
Image stabilization Image stabilization Sensor shift vs None
Help
 Helps eliminate blur caused by small camera movements
Screen flips out Has a flip-out screen Yes vs No
Help
 Flip-out screens can be helpful when composing tricky shots or taking movies
Dynamic range More dynamic range 11.8 EV vs 11.4 EV
Help
 0.4 f-stops more dynamic range
Overall image quality Better image quality 66.0 vs 63.0
Help
 Almost the same
Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity 12,800 ISO vs 3,200 ISO
Help
 The DSLR-A550's maximum light sensitivity is 2 f-stops better
Color depth Better color depth 21.9 bits vs 21.8 bits
Help
 Distinguishes 0.1 more bits of color
Low light performance Slightly lower noise at high ISO 807 ISO vs 696 ISO
Help
 The DSLR-A550 has a slight edge (0.2 f-stops) in low noise, high ISO performance
Storage slots Has more storage slots 2 vs 1
Help
 More slots allows storing more images without switching memory cards
Continuous shooting Shoots slightly faster 7 fps vs 6.3 fps
Help
 More than 10% faster continuous shooting
Sensor size Slightly larger sensor APS-C 23.4x15.6mm vs APS-C 22.3x14.9mm
Help
 Around 10% larger sensor
Weight Lighter 632 g vs 822 g
Help
 More than 20% lighter
Lowest price Slightly cheaper $1,012.00 vs $1,281.99
Help
 The best price we've seen is $270 cheaper (more than 20% less)
Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 Learn more about
the Sony DSLR-A550
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent DSLRs, and ignoring price

Canon EOS 50D Canon EOS 50D
67 vs 62
Explain scores
Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 Sony Alpha DSLR-A550
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Canon EOS 50D. This recommendation, however, should be taken with a grain of salt since it doesn't always make sense to compare a pro DSLR with a entry-level DSLR.

performance Which camera has better performance? Cast your vote!

CanonEOS 50D
 Canon EOS 50D vs Sony Alpha DSLR-A550
SonyAlpha DSLR-A550
Uses Travel score Travel
On holiday or vacation
1
5
Vote Vote
Sports score Sports
Fast action, sometimes indoors
2
4
Vote Vote
Features Color accuracy Color accuracy
White balance in varied lighting
2
5
Vote Vote
Autofocus peformance Still image focusing
Speed and accuracy
2
3
Vote Vote
Manual controls Manual settings
How quickly and easily you can change settings
3
3
Vote Vote
Build quality Build quality
Is it sturdy, well made, plastic or metal
4
2
Vote Vote
Green arrow Join in the discussion below!

similarities

Compared to recent DSLRs

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Screen resolution High resolution screens Help
50D:920k dots
DSLR-A550:922k dots
Viewfinder coverage Below average viewfinder coverage Help
95%
Autofocus No video autofocus Help
Manual focus only
Weather sealed Neither is weather sealed Help
Need to shelter it from weather
Movie format Do not shoot movies Help
No movies
Color depth Poor color depth Help
50D:21.8 bits
DSLR-A550:21.9 bits
Overall image quality Low image quality Help
50D:63.0
DSLR-A550:66.0

dxomark

DXOMark

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon EOS 60D

Canon EOS 60D

Pro DSLR

$899 - $1,304 body only

$1,138 - $1,342 with 18-135mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Color depth Has slightly more color depth
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is slightly heavier
Compare the EOS 60D vs the EOS 50D
Compare the EOS 60D vs the Alpha DSLR-A550
Canon EOS Rebel T2i

Canon Rebel T2i

Entry-level DSLR

$499 - $949 body only

$579 - $867 with 18-55mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Color depth Has slightly more color depth
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Shutter lag Has significantly more shutter lag
Compare the Rebel T2i vs the EOS 50D
Compare the Rebel T2i vs the Alpha DSLR-A550
Nikon D90

Nikon D90

Entry-level DSLR

$869 - $897 body only

$1,099 - $1,200 with 18-105mm lens
Overall image quality Has slightly better image quality
Movie format Records lower quality movies
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Shutter lag Has slightly more shutter lag
Compare the D90 vs the EOS 50D
Compare the D90 vs the Alpha DSLR-A550
Canon Rebel T3i

Canon Rebel T3i

Entry-level DSLR

$609 - $800 body only

$709 - $1,180 with 18-55mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Color depth Has slightly more color depth
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the EOS 50D
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the Alpha DSLR-A550
Nikon D5100

Nikon D5100

Entry-level DSLR

$650 - $749 body only

$600 - $750 with 18-55mm lens
Low light performance Is slightly less noisy at high ISO
Overall image quality Has significantly better image quality
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the D5100 vs the EOS 50D
Compare the D5100 vs the Alpha DSLR-A550
Nikon D7000

Nikon D7000

Entry-level DSLR

$1,097 body only

$1,227 with 55-200mm lens
Low light performance Is slightly less noisy at high ISO
Overall image quality Has significantly better image quality
Weight Is slightly heavier
Shutter lag Has significantly more shutter lag
Compare the D7000 vs the EOS 50D
Compare the D7000 vs the Alpha DSLR-A550
Nikon D3100

Nikon D3100

Entry-level DSLR

$500 - $984 with 18-55mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Color depth Has slightly more color depth
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Lens focus motor Doesn't have a built-in focus motor
Compare the D3100 vs the EOS 50D
Compare the D3100 vs the Alpha DSLR-A550

Canon EOS 50D Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon EOS 7D

Canon EOS 7D

Pro DSLR

$1,329 - $1,821 body only

$1,498 - $1,800 with 28-135mm lens
Movie format Shoots movies
Color depth Better color depth
Size Slightly larger
Weight Slightly heavier
Compare the EOS 7D vs the EOS 50D
Canon EOS 40D

Canon EOS 40D

Pro DSLR

$1,000 body only
Color depth Better color depth
Overall image quality Slightly better image quality
Screen resolution Much lower resolution screen
True resolution Lower true resolution
Compare the EOS 40D vs the EOS 50D
Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Pro DSLR

$2,400 body only

$2,799 - $2,839 with 24-105mm lens
Low light performance Much lower noise at high ISO
Overall image quality Much better image quality
Cross type focus points Fewer cross-type focus points
Shutter lag More shutter lag
Compare the EOS 5D Mark II vs the EOS 50D

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Sony Alpha DSLR-A580

Sony Alpha DSLR-A580

Entry-level DSLR

$849 with 18-55mm lens
Overall image quality Significantly better image quality
Movie format Shoots movies
Compare the Alpha DSLR-A580 vs the Alpha DSLR-A550
Sony SLT-A55

Sony SLT-A55

Entry-level DSLR

$699 body only

$799 - $880 with 18-70mm lens
Movie format Shoots movies
Color depth Better color depth
Viewfinder Has a digital viewfinder
Storage slots Has fewer storage slots
Compare the SLT-A55 vs the Alpha DSLR-A550
Sony Alpha NEX-5

Sony Alpha NEX-5

Mirrorless interchangeable-lens

$569 with 18-55mm lens
Movie format Shoots movies
Color depth Better color depth
Viewfinder No viewfinder
Image stabilization No image stabilization
Compare the Alpha NEX-5 vs the Alpha DSLR-A550

appearance

Canon EOS 50D Sony Alpha DSLR-A550
Canon EOS 50D Sony Alpha DSLR-A550
Canon EOS 50D Sony Alpha DSLR-A550

Find similar cameras

Here are some links to help you find other cameras with similar features to both of these:

discussion Which do you think is better?

Speech is free, but discussion at Snapsort is moderated! Please discuss your opinion of these cameras here, and discuss feedback for Snapsort at our support community.

Showing 0 comments