As I remember it, back when I was single I'd often try flattery with women which rumor had it would get you everywhere. I think that's what Canon's trying in today's announcement of the new Canon 50D.

"Advanced amateur photographers blur the line between the hobbyist and the professional, looking for professional features and capabilities in their equipment that will allow them to capture that awe-inspiring image."

Hold on... they're selling cameras by using the phrase "blur the line." Don't you guys have proofreaders there in Lake Success? Yeah, give me that "blur" camera.

Where was I?

Canon is faced with an interesting problem. They are selling multiple camera lines with an increasingly mature product. You can tell which camera is in which line by the model number--one, two or three digits. Canon has to advance each line without cannibalizing the one above it. It's a delicate, high stakes, ballet

The 50D fits at the top of Canon's second line. It has a "15.1-megapixel CMOS APS-C size image sensor [which] has been improved thanks to the use of newly designed gapless microlenses over each pixel to reduce noise and expand sensitivity up to ISO 12800." Canon's APS-C sensor checks in at 329mm² compared to 864mm² for 35mm film or the"full frame' sensors found on the higher end line (Wikipedia has a great all purpose sensor comparison chart here). APS-C is the same size as a sensor on the lower Rebel line. Larger sensors normally mean lower noise.

I am astounded by Canon's claim of ISO 12800. Doubling the ISO halves the light necessary to make a shot. Compared to a conventional top limit of ISO 1600 this camera needs 1/8 the light--three full f-stops! I haven't done all the math, but I believe you can shoot from within a black hole with this camera. What Canon doesn't say is how much noise is introduced, though noise is usually implicit and therefore tolerated where high ISO shots are required.

Even Canon has caught on to the fact that not everyone needs every pixel every time. This camera comes with two new reduced resolution raw modes allowing the camera to act as if it was a 7.1 or 3.8 MP camera. That's a first for me. Is it better to shoot raw with fewer pixels or stay full and accept jpeg compression and artifacts? I don't know but I suspect that's a question which will be addressed almost as soon as the 50D hits the street.

Though romancing advanced amateurs early on Canon throws out an olive branch to those who just want a cool camera and really don't know what they're doing. It's called CA for Creative Full Auto. After the proofreader tackles "blur the line," maybe they can find the missing "F" in this abbreviation.

"This new setting goes a step beyond Full Auto, by allowing users to make adjustments before shooting while still in an Automatic mode, without needing to know the meaning of technical terms such as aperture, shutter speed, etc. In this mode, the camera menu on the back screen spells out options in common language for average photo enthusiasts, allowing them to "blur the background" or "lighten or darken the image." These easy-to-comprehend image options will help amateur photographers improve the shots they are capable of taking, while helping them learn new techniques"

As has become the trend, Canon has added "Live View" to its 3 inch 920,000 pixel LCD screen along with throwing in an HDMI output so you can plug the camera directly into your HDTV! There's also the ability to fire off 6.3 fps and write it to a CompactFlash card--not the SDHC cards now used on the recent Rebel Xsi 450D.

Canon has done a great job advancing digital photography. I've yet to hear a complaint from a Canon DSLR user--though this sentence will probably bring them out of the woodwork. The features in the 50D should make it an excellent addition to the EOS line, though probably not enough of a quantum leap to entice many 40D owners to trade-up to the latest and greatest.