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"  Canon 50D (28-135mm IS lens pictured) Canon 50D and 18-200 mm IS lens /// $2098 ($1399 without lens) The Promise:  Typically, boosting the number of megapixels in an imaging sensor without increasing the actual size of the chip itself results in more image &amp;quot;noise&amp;quot; (that is, more of those ugly colored flecks that often pollute low-light images). This is because the millions of individual pixels have to be smaller in order to squeeze onto the sensor, meaning they have less surface area for absorbing light. The result is unwanted noise when shooting in low light at high light-sensitivity settings as the camera&amp;#039;s processor struggles to brighten a dark image. Canon says it has fixed this problem with its new 15.1-megapixel EOS 50D digital SLR. The camera employs larger microlenses over each pixel to funnel in extra light, and also features an extra-powerful processor that Canon claims helps keep images crisp and clear. And while some new SLR cameras like the Nikon D90 bill themselves as high-definition camcorder substitutes, this one takes all still shots.  In Practice:  To test the camera&amp;#039;s claims, we took it (along with an EFS 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens) to Central Park just before and just after a sunset and shot images up and down the camera&amp;#039;s light sensitivity range, from ISO 100 all the way to ISO 12,600.   With the setting sun offering nice, soft light, we captured beautifully clean images of flowers and dogs in the park at ISO 100 and 200. The pictures were sharp and virtually noise-free, thanks to the better than average 18-200 mm lens. One picture of a terrier was so sharp that you can even read the name on the dog&amp;#039;s collar. Likewise, close-ups of a sunflower revealed a resting bumblebee&amp;#039;s vein-traced wings. Overall, the color was vibrant and true to life.   As the sun went down, we pushed the ISO to 640 and shot ducks wading in the shallows of a pond. Next, we pushed it all the way to ISO 1250 to photograph a squirrel eating a nut on a branch. While the noise reduction function created obvious softness in the image at ISO 1250, we were impressed at how clean the shots were overall. The 50D&amp;#039;s 6.3 frames per second shooting speed also handled action well\u2014we got great pictures at a soccer game.   It was when the sun went down that things really got interesting. After briefly leaving the park to turn on a side street near the Guggenheim Museum, we stumbled onto a seasonal &amp;quot;haunted house&amp;quot; covered in scary masks and skulls. The Canon 50D caught the goblins, ghouls and ghosts that hung from the building at ISO 6400 without a flash washing over the scene&amp;#039;s creepiness. The finished pictures do have a good deal of purple, green and white noise in the shadowy sections, but not enough to ruin our photos.   Next came the evening roller-skating and dance circle in Central Park. By this time, things had gotten so dark that we had to push the camera to its maximum setting of ISO 12,600. Though we were able to photograph the performers in near-total darkness without a flash in this H2 mode, the pictures came out blurry and were riddled with noise.  The Bottom Line:  If you like shooting images in low light but hate ruining the mood with a bright flash, Canon&amp;#039;s new EOS 50D will keep you undercover. Though it suffered with some noise issues at ISO 6400\u2014and took a nosedive at ISO 12,600 when it was shooting in complete darkness without a flash\u2014this 15.1-megapixel digital SLR proves you don&amp;#039;t have to sacrifice high resolution in order to capture low-noise shots in the dark. \u2014Dan Havlik   RELATED STORIES \u2022 TECH TEST: Nikon D90 Digital SLR Shoots High-Def Movies  \u2022 PLUS: Top 5 Tips (and Cameras) for Taking Better Digital Photos  \u2022 GLEN REYNOLDS: Big Nikon vs. Little Kodak Low-Light SLR Test   \u2022 TECH CLINIC: How to Take Better Camera Phone Pics   A tight crop of a squirrel eating an acorn. The inset depicts the full frame of the same shot. Settings: ISO 1250, 1/60 sec, f/5.6, 200mm Settings: ISO 100, 1/500 sec, f/5.6, 200mm Settings: ISO 100, 1/40 sec, f/7.1, 24mm Settings: ISO 400, 1/200 sec, f/9.0, 18mm Settings: ISO 6400, 1/60 sec, f/5.6, 18mm "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a12845/4286714/>