The successor of the EOS 40D is (almost) here: Canon officially announced the Canon EOS 50D along with the new lens Canon EF-S 18-200/3.5-5.6IS. The EOS 50D and the new lens will be both available in October 2008, Canon says.

The EOS 50D comes with an CMOS APS-C sized sensor (crop factor 1.6) with 15.1 megapixels. Being Canons first DSLR with the new DIGIC 4 image processor the EOS 50D can burst 6.3 shots per second with improved image quality.

The “EOS Integrated Cleaning Systems” gets a new fluorine layer and now works in three steps to clean the sensor. With 35 metering zones and 9 cross type Autofocus zones the Autofocus specifications are the same as found in the EOS 40D.

The basic ISO range goes from 100 – 3200 while those values can be “boosted” to ISO 6400 and 12800. The integrated noise reduction can be adjusted in four grades. The LCD display is now 3 inches big with 920,000 pixels (VGA) with a Live View Mode.

The EOS 50D is prized at US$1399 (1299€) for just the body and it will be available as a kit with the EF 28-135 3.5-5.6 IS USM for US$1599.

If you’re interested in all the details and specifications have a look at Bob Atkins article about the official announcement of the EOS 50D.

Along with the EOS 50D Canon announced the EF-S 18-200 3.5-5.6 IS as a new lens. The lens is intended for use with an APS-C sized sensor and insists of 16 elements (UD-glass and aspherical lenses) arranged in 12 groups. As the name says the EF-S 18-200 3.5-5.6 IS comes with an image stabilizer but somehow misses an USM ring motor which is quite strange for a lens of a prize of US$699 (599€).

All the specifications for this new lens are available in an article by Bob Atkins too.