Get
fantastic discount on the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS at the end of this Canon
PowerShot SX50 HS review.
By Mark Goldstein
The Canon
PowerShot SX50 HS is a brand new super-zoom camera from Canon sporting a 50x zoom lens
which is equivalent to a focal length of 24-1200mm. Replacing the previous SX40
HS model, the SX50 HS features a 12 megapixel back-illuminated sensor, DIGIC 5
image processor, 4.5-stop optical Image Stabilizer with Intelligent IS
technology, full manual controls, ISO 80-6400, 12-bit RAW format support, full
1080p HD movie recording with stereo sound and a HDMI port, 10fps burst
shooting, a 2.8 inch vari-angle LCD screen, a range of Creative Filters,
external flash hotshoe and an electronic viewfinder. The Canon PowerShot SX50
HS is available in black priced at $479.99.
Ease of Use
Like most
big zoom bridge cameras, the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS is a chunky beast that's
not much smaller than the entry level digital SLR that it takes its styling cue
from. However it is, after all, the whopper of a 50x optical lens that is the
main selling point, boasting a comprehensively and creatively broad focal range
stretching from 24mm to 1200mm that would be otherwise hideously unaffordable
or impractical for the average DSLR user. What is lost in quality compared with
a DSLR is made up for in terms of versatility - with the photographer being
able to rapidly switch from wide angle framing to candid close ups from afar -
and, all things considered, fair value, though the SX50 HS is not an
inexpensive purchase.
Indeed,
with a $479.99 suggested price tag, there's the obvious 'ouch' factor to get
over when considering the SX50 HS. Considering, that is, the fact that for a
similar outlay you could purchase an entry level digital SLR, albeit one
admittedly with a standard 18-55mm lens (3x zoom), rather than 50x. Still, if
compared with the similar Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 at a suggested $599.99,
which in fairness has a lens with a constant aperture of f/2.8 throughout its
24x zoom range, the Canon seems comparably reasonable on paper at least.
Considering
the zoom range on offer here, a bulky body and some added weight courtesy of
the chunky 315-shot rechargeable lithium-ion battery in the handgrip (a total
weight of 600g when the SX50 HS is 'loaded') makes perfect sense if we're going
to be able to achieve anything approaching critical sharpness when shooting
handheld towards the maximum telephoto setting. Image stabilization is of the
lens shift type, offering a claimed 4.5 stop advantage.
Like its predecessor
the SX50 HS again offers an Ultrasonic Motor along with a Voice Coil Motor to
deliver not only relatively swift but also smooth and silent zooming - crucial
when capturing video in particular, for which a dedicated thumb-operated record
button is provided. Maximum aperture of the lens is f/3.4 at 24mm, slowing to
f/6.5 at the full 1200mm, a little slow to start with but not bad considering
the massive focal range on offer.
From the
front, apart from the change of model number the SX50 HS (for 'High Speed')
looks more angular and DSLR-like than the SX40 IS, with a bigger hand-grip, and
further protruding pop-up flash. There's a large AF illuminator/self timer
porthole to the right of the gargantuan lens, the pop up flash hiding just
above, and a deep sculpted plastic grip to the left. Offering a slightly
roughened surface that is practical in preventing slippage but not all that
comfortable, we managed to squeeze three fingers around said grip without
scraping any knuckles on the adjacent barrel.
On the side of the lens
barrel are two new buttons to help make using the 50x zoom easier. The
uppermost Seek button quickly zooms back out of the scene, useful when you want
to relocate the subject that you had zoomed in on, and then automatically zooms
back to your chosen focal length when the button is released. The lower Lock
button locks onto and automatically track your subject, keeping them in the
center of the frame until you take the shot. New to the SX-range is an external
hotshoe on top of the camera, which accepts an external Canon Speedlite EX
flashgun, greatly expanding the capabilities of the SX50 HS in low-light
situations.
The SX50 HS features the
company's high speed Digic 5 image processor which offers a host of quick fire
continuous capture of up to 13 frames per second for up to ten shots and 120fps
or 240fps slow motion video replay options at 640x480 or 320x240 pixels
respectively, along with the now expected regular Full HD 1920x1080 pixels
video recording capability at 24fps. If you want 30fps this means a resolution
drop to 1280x720 pixels.
The lens shift image
stabilization, again also a feature of the SX40 HS forebear, offers the
equivalent of 4.5 stops, with the camera detecting and choosing the 'correct'
type of stabilization depending on the shooting conditions and the subject. The
SX50 HS has purportedly seven options to select from: Normal IS, Dynamic IS,
Powered IS (utilising camcorder technology to ensure the ability to record
footage at a long zoom range), Panning IS (deployed in one direction and useful
for recording racetrack action), Macro IS, Tripod Mode (image stabilizer automatically
deactivated) or Dynamic macro IS.
The Canon PowerShot SX50 HS
has 12.1 effective megapixels courtesy of a 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor that is back
illuminated to enhance its light gathering properties; enhanced as wires don't
get in the way of the sensor and so the light's path. The Digic 5 processor
offers noise reduction performance claimed to be a whopping 75% better than the
old Digic 4. Less noise also gives the opportunity to avoid using the flash at
various focal lengths - which incidentally has to be manually raised rather
than automatically popping up - and bump up the ISO instead whilst shooting
handheld. Here ISO runs from ISO 80 to ISO 6400.
Multi area white balance
maintains a natural colour balance for faces and backgrounds at the same time
when the flash is used under tungsten lighting. The camera detects that there
are two different light sources and so takes area specific readings. However,
though there is face detection and AF tracking on board, the number of AF
points is notably less than on even an entry level DSLR: we get just one-point
AF.
This is a camera that is
far easier to pick up and start shooting with than most DSLRs. Buttons and
controls are well placed (and spaced) on the SX50 HS, with a shooting mode dial
the size of a ten pen piece and a dime-sized shutter release button encircled
by a lever for operating the zoom located at the top of the handgrip where it
automatically falls under the forefinger of the right hand. This is a power
zoom for those with larger hands who normally bemoan the small, precise buttons
on most digicams, with the only the scroll wheel surrounding the control pad at
the back being occasionally fiddly to operate with the thumb.
Like most of its
ilk, we found it easy to slip back and forth between settings when using it.
Though most super-zooms offer the chance to merely toggle back and forth
through the focal range using a lever, we missed being able to manually twist
the lens barrel to quickly get the framing we wanted.
The Canon PowerShot SX50HS' shooting mode dial offers 12 settings, ranging from scene and subject
recognising smart auto mode through the usual program, shutter priority,
aperture priority and manual settings through to movie digest, sports mode,
scene mode, more unusually a digital effects mode where the likes of miniature
mode and HDR are discovered, plus there's a dedicated video setting from where
the aforementioned slow motion movie capture options can be implemented; useful
if you're shooting sports.
Stills capture is now JPEG
and/or RAW, a welcome development which brings the SX-range into line with key
competitors, and makes perfect sense on a camera that aims to replace a DSLR.
There are two customizable settings on the shooting mode dial for those who do
like getting more hands on. Despite there being a dedicated video control on
the shooting dial, you don't actually have to set it at this position to begin
recording (it's a means instead of adjusting the aforementioned video settings
from regular speed to slow mo via a press of the 'function set' button).
Simply hit the dedicated
record button no matter which alternative stills mode you're in and the a
second or so later the screen display will narrow from the regular 4:3 to 16:9
to ape how the video will look when replayed on your flat panel TV. There is,
as we'd expect, a mini HDMI connection provided under a rubber flap at the side
for this purpose, though unsurprisingly no lead comes bundled with the camera.
The new 2.8-inch screen of the Canon Powershot SX50 HS now offers an improved resolution of 460k pixels,
again matching the SX50's rivals.
Press the obvious on/off
switch next to the shooting mode dial and the camera powers up in just under
two seconds, which is respectably swift. The lens barrel visibly extends to the
maximum wide-angle 24mm setting as the rear LCD bursts into life. We know the
setting as it's marked atop the lens barrel, as usefully are the incremental
settings all the way up to 1200mm, which gradually reveal themselves as the
lens extends outwards from the body.
Since this is a bridge
camera as well as a power zoom, at the back we have both vari-angle LCD monitor
and a fixed electronic viewfinder just above. This automatically comes into
play if you've twisted the LCD screen to face inwards to the camera body.
There's no eye sensor beneath or above, nor is there a dedicated button for
swapping between the larger screen and smaller EVF, so it would be very easy
for most users to regularly bypass this facility completely.
As it is, EVF
resolution is a so-so 202k dots, and being able to twist and rotate the rear
screen means that even if light reflections do render visibility momentarily
tricky, a quick tilt and it's rectified.
Give the zoom lever a
toggle with your forefinger and the lens slides from maximum wide-angle to
extreme telephoto in all of four seconds, the minimum and maximum (infinity)
focus ranges provided via small text top of screen and rapidly changing as the
lens moves forward or back. There is a noticeable mechanical buzz as the lens
makes its adjustments, but it's not distracting. Switch to recording video
however and the zoom action slows so that the transitions are even smoother,
with the lens taking 10 seconds to move through its focal range. In this
setting the mechanics of the lens are less noticeable, which is exactly as we'd
want.
At the back of the camera
the LCD screen dominates, sitting squarely central below the EVF, which feature
a hard rubber surround to the eyepiece and dioptre wheel for adjustment of
visibility alongside. Above left and right of the EVF are a direct-print
button, this being a Canon model, plus a Playback button.
The rest of the controls
are ranged to the right of the screen, the uppermost allowing users to
immediately start recording a video. The next one down allows the single AF
point to be expanded/contracted or moved with the aid of the multi directional
control pad underneath - as long as you're in one of the creative shooting
modes that is.
Otherwise in smart auto mode, subsequent presses will turn face
detection on or off, while in playback mode this multi-use control usefully
doubles up as a Delete button. It requires a degree of playing around to
discover this as unhelpfully once again the full manual is provided on CD only,
with only a cursory quick start booklet in the box which doesn't cover any more
than the already self explanatory basics.
The four way control pad at
points north, east, south and west variously offers a means of adjusting
exposure compensation (+/- 2EV), self timer (off, two seconds, ten seconds or a
10 second option that fires three consecutive shots), selecting from the ISO
options (ISO100-3200), and finally adjusting focus, with switchable settings
between normal, macro and manual options offered if required. The latter allows
use of the scroll wheel to dial in distance settings from 0cm to infinity, with
an enlarged central square on screen giving a rough idea of whether the picture
is properly sharp enough.
A press of the Function /
Set button in the middle of the scroll wheel/control pad brings up the regular
L-shaped menu that will be immediately familiar to any Canon compact camera
user and presents essential functions at a glance. In program mode for example,
from the top of this toolbar we get the ability to adjust dynamic range
correction, white balance, select from the various 'My Color' options which
include our favourite vivid saturation boosting option alongside the ability to
specify darker or lighter skin tones or shoot in sepia or black and white in
camera.
Next down the list is a
bracketing option, with either three shots automatically taken at three
different exposures or three different focal distances, plus the option to
switch from single to continuous capture, again adjust exposure compensation to
+/- 2 EV, or swap metering between evaluative, centre weighted and spot. Image
aspect ratio can be swapped from the factory default of 4:3 to 16:9, 3:2 or
more unusually even 1:1 and 4:5. It's via this L-shaped toolbar that PowerShot
users can also specify large, medium or small files and even adjust video
resolution on the fly, from 1920x1080 through 1280x720 and down to 640x480
pixels. Alternatively if the camera has been set to its smart auto mode then
only image aspect ratio, file size and video resolution can be adjusted. The
other options do not appear at all.
The final two buttons on
the camera back are for the self-explanatory display and menu. Subsequent
presses of display will call up a nine zone compositional grid, or turn off the
LCD entirely at which point the EVF above automatically illuminates and comes
into play.
A press of 'menu' meanwhile
brings up three easy to follow folders on screen; a capture folder, set up
folder and my menu folder for quicker access to your more frequently used
settings, should you choose to pre-set them. Interestingly among the usual
suspects in the capture folder the microphone level can be adjusted, as can a
wind filter be turned on or off. These menu options can be tabbed with via a
thumb press of the four-way control pad or of course scrolled through faster
using the surrounding wheel.
If still viewing the camera
from the back, further points of interest on the SX50 HS include the covered
HDMI, AV and remote control ports on the right flank, and a single speaker
located on the left, which also features the hinge about which the variable
angle LCD screen pivots. The bottom of the camera features a metal off-centre
screw thread for a tripod next to which is a sliding plastic door that protects
the battery compartment and adjacent slot for the SD memory card. So,
incidentally, if you place this PowerShot on a tripod you'll have to unscrew it
first to remove the memory card.
What are the opinions of owners of the Canon
PowerShot SX50 HS bridge camera?
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Superzoom on the Market,
Ideal for Birding, Significant Improvement over SX40, October 16, 2012
By FFDR (Chicago, IL, USA)
“…the
SX50 is an amazing camera if used for the special purpose that it is good for.
This includes birding, wild life photography, and anything else that really
needs zooming in to the max…”
5.0 out of 5 stars Massive 50X Optical Zoom is a
No-brainer,
November 21, 2012
By Paul
W. (KL, Malaysia)
“…I've
used the SX50 HS extensively over 9 days for my vacation in Sydney and
Melbourne, Australia recently and can confirm that other than for low-light
photography, the maximum 1,200mm telephoto setting is still very useable -
handheld, without using a tripod or any kind of support, all thanks to Canon's
anti-shake image stabilization system, since I don't have the steady hands of a
surgeon…”
5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME, July 20, 2013
By Don-WWE
“…The
50x zoom and auto focus of the Canon Powershot SX50 HS are amazing. HD video is
really good. I love it!!! It fires up almost instantly…”
Note that discounts are subjected to change without notice,
so grab it while it is there.
