Canon PowerShot SX50 HS | Digital Point and Shoot Camera, Good

This great is a very nice and durable camera.. it has long battery life. Takes amazing pictures. Has great zoom capability. Everything is perfect on it. You can see stuff clearly. I highly recommend Cannon.

This was a joy for me to use. Usually when you a put in a position to learn a new digital piece of equipment it’s not as rewarding as it is with the cannon xx-50. I hade multiple frames and projects on my memory cards and the layout was seamless going from the cannon onto the cloud to be uploaded then edited. The picture was crisp and clearer than my iPhone camera by far. I loved this camera so much. I’d tell anyone that vlogs/youtube/content creators and us reviewers alike to try this out for the ease of use, and video quality.

i don't usually use such descriptive words for products, but this camera is simply and truly amazing. My background: An amateur/hobby photographer for. Do mostly landscapes and birds/wildlife. Started with a Pentax film camera years ago, then went to Nikon. So I am very familiar with adjusting F-Stops, shutter speed, etc., to get a good pic. Took many courses on photography over the years. Traveled around, years of some pretty great photos. Fought the change to digital, but finally gave in about five or six years ago. The digital Nikon SLR I have now is about five years old, and the auto focus always gave me problems with birds. Bought a Nikon "advanced" PS (similar to this) about three years ago. Same problem, plus the quality of pictures were never quite up to ... Morei don't usually use such descriptive words for products, but this camera is simply and truly amazing. My background: An amateur/hobby photographer for. Do mostly landscapes and birds/wildlife. Started with a Pentax film camera years ago, then went to Nikon. So I am very familiar with adjusting F-Stops, shutter speed, etc., to get a good pic. Took many courses on photography over the years. Traveled around, years of some pretty great photos. Fought the change to digital, but finally gave in about five or six years ago. The digital Nikon SLR I have now is about five years old, and the auto focus always gave me problems with birds. Bought a Nikon "advanced" PS (similar to this) about three years ago. Same problem, plus the quality of pictures were never quite up to snuff no matter what I tried. Though I have a 400mm lens with the SLR, still isn't enough for birds much of the time. Along the way, bought three Panasonic PS. Fabulous pictures every time! Was set to buy latest Panasonic like this Canon....then they took away Leica lens, and build them in China. That was the end of that. This is one terrific camera. I've been taking loads of shots the last three weeks. I purposely have not even done anything in the way of making "adjustments" other than to adjust the exposure, just to see how good it is, or where it may be weak. That's it. The 1200mm lens is unbelieveable. No camera shake whatsever....although, I will have to say that if you are not steady, you may want to use a tripod at that length. It IS possible to get a great handheld shot at that length, but you must be steady enough to do it. Where I live we have high winds almost all the time, so it's a bit of a challenge! But I managed to get some fantastic shots despite it. (And mind you, I'm very particular about what is acceptable vs. what has a real "wow" factor.) Adjusting the exposure, which is easy to do quickly, allowed me to get terrific closeup shots of many birds (think always-on-the-move palm warblers and hummingbirds, goldfinches in flight!) in low light conditions and on overcast days (of which we have had far too many lately). The macro is also terrific. I always had a hard time getting good closeup shots of flowers with any of my other cameras. This one is right on. I'm really impressed with the results, with no lenses to change out! The crispness and clarity of the shots I've taken is amazing beyond belief. Color is right on. I am still in awe of this camera. I may never buy another SLR! I can take this birding with me, too, and not have to lug around a heavy SLR. That way I can watch the birds and still hope to get a few good shots along the way! I have medium size hands, and the camera feels very good to hold and manuever. The moveable LCD screen is great. I've not had one before. You can use it to shoot (I prefer the viewfinder....a big reason why I got this type of camera), or it works really well to review a shot. The viewfinder has a diopter, so you can adjust it to your eyesight. You can actually see the LCD screen very well outside (unlike any other digital camera I've had before). Only drawback is that I worry about the card/battery latch at the bottom of the camera. It is not a rigid/tough plastic, and I'm not sure why they cheaped out on it. Though, in reality, if it should pop open or break off for some reason, the battery and card will not just fall out (they are secured). Also, I do wish it had a Landscape setting. My Panasonic has that, and it's great. Not a big deal; I simply put it on Landscape and adjust the exposure accordingly. I have more flexibitiliy in getting the shot I want that way anyway. Canon has a new fan! I've been told by my photographer/birder friends for years Canon was the way to go. Why didn't I listen? Be sure to always have an extra. fully-charged battery on hand. I have been shooting a lot of pictures lately over a span of a few hours, and the battery usually does go out during that time and I have to change it out. But this is not necessarily any different than with other cameras I've used.

The Canon PowerShot SX50 HS is a camera that combines an amazingly long zoom lens and a set of enthusiast and novice features, all packed into a surprisingly small bridge-style body and keeping it all relatively easy to use too. Honestly, make no mistake, that’s no mean feat. The monster zoom grabs the headlines perhaps, but it does not come without the compromise, such as the modest maximum apertures notwithstanding the PowerShot SX50 HS’ other assets. But imagine if will, just how much it might cost to buy the equivalent optics to match the 24mm -1200mm focal length built into this camera for, say, a D-SLR system. Exactly! It would be both very costly and indeed, very difficult to carry due to the bulkiness. The increase in resolution on the larger display are ... MoreThe Canon PowerShot SX50 HS is a camera that combines an amazingly long zoom lens and a set of enthusiast and novice features, all packed into a surprisingly small bridge-style body and keeping it all relatively easy to use too. Honestly, make no mistake, that’s no mean feat. The monster zoom grabs the headlines perhaps, but it does not come without the compromise, such as the modest maximum apertures notwithstanding the PowerShot SX50 HS’ other assets. But imagine if will, just how much it might cost to buy the equivalent optics to match the 24mm -1200mm focal length built into this camera for, say, a D-SLR system. Exactly! It would be both very costly and indeed, very difficult to carry due to the bulkiness. The increase in resolution on the larger display are also key advances, that all together mean the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS is a strong contender as an alternative to a DSLR not just the other super-zoom rivals on the market. In short then, Canon’s PowerShot SX50 HS has great image quality, D-SLR-like advanced shooting features and improved handling; it’s 50x zoom lens can bring the distant into sharp focus and all at a price that makes it a real alternative to a system camera and hefty bag full of lenses and accessories.

Canon as a brand is synonymous with with digital cameras and dslr. This one in particular is a hybrid since the lens already built in gives you the feel of a dslr but its a digital camera. It gets a bit shaky at full zoom but overall its a great pick for someone starting into photography and learning skills but not ready for a dslr.

Excellent bridge camera

I'd had a Fuji HS10 for many years, and taken some really good photos of wildlife in the game parks when on holiday, amongst the more usual holiday and family photos. Then, on holiday in New Zealand, the viewfinder image went blurred and the lens rattled - an inner lens had detached itself and that was that. New camera needed. It was like a bereavement of an old friend or faithful dog. Scanning eBay for a 2nd hand replacement there were very few bridge Fujis of the current or recent model coming up for sale so read a number of reviews and the Canon SX50 seemed to be a close equivalent - and there were lots available. Lurked for a while to get an idea of the price and eventually went for one that was in excellent condition, but at the top of the price range. Delivery ... MoreI'd had a Fuji HS10 for many years, and taken some really good photos of wildlife in the game parks when on holiday, amongst the more usual holiday and family photos. Then, on holiday in New Zealand, the viewfinder image went blurred and the lens rattled - an inner lens had detached itself and that was that. New camera needed. It was like a bereavement of an old friend or faithful dog. Scanning eBay for a 2nd hand replacement there were very few bridge Fujis of the current or recent model coming up for sale so read a number of reviews and the Canon SX50 seemed to be a close equivalent - and there were lots available. Lurked for a while to get an idea of the price and eventually went for one that was in excellent condition, but at the top of the price range. Delivery was prompt, and the camera exactly as described - in fact it looked almost brand new. I don't normally post reviews, but choosing a camera is a major decision and one I didn't take lightly - so maybe my review will help others in the same position. We often take a picture which can never be repeated - so choosing the right camera can contribute to recording significant and unrepeatable events in our lives. This is one powerful camera. More spec than the old Fuji, of course, and the development in technology over the past 10 years shows. I'd used the Fuji's 720 zoom fairly regularly but didn't think I'd need the 1200 zoom of the Canon very much. But, once you have that facility you use it. Image quality is better than my old Fuji and the stabilisation seems to work well. I use a monopod for long range shots anyway. So far I've not found anything I don't like but am still getting used to the functionality and the menu structure - which naturally differs from the Fuji. The Canon has all the functions you'd expect from a modern digital bridge camera - and I can't think of any other functions that I'd need as a keen amateur. There cannot be many situations where the Canon won't help you manage the lighting or shutter speed conditions to the very best of your ability. Not sure yet about the motorised zoom - I liked the Fujis manual zoom - it was easier to get the framing just right - but that's a minor consideration. I also liked the Fujis automatic switching between the EVF and the screen - the Canon has to be manually switched. The Canon's EVF is 200k pixels, less than later models, but it's still fine, and the rear screen is very good anyway. So, there are differences - I liked my old Fuji, maybe I'd just got comfortable with it, and I'm still getting used to the Canon - like a new pair of shoes. But the updated Fuji was effectively unavailable, so it had to be an alternative. Still getting to grips with Canon's bundled RAW image processing DPP software as I'd previously used Google's Picasa - which is no longer available. I can't think of any image processing facility I'd need that isn't in DPP. So, nothing bad to say, the Canon SX50 is a very, very good camera for the enthusiastic amateur who does not want to carry a full spec DSLR and a range of lenses and the weight and bulk penalty when on holiday. If you are unused to a Canon, as I am, there's a learning curve, but one that seems to be easy to move along if you spend time with the manual and the camera. The goldfinch is a processed image, the broken fence (with difficult back lighting) and the bikes are both unprocessed. Not long before the Fuji died, so did my old faithful dog. I now have a new best friend camera, all I now need is a new dog. Hopefully he'll be just as good a friend as my new Canon SX50 HS.

Good Bridge Camera with lousy view finder!

Nice bridge camera which takes very good, sharp photos - but the new finder is very small and you can't tell whether your photos are good until you review them! Also, the small view finder makes it very difficult to find subject matter - at least, the small ones! I enjoy bird photography and sometimes just shoot in the direction that I know the bird is without being able to find the bird in the view finder. That said, even bird behind branches generally come out well focused. The ISO can leave photos grainy at higher ends, but 400 ISO has been working fairly well in low light. Battery life seems good and it is a very light weight camera. For serious photography, I still use my DSLR, but this Canon Powershot is great for quick walks or to throw in the car and have ... MoreNice bridge camera which takes very good, sharp photos - but the new finder is very small and you can't tell whether your photos are good until you review them! Also, the small view finder makes it very difficult to find subject matter - at least, the small ones! I enjoy bird photography and sometimes just shoot in the direction that I know the bird is without being able to find the bird in the view finder. That said, even bird behind branches generally come out well focused. The ISO can leave photos grainy at higher ends, but 400 ISO has been working fairly well in low light. Battery life seems good and it is a very light weight camera. For serious photography, I still use my DSLR, but this Canon Powershot is great for quick walks or to throw in the car and have handy. I also plan to carry this while biking when the weather cools down a bit more.

Good, but with some major reservations

I like this camera overall. Image quality is excellent in terms of detail, color accuracy, saturation, sharpness, consistency, and depth of field at all aperture settings. I tested 6 other competitive cameras in the super-zoom bridge camera category, and this is the camera I ultimately purchased.So, end results are very good, and there is a lot to like here. However, the amount of text permitted in this review will not provide room for all the positives, so I am afraid I will have to “focus” on the negatives – issues that I would like to see corrected in the next iteration of this camera. (BTW, Canon – it would be nice if you told prospective reviewers the MAXIMUM number of characters allowed so we don’t have to use guesswork & trial-and-error to find out!)The ... MoreI like this camera overall. Image quality is excellent in terms of detail, color accuracy, saturation, sharpness, consistency, and depth of field at all aperture settings. I tested 6 other competitive cameras in the super-zoom bridge camera category, and this is the camera I ultimately purchased.So, end results are very good, and there is a lot to like here. However, the amount of text permitted in this review will not provide room for all the positives, so I am afraid I will have to “focus” on the negatives – issues that I would like to see corrected in the next iteration of this camera. (BTW, Canon – it would be nice if you told prospective reviewers the MAXIMUM number of characters allowed so we don’t have to use guesswork & trial-and-error to find out!)The absolute MOST annoying design flaw in this camera is that the self-timer button is located on the far right-hand edge of the back of the camera. This is a terrible location for this or any other control button, since almost every time you pick up, pass, or hold the camera to shoot, the heel of your palm presses this button and activates the timer. Often this cannot be corrected with just a single button press, as the timer has a number of elapsed time options and you may have to depress the button numerous times to turn the timer off to commence shooting! One has to learn how to delicately and unnaturally hold the camera to prevent this from occurring, and even then it happens consistently despite one’s best efforts. This flaw drives me out of my mind, and if it were not for the camera’s good performance which has forced me to learn to live with this perpetual frustrating annoyance, this would be a total deal-breaker.Second major issue: the electronic LCD viewfinder’s resolution at a mere 202k dots is junk compared with competitors, all of which at least more than quadruple this spec! I use an EVF a lot, and it is almost essential if you want to take photos in bright light or shoot extended telephoto shots without camera-shake blur. Moreover, the diopter adjustment wheel is EXTREMELY difficult to operate.Related to the EVF inferiority is the inconvenient location of the button which alternates the photographer’s view between the EVF and the LCD screen, and its inconvenient operation. You must pull the camera well away from your face to locate and operate it, and since the button is one of many dual-function buttons, you must press it twice quickly to change the views, which slows down composition & shooting. This camera either needs a well-designed automatic EVF-switching sensor, or else the button needs to be relocated - ideally to the left side of the flash unit near the diopter, where it belongs!The telephoto is amazing. There is a button on the side of the lens barrel that further locks in the image stabilization at extreme focal lengths, although it is a bit clumsy to use, is difficult to locate by feel, and often jars the camera when one tries to depress it, thus defeating its efficacy entirely! At greater telephoto lengths in dim light the camera does often have to “hunt” for focus, resulting in a lot of noisy lens extension and retraction buzzes and grinds that don't have a pleasing high-quality mechanical sound to them!There are no in-camera adjustable settings for contrast, sharpness, or noise-reduction, which I initially found unusual since this camera’s competitors (that I tested) all include such adjustment settings. However, and luckily, the default settings and the resulting images in these areas are so good that I don’t miss being able to tweak them.The owner’s manual is very lengthy, convoluted, and most sections are loaded with cross-references to other pages and sections, making instructions very laborious and confusing to follow as you attempt to flip back and forth between all the cross-references and sub-cross-references. Like all cameras these days, the manual is only available in electronic form, which makes it virtually impossible to use. Fortunately, there are online services which for a reasonable price will produce print copies of the manual and provide fast delivery.Features I would like to see in addition to a correction of the major complaints mentioned above: a lens cap that pops off when you turn on the camera and the lens extends, like my previous camera offered; an on-screen battery status indicator that A.) doesn’t start flashing CONTINUALLY onscreen once you get down to 25% battery power, ceasing only when battery is depleted (a REALLY annoying feature of this camera!), and B.) tells how many minutes or shots remain on the battery charge rather than simply depicting a very gross and generalized full /empty battery symbol that all-too-quickly goes into flash alert mode (see A., preceding!).

Great Performance, Many Design Flaws

I like this camera overall. The image quality is excellent in terms of detail, color accuracy, saturation, sharpness, consistency, and depth of field at all aperture settings. I tested 6 other competitive cameras in the super-zoom bridge camera category, and this is the camera I ultimately purchased.So, end results are very good, and there is a lot to like here. However, the amount of text permitted in this review will not provide room for all the positives, so I am afraid I will have to “focus” on the negatives – issues that I would like to see corrected in the next iteration of this camera. (BTW, Canon – it would be nice if you told prospective reviewers the MAXIMUM number of characters allowed so we don’t have to use guesswork & trial-and-error to find ... MoreI like this camera overall. The image quality is excellent in terms of detail, color accuracy, saturation, sharpness, consistency, and depth of field at all aperture settings. I tested 6 other competitive cameras in the super-zoom bridge camera category, and this is the camera I ultimately purchased.So, end results are very good, and there is a lot to like here. However, the amount of text permitted in this review will not provide room for all the positives, so I am afraid I will have to “focus” on the negatives – issues that I would like to see corrected in the next iteration of this camera. (BTW, Canon – it would be nice if you told prospective reviewers the MAXIMUM number of characters allowed so we don’t have to use guesswork & trial-and-error to find out!)The absolute MOST annoying design flaw in this camera is that the self-timer button is located on the far right-hand edge of the back of the camera. This is a terrible location for this or any other control button, since almost every time you pick up, pass, or hold the camera to shoot, the heel of your palm presses this button and activates the timer. Often this cannot be corrected with just a single button press, as the timer has a number of elapsed time options and you may have to depress the button numerous times to turn the timer off to commence shooting! One has to learn how to delicately and unnaturally hold the camera to prevent this from occurring, and even then it happens consistently despite one’s best efforts. This flaw drives me out of my mind, and if it were not for the camera’s good performance which has forced me to learn to live with this perpetual frustrating annoyance, this would be a total deal-breaker.Second major issue: the electronic LCD viewfinder’s resolution at a mere 202k dots is junk compared with competitors, all of which at least more than quadruple this spec! I use an EVF a lot, and it is almost essential if you want to take photos in bright light or shoot extended telephoto shots without camera-shake blur. Moreover, the diopter adjustment wheel is EXTREMELY difficult to operate.Related to the EVF inferiority is the inconvenient location of the button which alternates the photographer’s view between the EVF and the LCD screen, and its inconvenient operation. You must pull the camera well away from your face to locate and operate it, and since the button is one of many dual-function buttons, you must press it twice quickly to change the views, which slows down composition & shooting. This camera either needs a well-designed automatic EVF-switching sensor, or else the button needs to be relocated - ideally to the left side of the flash unit near the diopter, where it belongs!The telephoto is amazing, if a bit overkill at 1200 mm equivalent, optical. There is a button on the side of the lens barrel that further locks in the image stabilization at extreme focal lengths, although it is a bit clumsy to use, is difficult to locate by feel, and often jars the camera when one tries to depress it, thus defeating its efficacy entirely! At greater telephoto lengths in dim light the camera does often have to “hunt” for focus, resulting in a lot of noisy lens extension and retraction buzzes and grinds that don't have a pleasing high-quality mechanical sound to them!There are no in-camera adjustable settings for contrast, sharpness, or noise-reduction, which I initially found unusual since this camera’s competitors (that I tested) all include such adjustment settings. However, and luckily, the default settings and the resulting images in these areas are so good that I don’t miss being able to tweak them.The owner’s manual is very lengthy, convoluted, and most sections are loaded with cross-references to other pages and sections, making instructions very laborious and confusing to follow as you attempt to flip back and forth between all the cross-references and sub-cross-references. Like all cameras these days, the manual is only available in electronic form, which makes it virtually impossible to use. Fortunately, there are online services which for a reasonable price will produce print copies of the manual and provide fast delivery.Features I would like to see in addition to a correction of the major complaints mentioned above: a lens cap that pops off when you turn on the camera and the lens extends, like my previous camera offered; an on-screen battery status indicator that A.) doesn’t start flashing CONTINUALLY onscreen once you get down to 25% battery power, ceasing only when battery is depleted (a REALLY annoying feature of this camera!), and B.) tells how many minutes or shots remain on the battery charge rather than simply depicting a very gross and generalized full / empty battery symbol that all-too-quickly goes into flash alert mode (see A., preceding!).

I am in love with my SX50! I've wan...

I am in love with my SX50! I've wanted to get back into photography and started with a Canon Rangefinder, but quickly realized I wanted an SLR for more control and creative freedom. I found this shop and they had just what I wanted. The order was easy and my camera shipped quickly with adorable packaging. Everything was just as described and I'm getting used to shooting again. Thank you!!