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Canon Powershot SX50 HS Review Summary
12 Megapixels
Ultra-Zoom: At least 10X optical zoom.
Electronic View Finder
High ISO: ISO 6400 or more is available at full-resolution.
Stabilization: Compensates for tiny involuntary movements of the camera.
Level: Measures camera tilt and helps to keep the horizon level.
Continuous Drive
Full 1080p HD Video: 1920 x 1080 resolution or more.
Manual Controls: Both fully-manual (M) and semi-automatic modes (T and V).
Custom White-Balance: Specifies exactly what should be white to the camera.
Action Photography: Shutter speeds of 1/1500 or more.
Night Photography: Reaches shutter-speeds longer than 4 seconds.
Hotshoe: Allows external flash units to be attached.
Spot Metering
Accepts Secure Digital Extended Capacity (SDXC), SDHC and SD memory.
Neocamera detailed reviewCanon Powershot SX50 HS Assessment
As the flagship Canon ultra-zoom, the Canon Powershot SX50 HS sports the longest optical zoom ever built into a digital camera. With an equivalent focal-range of 24 to 1200mm, the SX50 HS is king of zooms. Even with this 50X zoom ratio, the SX50 HS is not the biggest ultra-zoom. To make this lens so compact, Canon had to limit the maximum aperture to F/3.4 at the wide-end and F/6.5 at the long-end. This makes a tripod more necessary than with any other ultra-zoom. Compare the SX50 with other flagship ultra-zooms here.
The Canon Powershot SX50 HS is a prosumer digital camera with the requisite manual controls, including manual focus and custom white-balance, plus a hot-shoe and built-in EVF. It has advanced features like exposure and focus bracketing and it can shoot full 1080p HD video with stereo sound.
Image quality is good for this type of camera, falling short compared to the Fuji X-S1
Fuji X-S1 but delivering twice the zoom in a smaller body. No free lunch here! The speed of this camera is also quite good. The main usability issue is that the variable-speed electronic zoom is jumpy.
Choosing a camera like the SX50 HS is all about the zoom and, this time, there are no other models that can match it. If you need such a long zoom, you have to get used to its compromises.
Neocamera detailed review Read the Canon Powershot SX50 HS review.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Class-leading 50X optical zoom | Useless ISO 3200 & 6400 sensitivities |
| Nice retention of details | Noise visible at all ISO |
| Good metering system | Limited dynamic range |
| Punchy image colors but no too much | Max 1s shutter-speed above ISO 80 |
| Excellent white-balance | Sluggish autofocus |
| Class-leading 0cm macro focus | High distortion near wide-angle |
| Impressive stabilization | Miniscule EVF |
| Sensitive autofocus | No EVF/LCD toggle |
| Resists purple fringing | Control-dial too slim |
| Intuitive user-interface | Weak LCD hinge |
| Innovative framing aid | Short battery-life |
| Quite responsive | |
| Good video response | |
| Speedy playback mode | |
 Excellent Excellent |
|
Recent Similar Cameras
Related Information
| Sister Models |
|---|
Canon Powershot SX40 HS Canon Powershot SX40 HS - 35X Optical Zoom, ISO 3200 Max, 10 FPS |
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Canon SX50 HS Facts
Large digital camera| 12 Megapixels Ultra Zoom | ISO 80-6400 |
| 50X Ultra-Wide Optical Zoom | Shutter 1/2000-15s |
| Built-in Stabilization | Full manual controls, including Manual Focus |
| Unknown Size Built-in EVF 200K Pixels | Custom white-balance with 2 axis fine-tuning |
| 1 Axis Digital Level | Spot-Metering |
| 2.2 FPS Drive, 10 Images | Hot-Shoe |
| 1920x1080 @ 24 FPS Video Recording | Lithium-Ion |
| 2.8" LCD 460K Pixels | Secure Digital Extended Capacity |
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