Canon super-zoom powershot S series lovers

[ControlD]

Well, the SX50 HX arrived just 23 hours after I placed the order. Awesome!

I have had a change to play with it. the 50X zoom is interesting. Here is a quick shot from my garage door looking towards street. Note the tall saguaro cactus.

Have you had a chance to do any indoor photography with the camera yet? I am considering this very camera to replace my wife's P&S and I am curious if it can handle pictures of the kids and pets indoors. From what I have read the focus is a little slow inside and the camera has some red-eye issues. I would rather get impressions from an actual owner than quick blurbs from review sites though.

Thanks!

 

[Minerva]

I got the 50SX for Christmas. :awe:
I also have the SX30 to compare to.

The low light/indoor capability on the 50 is vastly improved.
It also has a hot shoe so you can use a (real) flash. I do have the 580EXII that I use on my 1D that I may try on the 50 to see how it works. Bounce flash indoors is a godsend if you want good pictures.

Handheld the long zoom is fairly shaky. The IS works really hard to keep it under control. I wonder how the battery will fare in the wild. The battery is a bit smaller than the one on the 30 which was surprising.

If you take video you will like 1080P support. I wish it was AVCHD rather than quicktime though.

Also this camera supports RAW! Amazing to have that ability in P&S class gear.

I may get the courage to brave the wind and cold today and take a ride on the ATV to the field and get some long shots of various things on the ranch. The stable/horse test seems to be good as it was the first shots we snapped on our 30 two years ago! Shivering in the cold while trying to take a picture at full zoom is a pretty good field test! The SX30 did impressively well. I need to shop for a decent carbon fiber collapsible monopod.

Of course we were disappointed in the noise when we brought the 30 indoors at a new year's party. It looks like the SX50 has fixed a lot of those shortcomings but I'll see in a few days.

 

[ControlD]

Thanks for the information Minerva. When you get a little more time with the camera (particularly indoors) can you post some more impressions? I have a full bag of DSLR equipment so using a flash on the SX50 is also something I have been interested in. I am sure however that my wife my stick to the built-in flash so I am curious how bad the red eye problems are for general P&S usage.

 

[corkyg]

Mostly similar comments to Minerva. I* have the SX30, 40, and now 50. The 50 is very slightly larger, has a deeper right side hand grip. The battery and charger are the same as the 40.

I used it Christmas Eve when I was at a dinner for my cousin. (He is 103 years old and will be 104 in May. Good genes there!) Anyway, here is a close up taken with the SX50 and on-board flash - no red eye problem at all. Pic is reduced to 800x600 for email purposes.

And, this was the next shot - above gentleman's son and GF - about 4 feet away from me, I was siutting on a sofa between them. Shot P&S in P mode w/flash.

And lastly, a macro mode shot of the ring on my left hand holding the SX50 with my right hand.

 

[Rottie]

Well, the SX50 HX arrived just 23 hours after I placed the order. Awesome!

I have had a change to play with it. the 50X zoom is interesting. Here is a quick shot from my garage door looking towards street. Note the tall saguaro cactus.

From the exact same spot, I let her go to the max to capture the top of that cactus.

Both shots used the same P setting, and are reduced to 1024x768 for Internet transmission and email.

I can definitely see some application in wildlife shots where one can't tote huge lenses and a DSLR.

At max zoom, a tripod would definitely help - at least a monopod.

very nice pictures I will get SX50 HX late next year. Walmart sells for 479.00 so still close to Rebel T3i without lens for 499.00…decision decision…

 

[corkyg]

very nice pictures I will get SX50 HX late next year. Walmart sells for 479.00 so still close to Rebel T3i without lens for 499.00…decision decision…

Cool! I succumbed because B&H made me an offer I could not refuse . . . $369 with free 2nd day air!

 

[Rottie]

I just got a PowerShot SX30IS last week and play with it. The picture quality is OK not the best like SX50 HS. I will use it for a while….and see if Canon will ever release SX60 HS?

 

[nOOky]

Thinking about selling my S3-IS as I just got a Panasonic Lumix G5. I don't know if I'd get much for an older used camera though, maybe keep it in the car for those whenever moments that I think a zoom like that would be useful for...

 

[glenn1]

Thinking about selling my S3-IS as I just got a Panasonic Lumix G5. I don't know if I'd get much for an older used camera though, maybe keep it in the car for those whenever moments that I think a zoom like that would be useful for...

I might take it for the right price.

 

[Munky]

Yeah but I posted thread regards about CMOS vs CCD I understand CMOS is better than CCD that is the reason I wanted SX10 BUT SX30 have 36x zoom and 14MP...

Also I believe all 3 lacks face detection feature that I am looking for...I am taking picture of me....

That's not true at all. Modern consumer cameras use CMOS because they are cheaper, and with the processing being right on the sensor, they can add more gimmicky features like pop filters, video recording, auto-HDR, etc.

I actually prefer the images from Canon's S95 CCD vs. the S100 CMOS. The CCD images look cleaner and sharper at the lower ISO range.

 

[nOOky]

I might take it for the right price.

I need to spend time using the new one before I ditch the old one. Haven't had the time or the weather suitable to take any decent shots.
I cleaned up the old S3-IS and wiped the memory card etc., I had forgotten what a good buy it was.

 

[Rottie]

That's not true at all. Modern consumer cameras use CMOS because they are cheaper, and with the processing being right on the sensor, they can add more gimmicky features like pop filters, video recording, auto-HDR, etc.

I actually prefer the images from Canon's S95 CCD vs. the S100 CMOS. The CCD images look cleaner and sharper at the lower ISO range.

I read some reviews at dpview (?) website and both SX40 HS and SX50 HS produced excellent pictures and they both have BSI-CMOS sensor and SX30 IS uses CCD sensor and those pictures look grainy/noise….So…..

 

[kopie]

Impressive pics.
I have used Canon s2 for years. Very happy with it, until one day the lens broke and can't be extended anymore. I needed a new camera and I was looking at SX50, but the price seems to be a little high. So I bought Nikon L310. Not a bad camera, but to be honest I prefer s2. My advise is go with Canon.

 

[glenn1]

I need to spend time using the new one before I ditch the old one. Haven't had the time or the weather suitable to take any decent shots.
I cleaned up the old S3-IS and wiped the memory card etc., I had forgotten what a good buy it was.

I know, had the S2-IS myself and got some good shots with it. Let me know if you do decide to sell.

 

[Rottie]

Look like I am about to be done with SX30 IS….. Looking forward to buy either T3i and T4i or 60D…..

 

[Jtorrespr1]

I would go Rottie with the 60d, I have the t3i and my teacher had the 60d and to me the body is more solid than my 3ti.

 

[Rottie]

I would go Rottie with the 60d, I have the t3i and my teacher had the 60d and to me the body is more solid than my 3ti.

You are not happy with T3i? I am curious and can you give me yours? just kidding. Why I mentioned about T3i, T4i, and 60D is because they all have Vari-view LCD.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

C'mon folks, we're discussing Powershots here, not DSLRs...
I love the SX40, but wish I had the longer zoom on the SX50.
Not a big fan of the design on the SX50, though... the grip is smaller and less comfortable.

 

[corkyg]

Anita, I must disagree with you. The grip on the SX-50 is LARGER and provides a better grip for a larger hand. Also, note the addition of a hot shoe. That is a big plus. Here are both side by side:

Thanks for getting the thread back on track.

 

[iGas]

I haven't posted here for a while because I stopped using my S3IS when I got an iPhone 4S. Now S3IS is about to sold soon and I am about to get S30 IS soon but I found out they said Auto setting is awful then using Manual setting and low light is worse, it makes me wondering if it is worth or not. I heard many many positive thing about SX40 HS but I can't afford it yet.

I got my Canon 5D MKII and 5 lenses (3 are L lenses) for 3 weeks before the 6D came out, and I sometimes wished that I returned the 5D to get the 6D. (At the time it is more important for me to learn how to use the camera than having the better equipment, because I was leaving on my 5 weeks trip to Vietnam & Cambodia).

IMHO, it is a smart move to get a newest camera generation because advances in sensor and focusing technology would give you a better camera than the previous camera generation. Having said that, I feels that knowing your equipment limit and its limitations is much more critical than having the most advance piece of machinery that you don't know how to use.

In your case I would go the SX40 HS or go with the SX50 HS as suggested by corkyg, or pick up any of the DSLR that you mentioned. A used T2i may be another option if you are only interested with still instead of video.

 

[sixone]

Anita, I must disagree with you. The grip on the SX-50 is LARGER and provides a better grip for a larger hand. Also, note the addition of a hot shoe. That is a big plus. Here are both side by side:

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/Corky-G/SX40-50.jpg

Thanks for getting the thread back on track.

The SX40 has a hotshoe with a cover on it, so that it doesn't catch on your sweater or things in your camera bag.

This was a common misconception, that led Canon to drop the cover for the SX50.

 

[corkyg]

The SX40 has a hotshoe with a cover on it, so that it doesn't catch on your sweater or things in your camera bag. This was a common misconception, that led Canon to drop the cover for the SX50.

You are correct. Removing the cover is not easy -and then you have to have a place to put it. The exposed shoe is an improvement IMHO.

BTW - Rottie - the last photo of the two cameras was taken by my old S3! It is still great for hardware closeups. I think it is more valuable as a tool than what it could bring on a sale -I would not expect any more than fifty.

 

[sixone]

You are correct. Removing the cover is not easy -and then you have to have a place to put it. The exposed shoe is an improvement IMHO.

If you use it, sure. I never did, so I preferred it to be covered.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

@corkyg: it's not the size (actually, the depth) of the grip on the SX50 that concerns me. It's the fact that the gap between the grip and the lens is narrower, and the upper part of the grip itself (where the zoom/shutter button is) juts out more (towards the front), thereby making the fingers feel more cramped, and less comfortable than the SX40.

 

[corkyg]

OK - to each his or her own. I find with index finger on the clicker and middle and ring finger in the offset area below, the grip is more secure and comfortable for my big hands. I can hold it easily with one hand.

Another piece of good news is that they both use the same battery and charger. When going from the SX30 to the 40, it changed the battery for a very slight change in size.