Canon SX50 Specs (1 Viewer)

[Mahsleb]

I reckon this is a pretty good example of what this camera can do with flowers. It was taken with a modest zoom setting standing a few feet away. I haven't tried the full auto setting for flowers. This was with Av and my usual bird settings.

Thanks Dave, very nice, looks great against the dark bg!

 

[IanF]

Thanks Ian, that's very interesting, do you use a tripod for these sort of shots?

No, just hand held. The IS on the camera is very good indeed.

With the 50x zoom you can stand well back - a metre or so and still fill the frame, so you're not disturbing the subject.

 

[DavidNB]

There are several difficulties I've had on the rare moments that I've tried to actually use macro and very close to the camera. But I would say that I have not tried a lot.

1: Keeping the camera steady - It's a lot harder for me physically to keep the camera still when I'm crouching.

2: It seems that it's very harder for the camera to focus on the whole subject. For a flower it might focus on one part but another out of focus.

3: I find that being so close my options are limited when I or the camera cast a shadow on the subject.

Bed calls soon, so I'll try to remember to upload a flower pic tomorrow.

1) I've taken pics of flowers on slopes or walls so that I don't have to crouch too low

2) Yes - some flowers are easier to use macro on than others

3) Unlike when I take birds, my best results have been on cloudy days

Also, I use the screen not the eyepiece for close ups, and being able to angle the screen helps a lot.

David

 

[Roy C]

well the cashback is from Canon, so worth having a go at claiming it?- you download the form from their website - attach a copy of your receipt and mail it off - and wait (at least that's how it worked when I got cashback on a Powershot SX260 last year) - worth a go?
check out:

http://www.canon.co.uk/springcashback/

I bought mine a month ago for £289 and got the cashback so ended up paying £239.

I just scanned a copy of the invoice and filled out the claim form on-line (they prompt you for the invoice attachment).In addition to a UK receipt you have to supply the Camera serial number which could scupper some grey import jobs although you never know.

 

[DavidNB]

Did a bit of comparing macros of flowers with full zoom pics taken as close as will focus, and have pretty much changed my mind. The full zoom usually clearly better and always easier.

David

 

[Vipers]

Gary
well the cashback is from Canon, so worth having a go at claiming it?- you download the form from their website - attach a copy of your receipt and mail it off - and wait (at least that's how it worked when I got cashback on a Powershot SX260 last year) - worth a go?
check out:

http://www.canon.co.uk/springcashback/

The only problem is I've had my SX50 since January and this offer only started on the 7th March. Oh well.

 

[crazyfingers]

Out today. A couple photos with 50x and the 2x teleconverter. I tried a little sharpening.

Tree swallow and an eastern bluebird

 

[Bob Philpott]

I do like the way this camera will get into the undergrowth and allow you to get detail. The reed warbler was really well tucked up.

The nightingale was a bonus but there is a bit of movement in it.

Both at 1200mm on P.

 

[pshute]

Out today. A couple photos with 50x and the 2x teleconverter. I tried a little sharpening.

Tree swallow and an eastern bluebird

Teleconverter? Is this an optical or digital thing? Inbuilt or add on?

Apologies if this has been discussed before.

 

[crazyfingers]

Teleconverter? Is this an optical or digital thing? Inbuilt or add on?

Apologies if this has been discussed before.

It's build in and digital but different from digital zoom in some way that's not completely clear to me. But it seems to give good results. There is still some confusion over exactly what's different.

If you do a word search in this thread it comes up a lot.

 

[Roy C]

A few snaps from yesterday all taken from afar with the digital converter and full optical zoom. The first shot is at 1800mm and the last three at 2400mm - obviously not up to the IQ of optical zoom but not bad for record shots.
The Godwit shot must have been from at least 250 feet and probably more while the Oystercatchers were from around 150 feet.

 

[pshute]

It's build in and digital but different from digital zoom in some way that's not completely clear to me. But it seems to give good results. There is still some confusion over exactly what's different.

If you do a word search in this thread it comes up a lot.

I see now, found it in the manual with a little difficult because they call it "digital tele-converter" with a hyphen, so my search didn't find it.

I think my old Panasonic FZ30 had this, it's just digital zoom, but applied throughout the entire optical zoom range. From memory, I had a love hate relationship with it. Extremely useful for zooming in further to fit the AF frame between branches, but made me feel stupid whenever I wasn't at maximum optical zoom. (Why use digital zoom when you haven't used up all the optical zoom yet?)

Found this thread about it:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=251678

Apparently you can configure a button to turn it off and on? That would have solved my dilemma. Can you turn it on, focus, lock the focus, then turn it off again to take the shot?

You'd think it could do a better job of interpolating at 2x rather than some odd figure like 1.83x like you could get with normal digital zoom. And theoretically, if you're in jpg mode then it should be able to do a better job of interpolating than you could later on the compressed image.

 

[Roy C]

Apparently you can configure a button to turn it off and on? That would have solved my dilemma. Can you turn it on, focus, lock the focus, then turn it off again to take the shot?

You'd think it could do a better job of interpolating at 2x rather than some odd figure like 1.83x like you could get with normal digital zoom. And theoretically, if you're in jpg mode then it should be able to do a better job of interpolating than you could later on the compressed image.

You can assign the digital converter to the short cut button, pressing this toggles between 1.5x-2x-off . If you focus at,say, 2x and then hold the focus locked you cannot toggle the short cut button to off - it will only toggle when you release the shutter button all the way. If you focus lock on 2x (or 1.5x) then release the shutter and turn off the digital converter then the focus will be locked but a soon as you press the shutter button it will re-focus.

The digital converters does a better job than normal digital zoom at the same focal length in my experience. For a start using a converter gives you a faster shutter speed for the same aperture than if you used normal digital zoom at the same zoom factor, also Canon claim that when you use a digital converter the IS system is enhanced. I have tried interpolating a RAW file in CS5 (using several different methods) and cannot get as good as using a digital converter.

BTW, digital zoom of any kind will obviousness only work in jpeg mode.

 

[crazyfingers]

I see now, found it in the manual with a little difficult because they call it "digital tele-converter" with a hyphen, so my search didn't find it.

I think my old Panasonic FZ30 had this, it's just digital zoom, but applied throughout the entire optical zoom range. From memory, I had a love hate relationship with it. Extremely useful for zooming in further to fit the AF frame between branches, but made me feel stupid whenever I wasn't at maximum optical zoom. (Why use digital zoom when you haven't used up all the optical zoom yet?)

Found this thread about it:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=251678

Apparently you can configure a button to turn it off and on? That would have solved my dilemma. Can you turn it on, focus, lock the focus, then turn it off again to take the shot?

You'd think it could do a better job of interpolating at 2x rather than some odd figure like 1.83x like you could get with normal digital zoom. And theoretically, if you're in jpg mode then it should be able to do a better job of interpolating than you could later on the compressed image.

The camera can be configured to toggle the teleconverter by the outside "S" button. (Off/ 1.5x /2x) The "S" button is a wildcard button and is set in the menus and there are some functions that can be set to it, the teleconverter is one of them. For me setting the "s" button to toggle the teleconverter is the most handy use for the "s" button. I wish that there was more than one "s" button. It's handy. There are other functions I'd like to change quickly too but the teleconverter is most useful for me.

I don't know of a way to have the focus stay locked while toggling the teleconverter on and off. There may be... I have not really looked.

 

[DavidNB]

Did a bit of comparing macros of flowers with full zoom pics taken as close as will focus, and have pretty much changed my mind. The full zoom usually clearly better and always easier.

David

After trying more today, I now don't think it quite so clear cut - sometimes I do better from distance, sometimes using macro.

Still thinking about what I am doing, different types of targets etc to see if I can work out some generalities for when it is best to use the one or the other, and how to best use macro.

David

 

[DavidNB]

Anyone familiar with Stack Rocks in South Pembs? This taken full optical zoom hand held today, with lower link the same place shot from much the same place a couple of years ago with my SX30.

David

 

[brucelythe]

Some close ups using the zoom.

 

[brucelythe]

and more

closeups

 

[brucelythe]

All the above untouched

 

[pshute]

For a start using a converter gives you a faster shutter speed for the same aperture than if you used normal digital zoom at the same zoom factor,

Doesn't sound physically possible. Perhaps they mean a faster shutter speed for the same effective focal length. Then, because the real focal length is half what it says it is, you have a wider maximum aperture available than you otherwise would.

also Canon claim that when you use a digital converter the IS system is enhanced.

Same reasoning?

I have tried interpolating a RAW file in CS5 (using several different methods) and cannot get as good as using a digital converter.

That's good news. It means Canon's interpolation techniques, and maybe also their jpg conversion, are very good.