its going to be days possibly weeks before I get a chance to properly test all the various features and functions of the HS50 but there is one aspect of this camera that I needed to check immediately which is the auto focus speed and accuracy.
Its bloomin fantastic !
The HS50 AF (Auto Focus) is absolutely instantaneous. :t:
A typical problem area for my HS10 was trying to get the camera to either focus on a bird in foliage or pre-focus on a small twig or bird feeder in order to capture some of my garden birds.
Typically at 500-720mm the HS10 AF would hunt all over the place , focussing on any adjacent surface or feature, at any distance . Sometimes it would be 15 seconds or more before I could focus on my subject .
The HS50 focuses instantly at 42x zoom (1000mm) even on a small twig 30mm dia at 10 feet distance focussing through db glazed windows .!
The background is some 50 metres behind the twig so the centre focus area is very tight indeed.
I managed to bang off 7x shots of a Pied Wagtail at 12 feet through db glazing as fast as my finger could trigger the shutter button . Thats without half press focusing , simply banging the button as fast as I could.
The images are all perfectly in focus and despite the overcast conditions and low level light today all the shots are crisp .You know how quickly Wagtails move,
they are constantly twitching.
The autofocus speed and accuracy is simply amazing which is good news for all us birders
Please bear in mind that the wagtail image was one out of a sequence of 7x shots taken at 1000mm in poor light through double glazing taken as fast as I could hit the button
http://www.flickr.com/photos/57957957@N08/8539654050/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/57957957@N08/8539652250/