Canon SX50 Specs (1 Viewer)

[ClarkWGriswold]

Not had any issues (touch wood) with mine HI but maybe I don't use it as much as others.

Rich

 

[IanF]

I still use mine a fair bit. Approaching three years old and I've had no issues so far despite being dropped several times.

It's gone round the clock a good few times but I've no idea how many it's taken in total.

 

[wotcha]

As mentioned a few pages back my nearly 2yo SX50 went in for repair a few weeks ago following an accident when it got a bit wet. Turned out to be a complete write-off so I was initially offered £230.00 by D&G, upped to £300.00 when I quibbled, which I was happy to settle for having already bought the SX60 to replace it. I have little idea how many shots it racked up, maybe somewhere between 10 and 30k, but a fair proportion, mayby half, would have been video clips.

Have been using my SX60 for over a month now and am finding that although the vf is a significant improvement and autofocus seems to perform better, overall it still represents a big step backwards for birding because IS is so poor by comparison.

 

[HermitIbis]

A youtube video, someone disassembles and cleans his SX30: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN4pCTZTuL8
In the comments he warns not to try the same with the SX50, because of a "more complicated lens unit". I'll resist the temptation to repair the SX50 myself...

A thread at dpreview, http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3841756#forum-post-55781822 , shows some of the interior parts of the SX50. The first photo is the optical unit, which is said to be the most expensive part, costing almost as much as buying a new camera. The third photo is the "diaphragm" (shutter). It doesn't look as "large" as the other parts, so maybe the repair is affordable. We'll see. Several hours of a qualified technician's work - can easily mean 150+ Euro. - The person who submitted these interesting photos of SX50's parts writes in another post: "Yes, it is very complex. It was difficult to disassemble the parts and I broke some of them in the process. I would say - forget about trying to do a repair of anything inside the camera yourself." Good advice, in my opinion.

In contrast to DSLRs, these Canon bridge cameras apparently offer no direct access to the "shutter count", in threads often simply called "clicks" of a camera. A thread where someone describes a possibility to identify the shutter count for the Panasonic FZ1000: http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3717369#forum-post-54263842 . Looks more like a "hack". Even if something similar were published for the SX50, I'd not be eager to try it out.

Plus an older photo - as a little compensation for my whining.

 

[HermitIbis]

I felt like a wet squirrel when my SX50 collapsed. - Presently I use my "second" SX50. The first day with that camera wasn't as good as it used to be, as I had the impression that no.2 was significantly slower than no.3. There were two possible explanations, as far as I could see:
- I could have made some mistakes with the settings (C1, C2)
- I had never re-formatted the SD card, maybe leading to slower storage.
Before the next birding day, I re-formatted the card and took care to use exactly the same settings as they had been set on the third camera. It cured the camera, but now I can't say what truly caused the lower speed.

Have been using my SX60 for over a month now and am finding that although the vf is a significant improvement and autofocus seems to perform better, overall it still represents a big step backwards for birding because IS is so poor by comparison.

It is good to see that the SX60 is better in several respects. For example the quality of videos. Filming isn't my main usage though, so at the end I decided to continue with the SX50. Here is hoping that the better viewfinder and other improvements will eventually lead to an SX70 that will become an even better offer for birders. - I also loved to see that Nikon developed the P900. Other superzooms will follow, only increasing our options.

By the way, the German Canon site http://www.canon.de/support/consume...spx?type=important&faqdetailid=tcm:83-1091288 claims that the Powershot SX60 is fit not only for "class 10" storage cards, but also for UHS-1-plus. Using faster storage cards could be a great advantage over the SX50 and also over the P900. I am using an 80 Mbit/s card on my SX50, but do not note a faster performance in comparison to standard "class 10" cards.

 

[crazyfingers]

Three SX50's? I have two. You have me beat. My old one has taken tens of thousands of photos since I got it. The lens makes more noise when it goes in and out but so far that's the only thing that's showing it's age. (cross Fingers)

 

[pshute]

Have been using my SX60 for over a month now and am finding that although the vf is a significant improvement and autofocus seems to perform better, overall it still represents a big step backwards for birding because IS is so poor by comparison.

I've seen several threads about people frustrated with the image quality from their SX60s compared to their SX50s. Are you suggesting this is mainly due to the stabilisation not performing as well?

If so, does that mean it's a better camera overall when used on a tripod?

 

[HermitIbis]

Three SX50's? I have two. You have me beat. My old one has taken tens of thousands of photos since I got it. The lens makes more noise when it goes in and out but so far that's the only thing that's showing it's age. (cross Fingers)

Over the years I came to believe that the SX50 is built like a tank. I dropped my first SX50 twice, if only from a height of 40cm or so - no problems. It has also happened about half a dozen times to me that the SX50 was suddenly stuck, showing only a frozen white rectangle around the pic, no reaction to zoom or other buttons. The reason was that I had forgotten the low battery. The SX50 had continued to photograph until the very last drop of electricity, not even keeping enough power to shut down automatically! After replacing the battery, the SX50 just continues to do its duty, no hiccup or other complaints.

My SX50s will hopefully suffice until a new and better birding camera enters the market. I am not planning to buy a fourth SX50.

Plus some macro favorites.

 

[wotcha]

I've seen several threads about people frustrated with the image quality from their SX60s compared to their SX50s. Are you suggesting this is mainly due to the stabilisation not performing as well?

If so, does that mean it's a better camera overall when used on a tripod?

Sorry, seldom use a tripod, should have said I was referring to handheld filming at range. When filming with the SX50, with a steady hand you could zoom a long way out and still get away with it.

But for me at least there's zero point attempting photography at range without a tripod - regardless of model.

 

[crazyfingers]

6pm and overcast and the light was getting low but still, don't go in the backyard without the camera.

Pretty sure this is a red shouldered hawk.

He was in the low limb in the tree to the left in the photo of my back yard.

 

[AndyM]

6pm and overcast and the light was getting low but still, don't go in the backyard without the camera

CF,

Just spent a ridiculous amount of time reading through the P900 thread. Initially I thought I was destined to part with some money for a new peice of kit. The wife thought so too! Glad I stuck with the thread until the end.

The wife sends her regards :t:

AndyM

 

[Toirealach]

6pm and overcast and the light was getting low but still, don't go in the backyard without the camera.

Pretty sure this is a red shouldered hawk.

He was in the low limb in the tree to the left in the photo of my back yard.

Great shots!... definitely a Red-shouldered and amazing detail from that distance...presumably using the teleconverter function?

 

[crazyfingers]

Great shots!... definitely a Red-shouldered and amazing detail from that distance...presumably using the teleconverter function?

If I recall correctly the close up was at maximum optical plus the 2x teleconverter on. The second still had the 2x on but I backed off on optical to get the whole bird in. I frequently just leave the teleconverter on as I have not noticed any reduction in quality and in lower light it does allow me to back off on optical to allow more light in while still getting the zoom I need.

Both photos were taken at the same distance from the tree where I took the wide angle of the tree and the house however I moved to the left a bit to get the side of the house in.

 

[crazyfingers]

CF,

Just spent a ridiculous amount of time reading through the P900 thread. Initially I thought I was destined to part with some money for a new peice of kit. The wife thought so too! Glad I stuck with the thread until the end.

The wife sends her regards :t:

AndyM

Cool. I know some people have been really happy with it but I sure was not. I hope the thread saved you a lot of frustration. I'm sure happier now back with the SX50.

 

[john miller]

Plus a Tree Pipit. According to a book, the population of this bird in the UK has been 100,000 in 1983, it has the identical number for Baden-Württemberg (1987). But Wikipedia says there was a decline of 85% in Britain in the last 20 years. Does this mean it is now a rarity? A recent estimate for my state says: 30,000-60,000. Anyway, it was a new bird for me.[/QUOTE]

Are you sure this is a Tree Pipit, why not Meadow?

John

 

[john miller]

Thank you. Rarity of a bird species is relative. While the Bluethroat is an ultra-rarity in Britain (vagrant), about 200-300 Bluethroats are said to live in Baden-Württemberg. The Waghäusel reservation where I met my bird is the area with the largest population of Bluethroats in my state. That may translate to 30-40 individuals, I don't know. Needless to say that I'll return!

I am just as happy about a shot yesterday on the mountain "Hornisgrinde": a juvenile Spotted Nutcracker (estimate ~1800 birds in my state). The wings are not totally frozen, but I like this photo more than the pin-sharp three others where the bird sits still.

Plus a Tree Pipit. According to a book, the population of this bird in the UK has been 100,000 in 1983, it has the identical number for Baden-Württemberg (1987). But Wikipedia says there was a decline of 85% in Britain in the last 20 years. Does this mean it is now a rarity? A recent estimate for my state says: 30,000-60,000. Anyway, it was a new bird for me.

That Pipit looks more like a Meadow to me.

John

 

[Toirealach]

If I recall correctly the close up was at maximum optical plus the 2x teleconverter on. The second still had the 2x on but I backed off on optical to get the whole bird in. I frequently just leave the teleconverter on as I have not noticed any reduction in quality and in lower light it does allow me to back off on optical to allow more light in while still getting the zoom I need.

Both photos were taken at the same distance from the tree where I took the wide angle of the tree and the house however I moved to the left a bit to get the side of the house in.

I shall keep trying to get your quality, but in any event, for ID purposes, this SX50 is perfect for me.

 

[Toirealach]

That Pipit looks more like a Meadow to me.

John

It certainly does.

 

[HermitIbis]

That Pipit looks more like a Meadow to me.
John

Many thanks, John and Toirealach. It seems to me that you are right, the photo in reply #1952 shows a Meadow Pipit.

I haven't met Pipits before, and a recent estimate has only 700-900 Meadow Pipits as living in Baden-Württemberg, a local rarity in comparison to Tree Pipits. During the trip I watched ca. 50 songflights of a dozen Pipits, and what I saw was "Tree Pipit style" - or so I thought. What I missed was the fact that both pipits are known to breed at the Hornisgrinde. Going over my photographs again, now it seems I've indeed seen both species: Tree Pipit, photos 1-3 below. The fourth may be another Meadow Pipit, but I am not 100% sure.

 

[crazyfingers]

Was in Maine over the weekend. An Osprey returning with a fish. I'm afraid I clipped the wing.