Canon SX50 HS

Canon SX50 HS is Canon's Small Sensor Superzoom camera initially revealed on January of 2013. It has a 12 MegaPixel, BSI-CMOS 1/2.3" size sensor with a max resolution of 4000 x 3000.

Canon introduced this camera to update the earlier Canon SX40 HS (Read Full Comparison) and then brought out the more recent Canon SX60 HS (Read Full Comparison) in an effort to replace this camera.

The SX50 HS is scored #86 out of 244 in Small Sensor Superzoom cameras and overall #586 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our list. You should use our Advanced camera search to get camera ratings based on your personalized criteria.

Here is a chart of various factors used in the rating system.

The Canon SX50 HS is part of a family of products. You can read the complete list below.

You can look at the SX50 HS from several angles in the gallery underneath.

Here is a checklist of pros and cons of the Canon SX50 HS based on aspects that are normally considered necessary in a camera.

The Canon SX50 HS features the Digic 5 processor. The sensor specification on the Canon SX50 HS is 6.17mm x 4.55mm (1/2.3"). The 28 mm² sensor is able to capture 4000 x 3000 pixels using aspect ratios of 1:1, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. The camera boasts Image Stabilization (Optical). Sensor stabilization is superior than digital stabilization since the latter may produce cropping.

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The BSI-CMOS sensor boasts 12 megapixels and has a native ISO range of 80 to 6400. RAW files are supported which means that the user has more room to maneuver in post.

The picture below shows the SX50 HS's sensor size compared to other common sizes. The SX50 HS sensor comes with a crop factor of 5.8 and is presented in green.

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To get an understanding of specific aspect ratios, you should refer to the visual below.

Canon SX50 HS weighs around 1.31 pounds (595g or 20.99 oz) and features outer measurements of 123mm x 87mm x 106mm (4.8" x 3.4" x 4.2"). The weight of typical Small Sensor Superzoom camera is 387g and the Canon SX50 HS is weightier as compared to various rivals.

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Listed below is a visual of the Canon SX50 HS with a soda so you can have a sense of its size.

The top view directly below will provide the button design on the SX50 HS.

The SX50 HS comes with a built-in lens offering a focal range of 24-1200mm making it a 50.0 x zoom which is huge and could enable you to zoom right in.

At it's widest 24mm, it will have an aperture of f3.4 which is kind of sluggish and not very good in low light conditions and you will probably find it difficult to capture good bokeh. You will also need to raise your ISO producing noisy files. On the long end, 1200mm is outstanding zoom and comes to f6.5 which is fairly slow and you will have to go with slow shutter speeds.

The SX50 HS has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• HDMI Yes

Digital cameras that contain NFC and Bluetooth support are able to be used wirelessly via smartphones. You can send pictures and usually alter camera settings without connecting straight with the camera.

Several apps also enable a Liveview and hit the shutter if you are not near the camera. If the camera features a HDMI out, it can easily be hooked up to an external monitor. Virtually all cameras will allow you to recharge the battery pack using the USB socket.

The max video resolution on the Canon SX50 HS is 1920 x 1080 and it can record in H.264 format. 1080p resolution offers a decent balance between quality versus file size but 1080p is not going to leave you with much room to downsample. The body does not have a mic and headphone port which means you have absolutely no control over your sound. It is perhaps best to purchase a different camera in case you need good sound in your video clips.

There is no environment sealing in the Canon SX50 HS so you have to be careful in rainy and dusty situations.

The Canon SX50 HS has a 2.8" fully articulated display having a resolution of 461k dots.

It includes a selfie friendly display to get self portraits and even group photos if necessary. Please note that the display screen offers no touch support.

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The View Finder specifications regarding Canon SX50 HS are below:

• ViewFinder Electronic
• ViewFinder Resolution 202k dots
• ViewFinder Coverage 100 percent

In those bright outdoor situations that make the camera displays washed out and difficult to view, viewfinders can be particularly helpful.

Canon SX50 HS is able to shoot continuously at 2.0 frames/s. The highest shutter speed is 1/2000s.

Canon SX50 HS boasts both built in flash plus external flash support. The maximum flash sync speed is 1/2000s.

Canon SX50 HS boasts only Contrast Based AF and doesn't have Phase Detect AF. Phase Detection focusing is a lot quicker and exact as compared to Contrast Based focusing. The camera has Face detect making it handy for portrait photography.

The AF system has 9 focus points to choose from. It also features Tracking AF for moving objects. Canon SX50 HS features manual focusing when required during low light scenarios or you need to have more accurate control on focusing.

The battery pack (NB-10L) in the Canon SX50 HS is built to last for 315 pictures as per the CIPA benchmarks making it on par with its competitors. The usual Small Sensor Superzoom camera battery life is 316. Fujifilm HS35EXR offers the maximum (600) battery life within this category of cameras.

Following is a list of Small Sensor Superzoom cameras that come with the best battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Fujifilm HS35EXR
SX50 HS vs Fujifilm HS35EXR600 yesnono

Nikon B500
SX50 HS vs B500600 nonoyes

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Nikon L840
SX50 HS vs L840590 noyesno

Panasonic FZ200
SX50 HS vs FZ200540 yesnono

Leica V-Lux 4
SX50 HS vs V-Lux 4540 yesnono

The following illustration shows a summary of the Canon SX50 HS for various forms of photography. To understand more, go to the specific paragraph below.

The Canon SX50 HS has a score of 48 which is average, and means the camera is reasonably suited to use for portraits. Shooting portraits favors greatly towards sensor specs, RAW support along with the capability to use external flash.

With a average score of 57, the Canon SX50 HS is fairly adequate to use in street photography. A decent street photography camera comes with a perfect balance of image quality and portability.

A lousy sports photography rating of 39 suggests the Canon SX50 HS is not suitable for taking photos of sports. A camera should have fantastic tracking plus shutter speeds for sports photography.

Portability is very important when picking a travel camera. All things considered, the Canon SX50 HS gets a decent 53 as a travel camera which is reasonably acceptable for your journeys.

For anyone who is looking to choose a digital camera for landscape pictures, the most vital factor will no doubt be image quality. The Canon SX50 HS and it's lousy rating of 45 for a landscape camera is not suitable compared to it's competitors.

A vlogging camera preferably should have a articulating display, mic port and ideally image stabilization. Taking all things into account, the Canon SX50 HS is relatively appropriate as a vlog camera as it receives a reasonable score of 58.

If you are in the market for replacements to the SX50 HS, here is a number of the highest ranked cameras that fall into the class of Small Sensor Superzoom.

The chart here offers you a bird's eye view of the SX50 HS compared to it's highest ranked competitors suggested earlier.

There are more cameras you may regard as alternative options. To go through a full comparison, visit the "compare" link.