Canon PowerShot SX50 HS: Conclusion

Conclusion
I loved Canon's S-series ultrazoom digital cameras (S1-S5) and I was a bit suspicious of the SX-series that replaced them.  But, after using each of the SX models, to date, I've come to regard the SX-series as worthy successors to the benchmark "S" cameras.  SX-series cameras are slightly smaller, a bit lighter, and substantially more feature rich than their legendary predecessors, but without giving up any of the S-series famous usability and creative flexibility in the process.  

There have obviously been some important technological advances and refinements for ultrazoom cameras. The SX50 was capable of consistently producing usable images at the long end of a very long zoom range, which could not have been said years ago about other ultrazoom cameras. Most of the faults that we expected from utrazooms have been noticeably minimized with this camera. Time after time I was surprised at just how sharp my telephoto images were with the SX50 HS.  If you read my review of the Nikon P510, you noticed that I was impressed with its ability to capture the image I visualized with good image quality. I feel the same way about the Canon SX50 HS. And with more than forty years' experience as a photographer I am not easily impressed, especially when it comes to image quality.  

With the exception of the 50X zoom and its sharper LCD monitor, the SX50 isn't really much different from its predecessor. I always liked the SX40 HS, but I actually like the SX50 HS more.  Canon's PowerShot SX50 HS may be the best overall camera choice for many consumers, since it very nicely meets Goldilocks' famous assessment criteria - it isn't too big, it isn't too small, it isn't too heavy, it isn't too light, and that 50x (24mm-1200mm equivalent) super-stabilized zoom is just right. The SX50 HS can be used by absolute beginners, but this camera was actually designed to be used by more advanced photographers, too. I believe the SX50 HS's target audience will love this camera and I predict the SX50 HS will be the most popular SX-series camera to date.

Pros 

• 50x zoom
• HD (1080p) movie mode
• Great image quality
• Easy to use

Cons 

• Soft telephoto images at full zoom
• AF hunts at telephoto lengths

Individual Ratings: *

Image/Video Quality 
Features 
Design/Ease of Use 
Performance 
Expandability 
* Ratings averaged to produce final score