Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 12 megapixel SuperFine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 4Mb.

The Canon PowerShot SX50 HS produced images of good quality during the review period. Noise is well-controlled until ISO 1600, which exhibits some artifacts, blurring of detail and slight colour desaturation. The noise and loss of detail get progressively worse as you go from ISO 1600 to the fastest 6400 setting, which isn't really very usable at all. The Dynamic Range Correction and especially HDR options squeeze more detail out of the shadows and highlights, although they're not available if you shoot in the new RAW mode.

The Canon PowerShot SX50 HS handled chromatic aberrations fairly well with well-controlled but widespread purple and green fringing effects appearing in high contrast situations. The 12 megapixel images were sharp enough straight out of the camera at the default setting. Macro performance is a stand-out highlight, allowing you to focus as close as 0cms away from the subject, although there is a lot of lens distortion and shadowing at such a close distance.

The built-in flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and good overall exposure. The night photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 15 seconds allowing you to capture enough light for most situations. The 4.5-stop anti-shake system works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the huge zoom range, although it's still best to use a tripod or other stable support if possible given the huge focal length on offer.

Noise

There are 8 ISO settings available on the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting, with the JPEG version on the left and the RAW on the right.

JPEG	RAW
ISO 80 (100% Crop)	ISO 80 (100% Crop)
ISO 100 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 200 (100% Crop)
ISO 400 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 800 (100% Crop)
ISO 1600 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)
ISO 3200 (100% Crop)	ISO 3200 (100% Crop)
ISO 6400 (100% Crop)	ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are sharp enough at the default sharpening setting. You can change the in-camera sharpening level if you don't like the default look.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

Focal Range

The Canon PowerShot SX50 HS's 50x zoom lens has a massive focal range of 24-1200mm, as illustrated by these examples.

24mm	1200mm

Chromatic Aberrations

The Canon PowerShot SX50 HS suffered from chromatic aberrations, with purple fringing present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, particularly at the edges of the frame, as shown in the examples below.

Chromatic Aberrations 1 (100% Crop)	Chromatic Aberrations 2 (100% Crop)

File Quality

At full 12 megapixel resolution, there are two JPEG quality settings available - SuperFine and Fine- plus a RAW setting.

SuperFine (4.68Mb) (100% Crop)	Fine (3.15Mb) (100% Crop)
RAW (13.3Mb) (100% Crop)

Macro

The Canon PowerShot SX50 HS allows you to focus on a subject that is just 0cms away from the camera. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

Macro Shot	100% Crop

Flash

The flash settings on the Canon Powershot SX50 HS are Auto, Manual Flash On / Off, and Slow Sync Speed, with Red-eye Reduction options available in the main menu. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (24mm)	Flash On - Wide Angle (24mm)
Flash Off - Telephoto (1200mm)	Flash On - Telephoto (1200mm)

And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Flash On or the Red-eye-Reduction settings caused any red-eye.

Flash On	Flash On (100% Crop)
Red-eye Reduction	Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Canon Powershot SX50 HS's maximum shutter speed is 15 seconds, which is great news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 15 seconds at ISO 80.

Night	Night (100% Crop)

Anti Shake

The Canon Powershot SX50 HS has an anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. Here are some 100% crops of the images to show the results. As you can see, with anti shake turned on, the images are much sharper than with anti shake turned off.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length	Anti-Shake Off (100% Crop)	Anti-Shake On (100% Crop)
1/5th sec / 24mm
1/2nd sec / 1200mm

Dynamic Range Correction

Dynamic Range Correction captures more detail in the highlight areas of the image, with Auto, 200% and 400% settings available.

Off	Auto
200%	400%

HDR

The HDR mode takes three photos at different exposures and effectively combines them to produce a single image with greater detail in the shadow and highlight areas.

Off	On

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel SuperFine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Canon PowerShot SX50 HS enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Canon RAW (CR2) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

As of February 2025, we are no longer providing full size sample images or videos for download.

Please contact us if you have any feedback on our new policy.

Product Images

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera / Turned On

Front of the Camera / Flash Raised

Isometric View

Isometric View

Isometric View

Isometric View

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

Rear of the Camera / Turned On

Rear of the Camera / Function Menu

Rear of the Camera / Main Menu

Tilting LCD Screen

Tilting LCD Screen

Tilting LCD Screen

Top of the Camera

Bottom of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Memory Card Slot

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The jaw-dropping 50x lens may get all the attention, but the PowerShot SX50 HS' other new features are what makes this Canon's best super-zoom camera yet.

It's impossible to review the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS without focusing on its 24-1200mm focal length - after all, it would be very costly and indeed difficult to replicate that range on a DSLR system, not to mention bulky and heavy too. We found that we got a surprising number of keepers at the 1200mm focal length, even when using the camera handheld, although most of the photos taken at the longer reaches of the zoom were inevitably shot at ISO 1600 when ISO Auto was on, not great considering the high levels of noise.

What you gain in focal length, you lose in lens speed, with the maximum aperture of f/6.5 forcing the camera to use a higher ISO to maintain a fast enough shutter-speed (and often not achieving that). Still, you don't have to use the full telephoto range all the time, although we suspect that some users won't be able to resist, and mounting the camera on a tripod is essential if critical sharpness is required in anything but good light. Of more concern than noise is the obvious chromatic aberrations which rear their purple and green ugly heads wherever there's an area of high contrast in the image.

Alongside the world's biggest zoom on a compact camera are a number of other, arguably more important, features that bring the SX-range up to speed with its main competitors. Chief amongst these are the welcome inclusion of the RAW format,  a hotshoe for an accessory flash, a bigger handgrip, and a higher-resolution LCD screen. These improvements add up to make the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS much more of a viable alternative to a DSLR, and to its super-zoom rivals too. We are disappointed that the electronic viewfinder still only has a resolution of 202k dots, especially considering that it's imperative to compose your photos through the viewfinder given the huge focal range, and there's no automatic switching between LCD and EVF either when you hold the camera to your eye.

Whereas the previous SX40 HS felt predominantly like a fun tool for amateurs, the more DSLR-like Canon PowerShot SX50 HS with its improved image quality, new prosumer features, better handling and inevitably that 50x zoom lens make it a real alternative to a DSLR or compact system camera and a bag full of lenses.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4.5
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image quality	4
Value for money	4

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS from around the web.

Specifications

Your Comments