Canon PowerShot SX50 HS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 50x Wide-Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Black

-------------------------------------------Update #2July 23, 2014: I still love this camera but have discovered one flaw. The life if the battery is not that good. So, order you a spare battery, or two, as they are not that expensive. This way, you will not be caught with a dead battery at the most inopportune time.-------------------------------------------UPDATE #1July 10, 2014: I am really starting to love this camera even more. I've been tinkering/playing with it for two days now and a lot of my first worries have been dismissed as I am indeed learning how to properly use this camera. As some have stated in their reviews, focusing can be a "pain in the butt", but I have figured out that if you keep half-pressing the shutter button, and slightly moving the view finder, you can, almost all of the time but not always, find the focal point you were after.I'm old, hardheaded, and have only read a handful of books my entire life, so manuals are OUT of the question for me. ;) I know that with time and trial and error, I usually figure out most things that I am trying to accomplish.Another, and the most important reason that I am updating this review is that the size of the camera is allowing me to get awesome shots that I would not have been able to achieve with my very large, very long DSLR camera. My passion is photographing small critters like hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and the such. With my EOS60D, with a 400mm lens attached to it is a monster! Just the act of raising it to your eye to aim at your subject scares off the most skittish critter. With this camera, you keep the camera close to you, use the LCD screen for aiming, and slowly zoom in on your object of photography. They don't see the sudden movement that is with a huge camera and more often than not, not scared away by you.Another thing I noticed is that the neck strap is not a good thing. It is in the way more than it is useful. I did attach the lens cap to the camera, but that is easy to keep in tact in one hand while shooting.My next update will be with my 430EX II speed lite attached to it. If that is possible.Oh yeah, I forgot one more very important thing. The camera viewfinder, eye piece, is almost useless. It's like looking at your object from 100 yards away. maybe it's just me. Use the LCD display for viewing.-------------------------------------------I own several DSLR cameras from Canon.Some may ask, then why did you buy a "point and shot" camera? With this camera, the answer is easy; 50X OPTICAL zoom! With my DSLR cameras, buying glass can and is getting very expensive. The 50X optical zoom is equivalent to a 1200 mm lens. If I put a 1200 mm lens on my Canon 60D, it would weight a ton, stick out a yard, and have set me back more money than my truck cost. Yes, I'm not exaggerating.No, this will not replace my DSLR camera, just accent them. I love photographing wildlife, birds mainly, and sometimes, reaching out that extra 50 feet is out of the reach of my lenses that I currently have. Yes, I can take a picture, but the further out, the less detail you get. While the MP is less than my 60D, at a long range, it's a no brainer as I don't have to crop an image to death to see the image I was after and lose a ton of detail.The auto focus is a bit different, ok, a lot different than the canon DSLR's but with time, I will learn how to aim. The focus is fast, and if you have one of those fancy new/super fast SD cards, taking pictures is super fast.I am not one to write a review and then let it sit. I often update my reviews as time goes by. Sometimes I report bugs, sometimes I up my rating, and sometimes I lower my ratings. The reason is always given in all of my reviews.If you are new to photography, and only want a Point and Shot camera, this could be expensive for a first time buyer. If you are seasoned, and know what you want, then this is a super camera from a reliable manufacture.Also, if you are like me, tired of taking out a second mortgage to keep buying new glass, then this is the perfect camera to get that extra reach without the expense of buying new glass.

I hauled off & bought a Nikon L810 in January 2013. I got the Nikon & was okay happy about it until I used the Video & discovered the blurry + zoom it had. I also noticed that the Shutter Button wasn't "acting right" & all of a sudden, it stopped working altogether. So back in the box it all went, I sent for a Refund & good ol' Amazon was MORE than willing to give me a full refund.The next day it left my home & when I went back to look at other models, I decided I was NOT going to limit myself to a mere $200-250 price tag. I stepped up my budget and BOY am I ever glad I did! I saw this Canon SX50 & went to You Tube, looking at all the Reviews and demonstrations of the camera & it's 50X zoom. I splurged and put this SX50 on my Amazon.com Store Card.Believe me now & hear me later, I looked at EVERY single bridge camera out on the market in the span of a month and the SX50 is THE best deal going....could it have a 16MP on it, sure; but you'll not miss it, the pixs on this camera are just fine.I got the camera yesterday & I am ALREADY thrilled and can't WAIT to get to CA in March and try it out on the Auto Club Speedway!! This zoom is INCREDIBLE, the camera is sturdy, the functions are MANY but almost idiot-proof....I hate having to "study" a manual on anything, but this camera's functions are straight forward and almost make sense the way they are programmed into the camera and set up to guide the owner thru taking pictures or videos. No more dragging the manual out EVERY time you go to take an unusual picture or video,.....the instructions make it pretty safe to bet your pix will be good.If you're curious about the bridge cameras, go to You Tube, you find out ALL you want to know about this little gems.I paid $403 for mine, it's already gone down to $399 and might go down more, I have probably already sold at least 3 of these for Amazon! The filters, hood, adapters, accessories and cases are cheap enough here, or on Ebay...you do not have to be rich to HAVE a good bridge camera. You don't have to be a semi or pro photographer, this camera will walk you thru everything. The CD w/ apps and manual is easy to read and the manual is easy enuff to pull up anytime.I used to take LOTS of photos for my work & personal use with my old Yashica FX-2 & this Canon is the closest thing to my old faithful 35mm I have found yet, unless I wanted to spend the megabucks for a DSLR. Don't hesitate, if you want a good bridge camera and have $400, this is the best one to date. There's only Pros on my Review; I guess if I just HAVE to gripe about something, it would be that you don't get a USB cord in the box.I'm a happy camper, this is gonna be it for awhile, it's all I'll need unless I leave it on the roof of my car someday. ;) JK! Not gonna happen, love this camera.

I owned this camera for a year and a half until it became unusable due to a lens error. Before my SX50, I had owned a Canon SX40 for about 2 years until it also became unusable due to a lens error.What I liked about the SX50:The wide array of options and versatility, including full HD video, manual controls and raw image capability.The amazing zoom that could capture images of things VERY far in the distance.Easy-to-use, especially after having owned the SX40 and other Canon digital cameras.Very quick to zoom in/out.The HD video quality was great!Its fast shutter speed options (up to 1/2000) allowed for sharply capturing anything going quickly by, as long as there was good lighting.It took many beautiful photos, though mainly when there was plenty of light.What I didn't like:Image quality seemed to decline the more I zoomed in. It worked well to get photos of far away objects, but those photos had both poor color and clarity.I wasn't impressed by the image clarity and quality in any photos that weren't taken on a very bright, sunny day. Even my smart phone seemed to take better pictures in low light.The SX50's autofocus seemed to have more trouble focusing on the intended subject than my SX40. Sometimes the subject was very obvious and within an appropriate distance, yet the camera would still would not focus correctly.Ultimately, I'd say that this camera is great for the price. It's a good option if you want something better than a point and shoot camera. However, after owning two similar cameras in the superzoom category, I probably would not buy one again due to my frustrations with the image clarity/quality and with how commonly a disabling lens error occurs.