Received my SX50 HS today

[rpcrowe]

The image quality can be pretty decent..



However the manual is absolutely terrible. The EVF was too dark. I have been looking all over the manual and there was nothing concerning EVF, viewfinder, electronic viewfinder or anything like it in the index. I found how to adjust the viewfinder brightness by going on Google.

The manual recommends that you format the memory card but, if I didn't have a good idea where to look in the SX50-HS menu, I would never have found the instructions on how to format a card except by going through the manual page by page...

[JBW]

The image quality can be pretty decent..



However the manual is absolutely terrible. The EVF was too dark. I have been looking all over the manual and there was nothing concerning EVF, viewfinder, electronic viewfinder or anything like it in the index. I found how to adjust the viewfinder brightness by going on Google.

The manual recommends that you format the memory card but, if I didn't have a good idea where to look in the SX50-HS menu, I would never have found the instructions on how to format a card except by going through the manual page by page...

as the photo g-ds would have it there is a lot of info on the web for when the manuals fall short.

[rpcrowe]

That's very true Brian but, you need to pick and choose on YouTube. I just started to watch a YouTube video on the YN 600EX-RT (which is Yongnou's direct copy of the Canon 600EX-RT flash).

The guy that presented the video was shown opening the package and remarking something like this, "It comes in a cardboard box with neat Chinese writing" not a really helpful comment but, it was not delivered in a tongue in cheek way...

Getting back to the Canon SX50-HS; I purchased a lens hood (a Chinese knock off which fits quite well). I also purchased a Chinese knock off filter mount which doesn't seem to fit very well. I have some 67mm filters from my 70-200mm f/4L IS lens that I would like to do double duty on the SX50-HS.

I am going to shoot some close up (macro) shots and then I will end this thread which has been quite informal and not meant to be an in-depth review.

Oh additionally, I am not really crazy about this camera's ergonomics. It is a very small camera with lots of buttons. I have to get used to holding the camera without inadvertently pressing a button I don't want to activate. Perhaps it would be easier for someone with smaller or more delicate hands and fingers...

[rpcrowe]

This is going to be my final post about this camera... IMO, it is O.K. for shooting slow subjects, but it is a PITA for shooting moving subjects.

The fault is that the viewfinder (both the EVF and the LCD Display) go dark for approximately two-seconds after acquiring an image. Compound this with the default review of the shot image (both on the EVF and the LCD) which is an additional two seconds, means that four-seconds or so elapse between shooting an image and being ready to shoot the next image.

Perusing through the user's manual, I found out how to turn off the review of the last image shot but, that still leaves me with a two second blank EVF or LCD. That makes shooting a moving image pretty tough.

I was shooting one of my rescue dogs swimming in my pool and the keeper shots were few and far between.

[Shadowman]

This is going to be my final post about this camera... IMO, it is O.K. for shooting slow subjects, but it is a PITA for shooting moving subjects.

The fault is that the viewfinder (both the EVF and the LCD Display) go dark for approximately two-seconds after acquiring an image. Compound this with the default review of the shot image (both on the EVF and the LCD) which is an additional two seconds, means that four-seconds or so elapse between shooting an image and being ready to shoot the next image.

Perusing through the user's manual, I found out how to turn off the review of the last image shot but, that still leaves me with a two second blank EVF or LCD. That makes shooting a moving image pretty tough.

I was shooting one of my rescue dogs swimming in my pool and the keeper shots were few and far between.

I had similar issues with my Olympus EPL-1, problems decreased a bit when I switched to Sports Mode and Dis-Mode.

[rpcrowe]

I had similar issues with my Olympus EPL-1, problems decreased a bit when I switched to Sports Mode and Dis-Mode.

John, sports mode does make it easier to shoot a moving subject because the viewfinder image doesn't black out. I have to experiment to see if burst mode will work adequately with Raw capture. However, I can live with shooting JPEG for the uses I have for this camera.