Review: Photokina 2012: Canon PowerShot SX50 HS

50x zoom rangeRaw format shootingArticulating screenLow image noise

The bridge area of the compact camera market is one part of the market that is still doing well in what is otherwise a declining segment.

Manufacturers are packing larger and larger zooms onto these cameras which, for many, act as an alternative to a DSLR, or a step up from a standard compact camera.

Two key features distinguish the 12.1 million pixel Canon PowerShot SX50 HS from the 12.1MP Canon PowerShot SX40 HS that it replaces at the top of Canon's bridge camera or superzoom lineup.

The Canon PowerShot SX40, announced at Photokina 2012 alongside the Canon PowerShot G15 and Canon EOS 6D, has a 50x optical zoom that covers the equivalent of 24-1200mm, whereas the zoom range on the Canon SX40 is 35x, or 24-840mm.

This is a phenomenal zoom range that most DSLR users can only dream of, or perhaps look to achieve at huge expense. The Canon PowerShot SX50 HS is much more affordable, with a price of £448 (about AU$700) in the UK and US$479 in the US.

The 24mm point is ideal for capturing landscapes and indoor scenes, while the longest telephoto point is perfect for photographing distant wildlife or picking out details.

For those who feel that a 50x zoom still isn't enough, the camera boasts a digital zoom that expands it to 100x. Canon calls this 100x Zoom Plus.

Another important improvement that the Canon SX50 HS makes over the Canon SX40 is that it can record raw format images as well as JPEG files. For enthusiast photographers, this makes the camera a much more attractive proposition, since it means that the files can be processed manually if you desire.

Probably the biggest competitor to the Canon SX50 HS in the bridge camera market is the also recently announced Panasonic FZ200. Although that camera only features a 24x optical zoom, it does boast an f/2.8 constant aperture throughout the range. By contrast, the Canon can only manage f/3.4 at the widest point, rising up to f/6.5 at the telephoto end.

Other features of the Canon SX50 include a Digic 5 processor, which is the same as those found in Canon's top-end DSLRs such as the Canon 5D Mark III. This should mean that noise is controlled well at high sensitivity settings, and it also facilitates Full HD video recording.

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Review: Canon PowerShot A4000 IS

Slim metal bodySimple to useGood low ISO performance8x optical zoomSlow shot-to-shotShort battery lifeNo optical zoom for videoPoor in low lightSome rivals go wider/longer

The Canon PowerShot A4000 IS is a 16MP camera that sits at the top of Canon's A-series of affordable, beginner-level compacts. And It really is a compact camera: viewed from the front, the Canon A4000 is not much bigger than a credit card. It's only around 24mm deep too, but still manages to squeeze in an 8x optical zoom with an equivalent focal range of 28-224mm.

Coming from Canon's PowerShot line, the A4000 IS favours functionality over fashion - although you could be forgiven for missing that detail at first glance. The A4000's minimalist metal body certainly wouldn't look out of place in Canon's more stylish range of IXUS point-and-shooters.

A 3-inch 230k-dot screen swallows up much of the rear of the Canon PowerShot A4000 IS, with a set of small control buttons dotted down its right-hand side. There are no dials here - just push-button controls - which could potentially make it slower to move between settings and make adjustments.

However, there is at least a one-touch movie button for instantly recording HD video. The Canon PowerShot A4000 IS shoots 720p at 25fps, with full-time Intelligent Image Stabilisation to help kill camera wobbles and keep footage smooth.

Newcomers to digital photography will no doubt appreciate the level of hand-holding the Canon PowerShot A4000 IS offers. The Intelligent IS system automatically adjusts the optical Image Stabilizer between six different modes in order to reduce blur.

There's also a dedicated Help button, plus a Smart Auto exposure mode that analyses the scene you're shooting and selects one of 32 different camera set-ups accordingly.

Canon PowerShot A4000 IS at a glance
Sensor: 16.6MP (16MP effective) 1/2.3-inch CCD
Lens: 5.0-40.0mm f/3.0-5.9 (28-224mm equivalent)
LCD Screen: 230k dot, 3.0-inch TFT LCD
ISO range: ISO 100 - 1600
Dimensions: 95.3mm x 56.3mm x 24.3mm, 145g (including battery/memory card)

In a further nod to keeping it simple, the Canon A4000 IS comes with Live View Control. This mode doesn't dirty itself with talk of 'apertures' and 'white balance', but distills camera control into three simple on-screen sliders for brightness, colour and tone.

While it isn't exactly bristling with semi-automatic and manual exposure modes - Program mode is the closest you'll get - the Canon A4000 does at least enable you to set a custom White Balance and adjust exposure compensation up to +/- 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments.

Elsewhere, the Canon A4000 IS's Face Detection system can pick out 35 faces in a scene and adjust focus and exposure appropriately, while Face Detection White Balance automatically optimises the colour for accurate skin tones.

Further highlights on the compact camera - priced at £169 in the UK and $199.99 in the US - include a Macro mode that can focus as close as 1cm, and six creative modes. These include Miniature, Monochrome and retro Poster Effects that can be applied to HD movies as well as stills.

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Review: Canon 1DX

Canon caused a bit of a stir when it announced the 18.1 million pixel EOS-1DX because, rather unusually, it opted to use a sensor with a lower pixel count than the 21 megapixel Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III.

The new camera also has a full-frame sensor rather than an APS-H sized unit, with a 1.3x crop factor, like the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV.

As a result, some Canon EOS-1 series camera users were left scratching their heads and wondering about the benefits of upgrading. Canon EOS 1D Mk IV photographers stand to gain an extra 2 million pixels, but lose the extra reach that the 1.3x focal length magnification brings them, while Canon EOS 1Ds Mk III users suffer a drop of 3 million pixels.

However, as is often the case with DSLR upgrades, what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts. The Canon EOS-1D X offers improved handling - particularly for those who regularly shoot in upright (portrait) orientation - and has a maximum continuous shooting rate of 12fps.

Let's take a closer look at what else the Canon EOS-1D X - priced at £5,299 in the UK and $6,799 in the US - has to offer.

According to Canon UK's David Parry, the manufacturer opted for an 18.1MP CMOS sensor for the EOS-1DX to ensure higher image quality at the upper sensitivity settings than a camera with a great pixel count can muster.

Because it's a full-frame sensor, we can assume that the photoreceptors (or pixels) are larger than those on one of Canon's APS-C format 18MP sensors. This should ensure better control of image noise and high sensitivity performance. It also means that the Canon EOS-1DX is compatible with EF mount lenses.

In a first for a Canon full-frame sensor, the Canon EOS-1DX's sensor has gapless microlenses. This maximises the light-gathering potential of each photodiode, which helps reduce image noise levels and enable sensitivity settings to be pushed higher.

According to Canon Europe's Mike Owen, the Canon EOS-1D X's photodiodes are 21% larger than those in the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III. Again, this benefits image quality and helps keep image noise down, especially at higher sensitivity settings. Consequently, the Canon EOS-1DX has a native sensitivity range of ISO 100-51,200 and expansion settings going up to the equivalent of ISO 204,800.

Two Digic 5+ processors handle the output from the Canon EOS-1DX's 36 x 24mm CMOS sensor. These enable shooting at up to 12fps with full autofocus and metering functionality, but if you are prepared to set the focus point and exposure before the first shot is captured it is possible to shoot JPEGs at up to 14fps.

Canon EOS 1D X AF sensor

Like the Canon EOS 5D Mark III, the Canon EOS-1DX has a 61-point autofocus system. These points can be selected individually or in groups.

Although it has only recently come to market, the Canon EOS-1DX was announced months before Canon unveiled the hybrid AF system found in the Canon EOS 650D and Canon EOS M.

Consequently, in Live View mode the Canon EOS-1DX can use either contrast detection or phase detection focusing, but the latter results in an interruption of the live view feed, since the mirror has to flip down so that light is directed onto the AF sensor.

One slight disappointment is that the Canon EOS-1DX doesn't have the rate button or in-camera HDR feature on the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. It is possible to rate images as they are reviewed, but it's done via the menu, which takes a little longer and is less intuitive.

We still found it helpful to assign a rating out of five to images in the lull between shooting sessions in the photographers' pit at a music festival.

We'd also liked to see the Canon EOS 5D Mark III's in-camera HDR system, which works with raw files and JPEG images and saves the three constituent images as well as the composite picture. Granted, most professional photographers know how to achieve this type of effect themselves, but the in-camera results are impressive and can be useful.

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