Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon Powershot S50 Digital Camera [5MP 3xOptical]

Ok so you're looking - well I can honestly say stop now do the sensible thing and buy an S50. Having looked for a number of months not just at the Canon range but also the Nikons, Minoltas and Fujis I finally plumped for the S50. Overall I am very impressed with the quality of the pictures, they are exceptionally crisp and detailed with very life like colour reproduction. Build quality is superb and feels like it could probably withstand a fair old hammering day in day out.

It is simple enough to be a point and shoot camera when set to fully automatic, just like an Ixus or any of the other lifestyle compacts. But it can also be manually controlled with aperature and shutter priority or fully manual modes, and also can be used in one of 6 pre-set programmes the same the EOS SLRs unlike the Ixus et al allowing you to take as much control as you like. The controls and menus are sensibly, and dare I say it, intuitively laid out all, with all selections made via a five way rocker switch which is nice and easy to use. Other dedicated buttons switch the menus, displays exposure metering etc.

If you use the camera at full resolution or store images in RAW format the supplied CF card will store between 10 and 20 pictures (what's the point of 5m pixels if you don't use them?) so I would really recommend a bigger CF card a 256mb card seems to be a good size. Battery life can also be a little limited so get a spare. In saying that these are two immaterial issues when you consider what the camera produces Don't buy an IBM Microdrive for storage - the battery life will be shot to ruins and I think there are still some reliability issues (so I have been informed by several outlets)

Software installation went without a hitch and is well thought out. The bundled ArcSoft PhotoStudio 5 and Canon Zoom Browser are sensible pieces of software rather than the mickey mouse things you get with some other packages, and do allow you to improve on your picture (not the photographic quality but the cock-ups you wish you'd spotted).

Having done a lot of looking, shopping and e-mailing for the best deal I have found Amazon to be the cheapest, especially when you take the free delivery option, and buy one of the Viking Memory cards. The free delivery service only took a couple of working days so I would not hesitate from buying from here again.

If you skipped the main part of this review don't bother going back to read the rest - the S50 is a cracking piece of kit buy it you will not regret it one bit.

Want to buy a point and shoot digital camera with some more advanced features than the normal entry level digital cameras?

Then get the Canon S50.

This is my first digital camera and it took me a LONG time to decide on the make/model I should get. Based on numerous on-line reviews I have narrowed it down to a Canon, since most or all canon cameras seem to create good quality pics. It was now down to decide which model. Digital IXUS v4? Powershot S45? G3? S50? I eventually decided to get either the S45 or S50 due to them being a point and shoot camera with more features than the IXUS range. Take note however that even though the camera is small enough to fit in a shirt/pants pocket it is on the heavy side and not too small (L112mm x H58mm x B42mm).

The camera takes GREAT pictures!!!!! With numerous on-line services where you upload your digital images and they mail you the photo quality prints back there is no need for a photo printer (which by the way works out pretty expensive to print photos...) or a film camera any more. These prints costs you about 10% more than it would to develop a 35mm film BUT remember with the digital camera you only develop the pics you really want and do not pay for the bad ones... AND THEY LOOK GOOD, GREAT, BRILLIANT...
Get a bigger memory card though. The 32MB supplied is not enough. I got a 256MB card and it holds about 100 images at full size/quality. Also get a spare battery since the camera does not have a battery meter.

Remember to factor these into the overall cost...
The bad things about this camera:
* The multi-controller button takes some getting used to but its not too bad.
* No Battery meter. When the battery is close to empty a little red battery signs pops up which gives you just about enough time to take one more pic and then the camera shuts down. GET AN EXTRA BATTERY....
* 32MB Memory is not enough. GET AN EXTRA MEMORY CARD.

The good things:
* too many to list here but most importantly is that it takes SUPERB QUALITY PICTURES... and
* it is an easy to use camera

Take a look at the listed technical data - dont worry about it, the camera will work as a point and shoot if you want. The S45 is a similar spec camera but 4Mp instead of 5Mp. If the technical data put you off, look at the IXUS 400. The Canon supplied software is superb with 5 different programs - all useful. One of these is remote capture, you can take images using the PC to control the camera and see the results on screen immediately. Canon are currently the only camera maker with this software. The Zoombrowser software lets you see PC stored images in a folder and all its subfolders. Photostitch software enables you to join a number of images together to make a panorama or a matrix. Photorecord software will take a number of images and produce an album layout with a selectable number of images per page, the page layout is individually customisable. All in all a very good camera package.
As with all digital cameras, it is advisable to carry a spare rechargeable battery ( a charger is supplied) and a spare larger memory card. On the S50 a 128Mb card will store about 30 images at the highest resolution, and 110 at a medium resolution

I had planned to buy a digital camera since they first appeared a few years ago but decided to wait until I could obtain an image quality similar to conventional photography. A job came up where I needed a camera quickly and so I spent about half a day on the Internet studying all the specs and reviews of the best and finally bought the Powershot S50.

I have had this camera now for about six months and have used it for 100's of photographs in a variety of situations. It is every bit as good as it reads. I found I was taking perfect photographs from the start, found it easy to download to the computer and easy to operate the more advanced features of the camera.

I am now buying a 256MB card as the 32MB, which comes with the camera, will allow only 20 or so high-res pictures. Also, there was no carry case (only gripe of this review!) so I will get the proper Canon Powershot case. Apart from that, I have everything I need.

As for picture quality, I am getting the photo quality I originally intended even though this is a 5M pixel camera. If people tell you you need 8M...you don't! Get yourself a photo printer and proper photo paper and you will get photographs like the professional developers.

Summary - If you are looking for a high end Digital Camera and are prepared to spend up to £400 - This is the model to choose. You will not be disappointed.

I love photography but got fed up lugging my SLR, lenses etc around. So I considered digital semi-compacts but the thought of not having control and wondering about the quality of digital put me off for ages.

After much research and reading reviews this was the winner. I bought one and took it to my favourite, most picturesque part of southwest Scotland, and filled a couple of 256Mb CF cards with some of the most beautiful images I have from the area!

Some points for the potential buyer:

1. The camera is metal bodied and fairly weighty. I found a belt pouch worked well for camera CF cards and spare battery. Consider something like that or else stash in jacket pocket. Will not fit in jeans!

2. You'll need more memory. I bought some 256Mb PQI 40x ones and they're great.

3. Oh, and a spare battery while you're at it. I got 2 replica NB2L from eBay, less than £20 the pair. There is at least one UK seller there, if you use far eastern vendors you'll have duty to pay on top.

4. There is a fiddly 4-way rocker control but I got used to it. Other controls are fine and well thought out.

5. Auto-everything is good but also dedicated portrait, landscape, etc modes work well.

6. Go manual for wonderful, wide-aperture, blurred background shots. Or as much depth of field as needed. There's a macro button for serious close-ups.

7. Used to SLRs? Check where the focus indicators are pointing. The rest really is better in my opinion. There's loads of information on the (fairly bright) LCD screen.

There are other cameras that do the same job, but this one is just about perfect for me. I take it all over the place, it feels good, and it's not intimidating to subjects in the way a big SLR can be. Oh, and the results are great!