Canon Powershot S50 Review

A typical AUTO record screen display. Icons indicate "AUTO" record mode,multi pattern metering, automatic flash mode, single frame drive mode (single box on left), Fine Large image, and 683 pictures remaining at current image quality.

Record MENU options available in AUTO mode:

Red Eye - Red-eye reduction flash mode: On, Off

AF Assist Beam - Auto focus assist lamp: On, Off

Digital Zoom - Digital zoom feature: On, Off

Review - Image review after capture: 2, 5, 10 secs. or Off

Now in Program AE mode with quite a few advanced features enabled. Icons on the left side indicate exposure compensation +1/3EV, white balance set to Fluorescent High, High Speed continuous drive mode, the ISO is locked on 50, Vivid Color effect, we have adjusted the Flash Output and the image mode is SuperFine Large. The white rectangle in the center is the focus area, it turns green when focus lock is achieved or turns yellow if it is unable to focus.

When the shutter release is half-pressed the active AF areas used to achieve the focus lock will turn green. Single or multiple AF points will be automatically selected depending on the subject content in the frame. The shutter speed and aperture value will also be displayed.

Manual focus is enabled by pressing the MF button on the back. To adjust the focus distance you keep the MF button depressed and use the Up and Down portion of the 4-way controller. The focus distance is indicated by the sliding scale on the right. The focus point area is enlarged to aid in critical focusing.

When in P, A, M and S modes you can press the SET button and use the 4-way selector to manually select the desired focus point area, by default it uses the center point. There are many areas available in a 22-column by 14-row matrix.

In Manual exposure mode the user selects both the shutter speed and aperture. The color LCD image will give you a realtime view of the exposure changes. The Left and Right controls adjust shutter speeds and the Up and Down controls the aperture values.

Shutter speed (Tv) priority mode lets the user select the desired shutter speed and the camera will automatically select the appropriate aperture value. Fast shutter speeds will "freeze" a subject in motion, slower shutter speeds will give a motion-blur to moving subjects.

Aperture (Av) priority mode lets the user select the desired aperture for depth of field control and the camera automatically selects the appropriate shutter speed.

Exposure Compensation - Override the auto exposure system, +/- 2EV adjustment in 1/3EV steps.

White Balance - Auto (AWB), Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, FluorescentH, Flash, Custom1 or Custom2.

Drive Mode - Single, Continuous, High Speed Continuous, 10- or 2-sec selftimer.

ISO Speed - Auto or fixed at 50, 100, 200 or 400

Photo Effect - Off, Vivid, Natural, Low Sharpening, Sepia, Black & White or Custom (weak, normal or strong for Contrast, Sharpness and Saturation)

Auto Bracketing - Camera automatically changes exposure within a set range to take three shots after you press the shutter button once. You can adjust AEB settings in 1/3EV steps within the range of -2EV to +2EV of the standard exposure setting. When set to Focus Bracketing, the camera fires three frames in a row; one a little in front of the locked AF distance, one at the locked AF point and a third focused a little behind it.

Flash exposure compensation - Vary the output of the flash +/-2EV in 1/3 steps

Image size - Large JPEG (2592x1944), Medium1 JPEG (1600x1200), Medium2 JPEG (1024x768), Small JPEG (640x480) Canon RAW (2592x1944 uncompressed)

Quality (compression) - Superfine, Fine or Normal

Record MENU options available in P, A, M and S modes:

Flash Synch - Flash fires on: 1st Curtain or 2nd Curtain

Slow Synchro - Slow synchro flash mode: On, Off

Red Eye - Red-eye reduction flash mode: On, Off

Spot AE Point - Spot auto focus on: Center or AF Point

MF-Point Zoom - Manual focus enlarged view: On, Off

AF Assist Beam - Auto focus assist lamp: On, Off

Digital Zoom - Digital zoom option: On, Off

Review - Image review after capture: 2, 5, 10 secs. or Off

Intervalometer - Time-lapse recording: Interval:1-60 minutes, Number of frames: 2-100

Save Settings - saves current settings through power down or battery change.

Here's an animated look at all the S50s various exposure mode screen icons.

In the Stitch Assist mode the user is aided on the LCD when creating multi-image panorama pictures. Five types of assistance are available:

1. Horizontal - Capture images from left to right
2. Horizontal - Capture from right to left
3. Vertical - Capture from bottom to top
4. Vertical - Capture from top to bottom
5. Clockwise - Capture starting at top left

Movie mode records motion video at 15fps with audio at 320 x 240 or 160 x 120 resolution for up to 3 minutes in length. The 999" indicates the total number of seconds that can be recorded with the space remaining on the CF card.

Movie recording capacity for various size CF cards: