my refurb sx50 arrived on monday.

i took it out for a spin yesterday.

i had a 6pm biz meeting in downtown manhattan.

i figured i would test the camera as i would use it for an upcoming trip to portugal.

i got to soho at 5pm.

there was plenty of light so it was easy to get surreptitious street shots both near and far.

i found the eye piece to be pretty low quality and hardly up to the task of critical focus but serviceable to frame and check settings.

i liked the vari-angle lcd as an excellent street photog aid, i'm looking one way but shooting in another. very handy.

when the meeting was done there was a wee bit of light left and enough for more street stuff.

by the time i headed home, i was able to grab some night time shot of the empire state building.

i also used the wide end of the camera and liked what i saw when reviewing the jpegs on the lcd.

i thought the colors were good and operationally, the camera was pretty easy to use.

i will bring the chip into iphoto this afternoon and check focus, exposure, image stabilization on the long end and see if there is any vignetting in the corners of the wide shots.

if all is solid, then this is a keeper and the only camera i'll take to portugal.

oh, what are the "best" accessories for the sx50?

i was going to buy some amazon batteries:

[www.amazon.com]

and get a hood/lens adaptor so i can put a uv filter on to protect the lens:

[www.amazon.com]

any and all thoughts are appreciated.

be well.

rob

I don't have an sx50, but one inexpensive thing I bought for my Nikon was a flash diffuser for the built-in flash. Cost about $10, and really helps when you're taking pictures of people up close indoors. The built in flash is too much for situations like that, and peoples faces were all washed out. The one I have fits into the shoe where an external flash would go, and softens the flash. Works really well.

Quote
rz
I don't have an sx50, but one inexpensive thing I bought for my Nikon was a flash diffuser for the built-in flash. Cost about $10, and really helps when you're taking pictures of people up close indoors. The built in flash is too much for situations like that, and peoples faces were all washed out. The one I have fits into the shoe where an external flash would go, and softens the flash. Works really well.

edit: I have a similar size Lumix FZ150. When walking around being a tourist, I use a slightly large fanny pack that I put in front of my belt buckle. With the camera strap around my neck and the camera in the unzipped fanny pack, the camera doesn't flop around and it's handy for a quick grab. There are store-bought devices that do similar things, but this works on the cheap, though it looks really dorky.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2015 09:14AM by lost in space.

much to the chagrin of my wife and young adult daughters, i OFTEN use fanny packs!

(and i would say i'm hip but in my business i stay fit, slim and often well dressed)

i have my run fanny pack for wallet, keys, cellphone.

i have my work fanny pack. i have my motorcycle fanny pack.

and i have two photography fanny packs.

the bag i used last night has a shoulder strap and my wife who met me downtown in soho after the meeting was thrilled that i was dressed in a suit and had a shoulder bag or as she referred, a "man bag". she said that is the bag i should use for portugal. i told her i was considering it. then i unclipped the shoulder strap and unzipped the sides and extended the belt as she slowly realized that this was yet another dreaded...fanny pack!

ymmv

be well.

rob



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2015 09:25AM by robfilms.

Quote
rz
I don't have an sx50, but one inexpensive thing I bought for my Nikon was a flash diffuser for the built-in flash. Cost about $10, and really helps when you're taking pictures of people up close indoors. The built in flash is too much for situations like that, and peoples faces were all washed out. The one I have fits into the shoe where an external flash would go, and softens the flash. Works really well.

Which one did you get? I notice there are a variety of products out there. No real reviews of any practical experience that I could find. It sounds like a great idea and I'd like to get one as well.

I have a copy of Gary Fong's Puffer, or maybe his is a copy, I don't know. But fleabay has many of the same type.

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Spiff

Quote
rz
I don't have an sx50, but one inexpensive thing I bought for my Nikon was a flash diffuser for the built-in flash. Cost about $10, and really helps when you're taking pictures of people up close indoors. The built in flash is too much for situations like that, and peoples faces were all washed out. The one I have fits into the shoe where an external flash would go, and softens the flash. Works really well.

Which one did you get? I notice there are a variety of products out there. No real reviews of any practical experience that I could find. It sounds like a great idea and I'd like to get one as well.

Looks a lot like this one. I only got the white diffuser though

[www.amazon.com]

Quote
rz
I don't have an sx50, but one inexpensive thing I bought for my Nikon was a flash diffuser for the built-in flash. Cost about $10, and really helps when you're taking pictures of people up close indoors. The built in flash is too much for situations like that, and peoples faces were all washed out. The one I have fits into the shoe where an external flash would go, and softens the flash. Works really well.

Your camera probably has an adjustment to power up or down your flash. Maybe you just need to adjust the output.

i got to soho at 5pm.

I expected the next line to be:

Was mugged at 5:01.

Glad you still have the camera!
Looking forward to seeing the pix. Do you know the viewfinder has a diopter adjustment?

dp-

soho at 5pm is tres cool!

you might be thinking of soho in the 70s and early 80s.

plus i'm 6'1"/195lbs. i'm not the guy thieves are looking for.

yes, i am aware of the diopter.

it worked as designed. i took off my glass, and spun the wheel (very stiff) so that the info on the display screen was eventually clear.

i'm liking the camera.

ymmv

be well.

rob

spun the wheel (very stiff)

I believe it's designed that way. I have a few older cameras that if you happen to grab for your camera and accidentally hit the wheel it will turn, messing up your setting. I've noticed when I gotten newer cameras, the wheel is harder to turn, and thus harder to knock it out of your setting.
Do you have it set for Superfine? JoeM hipped me to that in his post a few days ago. The SX40 doesn't have a SF setting for JPEG; just L, M1, M2, and S, so I didn't even think of looking for it when I got my 50. Thx to JoeM for that.

Does anybody know of a remote shutter release for the SX HS series, the 50 in particular?

rob, those links are much appreciated! Can one piggy-back a lens hood onto the filter?

---

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Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Quote
robfilms
dp-

soho at 5pm is tres cool!

you might be thinking of soho in the 70s and early 80s.

I loved SOHO in the 70s and 80s: affordable loft space and a big gallery scene. Now it's a yuppie mall.

The best accessory for improving photos (especially a small sensor/big lens one like the sx50) is a portable tripod. I like the Joby Gorillapods.
:

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan