Canon SX50 vs Nikon P510 - some thoughts & decision

Yeats

All-Pro
Location
New Jersey, USA
Name
Chris
So, I've been auditioning both superzooms for a few days, getting a feel for general IQ and usability. Nothing formal, just figured I post some thoughts...

- The Nikon is much more comfortable to hold. The grip is deeper than the Canon's, and has a nice textured insert.

- Body ergonomics, the Nikon again is better. The button layout just feels better and a little more intuitive. The Canon's control dial near the LCD is hyper-sensitive, and that combined with the shallow grip results in me frequently tapping the Timer button. Annoying. Also, it takes fewer button presses on the Nikon to switch from LCD to EVF and back.

- Both EVF's are low-res and stink. The Canon's updates more quickly than the Nikon's, so that's a small win for Canon.

- Lenses seem comparable.

- Canon's AF is better.

- Canon shoots RAW, Nikon does not. However, the Nikon seems to do a slightly better job than the Canon is retaining jpeg detail.

- If you downsample the Nikon's 16MP photo to 12MP - the same size as the Canon - ISO 100/200 are comparable. The Canon's better above that. I don't anticipate ever going above ISO 400.

- The Image Stabilization of both cameras works really well.

I had purchased a new Nikon P510, which after one day began writing corrupt files to the SD cards. I returned it for a refund and bought a factory refurb, which has worked flawlessly.

Overall, I give the Canon SX50 the edge. I wish it had the Nikon's body, though. A Nikon P510 refurb is an outstanding value, at $100 less than a new SX50. In the end, I'm selling the Nikon and keeping the Canon... but waiting to try the Fuji HS50, with it's manual-style barrel zoom, high-res EVF, eye-detector and big body. Just not ready to spend over $500 on it.
 
Nice succinct comparison. You do a better job at boiling things down than I often do -- I can be a bit "wordy", lol.

If the pics you got with the Canon of those swans are any indication, that camera really is something. I'm sure you can work around the ergonomic issues.
 
Nice succinct comparison. You do a better job at boiling things down than I often do -- I can be a bit "wordy", lol.

If the pics you got with the Canon of those swans are any indication, that camera really is something. I'm sure you can work around the ergonomic issues.

Y'know, I had intended to be "wordy"... post a multitude of comparison pics, arch-rivals Canon & Nikon duel at 1000mm, etc..... but when it comes down to brass tacks, the images produced by the cameras are pretty similar, and both share the most devastating of weaknesses, a lame-o EVF.

If the Nikon shot RAW and the Canon did not, I would have chosen the Nikon.
 
The Panny's too short for me. I'm really looking forward to getting my paws on the HS50.
What you have to remember is that at the extreme end the IQ falls away quite markedly. I bought my FZ100 as a birding camera, but its been a complete failure in that regard. I do better with a manual 200mm with an adapter (which, because it was designed for FF gives a FoV of about 350) and then crop. Cropping from what is essentially a small compact sensor is fraught. I'd get the Panny for the f/2.8 constant, or the XS for the larger sensor.
 
I've a fair amount of experience local birding, primarily with a li'l old Tamron 70-300. It's been a while, but I'm confident I can wrangle decent bird images out of any superzoom.

No crop with the SX50, first time out with it:

View attachment 66812
robin_0062 by Yeatsy, on Flickr

NICE! Damnation. Now I'll have to give this a second look, too :p
[edit] Just looked at the white swans in your Flickr stream, not just nice, they are stunning!!
 
Not so crazy anymore, am I? :tongue:

I've been looking at Fuji HS50 pics over at DPR, and I fear I'm not impressed. However, there's a ton of malice and buffoonery and (frankly) poor photographers in that forum, so I am still clinging to hope that the HS50 will have competitive IQ.
 
Not so crazy anymore, am I? :tongue:

I've been looking at Fuji HS50 pics over at DPR, and I fear I'm not impressed. However, there's a ton of malice and buffoonery and (frankly) poor photographers in that forum, so I am still clinging to hope that the HS50 will have competitive IQ.

Great word, lol.
 
Back
Top