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SX50 compared to 1Ds

Started Nov 30, 2012 | Discussions thread
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larry Contributing Member • Posts: 889
SX50 compared to 1Ds
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Many years ago, I compared my then-new G9 at 28mm equiv., with my 1Ds and 24-70 for a daytime landscape.  I was shocked at how good the G9 lens was.  Prints at 13" x 19" looked flat-out wonderful.  It suffered from all the usual tiny-imager problems, but in good light, it has been a great camera that I continue to keep in the car for roadside captures.

I purchased an SX1, that has mostly sat in the corner.  It's lens, and excessive noise always intrude.  But I have captured some lovely sunsets with the camera.

I recieved my SX50 4 days ago.  I've been playing with it, learning it's feature set.  I missed a fantastic opportunity last night to capture the moon at the horizon, wrapped in fog, shooting hand-held.  So tonight I went out and played with all the modes.  I expected Night Scene to work well for catching the neighbors' Christmas lites.  I was disappointed.  Every shot of 12 was blurred.

For strings of 3 shots where 1 or 2 were sharp, I found that M mode was wildly successful, getting very good shots at 1 second, f4.5, ISO 1600,  1/4 second, f4.5, ISO 1600, and 1/8 second, f4.5, ISO 1600.  I actually had 2 sharp shots at 1/4s.  Details were blurred by noise at 3200, but would have been great at letter-sized prints.  6400 has blotchy shadows and highlights that are unusable except at smaller sizes.  It's still amazing that these ISO's are as good as they are.

Noise from OOC JPG was visible at 100%, but perfectly acceptable for anyone who's shot film.

I lugged (literally) the 1Ds outside, and shot a couple dozen shots at ISO 1000 and 1250 (the 1Ds's highest), f2.8, and 1/8s to 1/2s.  None of the shots was free from motion blur, and although noise at 100% was finer-grained than the SX50, the shadows were tinted magenta and white-balance couldn't be set to a pleasing value.  I shot RAW, and converted in ACR with CS4.

The SX50 flat-out destroyed the 1Ds in this very specific contest.  About as much as the 1Ds would to it in BIF shots!

I haven't been able to test the lens in daylight, but I'm hoping it's acceptable for landscapes.  I suspect it will be...  I am amazed by this camera.  I can't imagine anyone who would have suspected it could have been produced, even 3 years ago.

Canon EOS-1Ds Canon PowerShot G9
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