Canon PowerShot SX50 HS Digital Camera Review

Recording Options

Videos are encoded in H.264, in your choice of 1080/24p, 720/30p, or 480/30p. We also had fun shooting "Super Slow Motion Movies" at 120 or 240 frames per second, however this limits resolution to 480p or 240p respectively. Find out how the performed in our video image quality test./r:link_to_content

Video Controls

Auto Controls

Exposure and focus can each be set to adjust automatically on-the-fly, even while a recording is in progress. Scene modes and picture effects are generally unavailable for video recording, with the exception of Miniature Effect, which may be shot at 720p in up 6 frames per second.

Zoom

Zoom control is unlocked while a recording is in progress, however the motor's speed is reduced to cut down on mechanical noise that may be picked up by the microphones.

Focus

The camera will autofocus while a recording is in progress, and this feature can by toggled on the fly by pressing the manual focus button (left on the directional) pad. This locks focus on the current distance, but there's no way to adjust focus manually during a recording, so the feature is more like focus lock than true manual.

Exposure Controls

Gain may be adjusted before recording a clip, and gain level may be displayed or reset (but not adjusted manually) while a recording is in progress. This is a rather odd limitation, but shouldn't make a difference for light-duty videography.

Audio Features

Inside the main menu, you'll find a sub-menu called "Movie Audio," which can be used to automate the levels of the stereo microphones or set them manually. The Wind Filter option is also found here, as is an audio level readout in decibels. Unfortunately this feature cannot be displayed while a recording is in progress.