Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H50

Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H50 is a perfect digital camera for beginners combining plenty of features with ease of use which amateurs should appreciate.

Intro:
Sony DSC-H50 features a 15x Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens, 9.1 effective megapixel and advanced Sony BIONZ processor which assures fast camera work. The camera has 3-inch LCD screen with a tilt range of motion, good flash and Optical image Stabilization - all the features that are to be expected in this price range.


Sony DSC-H50 pros:
+ Vivid 3-inch 230,000 pixel LCD monitor
+ 15x optical zoom
+ Good battery life
+ 9-area multi-point autofocus
+ Good Image Stabilization
+ Plenty of customizable features
+ Good overall image quality

Sony DSC-H50 cons:
- Stabilization occasionally increases ISO
- Photographers with bigger fingers may accidentally activate zoom
- Photographers with bigger fingers may activate adjacent functions when pressing Control button


The design:
Sony DSC-H50 measures 116.1 x 81.4 x 86.0 mm (4.6 x 3.2 x 3.4in) and weights 547 grams. It is made of high quality metal and plastic thanks to which it feels very solid. Ne of the most interesting design-related features of Sony DSC-H50 is the very good quality 3” LCD screen which can be tilted from the camera body to help with difficult shooting angles. The handgrip is finished in rubbery material and feels good, but zoom button is situated just below the spot where your thumb is so sometimes you might accidentally push it.

Performance:
Sony DSC-H50 is a solid performer in all circumstances. Thanks to its ‘Auto’ mode beginners will have no difficulties using the camera. Also more advanced shooters will be satisfied with what the Sony DSC-H50 has to offer: there are eight different shooting modes, various color modes, and you can of course adjust sharpness, contrast and saturation. The Optical Image Stabilization system does its work quite well, although from time to time it may produce a bit too much noise. The noise reduction system has three-level setting so you may also work on that. The overall picture quality is very good with sharp images and natural colors.
The Sony DSC-H50 is quick. It takes only 3 second to power up and on a moderately sunny day the flash also needs about three seconds to recharge. In ‘burst’ mode, as the manufacturer claims, Sony DSC-H50 ought to take about 100 photos in the highest resolution at 1.64 fps rate.
The battery in Sony DSC-H50 suffices for about 300 shots with the LCD on, which is quite a good achievement considering the large screen.

Menus / ease of use:
As always with Sony digital cameras the menu system is logically and clearly organized and should not cause any difficulties even to people who have never had a Sony. The ‘Auto’ mode is just perfect for beginners as it limits the available settings and automatically adjusts white balance, scene mode, AutoFocus points and the only thing a beginning photographer has to do is push the shutter release button.
Selected Sony DSC-H50 features and specifications:
Image Resolution:
3456×2592, 3456×2304, 3456×1944, 2592×1944, 2048×1536
Continuous-mode frames/second:
1.6
Movie Resolution:
640×480, 320×240
Movie Frame Rate:
30, 8
Movie Audio:
Yes
Imaging Sensor (Megapixels):
10.30
CCD Size (inches):
1/2.3″
Focal Length Multiplier:
n/a
Aspect Ratio:
4:3, 3:2
Sensor Type:
CCD
Effective Megapixels:
9.10
Lens
Focal Length (35mm equivalent):
31 - 465 mm
Zoom Ratio:
15.00x
Digital Zoom:
Yes
Digital Zoom Values:
2x Precision, up to 81x (total) Smart Zoom
Auto Focus:
Yes
Auto Focus Assist Light?
Yes
Manual Focus:
Yes
Normal Focus Range:
1 cm to Infinity
0.4 in to Infinity
Macro Focus Range:
1 - infinity cm
0.4 - infinity in
Aperture Range:
f/2.7 - 5.6 (wide) / f/4.5 - 8 (tele)
Display
Optical Viewfinder:
Yes
LCD Viewfinder:
Yes
LCD Size (inches):
3.0
LCD Resolution (pixels):
230,000
Max Playback Zoom:
Exposure
ISO Settings:
80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
White Balance Settings:
Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent-1, Fluorescent-2, Fluorescent-3, Incandescent, Flash, One Push (custom)
Shutter Speed Range:
30 - 1/4000
Exp Adj Range (EV):
+/- 2.0EV in 0.3EV steps
Metering Modes:
Multi-pattern, Center-weighted, Spot
Aperture Priority:
Yes
Shutter Priority:
Yes
Full Manual Exposure:
Yes
Self Timer:
2 or 10 seconds