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Canon PowerShot A50 Canon's "Digital ELPHs" goes megapixel plus - great picture quality, superb portability! Select a topic Reference: Datasheet PowerShot A50 Test Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments on PowerShot A50 Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Design :(Previous) | (Next): Optics>> Page 4:Viewfinder Review First Posted: 7/10/1999

Viewfinder

Like most digicams these days, the PowerShot A50 includes both optical and LCD viewfinders. The optical viewfinder is a bit "looser" than most, showing only 80% of the final picture area at the wide-angle end of the zoom's range, and 78% at the telephoto end. The LCD viewfinder also crops slightly, showing about 95% of the final image at all times. We also found the optical viewfinder to have a slightly low eyepoint and no dioptric correction, making it a bit awkward for eyeglass wearers. (Only a bit though: We had no real problems using the optical viewfinder with eyeglasses, but would have felt a little more comfortable if we hadn't had to actually touch our eyeglasses to the viewfinder bezel.) The image at right shows the approximate areas of coverage provided by the optical (red lines) and LCD (green lines) viewfinders, relative to the final image area.
The LCD brightness can be adjusted via a menu option, but we're happy to report that the A50 has one of the brighter and higher-resolution LCD screens that we've tested. (Actually, the issue is less one of brightness than contrast: The A50's screen seems to wash out less in bright light, not so much because the white areas are brighter than those on other cameras' screens, but because there's less glare reflected from the dark areas.) As noted earlier, Canon doesn't give a specification for the number of pixels displayed by the A50's LCD, but it's clearly (no pun intended) one of the sharper units we've seen. Besides its brightness and sharpness, the A50's LCD also has one of the highest refresh rates we've observed: Even fairly fast-moving objects stay sharp and in-focus, making the camera idea for pictures where there's a lot of action going on. (The ideal camera for the "soccer mom?")