You will have noticed that my Point & Shoot of choice has been the Sony DSC H9, a super-zoom (31 to 465mm in 35mm equivalents). These super-zooms, which are available in one flavor or another from just about every major digital camera maker, are sometimes called bridge cameras…more advanced, with more complex settings, than the garden variety 1-3 or 1-5 pocket digitals, but still not a Digital Single Lens Reflex with their interchangeable lenses and considerably larger bodies (and larger image sensors).

The assumption seems to be that digital photographers begin taking pictures of the kids and family with a pocket P&S, then move up to a bridge camera, with its wider range zoom and more precise adjustments, as they get more serious…before crossing all the way over and eventually buying the full DSLR rig, with its bag of lenses. The advanced super-zoom forms a bridge between the pocket P&S and the DSLR.

I have been the SLR route back in the film days, and, despite (or perhaps because of) a recent temptation involving a DSLR I had to purchase for my work, I have made a conscious decision to pursue photographic excellence through an advanced P&S. In that sense, my H9 is a true bridge camera…my ultra portable, ultra adaptable, ultra capable bridge to the world of images around me.

The H9 was not, however, without its drawbacks. When it first reached the market there was a lot of controversy over at the dpreview Sony Forum about the image quality, or lack there-of, of the H9. I was an early adopter, having pre-ordered my H9 before it was even officially released, so I already owned it when the first, shall we say, lukewarm reviews started appearing. Some of the image quality issues people complained about were easy to see, and disappointing in a Sony product. Some were more subtle, and varied with the scene being captured to such a great extent that they caused endless argument on the Forum.

Still, I was among those who called on Sony to release a firmware update to address the most obvious problems (I even contacted the one person I know at Sony to see if he could pass the message along). They never did release an update. I made up my mind simply to enjoy the camera for its many strengths and to work around those issues I could not ignore.

As I have said several times, I have had more fun with the Sony H9 than with any other camera I have ever owned. It matches my current imaging style and photographic habits almost perfectly. I have, at a conservative estimate, taken more fine images with it than with all my past cameras combined.

Of course, that does not mean that when Sony announced the successor to the H9…the H50…I was slow about pursuing every bit of information as it became available. On paper it sounds like Sony has addressed many of the issues we H9 owners complained about…and added a few new features that were not available when the H9 was introduced (simile shutter??? The camera reads faces and the shutter is released when a smile is detected…honest…that is what the press release says).

So, after my brush with a DSLR, I ordered the H50. Early adopter again. I figured I could test it against the H9 to see if it was better where it mattered, and, since I ended up with a Sony A200 for work, I could also test it against the a real DSLR.

These are my results and my conclusions. Please remember that my conclusions are my own, and they may differ from yours, even when you study my sample images.

I will say right up front that I am predisposed to like the H50. I already bought it, for one thing, and, as an extension of the same concepts as were embodied in the H9, I already know that it is going to meet the majority of my photographic needs. And, I have already decided that I will not be carrying a full DSLR rig anytime soon, most likely never: just too much weight and bulk and, for me, unneeded complexity. These are open biases, and if they color my conclusions…well, at least we both know they are there.

So…the review.

Three of a kind…

Physical Differences

I was actually quite surprised at the number of physical changes between the H9 and H50. I had assumed that the H50 would basically be the H9 with upgraded sensor and software. Not so. While there is still a marked resemblance, they are two different cameras. The H50 is slim and the H9 is chunky. It is no more than a change in profile and the thickness of the actual body in relationship to the lens housing, but it makes a real difference in how the camera feels in your hands. Also, the electronic viewfinder is now centered on both the LCD display and the axis of the lens so that more of the body sticks out at the left (looking from the back) than on the H9.

H50: slim

H9: chunky

H50

H9

Note that the button that switches the View from the LCD to the EVF (Electronic View Finder) is now on the left side of the finder, not the right as it was on the H9. I find it easier to reach there and more natural. The button that replaced the View selector on H9 is the slideshow button. As you can see the LCD is articulated differently, eliminating the hinge like thing under the EVF on the H9. The NightShot switch has been moved from the bottom of the camera to the top.

The biggest change though (and the best) is that the program control knob on the H50 is metal, and much more positive feeling than the plastic knob on the H9. I was always having to check the setting on the H9, as it moved so easily when getting the camera in and out of the case, and some people reported that the knob stopped working. The knob on the H50 appears to be much more substantial.

The speaker/mic is gone from the top of the camera, replaced with a forward facing mic on the small extension of the body to the left of the EVF, and a speaker hidden under the LCD panel.

The function wheel on the back of the camera to the right of the LCD still has the same dedicated push functions, and still controls the same exposure values and settings (more about that later). It is still annoyingly easy to press a function when you intend to turn the wheel to change a setting.

The layout of the battery / Memory Stick compartment has been changed (see blow: H50 on left). The most significant change in this compartment, however is the little blue lever that holds the battery in, or perhaps the fact that it has to hold the battery in. When you flick the lever out of the way, the battery jumps right out. A welcome change.

Finally, the slim body on the H50 requires a longer metal projection to house the lens, and support accessories.

While I never noticed any discomfort in holding the H9, the H50’s slimmer body allows a more positive, and at the same time, more relaxed grip. An improvement I didn’t even know I needed.

All that said, a look at the image at the top of the column will show that either the H9 or the H50 is nothing less than petite when compared to the full DSLR body and 28 to 105mm equivalent kit lens of the A200, and, of course, after holding the H50, the A200 feels, well, like a brick.

The Essential Physical Features.

Differences are one thing, but the physical features that made the H9 so much fun to use have not changed significantly on the H50.

First among these is the articulated LCD. I do 80% of my shooting with the EVF, but I love the swing-out LCD for those times when the subject requires a low angle, when it is hard to reach, and or when you need to get up over heads in a crowd. It is especially useful when shooting macros (about which more later) as the subjects, at least in nature, can be both hard to reach and low to the ground. Then too, the large 3 inch LCD seems to be, for whatever reason, a more natural place to compose macros.

These angles make these images easy…

Beyond the LCD, take a look at the top view of the H50. Note the two buttons behind the shutter release. The left button allows quick cycling through the metering patterns, so you can select wide area, center, or spot as needed. The right button sets the camera for single shot, continuous shooting, or bracket. (On the H9 you cycled through all the bracketing options: on the H50 you set the bracketing option in the menu…the button only turns it on or off.)

Finally, let us consider the function wheel on the back (see back view above). As mentioned this is both a scroll wheel and a push wheel. There are 4 preprogrammed functions, one for each quadrant of the wheel. A push cycles macro on and off, cycles through the flash options, cycles through the diplay options. or cycles through the self-timer options.

The real power is in the scroll and center button. Notice the OK, the triangles, and the row of settings across the bottom of the LCD screen shot below.

As the screen looks right now, rotating the scroll wheel will shift the program, choosing lower shutter speeds and smaller f stops or higher shutter speeds and bigger f stops without changing the exposure relationship between the two (see the full article on Program Shift).

Pressing the center button on the wheel changes OK to Set and the triangles to yellow. Now when you scroll the wheel, you can select ISO, Program Shift, EV compensation, or Focus pattern. Another press on the center button while the triangles (triangle) is over your selected function changes the Set back to OK, and the triangles to white. Now scrolling the wheel changes the value of your selected function. (It is actually easy to remember: whatever is yellow is what is going to change.)

While it is still too easy to press a push function while scrolling, the whole system makes on the fly changes in the most basic functions of image making both natural and easy…without accessing a menu.

So what about image quality already…

Ah…see part two.