Earlier in this year I reviewed the SX720 and SX280 two Canon Powershot cameras that fit into the "Superzoom" catagory (anything over a 20x zoom). The SX280 is right on that edge at 20x zoom and the SX720 is one of the longest zooms you can get on a pocket camera at 42x optical zoom. The Panasonic ZS50 sits right between the two of them at 30x optical zoom.
This was the immediate predecessor to my ZS100 for a pocket camera, replacing my SX280 in 2019. When I acquired the ZS100 in early 2020 just prior to lockdown from a friend, I gave this camera to my mom as a gift. I later got it back in trade for the SX720 as that camera is a better fit for her and this one is a better fit for me when I want to shoot this class of camera and I'll get to why in a bit.
The Panasonic ZS50 was released in 2015 and as mentioned before sports a 30x optical zoom behind a fairly standard 1/2.3" 12mp sensor. However on "paper" this camera was a step backwards from the 18mp sensor used in the predacessor to this camera the ZS30. So why was the ZS50 released with a lower resolution sensor?
In the early and mid 2010s some camera manufacturers realized that megapixels weren't everything espically on smaller sensors. Less MP often meant for sharper images because the glass the pocket camera was shooting through could only render a certain resolution clearly anyway, and anything higher MP then what the lens could render would come out as "soft" when zoomed all the way in. Additionally less MP dense sensors at the time got slightly less digital noise, meaning you could push a higher iso without looking grainy. Olympus took this hit with the XZ 1 (which is an amazing camera) and Canon took a step "Backwards" in their lines as well going from 14 and 16mp in their small sensors back down to 12mp like the Canon Powershot S110.
Indeed Megapixels aren't everything and in many cases photos from higher megapixel small sensors look WORSE then those taken on less pixel dense sensors. 10-12mp seemed to be a "sweet spot" for resolution on a less then 1 inch sensor so for a long time small sensor cameras hovered around this until Marketing of Smartphones made the last of the small sensor compact cameras (Like the Powershot ELPH 190 and Canon Powershot SX720) jump back up in resolution to try and compete.
If there is one unwritten law about Digital Photography its that Megapixels aren't everything and this could be the reason the Digicam trend is catching on, to take cameras like this that have a lot less "Megapixels" then a Smartphone; when realistically most smartphones still only output at around 12mp anyways or so because of "Pixel Binning" so this "Difference in Megapixels" between Phones and Pocket camera becomes a moot point at the end of the day anyway.
So once you realize that numbers on Megapixels for smartphones are really stretching the truth of the sensor inside 12mp isn't that bad at all.
I didn't mean to take up so much of the review as a rant- and maybe that will be a separate post for another time; but the ZS50 is a fine little point and shoot everyday pocket camera. Sure it's missing a few features that the ZS100 has along with a slower lens and not very good at high ISO but this camera has amazing Image Stablization even compared to the Canon Powershot SX720.
I'm fairly certain that's why I tore apart the SX720 unfairly because I was comparing it to this camera; and every time I took a shot I found something I missed about the Panasonic ZS50 over the Powershot SX720 which is why I was happy to make the trade to get it back. I will be giving both a second review next year and I'll likely do them back to back.
Both the SX720 and ZS50 are quick to start up, take a shot, and store in the pocket. The ZS50 does have a slight shutdown lag before you can turn it off again however it does this delay AFTER retracting the lens; a drawback that some pocket cameras such as the OG Sony RX100 (which won't be reviewed but is the reason I sold mine a mere 3 months after owning one) have. You can still put the camera back in its pouch a moment after pressing the power-button and have it ready for the next shot.
So performance wise both are pretty comparable. And when you get above 25x zoom the difference between magnification levels is not that much. So there is quite a bit of difference between the SX280 and the ZS50 but a lot less noticeable difference between the ZS50 and SX720 in spite of the SX720 having 12x more zoom on paper. In reality it feels like it has a 2x more bump instead.
Before going into the photos at the end of the review I will just do a list of features that the Panasonic ZS50 has that the Canon Powershot SX720 lacks, and that will suffice for a description of why I enjoy shooting it more. It is a much more advanced camera then the SX720 and the extra function button and control ring made it harder for my mom to get good shots with it. She would wind up accidently changing settings by bumping those extra buttons and turning the lens control wheel which made this camera not the best for someone who wants something fully automated. Here is what the Panasonic ZS50 has the the Canon SX720 lacks:
- RAW Support
- Second Control Wheel (lens ring)
- Customizeable FN button (less options then the Panasonic ZS100 on what it could be set to)
- Much better Image Stabilzation
- EVF (altough tiny and hard to squint through its nice to have when shooting in very bright conditions)
- Saveable custom Modes- while I never really used this much- this feature is usually reserved for DSLRs and Mirrorless bodies so seeing two custom presets on a pocket camera is very cool.
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