All I want is a decent point-and-shoot compact camera that is good at taking pictures of birds from a great distance and flowers and insects in close-up. Plus general views, obviously.
I have great affection for my old Olympus Camedia C-765 Ultra Zoom, which has been with me since August 2004, a good five years before I started this blog. I had long been wondering what I would do if it broke or stopped working suddenly, so I have visited my favourite camera shop – Cameraland in Cardiff – several times to ask what the best replacement would be. Always I was told I wouldn’t get anything as good at both zoom and macro in one camera.
Things became more pressing this year when my Olympus lost some of its settings – it wasn’t recording the date pictures were taken and it kept on reinstating the annoying beeps the camera makes when shooting unless you switch them off. Cameraland explained all I had to do was restore the factory settings and I have now done that, so the camera is fine again. But meanwhile I fell in love with a compact camera I was shown, that could now more than match the old Olympus for zoom and macro.
The excellent Clive Brooks at Cameraland showed me all I needed to know about the Sony Cyber-shot HX50, and within a few weeks I had gone back to buy it. I have bought all my three cameras there (the other one is a Nikon D5000 DSLR with changeable zoom and macro lenses).
Their recommendations are good and they manage to do deals that match even Amazon. The HX50 was £199, which is £50 under the Sony recommended price. Obviously adding on spare battery, memory cards and leather case took the price nearer to £300, but I was happy!

Top of my cameras old and new – the red lines show where the lenses end when the cameras are switched off
This isn’t a technical review, just my impressions and some examples of pictures I have taken in testing the new camera against the old. My first impression was how much quicker the Sony is when you switch it on. It’s ready to shoot in just a second or two, while the old Olympus seems very sluggish in comparison.
The Sony seems very slim compared to the Olympus, but weighs more or less the same. The new camera seems to me a bit more fragile, which is why the leather case is essential. The Olympus had a plastic lens cap that could be popped on and off, but the Sony has a built-in – but rather exposed – lens cover that must surely be easy to break?
Anyway, let’s have some pictures! Since I bought the camera in mid May, I have tried to compare like with like in order to judge whether the Sony will ever replace my beloved Olympus…
Macro for flowers and insects
Can anyone out there identify this next flower for me? It appeared in the garden and I can’t decide whether it is a “weed” or a garden plant, as it is pretty but the flowers are very small. My first thought, from the leaves, was a member of the Geranium family, but I have been unable to find a match. Any ideas?
One very good feature of the new camera is its apparent ability to switch to the right mode – such as macro – automatically. With the Olympus you have to press buttons and find the macro setting when you need it.
The problem of red
Quite a few photographic systems have trouble portraying bright reds and bright purples. My old Olympus camera included. As a test, I took a picture of the same red pelargonium, at the same time and in the same light, with my old and new cameras…
Here are some more flowers…
Multiple points of focus
One huge improvement in the Sony over the old Olympus is the focus. In most shots the camera is constantly seeking multiple places to focus on, not just the one. Here are some standard images (not zoom or macro) – in most cases I can’t really judge whether the old or new camera is better…
A surprising zoom
But most surprising was when I realised how good the new Sony’s zoom is. I thought it was on a par with the old camera but now I see it has a 30x zoom when the old one was probably a 10x zoom.
To test it I just pointed the cameras through the window and used maximum zoom on various plants…
I have been trying for years to get a decent image of my Deutzia, which grows in a part of the garden I can’t get close to…
Birds and foxes…
Perhaps my favourite subject during my first few weeks with the new camera has been the Cotinus coggygria Notcutt’s Variety (smoke tree)…
Anyway, I think you might say I am impressed with the Sony Cyber-shot HX50. I will definitely be taking it with me on my summer holidays. But the little slots and flaps for battery, memory card and charger cable are not very robust, compared to the Olympus. So I will probably take my old camera as back-up, just in case of accident…
Excellent comparisons – I have had my Samsung for a number of years and am very happy with it although I have nothing to compare it with.
Thank you.
I am very aware that I haven’t even read the manual yet, so I’ve no idea about the fine detail – I just like to point and click!
I always love your flower images, especially your wonderful seasonal arrangements.
All the best 🙂
Hi Pat
I too but almost all my cameras and binoculars from Clive at Cameraland. Good shop. I bought my Sony HX5V there but I’d say yours is a definite improvement. Mine has 10x zoom and in many conditions my Samsung phone takes pictures that are just as good or better. I had phone and Sony in Menorca in may and stopped taking the Sony out as it didn’t seem to add much!.
Nice lily beetle
Thanks. I’m glad Clive is famous!
Sadly I’ve stopped using my camera phone much. I have an oldish iPhone 4 but I’m not impressed by the pictures and use it only in emergencies. To make matters worse, my phone case overlaps the lens a bit, so I always get a circular pink edge to my iPhone snaps! I’ve heard Samsungs are better.
I’m not sure how to tell you, but I killed the lily beetle after taking the picture 😦
All the best 🙂
what a fabulous review – amazing images with both cameras …just wish you could zap lily beetles with your new zoomer
Thank you.
I hate to say it, but the beetle was crunched under my foot after I took the picture!
How can I be so callous?
All the best 🙂
Great review, had my camera for many years now and love it, sadly they don’t make it any more, my dad has one of the new models and I don’t like it. Your photos look great so would consider buying this camera if mine went.
I think “they don’t make it any more” applies to so many things these days! Certainly they don’t make compact cameras very robust these days, despite all the “bells and whistles”…
Thanks for your kind comments.
I’m enjoying your blog posts.
All the best 🙂
Looking good. Always fun to get some new equipment. It’s binoculars for me at present…a bit of a minefield when choosing something new!
Are you going for huge, heavy binoculars or those little ones you pop in your pocket?
I usually forget to “pack” mine! And wearing specs doesn’t help when using binoculars…
All the best 🙂
Funny how attached we get to our cameras isn’t it? I felt quite guilty when I swapped my Minolta for a Nikon, after all the places we’d been together and all the work it had done! I must admit I’ve been thinking of getting an additional compact to take for further afield, yours looks promising! Shame about the beetle, so pretty but so destructive; hope it hasn’t left a clutch of eggs as a legacy for you. Maybe try Doves-foot Cranesbill for the little pink flower?
I’m still feeling guilty about abandoning my non-digital Ricoh SLR. You’re right, a camera is like an old friend.
Thanks for the Doves-foot Cranesbill (Geranium molle) suggestion. I think that may be right! I suspected it was some sort of geranium but this was a new one on me. Sadly the recent dry weather has seen it turn to a brown crisp, so definitely a “weed”, not a cultivated plant…
Take care 🙂