Canon has announced the PowerShot SX50, which brings a staggering 50x optcal zoom lens, taking you right up to the action. The new ultrazoom camera was announced today at Photokina 2012.

The lens claims to be class-leading in construction, but importantly runs from 24mm at the wide angle up to 1200mm at the far end. You're going to need a steady hand to shoot at that length, even with image stabilisation on board.

Driving the lens is a new ultrasonic motor and voice coil motor, which Canon tells us is near silent – perfect for when you are stalking beasties around the urban jungle.

Aiding target acquisition at the far end of the zoom is a new "Seek and Lock" function. At the press of a button, the lens will zoom out to require the target, returning to the focal length when the button is released. It sounds very Top Gun, but if you've ever lost sight of that bird/dog/child on the run, this should get it back in your sights.

"Jester's dead, yee-haw"

The PowerShot SX50 is built on the HS System, pairing a 12-megapixel with the Digic 5 processor. In this case, it's a 1/2.3-inch type sensor, rather than the 1/1.7 of the G15 and S110 also launched today. 

So it's a lower spec than those other advanced compacts, but in the tradition of Canon's SX cameras, you still get RAW shooting and full manual controls. You also get a 2.8-inch vari-angle LCD display around the back, in addition to the electronic viewfinder. 

The Canon PowerShot SX50 HS will cost you £449.99 when it hits stores in late October.