This review is from: Canon PowerShot SX220 HS Digital Camera – Grey (12.1MP, 14x Optical Zoom) 3.0 inch LCD (Electronics)
I adore this camera. Why? Because I get a higher percentage of good shots out of it than from any other camera I have, and that includes a few DSLRs, and the video is ridiculously good. Is the image quality as good as a DSLR or even a micro 4/3 system camera? No, but it’s not far off, and a shot that’s perfectly exposed and focused and free of camera shake on a smaller sensor like this beats not getting a picture at all by a long way. The SX220HS is my constant companion and lives in a pouch on my belt.
I’ve spent 30 years in photography, since buying my first Russian Zenit E around 1979, including being a semi-pro at one point. I know all about aperture/shutter speed/ISO ratios, exposure values, incident light metering, parallax error, Hurter & Driffield scales, flash guide numbers, the difference between depth of field and depth of focus, Ansel Adams’s zone system, blah blah blah. When I’m taking a photo, I don’t want to think about any of that stuff, I want to be enchanted by a scene and have a decent reproduction of it when I get home. With this camera, I get that. When I pull it out, I know I’m almost certain to get the picture I want. Canon have done an amazing job with it.
The video is astounding. When I upload it, I view it on a large screen, not a little laptop, so any flaws would be immediately apparent. I uploaded a few to Youtube for a friend to see, and she emailed me back, ‘They are so clear!’
Many other cameras don’t even let you zoom while filming, this one does and regains focus acceptably quickly when you do. I’m fairly picky about sound quality too, and the SX220HS produces good, clear, rich sound. Yes, if you zoom while filming, there’s a little bit of zoom noise, but if you’re shooting outside, there’ll be plenty of other noise on the soundtrack too. If you care that much, buy a video camera and an external microphone. Otherwise you’ll love the full HD video on this. The quality is incredible, especially surprising in a camera as small as this.
As has been mentioned, this camera is excellent in low light (very important in the UK), which is unusual for a camera with a long zoom, it has a pretty decent lens, colours are rich and glorious and the image stabilisation is also very good. Noise is virtually never an issue. If it were broken or stolen, would I buy another one? As fast as I could get on the internet.
I am absolutely delighted with this camera. Canon are usually not the cheapest of companies, but I chose this over their S95 (one and a half times the price) and Powershot G12 (double the price) after doing a lot of internet research, and I’m so glad I did. Those cameras have more manual functions, but a few weeks ago I spent 10 minutes in a camera shop comparing my SX220HS with a secondhand G12, and if someone had offered me a swap, I’d have laughed. I moved my SD card from one to the other, and took a few shots in low light, and the SX220HS focused quicker and more accurately and took better photos, despite having a slower lens. (Not to mention that neither of those other cameras do full HD video, only 720, and have a much smaller zoom range.) If you’re that bothered, you can use manual focus on this camera, but I’ve never needed to yet.
We’re lucky in the UK because this version doesn’t exist in the US, there you can only get the more expensive SX230HS with built-in GPS, presumably on the basis that if you go on holiday and spend most of the time completely off your head and can’t remember much about it, at least your camera will tell you where you were at the time. Don’t really get it myself, but I guess that matters to some people.
The SX220HS is squat and ugly and drab, has a fairly short battery life, and the flash pops up every time you turn it on. Calamity!!!! Apparently this is a disaster. For goodness sake, so what? Nobody else has mentioned the looks, lots of people have mentioned the other two factors and marked the camera down as a result. To them I say: grow up. Buy a spare battery or two, they’re cheap and small. I actually quite enjoy pushing the flash down each time I turn it on, strange as it may sound, it’s like saying hello to the camera. I assume Canon did it this way because a bigger battery would have increased the size of the camera, and they had the flash pop up instantly on switch on so that you could guarantee some kind of picture in an emergency. I hardly ever use the flash, but that’s the kind of thinking I like. The SX220HS (even the name is ugly) is the ugly baby you love even more. A camera that doesn’t draw attention to itself is less likely to get stolen and makes it much easier to get natural shots of people.
If you know nothing about photography, this camera will lead you by the hand and give you great photos, and you won’t even realise how lucky you are and how good it is compared to much of what’s out there. If you know a lot about photography, you will…
This review is from: Canon PowerShot SX220 HS Digital Camera – Grey (12.1MP, 14x Optical Zoom) 3.0 inch LCD (Electronics)
I bought this camera to replace my Canon Ixus 870IS – my third Ixus camera in a row. I went for the Powershot this time (rather than the Ixus equivalent) because of the extended zoom range on the Powershot. As I have come to expect from Canon, the pictures this camera takes are excellent, whether you use the fully automatic option, the program mode, or, one of the more exotic pre-programmed settings. The Powershot is slightly larger than the Ixus but still very pocketable and with good build quality. The viewing screen is bright and highly detailed. The lens goes from wide angle to telphoto and, contrary to expectations, remains usable even if you use the extended range of the digital blow-up. As other users have mentioned, the flash pops up as soon as you turn the camera on. If you don’t like this, hold the camera with your finger pressed down over the top of the flash and it stays down. Simple!
All this would be enough to give the Powershot SX 220HS five stars. However, what makes it truly outstanding is the remarkable quality of the 1080 HD video. Suffice to say that the results are startling for such a small, inexpensive camera. I use it for taking short movies of my young family and for skiing. The results approach broadcast quality when displayed on my 24″ NEC computer DVI monitor or on my 37″ Panasonic plasma TV. Even the stereo sound quality is far better than might be expected for the price. With a 32 Gig SD class 10 card fitted, I can shoot movies up to two hours. It won’t replace a decent HD camcorder, but for recording family occasions it’s ideal. No doubt due to the quality of the camera lens, the quality of the video recording is far superior to any of the small “Flip” type cameras.
The Powershot does not come with a memory card and has no internal memory. If you are going to take a lot of video, buy a 16 or 32 Gig SD card. I use class 10, but I understand that class 6+ should be ok. Also, get a spare NB5L battery. Whilst the battery life is reasonable, the massive display and fancy electronics do take their toll, especially if using a lot of video. I took the recommendation of one of the other users and got a LowePro Rezo 30 case which offers quick access; a lot of protection; hangs vertically from the belt loop, and provides a useful compartment for spare batteries and SD cards. I also purchased the smart “official” canon leather case which is good, but lacks additional storage and only fits on a belt horizontally, (which can be a little uncomfortable at times because of the width of the camera).
Amazon price was highly competative and delivery was the day after the order was placed.
Couldn’t be better!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Canon PowerShot SX220 HS Digital Camera – Grey (12.1MP, 14x Optical Zoom) 3.0 inch LCD (Electronics)
I waited a month before posting this review because I wanted to try out the camera first and have a better opinion. So, here it is!
So far I like this camera a lot!
Previously I used my girlfriend’s Canon IXUS 800 IS, which I liked very much. The battery life was amazing (it use to last weeks, and went through a whole 4 day trip without recharging), loads of features and took amazingly bright and sharp images. And I had a Sony DSC-P72 which was more than 7 years old and in desperate need for a replacement. (It still works! but gave it to my dad to play with it)
I first wanted to buy an entry-level DSLR but then I would splash out more than my budget and also you have the hassle of carrying half a kilo (or more) of weight around your neck which is not so nice on long walks.
Then I looked at the Fuji FinePix F550EXR, but that one has updatable firmware which points to the fact that it has loads of software bugs that need to be fixed and they ARE NOT YET fixed. The most annoying & funny at the same time, is the bug where you turn off the sounds the camera makes and you cannot fire the flash anymore (it prompts you to enable sounds again!!!) What were they thinking!?!
So I had to choose between the SX230HS(with GPS) and SX220HS(without GPS). Since I built my own GPS tracker using a microcontroler as a pet project I didn’t need the GPS in my camera! Which people reviewed as just another battery eater, and they disable it anyway!
This is why I ended up buying the SX220HS! I also bought along with the camera a Transcend 16Gb class 10 SD card which works perfectly. A LowePro Rezo 30 travel pouch, which is nice, snugly padded and has a pocket for batteries 😉 cuz’ you do need them !!!
Here are the pros & cons: PROs: * lens quality is quite good * huge zoom (14x) with digital zoom you can go up to ~56x!!! WOW! * very good picture quality in both stills and movies (although full HDMI movies get very big!) * image stabiliser is very good to have * fast image processor (the same DIGIC 4 processor Canon uses in DSLRs?!? Hmmm… it sure looks like it is!) * creative picture manipulation options, just to have a bit of fun * low price
CONs: * VERY POOR BATTERY LIFE! (I run out of juice in just a single day of shooting ~70 pictures and around 20 minutes of 720p movies) This camera is very hungry!!! * manual is entangled and does not explain properly all the features of the camera’s shooting modes and when to use them. * very complicated restrictions on some shooting modes. For example when you shoot at the longest exposure time (15″ seconds) you are restricted to ISO100! WHY?!? * cannot disable noise reduction
These last two disadvantages CAN be overcomed by using CHDK, google “CHDK Wiki” and upgrade the features of most Canon cameras!!! It is AWSOME!!!!
The manual is not that important to me since I usually just give it a quick look after a couple of weeks of actual usage of the camera, and after that the would gather dust (if they would be printed, but they are not! so we are saving the trees 🙂
So I am left with just one (but MAJOR) disadvantage which is the battery life!
However I ordered TWO batteries from eBay and they are on their way 🙂 ! Hope they will work out!
4.5stars because of the battery life, but the manual shooting options are just amazing for me! Since I want to do astronomy photos, time-lapse and more. and the CHDK makes it happen!
I can definitely recommend this camera to the bit more technically minded people for its abilities! But can well do the job for the average user!
This is what I had to say about that! Thanks for reading!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Stunning camera,
I adore this camera. Why? Because I get a higher percentage of good shots out of it than from any other camera I have, and that includes a few DSLRs, and the video is ridiculously good. Is the image quality as good as a DSLR or even a micro 4/3 system camera? No, but it’s not far off, and a shot that’s perfectly exposed and focused and free of camera shake on a smaller sensor like this beats not getting a picture at all by a long way. The SX220HS is my constant companion and lives in a pouch on my belt.
I’ve spent 30 years in photography, since buying my first Russian Zenit E around 1979, including being a semi-pro at one point. I know all about aperture/shutter speed/ISO ratios, exposure values, incident light metering, parallax error, Hurter & Driffield scales, flash guide numbers, the difference between depth of field and depth of focus, Ansel Adams’s zone system, blah blah blah. When I’m taking a photo, I don’t want to think about any of that stuff, I want to be enchanted by a scene and have a decent reproduction of it when I get home. With this camera, I get that. When I pull it out, I know I’m almost certain to get the picture I want. Canon have done an amazing job with it.
The video is astounding. When I upload it, I view it on a large screen, not a little laptop, so any flaws would be immediately apparent. I uploaded a few to Youtube for a friend to see, and she emailed me back, ‘They are so clear!’
Many other cameras don’t even let you zoom while filming, this one does and regains focus acceptably quickly when you do. I’m fairly picky about sound quality too, and the SX220HS produces good, clear, rich sound. Yes, if you zoom while filming, there’s a little bit of zoom noise, but if you’re shooting outside, there’ll be plenty of other noise on the soundtrack too. If you care that much, buy a video camera and an external microphone. Otherwise you’ll love the full HD video on this. The quality is incredible, especially surprising in a camera as small as this.
As has been mentioned, this camera is excellent in low light (very important in the UK), which is unusual for a camera with a long zoom, it has a pretty decent lens, colours are rich and glorious and the image stabilisation is also very good. Noise is virtually never an issue. If it were broken or stolen, would I buy another one? As fast as I could get on the internet.
I am absolutely delighted with this camera. Canon are usually not the cheapest of companies, but I chose this over their S95 (one and a half times the price) and Powershot G12 (double the price) after doing a lot of internet research, and I’m so glad I did. Those cameras have more manual functions, but a few weeks ago I spent 10 minutes in a camera shop comparing my SX220HS with a secondhand G12, and if someone had offered me a swap, I’d have laughed. I moved my SD card from one to the other, and took a few shots in low light, and the SX220HS focused quicker and more accurately and took better photos, despite having a slower lens. (Not to mention that neither of those other cameras do full HD video, only 720, and have a much smaller zoom range.) If you’re that bothered, you can use manual focus on this camera, but I’ve never needed to yet.
We’re lucky in the UK because this version doesn’t exist in the US, there you can only get the more expensive SX230HS with built-in GPS, presumably on the basis that if you go on holiday and spend most of the time completely off your head and can’t remember much about it, at least your camera will tell you where you were at the time. Don’t really get it myself, but I guess that matters to some people.
The SX220HS is squat and ugly and drab, has a fairly short battery life, and the flash pops up every time you turn it on. Calamity!!!! Apparently this is a disaster. For goodness sake, so what? Nobody else has mentioned the looks, lots of people have mentioned the other two factors and marked the camera down as a result. To them I say: grow up. Buy a spare battery or two, they’re cheap and small. I actually quite enjoy pushing the flash down each time I turn it on, strange as it may sound, it’s like saying hello to the camera. I assume Canon did it this way because a bigger battery would have increased the size of the camera, and they had the flash pop up instantly on switch on so that you could guarantee some kind of picture in an emergency. I hardly ever use the flash, but that’s the kind of thinking I like. The SX220HS (even the name is ugly) is the ugly baby you love even more. A camera that doesn’t draw attention to itself is less likely to get stolen and makes it much easier to get natural shots of people.
If you know nothing about photography, this camera will lead you by the hand and give you great photos, and you won’t even realise how lucky you are and how good it is compared to much of what’s out there. If you know a lot about photography, you will…
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|Superb camera with excellent 1080 HD Video,
I bought this camera to replace my Canon Ixus 870IS – my third Ixus camera in a row. I went for the Powershot this time (rather than the Ixus equivalent) because of the extended zoom range on the Powershot. As I have come to expect from Canon, the pictures this camera takes are excellent, whether you use the fully automatic option, the program mode, or, one of the more exotic pre-programmed settings. The Powershot is slightly larger than the Ixus but still very pocketable and with good build quality. The viewing screen is bright and highly detailed. The lens goes from wide angle to telphoto and, contrary to expectations, remains usable even if you use the extended range of the digital blow-up. As other users have mentioned, the flash pops up as soon as you turn the camera on. If you don’t like this, hold the camera with your finger pressed down over the top of the flash and it stays down. Simple!
All this would be enough to give the Powershot SX 220HS five stars. However, what makes it truly outstanding is the remarkable quality of the 1080 HD video. Suffice to say that the results are startling for such a small, inexpensive camera. I use it for taking short movies of my young family and for skiing. The results approach broadcast quality when displayed on my 24″ NEC computer DVI monitor or on my 37″ Panasonic plasma TV. Even the stereo sound quality is far better than might be expected for the price. With a 32 Gig SD class 10 card fitted, I can shoot movies up to two hours. It won’t replace a decent HD camcorder, but for recording family occasions it’s ideal. No doubt due to the quality of the camera lens, the quality of the video recording is far superior to any of the small “Flip” type cameras.
The Powershot does not come with a memory card and has no internal memory. If you are going to take a lot of video, buy a 16 or 32 Gig SD card. I use class 10, but I understand that class 6+ should be ok. Also, get a spare NB5L battery. Whilst the battery life is reasonable, the massive display and fancy electronics do take their toll, especially if using a lot of video. I took the recommendation of one of the other users and got a LowePro Rezo 30 case which offers quick access; a lot of protection; hangs vertically from the belt loop, and provides a useful compartment for spare batteries and SD cards. I also purchased the smart “official” canon leather case which is good, but lacks additional storage and only fits on a belt horizontally, (which can be a little uncomfortable at times because of the width of the camera).
Amazon price was highly competative and delivery was the day after the order was placed.
Couldn’t be better!
Was this review helpful to you?
|Nifty little camera!,
I waited a month before posting this review because I wanted to try out the camera first and have a better opinion. So, here it is!
So far I like this camera a lot!
Previously I used my girlfriend’s Canon IXUS 800 IS, which I liked very much. The battery life was amazing (it use to last weeks, and went through a whole 4 day trip without recharging), loads of features and took amazingly bright and sharp images. And I had a Sony DSC-P72 which was more than 7 years old and in desperate need for a replacement. (It still works! but gave it to my dad to play with it)
I first wanted to buy an entry-level DSLR but then I would splash out more than my budget and also you have the hassle of carrying half a kilo (or more) of weight around your neck which is not so nice on long walks.
Then I looked at the Fuji FinePix F550EXR, but that one has updatable firmware which points to the fact that it has loads of software bugs that need to be fixed and they ARE NOT YET fixed. The most annoying & funny at the same time, is the bug where you turn off the sounds the camera makes and you cannot fire the flash anymore (it prompts you to enable sounds again!!!) What were they thinking!?!
So I had to choose between the SX230HS(with GPS) and SX220HS(without GPS). Since I built my own GPS tracker using a microcontroler as a pet project I didn’t need the GPS in my camera! Which people reviewed as just another battery eater, and they disable it anyway!
This is why I ended up buying the SX220HS!
I also bought along with the camera a Transcend 16Gb class 10 SD card which works perfectly. A LowePro Rezo 30 travel pouch, which is nice, snugly padded and has a pocket for batteries 😉 cuz’ you do need them !!!
Here are the pros & cons:
PROs:
* lens quality is quite good
* huge zoom (14x) with digital zoom you can go up to ~56x!!! WOW!
* very good picture quality in both stills and movies (although full HDMI movies get very big!)
* image stabiliser is very good to have
* fast image processor (the same DIGIC 4 processor Canon uses in DSLRs?!? Hmmm… it sure looks like it is!)
* creative picture manipulation options, just to have a bit of fun
* low price
CONs:
* VERY POOR BATTERY LIFE!
(I run out of juice in just a single day of shooting ~70 pictures and around 20 minutes of 720p movies) This camera is very hungry!!!
* manual is entangled and does not explain properly all the features of the camera’s shooting modes and when to use them.
* very complicated restrictions on some shooting modes.
For example when you shoot at the longest exposure time (15″ seconds) you are restricted to ISO100! WHY?!?
* cannot disable noise reduction
These last two disadvantages CAN be overcomed by using CHDK, google “CHDK Wiki” and upgrade the features of most Canon cameras!!! It is AWSOME!!!!
The manual is not that important to me since I usually just give it a quick look after a couple of weeks of actual usage of the camera, and after that the would gather dust (if they would be printed, but they are not! so we are saving the trees 🙂
So I am left with just one (but MAJOR) disadvantage which is the battery life!
However I ordered TWO batteries from eBay and they are on their way 🙂 ! Hope they will work out!
4.5stars because of the battery life, but the manual shooting options are just amazing for me! Since I want to do astronomy photos, time-lapse and more. and the CHDK makes it happen!
I can definitely recommend this camera to the bit more technically minded people for its abilities! But can well do the job for the average user!
This is what I had to say about that!
Thanks for reading!
Was this review helpful to you?
|