Amateur Photographer Magazine

Canon Powershot SX20IS

Monday 9th November 2009

Richard Sibley

Designed to 'bridge' the gap between a compact camera and an entry-level DSLR, Canon's latest bridge camera, the PowerShot SX20IS, has a huge range of features. The aim is to give the SX20IS the ease of use of a compact camera but with the manual controls and options of a DSLR.

The most attractive selling point of the SX20IS is its 20x optical zoom lens (the equivalent of a 28-560mm 35mm-format optic). This is stabilised to avoid camera shake, which can be a concern when shooting at such extreme focal lengths.



Images are captured on a 12.1-million-pixel CCD sensor measuring just 6.16x4.62mm in size. This small compact-camera-sized sensor allows for such an extreme zoom lens to be used in a compact form. However, the downside is that with a surface area less than one-tenth the size of an APS-C-format DSLR, noise may be visible even at
low ISO sensitivities.

Build and handling
Generally, the design of the PowerShot SX20IS's body and its button layout make it feel like a DSLR, but the menu layout and on-screen displays have more in common with Canon's compact camera range.

At a glance 12.1-million-pixel CCD sensor 20x optical zoom (28-560mm equivalent) 2.5in LCD screen ISO 80-1600 Street price £360

Like a DSLR, the SX20IS has a viewfinder, albeit an electronic one. With a resolution of around 235,000 dots, it is clear and bright enough to frame an image. Manual focusing is possible thanks to the centre of the image being magnified. Another similarity to a DSLR is the inclusion of a built-in flash and a hotshoe for external Canon-compatible flashguns.
On the whole, the camera handles well and is straightforward to use. Those photographers who want full control over their cameras have a manual exposure mode, while those who are less confident can use the control dial to select automatic or scene modes.



Performance
Image quality from the SX20IS is on par with that of a 12-million-pixel compact camera. With so many photosites on such a small compact sensor a lot of detail is capable of being resolved, but sadly noise reduction has caused smudging and loss of detail, particularly above ISO 400. This gives the impression that most of the images are soft, but this shouldn't be too much of an issue provided images aren't printed larger than A4 in size.
Image quality is again compromised by the appearance of purple and green fringing on the edges of high-contrast areas. It appears this may have been reduced in-camera, but is still visible at the edges of the frame.

However, when shooting in macro or super macro mode, below ISO 400, the SX20IS performs well, managing to resolve all the fine hairs on a dandelion clock (see image below left).



In macro mode,
the Canon PowerShot SX20IS
is capable of capturing a lot
of fine details




















In evaluative metering mode I found that the images were a little bright,
and I used the EV compensation to adjust the images by between -0.3EV and 1EV to prevent too many burnt-out highlights. Switching to spot or centre produced similar results, so I left the camera set to -0.3EV.

I found that the white balance settings of the SX20IS were reasonably accurate, including AWB. Despite the number of colour modes available in the PowerShot SX20 IS, I got the best results using the My Colours settings. When I turned the contrast and saturation to their minimum settings, this produced more realistic images and gave me a starting point from which to adjust the colour and contrast in Adobe Photoshop.
Autofocusing is as fast as with many other compacts and is perfectly usable in most situations. The zoom control is also very fast, taking just over a second to move from its 28mm to 560mm equivalent focal length. When using image stabilisation, I managed to shoot as slow as 1/40sec at the 560mm focal length.

With the PowerShot SX20IS also being capable of capturing video footage, it is a good camera for holidaymakers, especially those who don't want to deal with the complexities of a DSLR.

Verdict
Although the Canon PowerShot SX20IS is well built and easy to use, with image quality on a par with that of a compact camera, enthusiast photographers won't be rushing out to buy one. However, for those looking to develop their photography skills and move up from a compact camera, or wanting an extremely large zoom, the SX20IS is a good option. AP

Data file
Canon UK, Woodhatch, Reigate, Surrey RH2 8BF.
Tel: 01737 220 000. Web: www.canon.co.uk

RRP	£399.00
Sensor	12.1 million effective pixels
Output size	4000x3000 pixels
Lens	28-560mm (equivalent)f/2.8-5.7
ISO	ISO 80-1600
Exposure modes	Auto, program, manual, plus 17 scene presets
Exposure metering	Evaluative, centreweighted, spot
White balance	Auto, 6 presets, custom
LCD	2.5in with 230,000 dots
AF modes	1 - point AF (Any Position)
Memory card	SD, SDHC, MMC, MMCplus, HC MMCplus
Power	4 x AA Batteries
Weight	560g body only
Dimensions	124x88.3x86.9mm

Got an opinion on this story? Why not post a comment on our message boards

Back to index