Canon PowerShot SX20IS 12 1MP Digital Camera—A Review


Written on October 8, 2009 – 7:15 am | by admin

Choosing the right camera requires a great amount of thought and research. People love to buy small cameras because of their compactness and portability. They forget that small cameras cannot be equipped with all the features that the large and bulky professional cameras have. Small cameras usually cannot take high quality pictures provided by high end cameras.
This is where Canon PowerShot SX20IS 12 1MP Digital Camera comes in. It is small and portable. It measures only4.1″x1.5″x2.4″which means that it is just about larger than an average compact point-and-shoot camera.  But it is packed with all the advanced technology features of a   high end professional camera.
It contains an ultra powerful zoom and a 12.1 megapixels of resolution which lends a dramatic depth to photographs.  You can edit by enlarging or cropping any section of a shot without affecting its quality. You get clear, crisp 13 x 19-inch pictures even if you want to print them.

You can create brilliant HD movies and magnificent photographs with its high-powered 20x wide-angle optical zoom, a big 2.5-inch Vari-Angle LCD, blink detection and several other features.

The optical zoom has a focal length of 5.0-100mm, which is indicated on the lens barrel. Its 28 mm lens enables you to shoot any scene from a wide or a small angle. It can correct any distortion that may occur in wide angle shots. You do not have to look for vantage points to capture more features in one shot.

Most cameras produce fuzzy or blurred shots primarily because of instability factors while the pictures are taken. Canon PowerShot SX20IS 12 1MP Digital Camera features red eye correction, blink detection and image stabilizer technology.

It can automatically detect and rectify errors caused due to instability and blinking. It will let you know if a person blinked due to flash of light in any shot so that you can retake it if he is about to leave the scene.

You can, therefore, get steady, brilliant and crisp pictures with or without a flash even if you cannot keep your muscles under control while shooting.

You can also watch HD movies on your HDTV with a mini-HDMI connector without any affect on the image and audio quality.

Its large scratch-resistant 3″ LCD screen can automatically adjust brightness and contrast in any light conditions and provide optimum viewing.

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  1. 18 Responses to “Canon PowerShot SX20IS 12 1MP Digital Camera—A Review”

  2. By :) on Oct 25, 2009 | Reply

    To get this effect you must narrow the depth of field, so open the aperture fully and go to telephoto end of zoom, and you will have narrowest depth of field. ( not as narrow as an SLR with appropriate lens) but best g10 can do.

  3. By Brian M on Oct 25, 2009 | Reply

    On certain cameras, you have to download a certain program for MacBooks. If you have another option, you should use it; MacBooks are complicating and frustrating!

  4. By TEH GOOSE OF WUVS on Oct 25, 2009 | Reply

    Why would you want to keep a brand new camera that isn't perfect? I don't know anything about hot pixels, but I'd call the company and see what they would do about it.

  5. By sobissoba on Oct 25, 2009 | Reply

    Hey mate, i’m stuck here between to cameras. I’ve seen the reviews plus read the ones on ur website but i can’t choose to get the powershot g10 or the PowerShot SX20IS. It would be nice to know your personal opinion on those two and also which one do would you suggest. Thanks a lot, i’m expectant to hear from you.

  6. By Caerlinn on Oct 25, 2009 | Reply

    Just got this today. Looking forward to using it. :>

  7. By doublecheese1 on Oct 25, 2009 | Reply

    Very Nice review ,

    BTW , where is that video shot by the sea ? Looks nice

  8. By take one step (I am 17 fyi) on Oct 25, 2009 | Reply

    Yes, G10/G9 let you take custom white balance and you can use your gray card with that. If you want to use your G10/G9 as a meter reading for another camera, yes too. I use my G9 as my exposure meter when shooting large format. It has spot metering as well, so it's quite useful and convenient other than buying a stand alone meter reader.

    Custom white balance can be set from the "set" button, the icon looks like two mirrored triangle with a small square in between.

  9. By j on Oct 26, 2009 | Reply

    The shoe itself is the same but depending on the model it is designed for, the moulding on the cover might not look natural.

  10. By doublecheese1 on Oct 26, 2009 | Reply

    Wow, great place :)

    Everyone says NZ is a beautiful place .. Got to see it one day , thanks

  11. By mugupo10 on Oct 26, 2009 | Reply

    I try in store, the most powerful point and shoot out of over 50 camera i try in store. Very fast start up and great picture. I actually more impressive then some of entry level dslr with their lame kit lens picture quality. Only cons is can’t shoot video but picture is real nice, no doubt best compact camera out there

  12. By Michael S on Oct 27, 2009 | Reply

    No..it does not adapt to standard Canon lenses..It adapts to special lenses designed for that adapter…usually a telephoto, and a wide angle…

  13. By __A_YAHOO_USER__ on Oct 27, 2009 | Reply

    If the primary motivator for buying it is the trip to Hawaii, then yes it is a waste of money to spend just for snapshots. It is true that you will be getting a very good camera and that it is not a waste of money in the right hands, but a $1.4M Bugatti Veyron is a waste of money when all you want to do is shuttle kids to school.

    Remember, you are paying for that 14.7 MP sensor. This camera is for professionals or advanced amateurs who want to manipulate the RAW image in apps like Photoshop and not lose any quality for prints up to 16×20". You would probably be happy with anything around 7-10 MP. That 14.7MP is state of the art and you will be paying for it.

    This camera is similar to the Leica 35mm film cameras of yester-year. A great camera for the pro, advanced amateur, or someone who doesn't care about money.

    For a trip to Hawaii, you need to consider whether convenience is more important or if shooting features is more important. If convenience is more important, get a camera that shuts down in the flat position. That means it is rectangular and can fit in a shirt pocket or small belt holster. 5x optical zoom will come in much more handy than the standard 3x optical zoom. Digital zoom is worthless, you can do that at home with any photo software. A small camera is also easier to stow away for the many cloudbursts in Hawaii.

    If you want a super zoom (one with 10x or 12x optical zoom), you will be able to pull in far away objects much better, but at the cost of less portability. These are more like square blocks than a deck of cards. If you like Canon, look at the Powershot SX110 IS at 1/2 the MSRP of the G10 or the SX200 IS for a little more. A similar camera is the FinePix S1000fd. If you look at that shape, you know what to look for at the camera stores.

    These cameras have features you'll probably never use or need, but the important things to consider are:

    -How much optical zoom
    -Does it matter to you if it has an optical or eye piece viewfinder (really helps in bright sunny conditions)
    -What type of batteries does it use (are you going to carry several spare batteries or will you depend on buying AA's in an emergency on the spot).
    -For a super zoom camera, does it have image stabilization to help eliminate blurred shots due to camera movement
    -How easy is it for you to use and re use if you don't touch it for 4 months and want to use it all of a sudden?
    -Is it sized properly so you don't look like a paparazzi when you are casually strolling around or going out for the evening.

    Hope that helps.

  14. By ProtonFilms on Oct 27, 2009 | Reply

    So far the G10 is more appealing to me than its siblings. Shame that zoom does not work during recording, though.

  15. By Joe D on Oct 27, 2009 | Reply

    Here is the link to the RAW plug-in for the G10 … as you will notice, you have to have the latest version of Photoshop (CS4) or Lightroom (2.1 or 2.2)

    http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html?promoid=DJGYB

  16. By cameralabs on Oct 27, 2009 | Reply

    It’s actually by a lake in Queenstown, New Zealand! But a big lake, so sometimes it seems like the Sea!

  17. By HDVi118 on Oct 27, 2009 | Reply

    It doesn’t have less features than the G10.. the only thing that went lower is the Pixel count which fell to 10MP.. which is better for using high ISO without producing much noise.. also it has much better pixel ratio.. also the flash sync is 4x faster..

  18. By Brian on Oct 28, 2009 | Reply

    I have the SX1 it is a great all in one but It has trouble focusing in low light even with the AF assist beam on. The G10 or now the G11 is much better in low light.

    I bought the SX1 mainly because, to me, it is the best cross between a camcorder and still shot camera. It takes GREAT 1080p videos with stereo sound and allows for optical zooming while recording, not many point and shots do that.

    But for the low light issue I would go for the G10 or G11.

  19. By fallenembers08 on Oct 28, 2009 | Reply

    I hope they send you the G11 to review. :D

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