Canon SX30IS 14.1MP Digital Camera with 35x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7 Inch Wide LCD
- 35x wide-angle optical zoom (24-840mm) with Optical Image Stabilizer
- Improvements to Movie modes: use the Optical Image Stabilizer in the wide-angle setting;Optical Zoom is now available while shooting video
- 720p HD video with stereo sound; HDMI output
- New Zoom Framing Assist button; DIGIC 4 Image Processor and 14.1 megapixels
- Capture images and video to SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card, MultiMediaCard, MMC Plus Card, HC MMC Plus Card (not included)
Canon’s 4344B001 PowerShot SX30 IS 14.1MP Compact Digital Camera has got you prepared for your next extreme photo opportunity. This point-and-shoot digital camera comes with a massive 35x wide-angle (24-840mm) optical zoom lens – a first for any PowerShot. It also comes with a 2.7-inch Vari-angle LCD, 14.1 megapixels, Zoom Framing Assist and much more. Shoot superb 720p HD video with stereo sound and then view them with an HDMI output connector for easy playback on your HDTV.
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I traded an EOS 7D for this!,
I’m a just a fellow who wants to take nature photos, and my kid at soccer and stuff for eBay and such. I owned a Canon EOS 7D with fancy lenses, the whole works–about $3000 worth of Canon stuff. all I needed was this camera.
The EOS DSLR is heavy, “fixy”, and not good for nature walks and plenty of mobility at sporting events. Rarely would I use the 8 frames per second shooting rates. I watched the DVDs on EOS 7D, and played with it and took some pretty artsy photos that I blew up and put in my office. It’s a great camera, the pricey EOS DSRL. But it had plenty of drawbacks: price, size, bulk, complex attachments, battery life, compact flash rather than SDR cards, and on and on.
But for what I need, this Canon here is stellar, and I sold all my EOS stuff, and extra lenses on eBay!! I’m totally thrilled with the size, build, and photo quality of this camera. Frankly, it’s one of those situation where, to get the highest level of quality you have to pay exponentially more (the EOS 7D), with plenty of limitations (bulk, attachments, multiple lenses, etc.), when for most of us who just want to take quality photos, this is plenty enough. I pop this into a Lowepro camera fannypack and I’m good to shoot and walk and hike all afternoon. I adore the zoom, and as the reviewer below me states, when I zoom, of course there’s less light entry into the camera and the images will be “hazy”. So, you must select a very bright subject at top zoom. I can easily take my son on the bench across the entire field in soccer, and it’s amazing.
I wish the lens wouldn’t move in and out whenever you turn the camera on, but rather just when you need zoom. With every “on” cycle, the lens does it’s silent grinding in and out like it’s adjusting itself, even if I want to just taken a normal photo. Battery drain, unnecessary mechanical movement, in my opinion. I wish it’d do it only when I want zoom.
Other than that, for me, the guy who might submit a photo to my local newspaper photo contest once in a blue moon, but mostly want to take excellent photos at the family barbecue, this camera is the best I have every owned. And I’ve owned a lot (including SONY HRs, and Fuji hand helds, and on and on). The movie capability, the size, the zoom, the battery life (very good), and the price (I paid more than this for one Sigma lens) makes this camera a winner. I will mention that this particular camera is hard to find: I think Canon may know that it’ll hurt the sales of some of the more pricey, entry level interchangeable lens DSLRs they sell because, spec for spec, they are very similar.
Have a wonderful day
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|The pros and cons – mostly pros,
I purchased this camera as a replacement for my Panasonic FZ-35. After having taken a few hundred pictures – including some side-by-side comparisons with the FZ35, here is my impression.
The canon image processor is much better at color balance and overall image capture than the FZ35 – images are brighter and so capture more details otherwise lost in shadow or just a tendency the FZ35 has towards gray-scale processing in order to get the excellent sharpness the FZ35 is known for.
Having said that – I would not recommend using the Auto setting on the Canon. Its choice of focal point within an image tends towards creating images where the background is just as likely to be more in focus than the subject. Typically the camera tries to focus around the edge of the subject rather than the subject itself. Sometimes this can work to improve clarity by improving depth of focus a bit, sometimes it creates an image where nothing is in focus and sometimes it causes the camera to focus on “edgy” subjects that may not really be the subject at all – like a lamp post in the background, tree trunks in the background, etc. In the playback mode you can select a display which shows you the cameras focal point – which can help explain why some of your images look they way they do in Auto. Auto mode will also adjust the color of an entire image when it senses facial recognition to improve skin tones, but honestly the color balance of the Canon is so good anyway this is almost unnecessary and sometimes tends towards overcompensation so your entire image takes on a sickly green/brown hue.
However, if you switch from auto to P – or in fact any other of the SCN or mode selections on the dial, these annoying Auto features are disabled and you can get some really great photos. At this point the camera uses a single center focus frame (the size and position of which can easily be manually adjusted to fit your subject if you like) and you start getting pictures more like you expect. In addition, the customization options of the Canon such as magnifying the focal frame, color options, easy adjustment of just about any shooting function, combined with the superb zoom range still make this camera best in class. My only complaint for SCN settings is I wish they had a “sunset” but that is easily created in the color menu where you can select to emphasize reds.
The canon normally produces very clear images, however Canon generally processes to keep color balance as opposed to edge distinction at higher ISO speeds so sometimes the images become a bit more fuzzy than what those of us used the the FZ35 might like – on the other hand red stays red rather than turning black. You can manually limit the ISO to whatever maximum you prefer with the easy to use ISO button.
If you want to add a lens filter protector, polarizer, etc. you will need to purchase the 67MM adapter to do so (Canon FA-DC67A) – and good luck finding one!
This camera, like all of the others in this class, struggle with poor light conditions due to their small sensor. However unlike the competition, canon allows you to mount an external flash and that pretty much clears up this issue if you’re willing to pay the expense. The way I look at it its a cheaper option than a $1,000-$3,000 DSLR which can go up to ISO 6,000 for low light conditions.
Overall the Canon is definitely a step up from anything else that was out there – but it does have its quirks you need to be aware of and work around. The opportunity for creativity on one camera/lens is really unrivaled by anything else out there. The ability to go from 1 cm away macro to 35x superzoom at the pull of a switch just can’t be found on any other camera, combined with the scene options such as fisheye not normally found on other such cameras, and wide range of color options also not found on the Canon competitors in this class, you have a great tool for creative photography. So while the SX30 is certainly not perfect and image quality will sometimes be less than your $3,000 DSLR+lens (although for some pictures you’d need large magnification/blow-up to tell the difference) – on the whole it’s worth putting up with the limitations for the other factors. One caution – if you’re looking for a simple to use point-and-shoot this may not be your best choice due to the often poor intelligence in Auto setting. If not for this it would have gotten 5 stars.
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|The best superzoom digital camera so far.,
Customer Video Review Length:: 0:31 Mins
First handheld test of my Canon SX30IS with 35x optical + 4x digital zoom (140x) 3360mm (35mm eqiv) on a windy day at sunset.
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