- High-powered 20x wide-angle optical zoom with Optical Image Stabilizer
- Capture 720p HD movies with stereo sound; HDMI output connector for easy playback on your HDTV
- 2.5-inch Vari-Angle System LCD; improved Smart AUTO intelligently selects from 22 predefined shooting situations
- DIGIC 4 Image Processor; 12.1-megapixel resolution for poster-size, photo-quality prints
- Powered by AA batteries (included); capture images to SD/SDHC memory cards (not included)
Product Description
With the classically stylish PowerShot SX20 IS, you can produce magnificent HD movies and dazzling photos. Loaded with features, it’s got a high-powered 20x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom with Optical Image Stabilizer, 12.1 Megapixels, a big 2.5-inch Vari-Angle LCD, Blink Detection and more. This high-powered 20x Wide-angle Optical Zoom with Optical Image Stabilizer reduces camera shake so you achieve magnificent images whether you are up close or far away.Provides flexibility to use the optical zoom while shooting superb 720p HD movies with stereo sound so you can fully capture those fun, memorable moments, with an HDMI output connector for easy playback on your HDTV.Improved Smart AUTO intelligently selects the prop… More >>
Tags: 12.1MP, 2.5inch, Angle, Articulating, Camera, Canon, Digital, Image, Optical, PowerShot, Stabilized, SX20IS, Wide, Zoom
I purchased this camera last week. I returned it yesterday. The camera only comes with a basic, printed manual. The in-depth manual, the one that any novice user is going to need is included on disk ONLY. This means that you have to lug your computer around if you want to refer to the manual while learning to use the camera. Who’s doing that? When I called Canon to inquire as to my missing manual, they told me that I could print the manual from the disk. Yeah, right. On my dime. I already spent hundreds of dollars on their camera and now they want me to spend even more money (and time) to print my own manual? BS!! They said this was part of their “going green” program. Well, guess what? Canon ain’t getting any of my green. I returned the camera and bought a Nikon P90 for the exact same price. The Nikon has two manuals the size of the Bible. One in English and one in Spanish. Viva Nikon!
It also appears as though the Nikon has more useful features for me. I own an eBay business and I can actually edit the photos that I take within the camera itself (cropping, borders, light, etc.). This will save me time.
Perhaps the Canon does the same, but I wouldn’t know because they were too cheap to print me a manual.
I wish I could comment on the workings of the Canon camera but without a proper manual, I couldn’t really learn how to use it. On the day I did attempt to use the camera, I kept having a problem with the macro auto-focus. The images were blurry 50% of the time. When I switched to manual macro-focus, the images were blurry and dark, plus there was a meter of some sort directly in the center of the screen which I couldn’t figure out how to remove (or use). It was then that I sought out the manual, only to find it missing. Wading through the online manual was an aggravation that I simply did not want to hassle with, especially when I had work that needed to be done.
What if I hadn’t been near my computer when I had some question about the camera’s function? Tough luck, I guess.
Bottom line, this is not a camera for a novice and I would not recommend it to anyone. Heck, even if you’re not new to digital cameras or photography, you still need to know how to use specific functions on a new camera. It is absurd to think that you must sit in front of your computer and learn, rather than take the camera into the real world and learn as you go.
Rating: 1 / 5
Great camera once you learn and remember all of the features. Good zoom, quality pics. My lens cap falls off all the time, even after it is secured. Seems like a small matter, but its a real distraction at sporting events or other crowds.
Rating: 1 / 5
what a piece of crap….lousy photos….canon claims they adjusted my returned camera only to do the exact same thing…good luck if you buy one….
Rating: 1 / 5
Although the lens appears to have threads for the screwing on of filters, it does not. Unless you take a magnifying glass and look for the actual threading pattern you too may be deceived into buying a camera that you think will take filters, but doesn’t. Is that deceptive advertising on the part of Canon? If not, what exactly is Canon trying to accomplish by putting fake threads where real threads should be to accept filters?
One of the main rules of photography is (when you buy a camera in this price range), “Install a filter to protect your lens.” My Sony is a couple of years old now, and sold for about $100 less, but it has threads to accept filters. I returned my Canon SX20IS in disgust and will never buy another product from Canon, a company that apparently thinks so little of its consumers and cameras it doesn’t even provide a basic means to protect an expensive investment, while pretending to. What else might I be overlooking that Canon isn’t telling me?
Rating: 1 / 5
I have a Canon dSLR (Rebel XT) and am very familiar with using a camera with many settings. In fact, I adore my Rebel and bought the Canon Powershot SX20IS because I am impressed with Canon products. However, I never got any useable photos from various field trips and/or portraits that I took from the SX20IS. I originally bought this for my wife (photography novice) to use, but she rejected it because of its photo quality and bulk and returned the product after several failed attempts to get good pictures. The video quality was nothing to write home about either. Maybe I should stick to my Rebel XT for now.
Rating: 1 / 5