Exmoor Photography Gallery & Camera
Shop
The High Street, Porlock, Somerset
T: 01643 862026
Contact Jack for competitive price and
stock status
CANON POWERSHOT SX240 HS CAMERA
JACKS REVIEW
‘Please note,
these reviews are my opinion on the cameras that I stock and sell, the reviews
are not meant to be full blown technical reviews and I do not post any test
images on line, they are designed to give you some assistance (in laymans
terms, as requested by my customers) when choosing a camera that is right for
you. I try to keep them as simple and short as possible.
These reviews
are the result of requests from my customers.’
THANKS JACK
I have just printed
off some test prints from this camera and I can’t see any real difference between
the wide-angle image and the print at full optical zoom 20x colour wise they
are both excellent. The DIGIC 6 Processor delivers beautiful colours, which are
a near perfect match to the scene as photographed. The image at full zoom is a
fraction softer but still one of the sharpest prints I have yet seen from a
compact camera in this class. I took all the images in full auto and the camera
metering system has performed very well with very bright lighting conditions.
Edge to edge sharpness is good and shadow lighting and highlights are superb.
Yes, I did say superb, not a word I use that often but this little beauty
deserves it! The depth of my results and the detail is incredible. I sometimes
find that the white balance on Canon cameras can be a little hit and miss, but
this one has produced nicely toned, coloured images straight off the camera.
Build Quality & Design
The camera has a nicely designed metal casing that feels solid in the hand. Considering it’s housing a 20x optical zoom lens and GPS system the body is still surprisingly small. On the top of the camera you have a big shutter button, which I like surrounded by the zoom control. Both are easy to use and you can easily make minor adjustments to the zoom setting. The shutter button feels nice and firm and allows you to focus quickly without accidently taking photos all the time. Next to the shutter button is the camera on & off button, which is slightly recessed to prevent accidentally turning off the camera. The pop up flash is also housed on the top of the camera, to the left hand side. I was hoping that they would have moved it on this model, because it is still too easy to have your finger on top of it when it pops up, not the end of the world but still a bit annoying. The GPS plate is also positioned on the top of the camera, which is plastic, to let the signal through I assume. The camera feels very solid and well made and has a large finger grip on the front of it.
Moving to the back of the camera, you immediately notice the lovely big 3” screen. During my test in bright sunshine, directly on the screen, I found it easy to see the image I was taking. It produces a very sharp clear image of what you are looking at and I had no difficulty at all composing my pictures. I like the way that the centre of the screen momentarily enlarges when focus is achieved.
Next to the screen on the back of the camera you will find all the cameras controls including the main setting dial, video short cut (start/stop), play back button, display and menu buttons. The main control dial feels tight and will not easily be accidently changed. The settings include, live mode, full auto, auto & video clip mode , aperture & shutter priority, program, manual, manual scene selection mode, creative mode, manual video mode and silent shooting mode.
There is also a function set button with a control dial around it, you can use this dial to adjust a plethora of settings depending on what mode you are shooting in. You will also find short cuts to bracketing (exposure compensation), macro (close up photography) settings, flash settings, self – timer and Wi-Fi connection. You can wirelessly connect this camera to several other devices including, your computer, smart phone, another camera and printer.
Performance &
Use
The camera had no problems focusing and was extremely quick. There is also no noticeable delay between pressing the shutter and image capture.
I also want to mention the image stabilization built into the camera, this worked extremely well and was noticeable when I zoomed to 20x optical, it worked very well at helping to keep the image steady while I was composing the picture. I have noticed in the past that other compacts with large zooms the image ‘jumps’ about all over the place making it difficult to lock onto to what you are trying to photograph. Not so, with this camera it was a pleasure to use with no noticeable ‘wobble’ at all.
This model also has full resolution burst mode, that Canon specification claims to be up to 14 fps. The frame rate is very quick but I'm not sure it’s that fast! It is considerably slower when you switch to focus continuous shooting mode. I took some moving cars outside the shop and it locked on very well.
The camera also has a very good subject tracking system, which you can select to focus on a specific subject/point and then move the camera (or the subject) and it stays locked on. I was showing this to a customer the other day and it impressed both of us, obviously, it takes a bit of practice but it seemed to work very well.
The face recognition technology also works well, easily recognising faces and locking on.
I also took a short video clip with the camera, I have to admit I haven’t played it back on a large screen but it did look very sharp and clear on the camera screen, you can also still zoom in and out while shooting video and the camera will re- focus. I like the short cut button on the camera that allows you start and stop shooting video without having to go into a menu to do so and possibly miss the moment!
The GPS function looks straightforward to set up, although I have to admit I haven’t tried it yet. I have tried the Wi-Fi, which was very easy to set up. Although I did have to reinstall the Canon software disc twice before it worked properly, this is more likely my laptop, not the software!
Conclusion
The SX280 has strong construction, is very easy to set up and use, has great picture quality and its low light performance is very quick. I really like the image stabilization and the screen is very bright and sharp. If you want a camera that you can carry around in your pocket that has the equivalent to a 500mm lens (in 35mm terms), then this is definitely one to consider.
Thanks
Build Quality & Design
The camera has a nicely designed metal casing that feels solid in the hand. Considering it’s housing a 20x optical zoom lens and GPS system the body is still surprisingly small. On the top of the camera you have a big shutter button, which I like surrounded by the zoom control. Both are easy to use and you can easily make minor adjustments to the zoom setting. The shutter button feels nice and firm and allows you to focus quickly without accidently taking photos all the time. Next to the shutter button is the camera on & off button, which is slightly recessed to prevent accidentally turning off the camera. The pop up flash is also housed on the top of the camera, to the left hand side. I was hoping that they would have moved it on this model, because it is still too easy to have your finger on top of it when it pops up, not the end of the world but still a bit annoying. The GPS plate is also positioned on the top of the camera, which is plastic, to let the signal through I assume. The camera feels very solid and well made and has a large finger grip on the front of it.
Moving to the back of the camera, you immediately notice the lovely big 3” screen. During my test in bright sunshine, directly on the screen, I found it easy to see the image I was taking. It produces a very sharp clear image of what you are looking at and I had no difficulty at all composing my pictures. I like the way that the centre of the screen momentarily enlarges when focus is achieved.
Next to the screen on the back of the camera you will find all the cameras controls including the main setting dial, video short cut (start/stop), play back button, display and menu buttons. The main control dial feels tight and will not easily be accidently changed. The settings include, live mode, full auto, auto & video clip mode , aperture & shutter priority, program, manual, manual scene selection mode, creative mode, manual video mode and silent shooting mode.
There is also a function set button with a control dial around it, you can use this dial to adjust a plethora of settings depending on what mode you are shooting in. You will also find short cuts to bracketing (exposure compensation), macro (close up photography) settings, flash settings, self – timer and Wi-Fi connection. You can wirelessly connect this camera to several other devices including, your computer, smart phone, another camera and printer.
The camera had no problems focusing and was extremely quick. There is also no noticeable delay between pressing the shutter and image capture.
I also want to mention the image stabilization built into the camera, this worked extremely well and was noticeable when I zoomed to 20x optical, it worked very well at helping to keep the image steady while I was composing the picture. I have noticed in the past that other compacts with large zooms the image ‘jumps’ about all over the place making it difficult to lock onto to what you are trying to photograph. Not so, with this camera it was a pleasure to use with no noticeable ‘wobble’ at all.
This model also has full resolution burst mode, that Canon specification claims to be up to 14 fps. The frame rate is very quick but I'm not sure it’s that fast! It is considerably slower when you switch to focus continuous shooting mode. I took some moving cars outside the shop and it locked on very well.
The camera also has a very good subject tracking system, which you can select to focus on a specific subject/point and then move the camera (or the subject) and it stays locked on. I was showing this to a customer the other day and it impressed both of us, obviously, it takes a bit of practice but it seemed to work very well.
The face recognition technology also works well, easily recognising faces and locking on.
I also took a short video clip with the camera, I have to admit I haven’t played it back on a large screen but it did look very sharp and clear on the camera screen, you can also still zoom in and out while shooting video and the camera will re- focus. I like the short cut button on the camera that allows you start and stop shooting video without having to go into a menu to do so and possibly miss the moment!
The GPS function looks straightforward to set up, although I have to admit I haven’t tried it yet. I have tried the Wi-Fi, which was very easy to set up. Although I did have to reinstall the Canon software disc twice before it worked properly, this is more likely my laptop, not the software!
The SX280 has strong construction, is very easy to set up and use, has great picture quality and its low light performance is very quick. I really like the image stabilization and the screen is very bright and sharp. If you want a camera that you can carry around in your pocket that has the equivalent to a 500mm lens (in 35mm terms), then this is definitely one to consider.
SPECIFICATIONS
20x optical zoom, 25mm lens (500mm)
HS System: 12.1 MP CMOS, DIGIC 6
Intelligent IS, Enhanced Dynamic IS
Wi-Fi
Full HD (60fps)
7.5 cm (3.0") PureColor II G LCD
GPS with A-GPS
Hybrid Auto; Smart Auto 58 scene modes!
Manual, Av and Tv modes
High-speed shooting at full resolution!
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