Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Review Date
December 25, 2009

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Reviewed by
elaine , Casual

Price Paid
$390.00 at best buy

Photography Experience
11-20 years , People

Summary
I just got this camera from my husbad and love it! It is so easy to use that I didnt even nedd the directions!
Shutterspeed is pretty fast, easy switching from camera to video.
Love it!

Strengths
Affordable, easy to use

Weaknesses
The flash does not pop up automatically(unless I have something set wrong). Not used to having to do that.
Wish lense cover was automatic too, not used to taking that off anymore.

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Review Date
October 8, 2009

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by
grandunifier , Professional

Price Paid
$350.00 at deltacamera.com

Photography Experience
11-20 years , Other

Summary
This camera is the best for recording concerts for the $$. It IS the next big concert recorder, a "kodachrome" if you will. If you are a musician and want something cheap that does exaclty what you need- shoot true HD vids, capture light effects, focus in almost total darkness, pull in tight for full frame facials, have adjustable stereo mics built in and do it for under $400? insane~!

You want to see what sold me on this camera? Go to youtube and search "sx20 U2" and watch a few of those clips- WOW~!

Canon you have outdone yourself- These should be sold right along side "rock band" in walmart.

Strengths
This is affordable, digital recording power for people who love to make live music and/or enjoy watching it later or sharing it with friends. The SX20IS outshoots in HD video just about everything for the price under low-light concert conditions. Making this camera very usefull for the millions who like to go to concerts and post stuff on youtube!!

Weaknesses
Doesn't like Strobe lights. So avoid NIN or other fast bands that use nothing but strobes during the entire concert. Very High-contrast still photos are fringed with purple and green vs the SX10IS so if your thing is high contrast stills get that one instead.

Similar Products Used
fugifilm S1000Fd, coolpix series

Customer Service
Haven't needed it yet but canon makes great cameras.

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Review Date
September 15, 2009

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by
kyleservicetech , Intermediate

Price Paid
$399.00 at Best Buy

Photography Experience
21+ years , Outdoor

Summary
I've purchased a number of digital cameras over the years. This Canon SX20IS camera is a close to a professional camera as I've had. I'ts no SLR but will do very nicely for the average person.

I'm no photography master, but this camera is capable of producing good results as required by a non professional photographer.

Strengths
Camera has a very high optical zoom of 20X, its IS (Image Stabilizer) works fairly well. Optical plus digital zoom is way above what's needed for the average person. It's still better to "zoom" on a computer, rather that use the digital camera zoom, but its available if the user wants to use it.

The video mode is of high quality, and also allows zooming while shooting a video clip. The video mode has a separate button, so you can set the camera for stills, push the video mode button and shoot videos without changing the camera settings.

Weaknesses
Camera does not have a standard lense thread, so it is difficult to install a Lense Filter to protect the lense.

Probably have not figured it out yet, but I've had problems with the camera loosing focus while shooting a video of a model airplane in flight. Need to find a way to place the camera in manual focus while shooting videos.

Similar Products Used
Canon SX100IS, Kodak DC9360 (I think) and several lower quality digital cameras.

Customer Service
Non needed at this time.

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