Customer reviews from usa.canon.com
Canon - PowerShot SX130 IS 12.0-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black
Average customer rating
4
(151 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 151 reviews
5 Stars
73
4 Stars
44
3 Stars
14
2 Stars
6
1 Star
14
75%of customers recommend this product.
(
114 out of
151)
Customer Reviews for Canon - PowerShot SX130 IS 12.0-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black
Customer Rating
5
Best Camera Purchase Ever! Worth Every Penny!
on October 18, 2010
Posted by: scottu21072
from Baker City, Oregon
The Canon Power Shot SX130SI is a very professional, high-end compact digital camera that offers a lot of the same features as a professional DSLR (digital lens single-reflex camera).
It's very easy to carry around and it doesn't draw as much attention as a bulky, full-size Canon EOS Rebel (which is a great feature when you're on vacation or sitting around lots of strangers).
The other things I really love about the Canon SX130SI is that it has image stabilization, it can take high-definition (HD) movie clips, it can take 28-mm wide angle shots, and it's extremely user friendly for both amateur and professional photographers.
When you turn on the camera, its huge 3" LCD screen automatically tells you the purpose of every function on the camera and how to use them properly. You don't even have to read the camera's instruction manual, which is very cool.
Although the camera has tiny control buttons, they are placed very conveantly for easy operation. I think it's the perfect camera for taking professional photographs of people and subjects in very calm environments.
The Canon SX130SI also has a special "Positive Film" setting, which allows you to take pictures as though you were using 35mm film. Professional photographers know that 35mm film can capture more detailed, vivid colors in a photograph then a traditional digital camera.
With the Canon SX130SI, you can take amazing pictures that look like they were captured by 35mm film. I use the "Positive Film" setting on my camera a lot and I absolutely love the results!
The Canon SX130SI also has some very cool time delay (self-timer) options that are worth mentioning.
First, you can set the camera's self-timer between 0 - 30 seconds and also set the number of pictures you want the camera to take automatically from 1 - 10 shots.
Secondly, the camera has a Face Self-Timer that will only release the camera's shutter after it detects a new face in the lens.
Thirdly, the camera has a Wink Self-Timer that will only release the camera's shutter after somebody winks at the lens.
If the Wink Self-Timer is set, and there are no people in the shot, the camera will not start shooting until a person enters the shot and winks at the lens, which is perfect for happy couples or even James Bond.
If you don't want to wink at the lens, you can set up the Canon SX130SI so that it will automatically take 1 - 10 pictures after someone smiles at the lens. You can do this without even having to set the shutter button on the camera.
All you have to do is turn on the camera, set it on Smile Shooting Mode, and place the camera on a tripod or a flat and level surface.
When someone enters the shot and smiles at the lens, the camera automatically starts shooting. When the person stops smiling, the camera stops taking pictures. If the person smiles again, the camera will take another picture (and so on) until the camera batteries are dead or the memory card becomes full.
The possibilities for using the Smile Shooting Mode or the Wink Self-Timer are endless!
The last cool feature I want to mention about the Canon SX130SI is its Miniture Effect shooting mode. The Miniture Effect takes a digital still picture of a object or person and then automatically blurs the top and bottom portions of the image to produce the effect of a miniture model. This is a fantastic feature that is really cool and fun to experiment with.
Unfortunately, the Canon SX130SI is not waterproof, shock proof, animal proof, or even kid proof. You don't want to use it while taking pictures of a bear in the pouring rain and you don't want to give it to a 6-year-old child.
Even Rambo wouldn't carry this camera with him on his next brutal military adventure, unless he's just having lunch at the White House.
Rambo would probably be happier carrying the Canon Power Shot D10 into a war zone. The Canon D10 is waterproof, shock proof, snow proof, sand proof, and pretty much "combat proof" in many ways.
The Canon SX130SI can not take pictures in RAW format. It can only take pictures in JPEG format. However, considering the lightweight and compact professional features of the camera, it really doesn't matter.
There are a lot of great photo editing software programs that can transform all of your digital photographs into negatives (which is very similar to the RAW format) and then you can store the negative images on your computer.
Overall, the Canon SX130SI is a camera can meet the needs of almost any photographer. It's worth every penny! I wouldn't trade my camera for any other digital camera in the world! I love my camera and I love the way Canon makes them!
Pros: 28-mm wide angle lens, can take hd video clips, huge 3" lcd screen, extremely user friendly for anybody, great self-timer options, great shooting modes, easy to use and easy to operate without the manual, state-of-the-art optical lens for sharp pictures
Cons: not waterproof freeze proof or shock proof, not recommended for use in a real war zone.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Excellent
on November 4, 2010
Posted by: New Canon User
My previous digital camera (HP850) served well for ±6 years, till someone dropped it :(
After alot of online browsing and reading reviews i decided on the Canon SX130is - what a excellent choice it turned out to be. Easy to use, takes beautiful pics and the HD movie record option could easily replace the need for a digital video camera.
After alot of online browsing and reading reviews i decided on the Canon SX130is - what a excellent choice it turned out to be. Easy to use, takes beautiful pics and the HD movie record option could easily replace the need for a digital video camera.
The supplied batteries is worthless, replaced it with decent rechargeable Ni-MH and enjoy hours of high quality shooting.
Pros: one of the best all-rounders
Cons: bad battery-life
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Great Camera
on October 7, 2010
Posted by: Winston
from Atlanta, GA
Finally picked this up today after a ton of online research comparing different models. I describe it as an ugly camera packed with features and at a great price. Shoots great wide angle shots, HD video is crisp and the zoom is great. Up to 12x with image stabilization, up to 48x without. Rips through batteries (I took 12 pictures and 6 HD videos and battery light started flashing). So I recommend buying rechargeable lithium's for all users. The LCD display is huge and replaces a viewfinder. It has lots of manual settings. The 12.1 megapixel is very crisp. I bought this to use for stop motion animation so a high quality image is essential in my line of work and this camera delivers. Make sure to get a large memory card, you can shoot almost an hour and a half of HD video on a 16GB card. The ability to zoom while shooting video is partially the reason I bought this. I would recommend to anyone needing up close high res shots for personal or professional use. Has features to alter images, but all can be done in AfterEffects or Photoshop. Wont be using the included CD so I can't tell you anything about the softare included on that. Overall a great camera.
Pros: hd video, high res, large lcd
Cons: battery life short
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Great Camera!
on October 10, 2010
Posted by: Andy
from Atlanta, GA
I bought this about a week ago to take with me on a camping trip. The camera is great! Immediately the camera took beautiful pictures of the nice Fall leaves. Micro shots and landscape shots were no problem for the zoom/stabilizer. I really enjoyed trying out the numerous effects and options. You can do most of the effects with Photoshop, but its fun to be able to be creative on the fly. I really like the color swap and other color effects. And the Face Detection and smile/wink technology is very cool! You can set up the camera in front of a group of people and when someone either smiles or winks, the camera will automatically take a picture or number of pictures depending on how you set it up. VERY COOL! The 720p HD video looks fantastic and the stereo mic on the front picks up sound very well. I haven't tried it out on loud volume sources like a concert yet, but I imagine it would do pretty well. After reading numerous reviews, I took the advice to buy some rechargeable batteries. The camera uses up standard Alkaline batteries in about 30 minutes of use. So go buy some NiMH rechargeable batteries. With the rechargeable batteries I had about 4-5 hours of good use. The only other problems I see with the camera is no screen protector, which I used an iPod screen protector and just cut to fit, and when in Auto mode the camera's Flash should automatically pop up. It will say "Raise the Flash" but when you are trying to take quick pics its annoying to have to stop and manually raise the flash. Other than those few minor problems, this camera really performs and for me has done a wonderful job! I am very happy with it! Thanks Canon!
Pros: hd video with zoom!, lots of features, easy to use, compact and portable, built in speaker
Cons: battery life very short, no screen protection, manual flash
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Awesome Photos & HD Video
on January 22, 2011
Posted by: TheDukeofEarl
from St. Louis, MO
Wanted a compact camera that afforded d-slr type of image performance with manual or smart auto flexibility.
This camera fits the bill nicely without breaking the bank.
The 12x optical zoom with IS, plus full creative manual, takes razor sharp images that I am most pleased and proud to share. The video and audio quality is outstanding and has surpassed my expectations. The macro on this camera gets you real close to the action and here again, very high quality images with outstanding detail can be had. I purchased rechargeable batteries and so far, the battery life has allowed me to capture near 300 images before needing to swap out for another set. Overall build quality is excellent, and having been in camera manufacturing and lens and filter manufacturing and sales for 11 years, I can without any reservations recommend the SX130 IS for those who want the simplicity of a P/S with Smart Auto, or the creative freedom and control to explore all the possibilities utilizing full manual.
This camera fits the bill nicely without breaking the bank.
The 12x optical zoom with IS, plus full creative manual, takes razor sharp images that I am most pleased and proud to share. The video and audio quality is outstanding and has surpassed my expectations. The macro on this camera gets you real close to the action and here again, very high quality images with outstanding detail can be had. I purchased rechargeable batteries and so far, the battery life has allowed me to capture near 300 images before needing to swap out for another set. Overall build quality is excellent, and having been in camera manufacturing and lens and filter manufacturing and sales for 11 years, I can without any reservations recommend the SX130 IS for those who want the simplicity of a P/S with Smart Auto, or the creative freedom and control to explore all the possibilities utilizing full manual.
Pros: outstanding image quality, smart auto is very accurate, powerful flash, excellent build quality
Cons: would benefit from higher resolution 3" display, power consumption, no viewfinder
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
Nice digital camera, but.......
on March 21, 2011
Posted by: Lally
from Rhode Island
There are two problems and both concern the shutter button.
As we age and deal with the lessening of the sense of touch it becomes an important problem to quickly locate and effectively operate this dual function button. Your efforts to make your cameras look sleek becomes a detriment for some of us. My necessary fix is to add a stick-on "felt" protector of the proper diameter. This raises the button elevation (find) as well as improves the sense of touch (operation). Second suggestion is to include a cable of proper length to operate the shutter remotely. Even with a tripod, camera shake is a problem at high magnification.
As we age and deal with the lessening of the sense of touch it becomes an important problem to quickly locate and effectively operate this dual function button. Your efforts to make your cameras look sleek becomes a detriment for some of us. My necessary fix is to add a stick-on "felt" protector of the proper diameter. This raises the button elevation (find) as well as improves the sense of touch (operation). Second suggestion is to include a cable of proper length to operate the shutter remotely. Even with a tripod, camera shake is a problem at high magnification.
Thanks
Pros: good battery life, excellent image quality, durable, Bright LCD, Lightweight/Portable, Simple controls/menu
Cons: Difficult to use, low profile shutter button, needs a shutter cable
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Exceptional value!
on September 6, 2012
Posted by: Randy
from Plainfield,Ct
This is by far the best point and shoot camera I have used or owned! The ease of use and full features for this price are remarkable! The built in effects are a blast to play around with and unheard of in this price range. The only thing I would change if I were the engineer would be a viewfinder, the 3" lcd is clear and bright. There is no compromise with Canon's quality as this is a back-up to my T3I. The video is exceptional for the price. My only problem is my own fault when downloading pics to my computer I constaintly forget to unplug it from the usb port which drains the batterys dead.
Pros: Fast auto-focus, Super-sharp images
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Better in some respects than the SD3500
on November 23, 2010
Posted by: King
from The Villages, Fl
I own an SD3500 IS and the SX130 IS. The 3500 has the touch screen that helps you follow the subject and it is more pocketable. The SX130's, zoom factor and zoom during video make up for this. The picture quality is so much better. I was beginning to think that the Image Stabilizer was not working on the SD3500 because of so many blurry pictures. I realize now that since the SX130 is heavier and more substantial in size makes it easier to hold steadier. IMHO, it is the reason that the pictures are less blurry in this unit. I like the idea of using AA batteries. I don't have to commit to buying an extra set of proprietary batteries. The Apple rechargeable NiHD batteries last a long time in this camera. I also save the manual in PDF form on my computer and phone. This is much easier to use than a hard copy
Pros: zoom factor smooth zoom during video, image quality
Cons: too large for pocket, alkaline batteries die instantly
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com