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
4
Why tries to re-focus while filming Video
on October 20, 2010
Posted by: sanku
from India
A very good budget camera. Pleasing experience in first week of use - with one exception. It tries to re focus arbitrarily while filming video (HD) - spoiling the fun of making the video.
Pros: latest features good value for money, over all satisfactory
Cons: tries to re-focus while filming video - why?, this causes a lot of trouble and lost all the fun, of making video.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
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 Camera
on October 15, 2010
Posted by: KingKen
from Kansas
I just bought an sx130 is about a week ago. This camera takes better pictures than my Olympus E-420. There is plenty of goodies to play with if your a more experienced user. If your a beginner the easy mode does everything for you. I love this camera and the battery issue is solved if you buy energizer ultimate lithium batteries...they last forever. If your thinking about it, get this camera.
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
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
Excellent value
on October 2, 2010
Posted by: backpack
from Merced , Cal
I bought this camera in the afternoon and did some test shots at a nearby park with a small lake and sailboats. Both the stills, shot at 2 meg, and videos turned out wonderful, especially the HD video .
This camera is a definite winner and excellent value for the money.I found it to be like a scaled down S3 IS , which I still own. Would suggest it for a young family starting out.
The AA batteries are a plus, use only top of the line batteries and turn off camera when not shooting.
This camera is a definite winner and excellent value for the money.I found it to be like a scaled down S3 IS , which I still own. Would suggest it for a young family starting out.
The AA batteries are a plus, use only top of the line batteries and turn off camera when not shooting.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
3
Display
on September 22, 2010
Posted by: jbird468
from Cedar City, UT
At first I had my heart set on the Nikon - Coolpix L110. Then right next to it was the Canon PowerShot SX120 IS. As I played with the menus and took different pictures I quickly fell in love with the SX120's easy to use buttons, especially the dial on the back used for scrolling through pictures and adjusting settings like the manual focus range. I also liked the top mode dial that is reminiscent of old film cameras. The body was much smaller and would fit into my shirt pocket. It took similar quality photos and video to the L110.
Having already owned another Canon camera combined with the easy to use buttons and other features the Nikon lacked, I was sold. Unfortunately the only SX120 left was the floor model and the (store) was not willing to give anything more than 5% discount off the new-in-box-price, which is bogus because a similar camera had a 15% "open-box" discount.
Long story short they just happened to have a few of the new model in the series, the PowerShot SX130 IS. So we bought it!
Looking back the Nikon did have one advantage, the LCD display looked crisper especially between shots. This also happens to be my only complaint about the SX130. In brightly lit areas such as the showroom of (store) the SX130's live LCD display looks wonderful. There is only a problem when you look at it in an average lighting situation such as inside a building. This is a HUGE problem because 90% of the pictures I like to take are indoors.
The problem is this:
Looking at the live LCD Display before you take a picture or even half-way press the shutter button in average/low lighting situations you get a very GRAINY and CHOPPY display. This does not seem to effect pictures that are recorded, just the display BEFORE you take a picture. No matter what mode I am in or what settings I modify(including the ISO speed) I get the same grainy display.
Looking at the live LCD Display before you take a picture or even half-way press the shutter button in average/low lighting situations you get a very GRAINY and CHOPPY display. This does not seem to effect pictures that are recorded, just the display BEFORE you take a picture. No matter what mode I am in or what settings I modify(including the ISO speed) I get the same grainy display.
I called Canon customer service to see if this was normal. Surprisingly I was greeted buy an unscripted and accent-free support agent who was very kind. He said that it could be something to do with the way the live display adjusts for lighting conditions. He also informed me that no one else had complained about this issue and since this camera has only been out for about a month it would be at least another month before a new firmware revision could potentially be released. This is very disappointing.
What bothers be the most is that our other digital camera(Samsung Digimax s500) which cost half as much as the SX130 and is 3 to 4 years older, has nearly no grainy static in the same conditions that cause the SX130 so much trouble.
Overall I am pleased to have a Canon again. But to those of you considering a point and shoot for a little less that 300$ compare the display quality while pointing the cameras towards average/low lit subjects away from the showroom flood lights.
Pros: buttons are easy to access and use with one hand., the smile detection feature is awesome!, picture quality is very good.
Cons: display is very grainy/choppy in averag/low light.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com