Customer reviews from usa.canon.com
Canon - PowerShot SX160 IS 16.0-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black
Average customer rating
3.7
(39 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 39 reviews
5 Stars
15
4 Stars
10
3 Stars
6
2 Stars
4
1 Star
4
81%of customers recommend this product.
(
29 out of
36)
Customer Reviews for Canon - PowerShot SX160 IS 16.0-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black
Customer Rating
4
Nice camera
on November 29, 2012
Posted by: Happy One
from Chicago, IL
I've owned a Canon Sure Shot 610A digital camera for a number of years and have used it to the point that the shutter button stopped working all together. After getting quotes on repairing it, it made financial sense to simply replace it. I naturally gravitated to the Canon brand and found this one. It has many of the same features as my 610A, however, there are two things I am not crazy about on the new unit. One, you have to manually press a button to activate the flash and two, the on/off button is very sensitive to touch as I've found the camera turned on without knowing it. Other than that I really enjoy the larger screen and the fact that it only uses 2 "AA" batteries - not as hungry as my 610A.
Pros: good battery life, Nice features/settings, Lightweight/Portable, Simple controls/menu, easy to use
Cons: on/off button too sensitive
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
Excellent photo quality
on December 25, 2012
Posted by: KASPhoto
from Chicago
The increase in the mega pixel and zoom range make this camera a worthy addition to any shooter. The manual setting (AV,TV, and M) plus the manual focus setting all help make the camera worth the purchase. There are major improvements in the LCD display, and the auto focusing. The camera has a good feel when holding and shooting with it.
Pros: Nice features/settings, excellent image quality, durable, Bright LCD, Lightweight/Portable, Simple controls/menu, easy to use
Cons: Short battery life, frame rate is slower then previous models, don't care for flash release button, not full hd still 720
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
3
Poor Picture Quality
on October 2, 2014
Posted by: PowerShot User
from Ohio
I bought this camera hoping that it would be a good replacement. After using the Powershot SX160 for about 10 months, I'm thinking about switching back to my old camera.
Main Reason For Buying:
I bought this camera because of the price and because of the 16x zoom. Also because the manufacturer of my old camera (previously bought in the past) no longer makes digital cameras and I wanted a recognized name brand camera.
I bought this camera because of the price and because of the 16x zoom. Also because the manufacturer of my old camera (previously bought in the past) no longer makes digital cameras and I wanted a recognized name brand camera.
Features:
There are a boatload of features on this camera, many of which I'll probably never use. Manual controls and on-screen options are helpful. There are plenty of info screens that tell about the settings and the pictures you took. I like the battery backup feature (button cell battery) that holds the date & time when the main batteries are out. The 16x zoom lens operates very quickly.
There are a boatload of features on this camera, many of which I'll probably never use. Manual controls and on-screen options are helpful. There are plenty of info screens that tell about the settings and the pictures you took. I like the battery backup feature (button cell battery) that holds the date & time when the main batteries are out. The 16x zoom lens operates very quickly.
Battery Life:
Battery life is very good, about twice a long compared to my old camera.
Battery life is very good, about twice a long compared to my old camera.
Picture Quality:
This is where I give the thumbs down. I'm not that impressed with the picture quality of this camera.
This is where I give the thumbs down. I'm not that impressed with the picture quality of this camera.
The color is usually faded under most conditions. Turning on the vivid color option helps a little.
Pictures often have a soft feel to them and are not as sharp as they should be, almost as if the original picture was resized beyond 100%
The flash does not go off in a well lit room, which causes the pictures to look faded. There appears to be two flash commands for the auto flash; off and full. Full flash results in poor light filtering. There is a flash power adjustment, but that requires you to go to manual mode and through several options just to adjust it yourself. The flash power on my old camera adjusted itself automatically. The flash also takes several seconds to recharge and will prevent you from taking a picture until it is fully charged.
The lens itself produces a heavy amount of chromatic abrasions. (Red/green outlines around contrasting objects). Sometimes it's so severe, it reminds me of the color video cameras that many local news stations had back in the 70's, which were prone to chromatic abrasions. Zooming in helps minimize the effect.
The image stabilizer works great. I haven't had a picture blur on me yet, not even at full zoom.
Macro is also great too. Super close shots!
Video Quality:
Video quality if fair, but don't expect a HD image. Recordings produce an up-converted VHS quality like video and are only 25 frames per second. They also eat up a lot of space because they are saved in the Quicktime Movie format instead of MPEG4.
Video quality if fair, but don't expect a HD image. Recordings produce an up-converted VHS quality like video and are only 25 frames per second. They also eat up a lot of space because they are saved in the Quicktime Movie format instead of MPEG4.
Conclusion:
Overall, this would have been a good camera if not for it's flaws. I sometimes think of it as a camera phone with a giant zoom lens on it since the picture quality is comparable to early/budget cell phones. I don't plan on buying another camera anytime soon, so I'll probably go back to using my old camera.
Overall, this would have been a good camera if not for it's flaws. I sometimes think of it as a camera phone with a giant zoom lens on it since the picture quality is comparable to early/budget cell phones. I don't plan on buying another camera anytime soon, so I'll probably go back to using my old camera.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Great camera, Low price
on January 5, 2014
Posted by: Cody
from Keyser, WV
I got this camera for christmas, I picked it out after looking at a few different ones and I am glad i made that choice. I am very happy with the quality of the camera and the pictures it takes. It is very easy to use and has so many great features. I had a powershot A530 when i was younger and it made me a canon fan from the start and the sx160-IS just ensured that will not change anytime soon. As for the battery life, I use ultimate lithium batteries and they last forever, of course if you use cheap batteries you will get short battery life, that's just common sense. I could not be any happier with this product. The zoom and Image stabilization are great, however with full zoom it is kinda touchy if you move the slightest little bit but that's what tri-pods are for.
Pros: good battery life, Good Low-Light Performance, Nice features/settings, excellent image quality, durable, Bright LCD, Lightweight/Portable, Simple controls/menu, easy to use
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Overall A Great Camera
on July 15, 2013
Posted by: Simpleton
Personally I find the Cannon Power Shot SX160 IS to be a great camera. I have tried out all its features, even though in the beginning it took a little time for me to learn, since at 68 years old I'm still an amateur picture taker.
The 3" LCD screen is large enough to see what a person wants take a snapshot of, plus I found it easy to us the menu and tool options in this camera.
A person can control the LCD brightness by going into the menu function.
I can't believe how clear pictures come out even from using the Zoom lens feature.
I like manually using the flash function, because having too many auto functions on a camera uses up too much batter juice.
Camera comes with 2 Alkaline batteries I find lasted me up to around 30 pictures. I bought an Energizer NiMH Battery Charger, which came with 4 rechargeable batteries.
I called Cannon Customer Service for a manual book to look over while I'm away from home.
This camera equals some other name brands I have already tried out, but a few of those other brands had one or more features that couldn't cut the mustard this one does.
I find that it's not always the higher the price the better the quality of something. I look at the middle range to find just as good or even slightly better, with all the features I want and not to out do anyone else.
I found out from a few individuals not to over charge my rechargeable batteries. The batteries I have bought are 1300 mAh which charges up in 6hrs time. So if I go up to the highest number of hours, which is 9 from a 2300 mAh batter, no doubt I'll be able to take a higher number of pictures.
The 3" LCD screen is large enough to see what a person wants take a snapshot of, plus I found it easy to us the menu and tool options in this camera.
A person can control the LCD brightness by going into the menu function.
I can't believe how clear pictures come out even from using the Zoom lens feature.
I like manually using the flash function, because having too many auto functions on a camera uses up too much batter juice.
Camera comes with 2 Alkaline batteries I find lasted me up to around 30 pictures. I bought an Energizer NiMH Battery Charger, which came with 4 rechargeable batteries.
I called Cannon Customer Service for a manual book to look over while I'm away from home.
This camera equals some other name brands I have already tried out, but a few of those other brands had one or more features that couldn't cut the mustard this one does.
I find that it's not always the higher the price the better the quality of something. I look at the middle range to find just as good or even slightly better, with all the features I want and not to out do anyone else.
I found out from a few individuals not to over charge my rechargeable batteries. The batteries I have bought are 1300 mAh which charges up in 6hrs time. So if I go up to the highest number of hours, which is 9 from a 2300 mAh batter, no doubt I'll be able to take a higher number of pictures.
Pros: good battery life, Good Low-Light Performance, Nice features/settings, excellent image quality, durable, Bright LCD, Lightweight/Portable, Simple controls/menu, easy to use, reasonably priced
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
So much fun
on January 1, 2013
Posted by: Anonymous
A gift for Christmas... so much fun. I love all the possibilities. It makes me feel like a professional. I like the battery life of the video feature. The pdf lists the battery life of different batteries for different features. I like the option of the eye-fi sd card to make the camera wi-fi capable.
Pros: good battery life, excellent image quality, Simple controls/menu, easy to use
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
Great value
on May 12, 2013
Posted by: Gus
from Bethlehem, PA
The compact package makes it easy to handle anywhere. The zoom gets in nice and close to get the details. The HD video adds versatility and eliminates the need to carry two cameras. The pixel quality is at the top. Unfortunately, the battery life only gets you around 20 pictures, and you need to have spare sets on hand. The software is a little difficult to navigate and save pictures to disc.
Pros: excellent image quality, Lightweight/Portable, Simple controls/menu, easy to use
Cons: Short battery life, lcd display is not high resolution
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
2
not as good as previous canons
on January 21, 2013
Posted by: gatta
from new york, NY
I own an EOS350 rebel xt(love it), an A520, and had a A1000IS(loved it) until it was stolen. Replaced the A1000IS w/ this model. The auto mode shooting is poor. Even the slightest motion in the subject comes out blurry, never happened former model. Have tried using Tv mode raising the shutter speed, which works well in bright room with close up subject, but otherwise (at distance) it comes out too dark. I am not a pro, know something about camera features, but I am disappointed with this camera compared to the perfection and ease of former A1000IS. SX160 does not come with detailed user manual as did previous models(the manuals truly helped understand all the functions and take good pics. They were small and fit in my purse too). so I am having a hard time overcoming the blurry thing.
Pros: good battery life, Simple controls/menu
Cons: Poor image quality
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com