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
5
Best Camera for the Money
on December 5, 2012
Posted by: dusgalan
from Provo UT
My 5-Star rating is due because of the high quality of photos and long list of features available for the price. I have not found a competitor's camera with the capabilities of the Canon PowerShot SX160 IS for the same price. Therefore, to me that equals value because this camera does what I need it to do. I need a camera that is lightweight and allows me to control the exposure I desire. The color balance is excellent. It captures what I see quite effectively. I enjoy capturing sunsets in my photos--where the light changes every second. The PowerShot SX160 IS records this most effectively. I have been a Canon customer since 1983 when I bought my first A-1 SLR who enjoys the technological advances in their products over the years.Once again a GREAT camera for the money.
Pros: Good Low-Light Performance, Nice features/settings, excellent image quality, durable, Bright LCD, Lightweight/Portable, Simple controls/menu
Cons: Short battery life
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
An upgrade from my A520
on December 5, 2013
Posted by: davy
from Pennsylvania
I won't duplicate the positive reviews of previous users but I agree with them all...this is a great digicam. I bought this model (the black one) when I saw the SX170 DID NOT use AA size batteries. I like the convenience of AA batteries. I thought my A520 would be a lifetime use purchase when a certain digital goddess (KK) once said 4MP was as much as most anyone would ever need. Well, that certainly proved to be shortsighted. I chose the SX160 which uses a CCD type image sensor the same as the A520. I always thought it captured quality shots. I was not ready to switch to a CMOS using camera; a nit pic for sure.
As far as low battery life goes: you've got to read the PDF instruction manual which states that you'll get far more shots using NIMH rechargeable batteries. I've had excellent usage from 2700 mah batteries. I would also recommend a class 10 flash memory card...the size is up to you depending on whether you use this Digital Still Camera as a camcorder or just for still shots. A class 10 memory card will allow faster follow-up shots and download your video or snapshots super quick. I found that out when I swapped out my old class 4 card from my A520. There really is a lot of speed difference.
I was also impressed by, compared to my A520, how quick this camera turned on and was ready to shoot...like 2 seconds! I also liked the electric switch to view your shots versus the mechanical switch on the A520. It's not even necessary to power up the camera...just push the button on the camera back and start reviewing your pics.
One thing that I miss from my old Canon is the remote triggering feature; I've adjusted by using the self-timer. And to a lessor extent, the optical viewfinder. Although the 3" LCD screen is a pleasant surprise. But it's still a point-n-shoot size that will fit into a cargo pants pocket and not weigh down like a anvil. I've only used it for 1 month but I do not regret buying it. I look forward to many thousands more snapshots with this Canon product. They seem to make a camera for every type user. This SX160IS is just right for me.
Pros: good battery life, Nice features/settings, excellent image quality, Bright LCD, Lightweight/Portable, Simple controls/menu, easy to use
Cons: pdf manual instead of printed
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
get it
on December 16, 2012
Posted by: warrensalem
from Phoenix
Awesome little camera that takes some great pics. Incredible zoom lens that brings items far away right up close. Is some image noise when zoomed in. Chromatic aberration seems minimal. Does tend to drain batteries pretty quick, but if you have rechargeable batteries you'll be fine.
All in all, I'm quite happy with the SX160IS.
Pros: Good Low-Light Performance, excellent image quality, Bright LCD, Lightweight/Portable, Simple controls/menu, easy to use
Cons: Short battery life
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
Good for the price
on May 17, 2013
Posted by: Diatis
from QC, Canada
Good quality for the price but not perfect. Poor low light performance for videos (good for photos) and battery eater.
Pros: Nice features/settings, excellent image quality, durable, Bright LCD, Lightweight/Portable, Simple controls/menu, easy to use
Cons: Poor Low-Light Performance, Short battery life
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
3
Excellent except for the display
on July 3, 2013
Posted by: Carolina Tar Heel
I've owned the SX 110, 150 and now the SX 160. It's an excellent camera with lots of features, but there are some serious flaws on this model that Canon should address.
The most glaring drawback is the inferior 3" display which has only 230,000 pixels- it appears muddy and dim. All of the competing cameras in this price range- including Canon's own models- have a brilliant and crystal clear 460,000 pixel 3" display. (Your pictures, however, will be much clearer than they display on this camera's dim display.)
The most glaring drawback is the inferior 3" display which has only 230,000 pixels- it appears muddy and dim. All of the competing cameras in this price range- including Canon's own models- have a brilliant and crystal clear 460,000 pixel 3" display. (Your pictures, however, will be much clearer than they display on this camera's dim display.)
The SX 160 has two attachment points for a neck strap, which you'll need, but sadly, they only ship the camera with a one point "wrist strap."
Wait for Canon to upgrade the 3" display to 460,000 pixels and supply a two point neck strap before ordering this excellent camera. These upgrades should be coming soon if Canon is listening to customer feedback.
Pros: excellent image quality
Cons: Dim LCD, Poor Low-Light Performance
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
This is our third sx160
on November 29, 2013
Posted by: lifelongcanonfans
from Washington
My wife and I went from "wasacanonfan" to lifelongcanonfans" because of the excellent customer service Canon has given to us. This is our third sx160 camera. We also have Canon a3100, a4000 and sx40 cameras. Our sx160 cameras are the "in between" cameras in terms of size and zoom potential that we carry when we want more zoom than the a3100 or a4000 can give us but want to carry something smaller than our sx40. When we look at the picture quality from these cameras we cannot tell them apart either when we view them on our computer or when we print them and frame them. For a relatively small hand held zoom camera the sx160 is hard to beat. The number of shots we can take varies with the quality of the batteries we use and have had zero problems with the battery system. If we could only have one camera, I suspect we would choose one of our sx160 cameras because they give us the best size (relatively small) and zoom (adequate for most of the shots we take of people, scenery and wildlife) capability. The smaller "a" series cameras have their place as does our larger "sx" camera.
Pros: good battery life, Good Low-Light Performance, Nice features/settings, excellent image quality, Bright LCD, Lightweight/Portable, Simple controls/menu, easy to use, we had a lens error problem with our first sx160, canon replaced our lens error sx160
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
A camera to grow with..
on December 30, 2012
Posted by: Oldskool
from East Coast
I purchased this camera to replace my former PowerShot camera. This one has 16MP max resolution, and a whole wealth of features that I will need some time to get used to. So far, am impressed with the picture quality, some artifacts on higher ISO settings, but that is to be expected. Shot a quick video with it, and quality is good as well. I like the ability to pop up the flash unit on this camera manually. The viewfinder is a good size as well. The build quality seems like it shall endure much use.
Pros: durable, Bright LCD, easy to use
Cons: some image artifacts at times
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Great for Pictures
on July 5, 2016
Posted by: Johnny D
from Los Angeles, CA, United States
The picture quality is amazing! I used this camera for my photogaphy class and it was so so easy to carry around and took good quality pictures for such a low price. This is not a video camera since the quality for video aint that good! The batteries do tend to run out quickly but for the quality of the pictures I dont mind!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com