Customer reviews from usa.canon.com
Canon - PowerShot 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black
Average customer rating
4.5
(219 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 219 reviews
5 Stars
145
4 Stars
46
3 Stars
16
2 Stars
9
1 Star
3
87%of customers recommend this product.
(
191 out of
219)
Customer Reviews for Canon - PowerShot 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black
Customer Rating
4
Great value for the price
on May 4, 2010
Posted by: MOJO
from New Jersey
Time had come for me to upgrade from my canon I570 which had served me well for 3 years. I wanted to have a longer focal lens with a little wide angle thrown in. I wanted Hi Def videos with stereo microphones. I wanted the power provided by AA batteries. The ability to shoot quality images was also important. I do not generally shoot in auto mode as experience has taught me I will get better results with the other options available. The SX20IS was the best fit for what I was looking for.
So far I am pleased with it. Do take time to study the full manual, it comes on a downloadable disk with the camera. It is most informative and useful.
So far I am pleased with it. Do take time to study the full manual, it comes on a downloadable disk with the camera. It is most informative and useful.
Pros: good battery life, Nice features/settings, excellent image quality, durable, Bright LCD, Simple controls/menu, easy to use
Cons: Heavy/Bulky
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
Another great Canon product
on May 3, 2010
Posted by: PJ
from Burnsville, NC
This camera has excellent optics and an LCD screen that is really sharp and has great color rendition. I really like being able to see the data in the viewfinder before shooting. In auto mode the camera has an uncanny ability to choose the best place to measure exposure and focus. There's only one thing that this camera needs to make it perfect and that is a meaningful manual. The get started manual doesn't hack it and details as to how to make this camera do all that it is capable of would be very useful - even if only on line.
Pros: 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
Recomendable Camera
on April 23, 2010
Posted by: Albatros
from Wilmington, NC
The middle balance of features between novice and advance photography let me learn from this camera.
If I want a relax day taking easy pictures auto or easy mode are there.
But, Somedays I want to explore, to play, to have fun and the advance features are there, too.
The best thing it was a great price for all the features.
Thanks Canon. This is my best toy ever!
Pros: good battery life, Good Low-Light Performance, Nice features/settings, excellent image quality, Bright LCD, Lightweight/Portable, Simple controls/menu, easy to use, novice and advance features, excelent to learn photography, budget camera
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
3
Poor Auto Mode Performance with Flash
on April 21, 2010
Posted by: imamiger
from USA
Although I was very happy with my previous S1is and S3is I am disappointed in the full auto mode on the SX20is. I originally purchased this camera because my needs for 20-30 minute video clips outpaced the abilities of my older S1 and S3is. The video is fantastic, however now I am having trouble with still shots using full auto mode.
When taking photos of two people standing still in a brightly lit room in full auto mode I raised the flash (which did fire) and the shot was blurred. This happened on several occasions, both indoors and outdoors (fill flash) and the exif information tells me that shutter speeds of 1/15 - 1/30 was shosen in auto mode for these hand-held-flash shots. That is too slow! The S3is and S1is forced the shutter minimum to 1/60 if the flash was used and I never got blurred shots. Now I am forced to try to use Tv mode to set the minimum shutter speed and that's a pain because I'd rather use auto mode and take advantage of things like face detection, etc. I'm not sure why the auto mode in this camera "thinks" it's ok to shoot flash shots at 1/15 or 1/30.
Pros: good battery life, Nice features/settings, Bright LCD
Cons: Poor image quality, Poor Low-Light Performance
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
3
Using the SX20 in Manual Mode
on April 20, 2010
Posted by: Larry
from Southern California
The Great features of the SX20 are the x20 zoom lens and its manual mode. Note - I only shoot manual mode.
The bad features of the camera are its Very limited aperture range and no threads in the lens barrel to attach filters (neutral density filters to compensate for the limited aperture range). No "cable" release capability (I want to mount the camera at a humming bird feeder and remotely fire the camera). And the flash in manual mode with only three power settings (this can be worked around by using a separate flash unit).
Photography schools need to be able to recommend good starter manual cameras. In these schools they push the student and the camera to extreme fringes of photography (night shoots, drops of water, motion, portraits) so that they learn. This camera would be a great starter camera with all the features.
The bad features of the camera are its Very limited aperture range and no threads in the lens barrel to attach filters (neutral density filters to compensate for the limited aperture range). No "cable" release capability (I want to mount the camera at a humming bird feeder and remotely fire the camera). And the flash in manual mode with only three power settings (this can be worked around by using a separate flash unit).
Photography schools need to be able to recommend good starter manual cameras. In these schools they push the student and the camera to extreme fringes of photography (night shoots, drops of water, motion, portraits) so that they learn. This camera would be a great starter camera with all the features.
Pros: good battery life, Good Low-Light Performance, Nice features/settings, durable, Lightweight/Portable, Simple controls/menu, easy to use
Cons: Missing features/settings
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
GO FOR THE GOLD
on April 17, 2010
Posted by: yellowrose
from Clarion,Pa
THE CANON SX20IS IS A TOTALLUY AWESOME CAMERA. I'M NOT A PRO BUT THIS CAMERA IS AN EXCELENT PURCHASE FOR THE PRICE. THE PICTURE QUALITY IS OUTSTANDING. I HAVE ALWAYS BOUGHT CANON AND WENT UP A STEP WHEN I GOT THE CANON SX20IS. THE DIFFERENT SETTINGS AND AUTO ZOOM ARE VERY GOOD FEATURES. THIS CAMERA HAS VERY GOOD FEATURES AND IS EASY ENOUGH TO USE. THE SIZE IS PERFECT FOR EVEN SMALLER HANDS. IT ALLOWS YOU TO HAVE THE CONTROL NECESSARY FOR TAKING GREAT PICTURES. THIS IS MY THIRD CANON AND I HAVE STEPPED UP WITH EACH PURCHASE. I TAKE AROUND 30,000 PICTURES A YEAR AS I TRAVEL ACROSS COUNTRY WITH WORK. CANON CAMERAS HAVE MADE ME A LOYAL CUSTOMER. I ACTUALLY SHOOT MY CAMERAS OUT. CANON WILL ALWAYS BE MY CAMERA OF CHOICE.
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, great value for money
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
on April 17, 2010
Posted by: Sports Mom
from Mississippi
I bought this camera on the recommendations of a friend who takes professional pictures. I wanted it for taking sports pictures mostly. It is very slow, and I have missed alot of action shots because of this.
Pros: good battery life, easy to use
Cons: not for sports pictures
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
on April 14, 2010
Posted by: lou
from Philippines
This is a good camera it is in between point en shoot advance and DSLR but the problem is when go to manual button it is hard to focus adjusting the aperture and other function to be able take a excellent photo.hope in the future they will address this small problem,it is better if they put manual controls in the zooming lens just like in DSLR, or maybe they come up whit a new model with changeable lenses maybe....
Pros: good battery life, Good Low-Light Performance, Nice features/settings, excellent image quality, durable, Bright LCD, easy to use
Cons: Missing features/settings, Heavy/Bulky
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com