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
5
excellent choice
on June 28, 2010
Posted by: buzzy
from Concord, CA
I have loved using my Canon A630 for a few years (I had 2 of them!) but it was acting up and I bought the SX120is to replace it before my trip to Africa next month. I love the size and feel of the camera body, as we have big hands in my family. The 3"LCD is huge and pics are very sharp. This camera has superb picture quality and it is easy to use (I am an amateur and my teenager uses it in her hobby, taking extreme close-ups to capture fine details and colors.) I noticed that it seems to be minus a couple of the settings that my A630 had but I do not miss them. I really like the fact that the most used scene settings are now on the dial and the macro function comes on automatically if you are very close to an object. The zoom is terrific! Shutter speed seems to be very quick. I love this camera! Prior to purchase, I studied others that compete but the Canon won my favor primarily for photo quality, zoom, body size, easy to use, and it was in my price range. Simply put, Canon makes a great camera!
Pros: Nice features/settings, excellent image quality, 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
1
Horrible pictures
on September 7, 2010
Posted by: kamikazi
from PA
I own a Canon S2 and was extremely satisfied with the quality of this camera. I decided it was time to upgrade to a newer camera with higher pixels, and new technology. Therefore, I just purchased the Canon SX20 IS
Since receiving this camera I have taken well over 1,000 pictures with it, and extremely unhappy with the photo quality, focus, and clarity. My old S2 has a much sharper image than the SX20 IS. The majority of the SX20 IS pictures are NOT in focus, or have a "haze" to them. I have been taking test pictures of the same objects with both the S2 and SX20 IS, and the S2 is MUCH clearer and sharper than the new SX20 IS. In taking these pictures I have compared by adjusting both cameras to the same settings, taking a picture of the SAME objects/lighting/angles and overall the S2 has a greater picture quality.
I have adjusted the camera setting numerous times, from Auto to the Program settings, adjusting the ISO, and several other settings. When a picture is out of focus, I have taken several pictures of the same objects with numerous settings and get the same out-of-focus results. I am not a professional photographer, but by no means should my pictures have such a low quality, with this type of camera. In the past 4.5 years of owning the S2 I am disappointed with the SX20 IS, and thought when I purchased it I was making an upgrade, but instead I feel I have down-graded. My wife and I are planning a vacation, and plan to take our OLD Canon S2, for fear we cannot capture our memories with the SX20 IS. It is disappointing that I have invested in a newer camera and must resort to my old one.
I have tried everything, and gave my best effort to give this camera a chance. Unfortunately, I am beyond frustrated and have exhausted all my energies trying to make this camera work for me.
Cons: hazy pictures, pictures always out of focus
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
Love this camera
on September 11, 2009
Posted by: Thangappan
from Chicago, IL
Like the SX predecessors absolutely love the
1) Swivel LCD Screen.
2) Flexible zoom wide angle to a whooping 20x telephoto.
and now finally the HD video, wish it was 1080p.
1) Swivel LCD Screen.
2) Flexible zoom wide angle to a whooping 20x telephoto.
and now finally the HD video, wish it was 1080p.
I was thinking between this and the new G11, great to see the swivel LCD back on the G family, but the HD video and the tele - zoom lens was too hard to give up.
Only two main things negative about this camera:
1) High noise levels, anything beyond iso 400 is not pretty much unusable.
2) Still not lipo rechargeable battery offered.
1) High noise levels, anything beyond iso 400 is not pretty much unusable.
2) Still not lipo rechargeable battery offered.
Pros: swivel lcd screen, hd video, wide angle plus 20x telephoto lense
Cons: Poor image quality, Heavy/Bulky, high noise at high iso, no rechargable battery
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Outstanding Camera a 5 Star
on October 4, 2009
Posted by: JM
from Gresham, OR
With this camera you need to read the manual that comes on the CD disk, it will answer all your questions. By following the instructions my shots are crisp and clear, it just takes a bit to learn what you need to know..but well worth the learning experience.Like anything else worthwhile, you have to work at it. Its a 5 Star.
Pros: easy to use, Simple controls/menu, Nice features/settings, Bright LCD, excellent image quality, Good Low-Light Performance, Lightweight/Portable, good battery life, durable, great looking camera
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
2
Not Standard Canon Quality
on September 13, 2009
Posted by: Beach Days
from Half Moon Bay, CA
Purchased Canon SX20 IS because of features and also because of satisfaction with other Canon digital cameras that I own. However, upon taking photos and video clips, I was extremely dissatisfied with the quality. Photos were not crisp, and colors seemed to be muted. Video quality was also not as expected. I returned camera and exchanged it for a different brand that just came out from a different manufacturer.
Cons: Poor image quality
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
3
Don't bother
on September 9, 2009
Posted by: gk16blman
from Lincoln, NE
I love Canon products. I shoot with their DSLRs at work, and use the XHA1 for professional video, however, for a home point and shoot camera, this sx20is is NOT the camera.
The feature set, functionality, quality of the super-zoom lens, video recording, the use of .mov format rather than AVHC and so many other items make this camera a HUGE winner. Except the noise of the image sensor. I am not talkign about the unuable 400-1600 ASA range, but at the basic 80 and 100 ASA setting. There is far to much noise in all but the most sun lit settings with objects that break up detectable noise such as flowers, trees and grass. with 12 MP, the image is sharp, but looking closely, there is far too much noise in any flat surface areas such as clouds, wall surfaces, concrete, people with flash inside, etc. I have made some extensive tests and 8x10 prints and the noise is significantly high. Much higher in fact than a camera I had been using for the last 4 years. With SO much going for the camera, and a marvel of engineering for a camera with this price point and feature set, this one item makes the camera un appealing. Please Canon, fix this in the next generation of camera and you will have the best machine out there!
Pros: easy to use, Simple controls/menu, Nice features/settings, Bright LCD, good battery life, durable, great camera for the money, very strong and durable feeling, good sharp super-zoom lens, great hd video/audio quality
Cons: Poor image quality, Poor Low-Light Performance, very noisy at low asa settings, variable asa when shooting video
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Love it, but a lot to learn about it.
on March 26, 2010
Posted by: Rosiegirl
from Alabama
Have had camara a couple of weeks and have enjoyed taking pictures and still have a lot to learn about it. I took some pics of hubby trying to catch a swarm of bees using the auto and zooming in and you can see the bees. I still have a lot to learn about it and hope to take some great pics in the future.
Pros: good battery life, excellent image quality, durable, Bright LCD
Cons: Heavy/Bulky, Complicated controls/menu
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
Great camera with some negatives
on September 20, 2009
Posted by: tenny321
from Chicago
This is a great camera with many positives including many options, easy to use, great zoom, custom settings, and many more.
Main negative is the focus is a little off in auto mode, some problems in low light areas, night vision does not work well, and video has no stabilizer so it can be bouncy.
Hope they fix some of this soon in a firmware upgrade.
Pros: easy to use, Simple controls/menu, Nice features/settings, Bright LCD
Cons: Poor Low-Light Performance, slow and sometimes bad focusing, night vision problems
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com