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
new to this
on November 22, 2009
Posted by: mbuckley
from Fort Worth, Texas
My wife bought me this camera about 2 days ago.
I think it's a pretty cool camera, All I have to do is figure out all the things it will do.
I think it's a pretty cool camera, All I have to do is figure out all the things it will do.
So far the pic quality is great.
I would like to know what movie format it makes, I made a movie this weekend of my turning shop and have to convert them, this takes for ever.
I would like to know what movie format it makes, I made a movie this weekend of my turning shop and have to convert them, this takes for ever.
other than that I like the camera and will use it a lot
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
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
3
Not as good as previous versions
on July 27, 2010
Posted by: pguin
I had an S3 and a thief did away with it so I replaced it on a 1 year trip with the SX20. I am irritated at more than just the thief.
The camera is just getting to the point where it is too bulky and heavy and hard to find a small case that can fit in my fanny pack easily. It's continuous photo mode is very slow compared to the S3. I have lots of problems with getting vibrant colors and the images are not very sharp. Occasionally they are very, very good but I look at the photos taken with the S3 and they are so much nicer.
For goodness sakes, get a real lens cap on the thing! I had to make a lens cap out of the lens hood, a pringles cap, and electrical tape as I couldn't find a proper lens cap in South America in stock.
Battery life is pretty good, video is generally satisfactory. The features of the camera are quite good for the price (although they work so-so sometimes) however in almost all ways, I prefer my older camera. Yes, the SX20 has more pixels, but they are fuzzy.
The one thing I really, really like is the flip out screen. I use the self-timer a lot and with other cameras would be laying in the mud of a New Zealand rainforest adjusting it but the flip out screen is wonderful, so nice. It's also nice that I can take a macro photo of something on the ground without having to remove my full-size backpack (for me, this is more useful than you may know).
All in all, I am not very happy with the camera. I will consider it's successor in the future if they solve these problems and seriously, the only reason I would consider it is the flip out screen is that useful to me.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Just what I expected
on October 23, 2009
Posted by: Smiley
from West Chester, PA
I searched many cameras and decided to buy this one. I love the features and it does everything I've read about it.
Pros: easy to use, Simple controls/menu, Nice features/settings, excellent image quality, Good Low-Light Performance, good battery life
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
5
Very satisfied customer
on December 7, 2009
Posted by: Boe
from Versailles, Ky
I researched this type of camera and narrowed my search to 3 brand names. My daughter has a Canon and is very satisfied with its performance in all respects, this was the deciding factor for me.
I have not been disappointed with its performance and I would happily recommend it to anyone else.
I am not a photographer but this camera will make me one. I like to take pictures of sunsets and sunrises and the ones I have taken with this camera have great.
The ease of operation and learning to get the most out of this camera are a big selling point for me. If I dont want to take time to change settings, I just shoot on automatic and the images turn out great.
I expect to get years of use from this camera.
Pros: Good Low-Light Performance, Nice features/settings, excellent image quality, durable, 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
5
Great Quality Camera
on June 30, 2010
Posted by: Big Mac
from Washington State
I love this camera. It's replacing a Powershot Pro 1 simply because it has more pixels and the long-range zoom. I've always been impressed with the quality of Canon cameras and the SX20IS is no exception. It takes excellent quality photos. I'm going to set up my printer and make some big
enlargements and we'll see how they look.
enlargements and we'll see how they look.
Pros: good battery life, 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
Don't be scared.
on April 14, 2010
Posted by: tojo1117
from Boca Raton, Florida
This is my third Powershot IS, 3,5 and now the 20. Not that there was anything wrong with the others, I just wanted to upgrade. The only bad reviews seem to be from those who didn't really need or want all of the great features of the camera. It can be a bit much if all that you wanted was a simple point and shoot, but if you just give it time and play around with it you'll find that for the money this is an amazing camera. I've taken thousands of photos with the other two and have no reason to believe that this won't perform as well as the others. The only thing that I've found to be troublesome thus far is the lens cap. But with a little creativity, a mini drill bit and some super glue my lens cap stays with me. I'm hoping that Canon works on some sort of retrofit lens cap for this thing.
Pros: good battery life, excellent image quality, durable, Bright LCD, easy to use
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com