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
2
Nice features but quality is everything
on September 22, 2009
Posted by: Demirkapi
from Dana Point, CA
Nice HD videos, nice features like zoom etc.
BUT
Horrible focusing, forget focusing on zoom, manual focus is not easy to use and not trustable at all, bad picture quality, low light pictures are even not usable, bulky, battery life is miserable etc. etc.
Pros: easy to use, Nice features/settings, nice hd video
Cons: Dim LCD, Poor image quality, Poor Low-Light Performance, Heavy/Bulky, Short battery life, horrible auto focus, terrible manual focus
No, I would not 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
Customer Rating
5
Great camera for great price
on September 19, 2009
Posted by: DACG
It does capture video very nicely. One con about it is that it doesn't focus very nicely on Auto mode, but you can change that in the Program or Manual modes.
Pros: easy to use, Simple controls/menu, Nice features/settings, Bright LCD, excellent image quality, Lightweight/Portable, good battery life, durable
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Best camera shy of an SLR
on September 19, 2009
Posted by: Michael G.
from Maui, Hawaii
I reviewed the PowerShot SX200 IS a short while ago and rated it very highly. Nonetheless, I decided to return it in exchange for the PowerShot SX 20 IS.
This camera offers the following additional advantages: a viewfinder; HD video recording with optical zoom throughout the zoom range plus stereo sound; a form factor much more like that of an SLR: it is on the heavy side, but easy to hold and the viewfinder allows you to hold the camera against your body which adds extra stability, and thus better focus, especially when zooming in; Diapter adjustability means I don't have to wear glasses when using the EVF; the LCD display can be closed so it faces the camera - no need to worry about smudging or scratching it.
Those who are considering the purchase of an SLR need to keep in mind that you'll need at least three different lenses to get a comparable zoom range. You'd be lugging around quite a bit of weight, and faced with the delay in changing lenses depending upon what you want to take a picture of.
Some question the quality of the pictures it takes. Keep in mind that this is not a camera designed for amateurs who insist on fully automatic features. In other words, excellent pictures will often be obtained when you make needed adjustments ranging from setting the scene yourself to fully manual.
I highly recommend the camera for those who are looking for the characteristics I have highlighted.
Pros: Simple controls/menu, Nice features/settings, excellent image quality, durable
Cons: Heavy/Bulky
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Great Camera!
on September 18, 2009
Posted by: Rusty
from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Although some people have been giving this camera a poor rating in terms of image quality, I find the images to be very good and just what I expected from this camera. I've had to tweak the My Colors settings to get a more contrasty, sharp image, and I really don't see how it's any worse than the SX10.
I think Canon should have kept it at 10 megapixels to keep noise down a bit, but it's certainly not as bad as it could be.
Handling is great and the lens is better than I thought - images were pretty sharp at full length although some CA is present at times (not enough to worry about).
I've compared this camera to my G10 and, yes, the IQ is not as good, but it's what I expected considering the sensor sizes in both cameras. The G10 is a notch above and should be.
The HD movie capability is really nice to have and the IQ is excellent.
If you're looking for a very good family/vacation camera that does it all, then you will find it in the SX20.
Pros: easy to use, Nice features/settings, excellent image quality, good battery life, good lens, hd video
Cons: Poor Low-Light Performance, Heavy/Bulky, outdate lcd size and res, no pc controlled shooting, no raw file support
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
3
Picture quality not pleasing
on September 17, 2009
Posted by: Chakochi
from New York, NY
Starting with the positives, I like new HD video but was hoping for 1080p, Video has a less of that rolling shutter or "jello" effect., the flip out screen and the wide and telephoto lens is nice. I also I think I notice less chromatic aberration than the sx10.
I was actually a little disappointed with this camera, like many already mentioned the picture quality is not very good. Not what I was expecting from Canon. Like the new G11, canon could have went down on pixels focusing on sharper, cleaner, true color, image quality and good low light performance. Seems like canon needs to go back to the drawing board focus more on picture quality more than anything.
Thanks for reading :)
Pros: easy to use, Simple controls/menu, Nice features/settings, Bright LCD, good battery life, durable, hd video, swivel lcd screen, wideangle and telephoto lense
Cons: Poor image quality, Poor Low-Light Performance, Heavy/Bulky
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
worthwhile upgrade
on September 15, 2009
Posted by: smiley
from Minnesota
I purchased this camera to upgrade pixels and zoom and hopefully, picture quality as well. So far, I am not disappointed in any of the above objectives. In addition, this camera has easy-to-use features that are quite intuitive and require little study of the included pdf manual.
It is a bit heavier than my previous camera. The rechargeable batteries have lasted long enough. The AA batteries are good because any damage or loss can be less expensively replaced. Although I have only had it a few days, I have already takes several hundred photos and am quite pleased and satified with the quality.
My previous camera did have a backlight feature that I miss on this camera. However, it has so many added features that this is irrelevant. I especially enjoy the super macro as I take photos of flowers.
This is a great camera for those of us unable to pay hundreds more for a DSLR or unable to carry lots of equipment everywhere.
It is a bit heavier than my previous camera. The rechargeable batteries have lasted long enough. The AA batteries are good because any damage or loss can be less expensively replaced. Although I have only had it a few days, I have already takes several hundred photos and am quite pleased and satified with the quality.
My previous camera did have a backlight feature that I miss on this camera. However, it has so many added features that this is irrelevant. I especially enjoy the super macro as I take photos of flowers.
This is a great camera for those of us unable to pay hundreds more for a DSLR or unable to carry lots of equipment everywhere.
Pros: easy to use, Simple controls/menu, Nice features/settings, Bright LCD, good battery life, durable
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
So glad I got this one
on September 15, 2009
Posted by: pictureperfect
from upper midwest
I saw this camers in the paper on Sunday, read all the reviews on it. It seemed like people either really liked it or didn't, I decided to go look at it but was going to wait to buy it until more people reviewed it. I went to the store on Monday, after holding the camera to see if it was to heavy, (not at all, but I am not used to a little camera so that maybe why it didn't seem bulky to me) looking at its features, talking with the sales person, I decided to give it a chance. Am I ever glad I did ! I love it, the biggest problem I had with the quality of some of the pictures I took was me, not the camera. A few more tries and I was off and running, it is great ! I have taken over 200 pictures with it already and am very happy.
Pros: easy to use, Simple controls/menu, Nice features/settings, Bright LCD, excellent image quality
Cons: i miss the extensive user manual, and i wish there was a cap strap
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com