Отзывы о Цифровой Фотоаппарат Canon PowerShot SX160 IS

We purchased this camera over a year ago. Since then I have missed many pictures due to low batteries. We have tried all different brands of batteries with the same results. We thought maybe we could use AA rechargeable batteries but the instructions state not to use this type of battery. When they first start to die, it takes FOREVER for the camera to write the picture to the card, therefore you miss the next shot because you are waiting for the camera to reset. It is not good in low light, therefore you need to use the flash more often, making the battery life even worse! We took the camera to a 1 hour children's breakfast with a fresh set of batteries and by the end of breakfast had a low battery warning. I decided to write this review, because after 1 year of owning this camera, I am back at amazon looking for another point and shoot. I am embarrassed to see how much I paid for this! I could have bought a Canon G series for this price (the G series size is not all that much bigger)! I own a Canon G2 and it is one of the best cameras I have ever owned.

Things I liked:
- Video mode takes nice videos for computer use (youtube, facebook etc.) I am not sure how they look on a regular TV.
- Canon menus and settings are easy to understand. I own or have owned at least 5 Canon cameras.
- Had problems with other Canon cameras and the power switch being too easy to accidentally turn on the camera. Not a problem with this one.

Things I did not like:
- Battery life is terrible. I did not have this problem with the canons that use dedicated rechargeable batteries.
- poor in low light. Did not notice that IS made the low light pics any better. Have to use flash almost always.
- Slow to reset, especially as battery gets low
- Slow to focus, especially as battery gets low
- Plastic feels cheap and shows signs of cracking and wear after 1 year of use
- Price. You can get lots more for your money.

I own a DSLR and consider myself a photography enthusiast. I wanted a small compact camera with me when I don't want to lug around my DSLR + lenses and equipment. After a previous good experience with the Canon A720 IS, the new A590 IS seemed like a good choice. Since I'm an advanced photographer, I'll focus on the advanced features of this camera. The auto modes work as well as any other camera in its class, but the extensive manual features is what sets apart the Canon A series. What I like about the camera:

+ Compact, stylish. It's smaller than older A Powershots, and the dark grey color gives it a seriousness compared to the typical bright silver finish.

+ Image stabilization works very well, it allows me to take blur-free photos 2-3 stops below the recommended shutter speed, that means at 35-50mm f2.8 1/10 sec shots are CONSISTENTLY possible indoors without using flash.

+ Good image quality. Expected from Canon, but even better is adjustable contrast, saturation, and sharpness settings, along with the typical JPG compression and resolution sizes.

+ Fast and responsive. I was surprised how responsive this camera is even compared with my DSLR. Shutter lag is very low for a compact digicam, and when I pre-focus with manual focus, it's even faster.

+ Manual modes. Aperture priority and shutter priority are great, the M mode is even better than other A Powershots such as the A720 because now there's a light meter on the right side that adjusts live based on what the camera thinks is the optimal exposure setting. And you can adjust aperture/shutter speed and see how it affects the final exposure. Ideally a live histogram would be even better, but this is very handy.

+ Manual focus. Although the LCD resolution is not good enough, even with the point zoom option, manual focus helps in close-up work and pre-focusing for action or creative photography.

+ Manual flash modes. In addition to automatic flash. The manual flash allows me to adjust the flash power in 3 levels, and prevents a pre-flash. This last part is important for using a remote optical slave flash. I can basically take professional looking studio pictures with this camera with my external flash equipment.

+ Optical viewfinder. I don't use this much yet, but can come in handy in bright sunlight conditions, or when battery conservation is needed.

+ Battery performance seems improved over previous A powershots too. The official specs give it 220 shots on regular alkalines and 500 on rechargeable NiMHs. Good news is they use common AA batteries that you can buy anywhere instead of proprietary models with specific chargers.

Now the negatives. I hope Canon can improve these aspects in their future models.

- Slow flash recycle times. This is to be expected from a camera that takes AA batteries. Would be nice if the LCD didn't blank out after a full flash discharge. Not a big deal since I use an external flash anyway, and the camera's flash is manually set to medium output as trigger (so recharge is faster). I would not want to give up the AA battery convenience for a faster flash recycle time though.

- Higher resolution LCD. The 2.5" 115k resolution LCD is ok for framing and casual browsing, but higher resolution would be nice.

-Live histogram while shooting. This feature is available when reviewing a photo, but not live. Other manufacturers have implemented this, and Canon should also, especially since the unofficial CHDK software mod allows such a feature.

- Larger aperture would be nice. Such as f/2.0 (instead of f/2.6) at the wide end, and f/4.0 (instead of f/5.5) at the telephoto end. That way a lower (& less noisy) ISO can be used in dim conditions or when fast shutter speeds are needed to freeze action. All the electronics in the world can't replace a good large lens. Also allows more creative depth of field control.

- A wider wideangle would be nice, 28mm instead of 35mm (35mm equiv). I'd rather see a wider wideangle than a longer zoom.

- Video feature is not ideal. Optical zoom is not available during recording of video. And the more efficient MPEG4 compression is not used, so video files tend to be large. Also noticed at 640x480 resolution, the highest fps is now 20 instead of 30 from other A models. A definite step backwards.

- Noise at higher ISOs. This is due to the smaller sensor on compact cameras. But 8 MP is probably the most pixels that can be crammed into a small 1/2.5" sensor. I'd rather have a cleaner picture at 6-7 MP than a noisy 8 MP picture. And if in-camera noise reduction is used, I'd like to see an adjustable setting for how much is being applied.

- And if I were to be really critical: There's no indicator of what optical zoom level I'm at. Slight image noise is noticeable even at ISO 80 when I zoom in really close on a monitor view.

I really appreciate these reviews. As an owner of this camera, I find them more informative than the manual itself, or lack there of. What troubles me most about this product is the difficulty to achieve good focus. Most often in dark, indoor settings, such as a dance floor at a wedding. I must convey that that I have far better luck with my 6 year old Olympus Camedia 3.2 pixel camera in these situations, on the automatic setting. I've had great success with this camera in daylight, particularly close-ups of plant life and wild life. Dark settings of people is really kicking my rear. So much so that I feel I've taken far better shots in these environments with a disposable camera back in the day. For instance, I can't seem to get an entire wedding party in focus at the church alter. I've tried the "mountain/cloud" setting without great results. Can't seem to adjust flash, ISO settings very well with that setting, or not at all. Even in good daylight environments, parts of the pictures are out of focus. And yes, I use a decent tripod (a Manfrotto whenever possible) to minimize shake. The manual says that if the camera beeps twice, and shows a green square in the view finder before you press the shutter button all the way down, then you're all good. In my experience, not so very often. I'm in no way saying I'm a pro photographer, but I'd sure like to learn how to be one. My profession is graphic design and I've dabbled in photography as a need-to-do-it basis. And I like it and I'm having fun doing it. But having to fix two thirds of my shots in post-shot applications (i.e. photoshop, et al) is kickin' my butt. In closing, I'd like to assure this audience that this is not necessarily a bad review of this product. More so, it is a call for help. Any suggestions from you folks would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, and happy shootin'.

I've read almost all the reviews here, and there is nothing major for me to add. I do have some minor points to add, however. I am using this camera for more than a month now, and overall I am very pleased, even though a few things does bother me.

First of all, I miss the wide angle zoom. Canon released the G10 and the SX10 (20x super zoom) at the same time along with the SX110, the other 2 got the wide-angle lens, but not the SX110. Why? I would anytime pick a wide-angle and 9x zoom over the 10x zoom.

Also, Canon features the new Digic 4 processor on the other 2 cameras, while in the SX110 it is still the older Digic III. It's not bad, but I would appreciate the newer technology with the i-Contrast and more.

The SX10 (with 20x zoom) lets you zoom (optical) during video recording; However with the SX110 (and G10) you can't zoom (only with the useless digital zoom).

The biggest problem, as many others pointed out, is the flash recharging time. I had several Canon's in the past (point & shoot), and have never encountered such a big delay between shots (when using flash).

I am upgrading from the PowerShot SD700, which was much faster between shots. The battery also lasted much longer. In overall, I am from those who appreciate Canon's battery pack over AA, even though I can not ignore the benefits of AA availability - and this is true even with the rechargeable AA's - I just don't like them.

A major drawback for me was when I found out that there is no battery meter. One of the things I hated in my older SD700 was the lack of a battery meter (it only notifies you when the battery is dead to replace it, no prior notice), and I was happy to see that since the release of the PowerShot SD1100 Canon added the battery meter so you always know how much juice you have left. I was looking forward for that on the SX110 as well... Well, I was wrong. Seems that Canon is unable to meter third party (AA) batteries! What a disappointment!

I also think that there is not enough grip. I would like the battery compartment a tad bigger, and some added rubber. The way it's now, it's a bit slippery. Also, the battery/card door is a little difficult to open and requires an extra unnecessary step of pulling a little piece before opening.

Another problem is the placement of the little speaker. I find it always covered with my left hand! The area on top left is a natural place for the fingers to sit; the speaker does not belong on this spot!

About the 3.0" LCD - when I first got my SX110, I was surprised at the nice 3.0" LCD - until I compared it to the 3.0" LCD of the Canon G10 which my friend bought at the same time - what a difference! The resolution is so much better on the G10, with double the amount of pixels (460,000 instead of the 230,000 on the SX110). (By the way, the new professional Canon EOS 50D has even double the pixels of the G10, for an unbelievable total of 920,000!!)

Also important to note, that this camera does not feature the "EDIT MOVIE" feature which most other Canon cameras does. That means no more cropping beginning/end of your clips! I really miss that!

Otherwise, I think this is an excellent overall camera. I am really impressed with the pictures, and they're better than the SD700, especially in lower light conditions. The image stabilizer also works a lot better. So much more flexible and all the controls are so useful. Manual raise/close flash is excellent and makes it very easy to control flash ON/OFF (and it's beyond me why they didn't the same on the G10); the face detection works great, and it will never overexpose a human face even with flash close to the face - which my old SD770 was terrible at it. Noise appears in higher ISO or in dim light conditions, but usually in most situations it's perfect, and definitely better than previous Canon's. Highly recommended!

Excellent camera and served me very well until I dropped it.

4 years on, and the pictures I took with it a better than a much newer camera with higher pixels.

I bought this to replace an S5IS, so I'll be comparing the 2 cameras. in some ways it is a better camera, but the old S5 still does a few things better.

The good:
HD Video: The 1080P movie capability is pretty awesome. Very few camcorders can do 1080P, but this camera does it, and does it pretty well. Movies are stable and look good, although a little jerky at times. The dedicated movie button is cool too.
Rapid shooting: 5 frames per second at full res is pretty amazing - this is DSLR territory.
LCD screen: the size and clarity are awesome, and the articulating feature is a must have for me. It would be perfect if not for the polarizing - see below.
Build quality: This is the most solid camera of this type that I've used. DSLR like.

The bad:
Picture quality: Canon went with a CMOS sensor to increase the speed, and it is fast, but the picture quality suffers. It is still pretty good, but pictures from the old trusty S5 are better - less noise, crisper, more detailed.
Controls: Canon went from increment buttons on the S5 to a thumb dial on the SX1. This is used to change ISO, shutter speed, aperture and other settings I regularly access. The dial is just fussy and hard to use.
Lens: Here I am comparing it with an S5 with a 1.8X teleconverter, achieving similar magnification. The the S5 images are better in every way, clearer with less distortion and fringing.
LCD screen: Great screen BUT, and this is a big one for me... it is polarized the wrong way! Arg. The S5 screen is polarized such that when wearing polarized sunglasses, you can clearly see the screen in landscape position. The SX1 screen is polarized 90 degrees off from the S5. In other words when looking at he screen in landscape position, it is totally black with polarized sunglasses. This is a big one for me, since I love polarized glasses, and like to be able to shoot without taking them off.
HD aspect ratio. You have to switch the camera from 4:3 to 16:9 to shoot HD video. Kind of a hassle switching back and fourth when shooting video & photos.

So I am using the SX1 mostly because of the HD feature. But aside from the build quality, HD, and still shooting speed, I prefer the old S5.

Execlent camera for traveling. It takes exclent pictures and very good close ups. The power comsumption is low and the batteries last a long time. I like that styling too. It takes a lickin and keeps on a ticken.

This camera is incredible. I have to rate this a five of five! By far the best camera I have tested!

This is a great little camera. Have taken a couple thousand pictures with it, it is easy to use and its compact size lets you take it anywhere.

Just realized I've had this camera since dec 2008, paid 110.00 for it. Was looking it up today to show a friend and couldn't believe how much the price had gone up for this older model. Recently I was envious of a friend's kid pictures who had a cannon rebel DSLR, and was telling myself I needed it if I wanted better pictures of my kid than I have been able to get to date.
But now I am realizing I need to learn how to use what I already have to it's fullest.
I have had good pictures and so far I have not had any operational issues with this camera. Battery life has been decent with rechargeables. Two things that have been annoying are the slow recovery between shots at times and the flash is too much light when no flash isn't enough. I like how most pictures look more natural without the flash but they get blurry.
So I making a new effort to learn how to take a picture. After reading reviews today I am going look into trying set the flash to medium? Consider new batteries, external flash and additional lens.
My bottom line is to take natural clear images of my daughter and family; maybe taking the time to learn the craft a little & a couple of accessories will do instead of jumping into a DSLR investment.

I was interested in the canon S95 if I stay with point and shoots for my next camera.

Needed another batter for my Canon Rebel xt. It works great! Far cheaper then if I had gone to a camera shop to purchase one.

I bought one of these new in 2006, and still use it occasionally. Works flawlessly, takes great pictures, as long as you don't ask too much of it; after all, it's basically a point-and-shoot.

Personally, I like using AA's. On a trip to Israel, I brought my SLR, and on the second day, the charger shorted out, leaving me unable to use it for about half of the trip. Fortunately, I'd had the sense to pack the A620 both for backup and for those days when I didn't want to shlep the SLR. Since the A620 runs on AA's, I was good to go. And looking at the pictures from that trip, I have a hard time telling which camera I used for any given shot.

The articulated LCD is a nice feature; I wish that it were common. Not only can you use it for taking pictures at odd angles (especially over crowds), but it protects the screen.

The only things that the A620 really lacks are image stabilization (which wasn't common on cameras when I bought this) and optimal wide angle coverage (the A620 goes out to about 35 mm equivalent, which really isn't good enough some of the time).

If you see one at a yard sale, it's worth picking up, just to have a spare camera to keep in the car (it's my "car trunk camera" now. I'll keep using it until it dies, which may be never....

I have had the Canon s10 for less than 24 hours, so these are my first impressions. I will update later. Assuming you have read other reviews, let me add some different information. Specific points.
1. Comments about the lens cap are absolutely true; it is awkward and does not fit easily. You wind up dropping it frequently and sticking your fingers on the lens. This is not good.
2. After inserting the 4 AA batteries, it is very hard getting the cover correctly shut. I am guessing that it will break easily, if that task is not done very carefully.
3. The feel of the camera is great; it fits my older arthritic bulky hands very well.
4. I didn't know until I read part of the instruction manual, that the camera has a control that allows you to vary the loudness of separate functions of the camera; shutter, turning on, menu opening, etc... PLUS, there is a button on the top left of the camera that enables you to MUTE ALL sounds of the camera if you press it as you are turning the camera on. I think this sound adjustment feature is very handy, although my poor ears have difficulty hearing anything...
5. The pictures I have taken have been very good and sharp for me. I was coming from an older Panasonic point and shoot.
6. I am really, really having to read the manual to learn all the different capabilities. If you get this camera, plan on spending some real time with the manual. For example, it is not intuitively obvious how one changes the size of the desired image from 10 to 1 megapixel. It took real manual reading to figure that out.
7. Despite my nit-picks, I am loving this camera. It is absolutely doing what I wanted. Namely giving me some really good manual and varied functions in a premium point and shoot without the expense of a DSLR.

My plan, if I continue to use this and enjoy photography, then I will upgrade to a DSLR, but right now, I have lots to learn, and enjoy with the Canon S10.
Nick

UPDATE: 16 Dec 2008
Still love the camera, but still learning. You MUST read the User Manual, and study it, in combination with playing with the camera. Good way to spend a couple of hours at Star$$s. The manual tells you specifically how to make certain changes in settings; however, it does NOT tell you when or why to make the changes. You need to study it and THINK. If you want a camera just to take simple, quick snapshots, this camera will do it, but that would be wasting this cameras terrific abilities. Spend a lot less and get a regular Canon or Sony P&S.

If you want a camera to learn how to do manual settings, like aperture and shutter priority settings, and others, WITHOUT spending the big $$$s needed to buy a DSLR, then this is the perfect camera for that.
Specific points:
1. The built in flash is not very strong at all. I will need to get a Canon external flash, probably the 430ex model, to make it as strong as I would like.
2. Figuring out how to change the image size, from 10 M to 8 or even down to less than 1 M for a 640x480 pixel photo is NOT intuitively obvious. You have to read the manual and learn that it is necessary to push the Function button while the camera is in take photo mode and then look down the list of items and choose from: 10M, 8M, etc...
3. The lens for this camera isn't the world's greatest. When it is dark it will only open up to 4.0 and that just isn't fast enough; then with a low power flash, your low light shooting is compromised yielding "noisy"/unsharp images.
4. I haven't found a camera bag that suits my taste for this camera yet; still looking. I want something that will carry the camera, an external flash, a spare set of batteries, and little nit-bits. I am sure they exist, just haven't found the right one. But then, searching for photography stuff is always fun... I AM loving the camera, but would still leave the rating at four stars.

I lost the lens cap within a month because the sticky tab did not hold the lens cap. Warning do not use the sticky tab or you may(will)lose the lens cap.

Found Canon camera at garage sale, battery was dead.
Scored killer camera and replaced battery. The newer cameras seem to have bad sensors and don't capture very well with motion. The IXUS 70 I got for 5 bucks and replaced the battery for 2 is leaps and bounds better than the 300 newer canon I bought last year.

After reading the reviews I was somewhat scare to order this lens cap but, I needed one since I lost my and the price was right so I thought I would give it a try. To my surprise, this cap fits GREAT and I like having a string leash to prevent another lost cap. The service was great and the shipping was very FAST. If you ever need one, please give this seller your business. They were outstanding with a good price and fast shipping.

We needed a quick temporary charger. This arrived super fast, did the job, and even has more options for charging than we originally had. Not sure when I'd use the car charger, but it's nice to have. No complaints - can't beat the price.

I got this as a replacement lens cap for my Canon Powershot SX10IS. The price and delivery is good, and it fits the lens that comes on the Canon Powershot SX10IS. The original lens cap with the camera did not have a way of tying the cap to the body, so I used a nice strap that had a stick-on attachment to the cap. This worked well, but after a time, the stick-on part came loose and I lost the cap. I liked the fact that this lens cap had an attached strap. The downside is that the original cap fits with the lens hood in place. This cap requires the lens hood to be removed. Not a big deal, because it is easy to remove the cap, then put on the lens hood. However, I probably would not have gotten this particular cap, had I known it was not compatible with the lens hood.

I bought this camera about 2 years ago and I am still amazed by the clarity of the images it produces, how versatile it is and the build quality.
I use it for everything, stills, video etc. and I am never disappointed by it. The zoom is staggering, the image stabilising is outstanding. It conveniently sized, has a positive feel and a solid shutter click! I am an EOS 5 owner as well, but I have stopped using that now in preference to the SX1 is.
Downsides, do you know I cannot think of any, if you are looking for a brilliant all round camera that will give you a huge choice of settings or just simple point and shoot then this is it. I would buy it again tomorrow!. Brilliant.

I bought this camera for school, because it was recommended. It was really expensive ($208) compared to other cameras, but I went with it anyway. Needless to say I've had the camera for two years and it is a piece of junk. The battery life is terrible on it. I put in brand new batteries every time and the camera always still blinks battery is low and shuts off. I wouldn't buy this ever again, there are much better cameras out there with way better functions and quality. And, the warranty is useless. Trust me dont waste your money.

I've had this camera for two years with barely any use. The 'stabilizer' sucks and I mostly get unfocused pictures. The battery life is absolutely horrible. It always drained super fast and now its at the point where I take one or two pictures with a new set of batteries and then it dies. This will last you maybe a year with minimal use IF you're lucky. I can take better pictures on my cellphone that's only 5mp! I'm not going to even bother to replace it and waste my money. It's ridiculous that I've only used it a half a dozen times and kept it safely in my home and this is the results I've ended up with. I'm extremely disappointed in canon for making such a bad quality camera.

I made the mistake of ordering the camera from A&R Photo WITH something they advertised as a "Pro kit" for some $150 additional, but offered as a package for $549. Being somewhat new to online ordering and to photography, I was led to believe the Pro Kit was a collection of accessories for THIS particular camera. It turned out to be a collection of inexpensive brand X items, many of which are not suited for this camera. Inquiring about two missing items, I was told that I didn't need them anyway. One was advertised as a Canon Wireless Remote, the only brand name in the kit. I never did get the items and after 4 months of trying, I gave up. Needless to say, it was a most disappointing and expensive -- but educational -- experience. I love dealing with Amazon - service is exceptional - but dealing with vendors is sometimes a problem.

I've been a (more or less) serious photographer for almost 70 years, and an earlybird with practically every technological advance in photography since then. In other words, I've seen 'em all.

Digital is the great revolution -- nothing in the past comes close to that leap forward. I migrated to it 10 years ago, have owned a dozen or more cameras, and haven't looked back since.

Disclaimer: I'm not a professional photographer. What photos I sell might cover my expenses plus a little (13" x 19" prints take lots of expensive ink). I don't have to produce near-perfect work day in and day out in a studio or on assignments. Those who have the talent and energy to do this work should have whatever equipment fits their needs. They earn it.

I, on the other hand, am among the legions who have the luxury of picking and choosing when, where, and what to photograph. I can make as many errors as I do without damage except to my ego. I can play around with subject, setting, lighting, color, mood, and all those little things that differentiate photography from cellphone snapshots. I don't pay penalties for my goofs.

I've had my Canon SX10IS for a only a few weeks, but I can conclude that its value for the money is simply incredible! Whatever nits I can pick (and there are a few) are more in the realm of digging through its scores of features and trying to decide which to use; not in the overall quality, which is simply outstanding.

That said, I have to object to what appears to be an ongoing undercurrent of disdain for anything-but-SLRs that keeps coming up in product reviews. Aside from larger CCD sensors, I can't find anything significantly better in most SLRs than in the mid-range non-SLRs such as the SX-10. After decades of lugging several bodies and a half-dozen lenses around in multiple suitcase-sized bags, missing shots because it took so long to screw everything together, while paying many thousands of bucks for the inconvenience, I'm absolutely liberated from the SLR and hope I never have to use one again. The SX10's incredible 20x wide-angle optical zoom eliminates any need I might have for multiple lenses -- I'm not a telephoto zealot. The ease of use eclipses any extra features the SLR might have. The historic SLR advantage of an image seen through the taking lens has been made obsolete by the electronic viewfinder and LCD screen that see through the lens. All that's left for the SLR is lens super-quality and interchangability, more light-gathering ability, and snob appeal. Most of us won't improve our non-professional results much, if at all, with these technical advantages. (I can use Tiger Woods' $10,000 golf clubs and not take a stroke off my score. But he can take my $750 set and shoot under par right out of the bag.)

There are mossbacks out there who cling to the notion that if it ain't film, it ain't photography; and that if it ain't an SLR, it ain't a camera. Nonsense. It ain't the equipment, it's what you do with it.

Oh, and by the way -- the best camera is the one you have with you. For me, it's my Canon SD-1100-IS that's always in my pocket; my SX-10-IS is now the one that rides around with me in my car; while my SLRs and bags of lenses languish at home in the closet.

These are serious cameras for the rest of us. Bless you, Canon :-)

I've had this camera for a couple of years now and it has given me some great photographs but only because I have experience with film cameras and DSLR's. I am a biologist/wildlife photographer and I've used it while doing field work with great results. Its a great ''walk-around'' camera if (and only if) you know the basics of photographic composition and how to properly handle aperture, shutter speed, and ISO sensibility. I like the fact that you can have the entire range of lenses on a single machine, from macro to super tele photo, but I don't like the automatic focus, it tends to miss quite often. Battery life is critical, you need to use good quality rechargeable batteries. the main advantages this camera offers are RAW mode, Full HD video and the 20x zoom (560mm). the downsides are the poor autofocus precision and high noise over ISO 200. over all a very good camera. 4/5 stars