Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Let's get something straight: The Canon PowerShot SX30 IS is basically little more than a compact point-and-shoot camera with a long lens. It may look like a dSLR, but outside of that, they have almost nothing in common. If you're expecting dSLR-like speed and photo quality, you won't find it here or on any other current megazoom camera. However, if you need a 35x lens and have only S$749, this is the camera to buy. That doesn't mean it's great, just that it's more affordable than a dSLR with comparable lenses. Though the SX30's lens range does allow for a lot of framing flexibility and has excellent image stabilization, shooting with it can be a trying experience. Everything about this camera is slow; from the lens to its movement to shooting speeds. In short, it's just not a fast camera. Also, while photo quality is very good in bright light, there's noticeable dropoff at ISO 400 and above. That's unfortunate since you'll need those higher sensitivities when using that long lens.

On the other hand, it has a lot of features outside of the lens, including a vari-angle LCD, one-touch record button for HD movie capture and shooting modes from auto to manual, as well as some creative scene options. If you need one camera to satisfy a whole family of users or just one camera to handle a wide variety of situations, the SX30 IS might be the solution.

Design And Features

The SX30 IS looks somewhat like a compact version of a Canon dSLR. At the front of the large, comfortable grip is a shutter release with a lever for operating the extreme 35x zoom lens, followed by a shooting mode dial and power button. Though the motor moves the lens smoothly, its range would be better controlled by a manual zoom like that on the Fujifilm FinePix HS10. It simply takes too long to shift the lens in and out. A Zoom Frame Assist button on the back next to the thumb rest helps a bit by pulling the lens back and sending it forward again when released, but it's still too slow when trying to track a moving subject.

Below the Zoom Frame Assist button are the Play and AF Frame Selector buttons; the latter allowing you to move your AF frame according to where you want the camera to focus and change the size of the frame. Below that is a control dial that sits on top of a four-way directional pad. The dial is used for navigation as well as changing settings. It moves too freely with no real stops, so it's pretty easy to zip past whatever it is you're trying to set. The directional pad also sets focus type, exposure compensation, ISO, and the self-timer. The Func/Set button at the center of the dial selects options and brings up shooting mode-specific settings. A separate Menu button below the dial brings up the rest of the camera options. It's joined by a button to toggle display modes.


The display button is what's used to switch from the 2.7-inch rotating LCD to the electronic viewfinder (EVF) for framing shots. That would be fine if you didn't have to cycle through different display settings to switch from one to the other: Low-info LCD, detailed LCD, low-info EVF, detailed EVF. What's worse is that there are some modes that use the Display button to access secondary functions. So if you're in one of those and want to switch from the LCD or EVF, you'd have to leave the shooting mode you're in first. Or, you can flip out the LCD, which automatically turns on the panel if you're using the EVF. Similarly, flipping the LCD to face into its cavity turns on the EVF. It's ultimately a very frustrating design choice and Canon should have used an LCD/EVF button placed next to the EVF like every other manufacturer. There are buttons on either side of the EVF, though. On the left is a programmable shortcut button and on the right is a one-press record button for capturing movies. If you want additional movie shooting options, you can select a full Movie mode on the shooting mode dial.

In the end, the controls are fairly easy to use but definitely take some practice if you're not familiar with Canon's menus and controls. Even seasoned Canon users will want to examine the full manual.

Predecessors to the SX30 used AA-size batteries for power, but Canon switched to a large lithium-ion rechargeable pack for this model. Battery life is good, all things considered. But if you want the convenience of AAs, you're out of luck. The battery is located in a compartment in the base of the grip, which is where you'll also find the memory card slot. The compartment cover doesn't lock--an odd omission for a high-end camera. Out-of-the-box you may think that Canon dropped the hotshoe from previous versions, too, but it is there on top; it's just covered up. (There's also a popup flash activated by a button on the left side at the top, though it's fairly weak given the lens range.) For connecting to displays and computers there are mini-HDMI and mini-USB/A/V ports under a door on the right side.


A look at the zoom power of the SX30 IS. (Credit: Joshua Goldman/CNET)
Again, there are a lot of shooting options on the SX30 IS, so it can act as a single camera for many people. There are program, shutter-priority, aperture-priority, and manual options. Available apertures at the wide end include F2.7, F3.2, F3.5, F4.0, F4.5, F5.0, F5.6, F6.3, F7.1 and F8.0. Those telephoto are F5.8, F6.3, F7.1 and F8.0. Shutter speeds go from 15 seconds down to 1/3,200 second. If you come up with a set of values you'd like to use regularly, there are two Custom spots on the mode dial.

At the other end is Canon's reliable Smart Auto that analyzes your subject and automatically selects an appropriate scene setting from 28 specific settings. There are, of course, selectable scene modes, too, which include basics like Portrait and Landscape, as well as Canon's creative shooting modes such as Miniature Effect, Fisheye Effect and Super Vivid. There is a Sports mode as well, which is basically an auto mode with continuous shooting when you press and hold the shutter release. Canon includes its Smart Shutter option in the Scene modes, which features a smile-activated shutter release in addition to Wink and Face Detection self-timers. Wink allows you to set off the shutter simply by winking at the camera, while the Face Detection option will wait till the camera detects a new face in front of the camera before it fires off a shot. Both work well.


The SX30 IS' lens is sharpest for macro shots. (Credit: Joshua Goldman/CNET)
For those who like to take closeups, the SX30 IS has a 0cm Macro mode, which is pretty difficult to take advantage of while holding the camera. It does, however, mean you can get awfully close to your subject. Macro is also where the camera happens to be at its sharpest.

Performance And Image Quality

Shooting performance is slow. The only thing the SX30 IS does relatively quickly for a megazoom is start up; from off to first shot is 1.8 seconds. Shutter lag in bright conditions is a minimum of 0.5 second. In low light, that goes up to 0.8 second. But there were times it felt longer. Shot-to-shot times averaged 3.5 seconds without the flash; turning on the flash pushed that up to about 4 seconds. There are two continuous options: One with autofocus and one without. If you opt to skip the AF, focus and exposure are set with the first shot, so any fast movement will likely result in out-of-focus images. But it shoots at approximately 1.6 frames per second. With AF the camera slows that time to 0.6fps. Combined with the LCD refreshing after every shot, it can be very difficult to know exactly what you're shooting, so it's mostly press and hope for the best. Plus, moving subjects shift quickly out of the frame, and even with the Frame Assist button on, it can be very difficult to track subjects. All in, if you're good at anticipating action, this camera would certainly bring you closer to your favorite player to catch a shot of something.


(Credit: Matthew Fitzgerald/CNET)
Like most megazoom cameras, photos from the SX30 IS look noticeably soft. Also, when viewed at full size, photos are noisy even at the lowest sensitivity of ISO 80. Still, Canon does a good job of keeping the noise in check up to ISO 400. At that point subjects get visibly mushy-looking, though some fine details are still around at ISO 800. At ISO 1,600, noise and noise reduction are heavy, causing yellow blotching and only a notion of detail. Outside of the yellow blotching, though, color and exposure remain consistent, so photos should still be usable at small sizes with little or no cropping. However, compared with its competition, its photo quality is likely the best you're going to find. The biggest problem here is the lens; it's too slow when fully extended, which means even with a lot of light, you'll still need to use higher ISOs. There is a Low Light mode, but the quality isn't good for much of anything and the photos are at a reduced 2-megapixel resolution.

In spite of being an ultra-wide-angle lens, Canon keeps the barrel distortion in check. There was some on the left side, but it's barely detectable. When fully extended, the lens exhibited slight pincushioning, but not enough to be concerned about. Center sharpness was good and the lens softened only a bit out to the sides and corners. It doesn't appear that Canon did much to help remove or reduce fringing in high-contrast areas of photos. Most megazoom cameras produced a lot of fringing, but some created more at the wide or telephoto positions. The SX30 IS was bad at both ends, to the point where you'd see this in larger prints or if you cropped heavily. If you're able to look past it or don't mind removing if it bothers you, then it's not an issue.


Samples of how the PowerShot renders color. (Credit: Joshua Goldman/CNET)
Color and exposure were generally excellent from this camera and consistent across its ISO settings. Again, you will see some yellow blotching from noise at ISO 1600. Also, as typical of compact cameras, highlights had a tendency to blow out. Canon's i-Contrast feature will help bring out shadow detail, should you choose to use it.

Video quality was on par with an HD pocket video camera. It's not stellar and won't replace a full-size camcorder, but is certainly good enough for Web use or casual viewing on an HDTV. You do get the use of the optical zoom while recording and the lens movement is very quiet so it doesn't get picked up by the stereo mic. Image stabilization is available, too, as is a wind cut filter, though the latter didn't seem to do much. Lastly, there are options to use Canon's Color Swap and Miniature Effect modes for movies, giving you a little more room to experiment with video.

The 35x zoom lens on the Canon PowerShot SX30 IS is definitely an attention-grabber. To some extent it deserves attention, too, as it's no small feat to make a lens that long (and wide) fit in a compact camera for less than S$749. The problem is that the lens is of limited use because it needs a lot of light to get good results. Even then, those results are just good on the level of an average point-and-shoot camera.