Generally, some of the advantages of the Canon SX530 HS compared to pro digicam competitors include: it has way more more zoom (50x vs 3x), has a significantly wider wide angle lens (24 mm vs 28 mm), has a CMOS-family sensor (CMOS vs CCD), focuses automatically (phase detection vs contrast detection) and is newer (january 2015 vs august 2010).
However, on average it has a slightly smaller sensor (1/2.3" 6.17x4.55mm vs nikon CX 13.2x8.8mm), has a significantly narrower aperture (f/3.4 vs f/2), has a slightly lower resolution screen (461k dots vs 1,040k dots), is much larger (prosumer size (120×82×92 mm) vs compact (100×58×30 mm)) and takes slightly lower resolution photos (9.7 MP vs 20 MP).
Canon PowerShot S95
4 years older
$315
Significant advantages of the S95 (vs the SX530 HS)
Significant disadvantages of the S95 (vs the SX530 HS)
common strengths of the S95 and SX530 HS
Canon PowerShot G9 X
9 months newer
$391
Significant advantages of the PowerShot G9 X (vs the SX530 HS)
Significant disadvantages of the PowerShot G9 X (vs the SX530 HS)
common strengths of the PowerShot G9 X and SX530 HS