Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Super zoom Super zoom
August, 2009

Summary Canon SX20 IS

Prices Price
Camera only $742
all SX20 IS prices
Score Snapsort rank
Within its price range #n/a of 28 Among similar cameras #n/a of 32
details details
Specifications Key specs
Zoom Help 20x Screen size Help 2.5"
Aperture Help f/2.8 Screen resolution Help 230k dots
Wide angle Help 28 mm Movie format Help 720p @ 30fps
see all specifications
Canon PowerShot SX20 ISCanon PowerShot SX20 IS

Replacement

Canon has replaced the PowerShot SX20 IS with the SX30 IS.

Canon PowerShot SX30 IS
Canon PowerShot SX30 IS announced September, 2010
Zoom Much more zoom
Wide angle Significantly better wide angle
Screen size Larger screen

Compare the new Canon SX30 IS vs the SX20 IS

Videos

Canon SX20 Lake Bird Sample

Canon SX20 Zoom Sample
Canon SX20 Lake Bird Sample
  • Sample video
  • Zoom
  • 720p HD
  • High ISO
 Canon SX20 Zoom Sample
  • Sample video
  • Zoom
  • Autofocus
  • Manual focus

Browse all Canon SX20 IS videos

Pros

The Canon SX20 IS vs other recent digicams

Zoom Above average zoom Help
20x
Image stabilization Image stabilization Help
Lens
Macro focus Good macro Help
0 cm
Viewfinder Doesn't use battery, see more detail Help
Digital
Aperture Wide aperture Help
f/2.8
Screen flips out Flip-out screen Help
Great for movies
External flash External flash Help
Better lighting
Fastest shutter speed Fast shutter speed Help
1/3200 of a second

Cons

The Canon SX20 IS vs other recent digicams

Movie format HD movies Help
720p @ 30fps
Size Quite large Help
Prosumer size 128x88x87 mm
Light sensitivity Poor maximum light sensitivity Help
1,600 ISO
Touch screen No touch screen Help
More buttons
3D Doesn't take 3D photos Help
No 3d support
Thickness Thick Help
3.4"
Announced Old Help
August, 2009
Screen resolution Low resolution screen Help
230k dots
Continuous shooting Slow continuous shooting Help
0.7 fps
Sensor type Sensor type Help
CCD
Panorama Lacks in-camera panoramas Help
You could stitch photos in post
HDR Lacks in-camera HDR Help
You could do HDR manually
Weight Very heavy Help
600 g
Lowest price Very expensive Help
$742.23

The Canon SX20 IS vs other recent super zooms

Zoom Poor zoom Help
20x
Screen size Very small screen Help
2.5"
Supports RAW No RAW support Help
Less editing fidelity
Light sensitivity (boost) Lacks boost light sensitivity Help
None
Wide angle Poor wide angle lens Help
28 mm
External mic jack Lacks an external mic jack Help
Limited to the in-camera mic
Popularity Not so popular Help
Among snapsort users

Appearance

front photo of the Canon PowerShot SX20 ISback photo of the Canon PowerShot SX20 ISangle photo of the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Discussion What do you think about the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS?

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Showing 5 comments

Avatar for pragati gunasekar pragati gunasekar (4:19 AM, April 11, 2012)
I just want to know ,if this CANON powershot SX20 IS is a DSLR??? if not, can i fix any interchangeable lens to make it a DSLR/SLR ? or do i have any option or manual settings to shoot potraits/people with blurred background (apart from macro and super macro mode)...?
 
Avatar for stevotomo stevotomo (0:32 PM, June 29, 2011)


The Canon SX20is is a lovely camera to hold. The images so
far that I have taken are varied in quality. The macro is great, overall not a
bad camera. The image below has been reduced in size for uploading.
 
 
ADELEK (9:15 AM, December 25, 2010)
great zoom $ features but poor image quality:(
 
B. (2:42 PM, November 09, 2010)
I got Canon SX20 IS and Nikon P100 for a weekend and compared them both. At the same time, a friend of mine took Sony HX-1. So, I had the chance to compare 3 of them at the same time, on a weekend. I have to admit that they are quite close. However, I realized that Canon captures the details in low light, much better than Nikon P100, even if Nikon is using a CMOS sensor. Also, the colors in Nikon, were shifting more towards greenish! So, I returned Nikon P100, as I also noticed that in order to charge the battery, I had to keep Nikon connected to the charger, which means that, even if I have an extra battery, I cannot use it! (Canon uses AA batteries, and you can have 3-4 sets of cheap rechargable AA batteries)

As for Sony HX-1, it is a very fun Camera to play with, especially with the panoramic mode. The Canon SX20 stitch mode is not as fun. However, you can use it in the low light with Flash, and with Sony HX-1 you can not use panoramic with flash. I found both Canon SX20 and Sony HX1 quality quite close. However, on a larger screen, due to a higher resolution, Canon SX20 looked better.

Sony HX-1, takes good Automatic mode pictures in the low light, because of the CMOS sensor. However, if you know how to play manually with Canon SX20, you can take comparable pictures, if not better.
 
Dev (4:09 PM, August 31, 2010)
Why in the world would all flip screens not be like this one? I love that the Sony and Nikon flip screens allow you to shoot high and low, but this one allows you to also take photos of yourself with good framing or be able to see the composition when taking a timed photo. It's a great idea and I am baffled as to why Canon is the only company doing it.