Canon PowerShot
S1 IS
 vs
Canon PowerShot
SX20 IS

Updated (September, 2010): Compare the Canon PowerShot S1 IS vs Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

57

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

True resolution
 High true resolution
9.8 MP
Screen flips out
 Flip-out screen
Great for movies
Macro focus
 Great macro
0 cm
Viewfinder
 Great viewfinder
Digital
External flash
 External flash
Better lighting
Placeholder

42

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot S1 IS

Size
 Really small
Standard size 111x78x66 mm
Screen flips out
 Flip-out screen
Great for movies
Thickness
 Thin
2.6"
Viewfinder
 Great viewfinder
Digital

differences

Advantages of the Canon S1 IS
Size Significantly smaller 111x78x66 mm vs 128x88x87 mm
Help
 More than 40% smaller
Weight Lighter 469 g vs 600 g
Help
 More than 20% lighter
Thickness Thinner 2.6" vs 3.4"
Help
 More than 20% thinner
Continuous shooting Shoots slightly faster 1.7 fps vs 0.7 fps
Help
 Around 2.5x faster continuous shooting
Placeholder Learn more about
the Canon S1 IS

Advantages of the Canon SX20 IS
Screen size Much larger screen 2.5" vs 1.5"
Help
 Around 70% larger screen
True resolution Much higher true resolution 9.8 MP vs 3.1 MP
Help
 Capture more than 3x more detail in your photos
Wide angle Much better wide angle 28 mm vs 38 mm
Help
 Around 30% better wide angle
Zoom More zoom 20x vs 10x
Help
 4x more zoom
Macro focus Much better macro capability 0 cm vs 10 cm
Help
 Almost the same
Movie format Higher resolution movies 720p @ 30fps vs 480p @ 30fps
Help
 Shoots high resolution HD (720p) video
Sensor size Significantly larger sensor 1/2.3" 6.2x4.6mm vs 1/3.6" 5.3x4.0mm
Help
 Around 40% larger sensor
External flash Supports an external flash Yes vs No
Help
 An external flash often produces better looking flash images
Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity 1,600 ISO vs 400 ISO
Help
 The SX20 IS's maximum light sensitivity is 2 f-stops better
Screen resolution Higher resolution screen 230k dots vs 114k dots
Help
 More than 2x higher resolution screen
Fastest shutter speed Significantly faster max shutter speed 1/3200s vs 1/2000s
Help
 Around 40% faster max shutter speed
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Learn more about
the Canon SX20 IS
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent super zooms, and ignoring price

Placeholder Canon PowerShot S1 IS
42 vs 57
Explain scores
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.

performance Which camera has better performance? Cast your vote!

CanonPowerShot S1 IS
 Placeholder vs Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
CanonPowerShot SX20 IS
Uses Travel score Travel
On holiday or vacation
0
0
Vote Vote
Sports score Sports
Fast action, sometimes indoors
0
0
Vote Vote
Features Low light image quality Low light image quality
Lack of noise, sharp details
0
0
Vote Vote
Color accuracy Color accuracy
White balance in varied lighting
0
0
Vote Vote
Autofocus peformance Still image focusing
Speed and accuracy
0
0
Vote Vote
Autofocus performance Video focusing
Speed and accuracy
0
0
Vote Vote
Manual controls Manual settings
How quickly and easily you can change settings
0
0
Vote Vote
Performance Image stabilization
Ability to reduce blur from hand shake
0
0
Vote Vote
Green arrow Join in the discussion below!

similarities

Compared to recent digicams

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Screen flips out Flip-out screens Help
Great for movies
Aperture Wide aperture Help
f/2.8
Image stabilization Good image stabilization Help
Lens
Viewfinder Both have digital viewfinders Help
Digital
Weight Heavy Help
S1 IS:469 g
SX20 IS:600 g
Thickness Quite thick Help
S1 IS:2.6"
SX20 IS:3.4"
Light sensitivity (boost) No boost ISO Help
Lacks boost light sensitivity
Screen size Very small screens Help
S1 IS:1.5"
SX20 IS:2.5"
Sensor type Lower-end sensor types Help
CCD
Light sensitivity Poor maximum light sensitivity Help
S1 IS:400 ISO
SX20 IS:1,600 ISO
Size Large Help
S1 IS:111x78x66 mm
SX20 IS:128x88x87 mm
Continuous shooting Slow continuous shooting Help
S1 IS:1.7 fps
SX20 IS:0.7 fps
Screen resolution Low resolution screens Help
S1 IS:114k dots
SX20 IS:230k dots
Movie format Poor movies Help
S1 IS:480p @ 30fps
SX20 IS:720p @ 30fps

Compared to recent super zooms

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses

Snapsort is not aware of any interesting strengths shared by these two products.
Supports RAW No RAW support Help
Less editing fidelity
Zoom Poor zoom Help
S1 IS:10x
SX20 IS:20x
Wide angle Poor wide angle Help
S1 IS:38 mm
SX20 IS:28 mm

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Super zoom

$375 - $420
Zoom Has way more more zoom
Wide angle Has a significantly wider wide angle lens
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is slightly heavier
Compare the PowerShot SX30 IS vs the PowerShot S1 IS
Compare the PowerShot SX30 IS vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Nikon Coolpix P500

Nikon Coolpix P500

Super zoom

$339 - $350
Zoom Has way more more zoom
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the Coolpix P500 vs the PowerShot S1 IS
Compare the Coolpix P500 vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot G12

Canon PowerShot G12

Pro digicam

$389 - $500
Screen size Has a significantly larger screen
Screen resolution Has a slightly higher resolution screen
Compare the PowerShot G12 vs the PowerShot S1 IS
Compare the PowerShot G12 vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot SX1 IS

Canon PowerShot SX1 IS

Super zoom

$753
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Screen size Has a significantly larger screen
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is slightly heavier
Compare the PowerShot SX1 IS vs the PowerShot S1 IS
Compare the PowerShot SX1 IS vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX1

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX1

Super zoom

$355
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Screen size Has a much larger screen
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is slightly heavier
Compare the Cyber-shot DSC-HX1 vs the PowerShot S1 IS
Compare the Cyber-shot DSC-HX1 vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon Rebel T3i

Canon Rebel T3i

Entry-level DSLR

$609 - $800 body only

$709 - $1,180 with 18-55mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Screen size Has a much larger screen
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is slightly heavier
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the PowerShot S1 IS
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the PowerShot SX20 IS

Canon PowerShot S1 IS Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Kodak EasyShare Z1015 IS

Kodak EasyShare Z1015 IS

Super zoom
Screen size Much larger screen
True resolution Much higher true resolution
Aperture Significantly narrower aperture
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Compare the EasyShare Z1015 IS vs the PowerShot S1 IS
Canon PowerShot A720 IS

Canon PowerShot A720 IS

Digicam
Screen size Much larger screen
True resolution Much higher true resolution
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Zoom Slightly less zoom
Compare the PowerShot A720 IS vs the PowerShot S1 IS
Sony NEX-5N

Sony NEX-5N

Mirrorless interchangeable-lens

$599 - $600 body only

$698 - $699 with 18-55mm lens
Sensor size Much larger sensor
True resolution Much higher true resolution
Built-in flash No built-in flash
Image stabilization No image stabilization
Compare the NEX-5N vs the PowerShot S1 IS
Canon PowerShot SX130 IS

Canon PowerShot SX130 IS

Travel zoom

$127 - $245
Screen size Much larger screen
True resolution Much higher true resolution
Aperture Significantly narrower aperture
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Compare the PowerShot SX130 IS vs the PowerShot S1 IS

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon PowerShot SX220 HS

Canon PowerShot SX220 HS

Travel zoom

$305 - $379
Screen size Much larger screen
Size Much smaller
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Aperture Narrower aperture
Compare the PowerShot SX220 HS vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon Powershot SX40

Canon Powershot SX40

Super zoom

$379
Zoom Much more zoom
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Size Larger
Thickness Thicker
Compare the Powershot SX40 vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Nikon Coolpix P100

Nikon Coolpix P100

Super zoom
Screen size Much larger screen
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Image stabilization Worse image stabilization
External flash No external flash support
Compare the Coolpix P100 vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Fujifilm FinePix HS20 EXR

Fujifilm FinePix HS20

Super zoom

$305 - $475
Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity
Zoom Significantly more zoom
Size Significantly larger
Image stabilization Worse image stabilization
Compare the FinePix HS20 vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot SX10 IS

Canon PowerShot SX10 IS

Super zoom
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Movie format Lower resolution movies
Compare the PowerShot SX10 IS vs the PowerShot SX20 IS

appearance

Placeholder Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Find similar cameras

Here are some links to help you find other cameras with similar features to both of these:

discussion Which do you think is better?

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