Canon PowerShot
SX20 IS
 vs
Olympus
SP-700

Updated (September, 2010): Compare the Canon PowerShot SX30 IS vs Olympus SP-700

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

39

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Image stabilization
 Image stabilization
Lens
Screen flips out
 Flip-out screen
Great for movies
Viewfinder
 Great viewfinder
Digital
External flash
 External flash
Better lighting
Olympus SP-700

24
Runner-up

Olympus SP-700

Reasons to buy the Olympus SP-700

Screen size
 Large screen
3.0"
Size
 Really small
Compact 98x57x24 mm
Thickness
 Thin
0.9"
Weight
 Light-weight
180 g

differences

Advantages of the Canon SX20 IS
Wide angle Much better wide angle 28 mm vs 38 mm
Help
 Around 30% better wide angle
True resolution Much higher true resolution 9.8 MP vs 5.9 MP
Help
 Capture around 70% more detail in your photos
Image stabilization Image stabilization Lens vs None
Help
 Helps eliminate blur caused by small camera movements
Screen flips out Has a flip-out screen Yes vs No
Help
 Flip-out screens can be helpful when composing tricky shots or taking movies
Zoom Significantly more zoom 20x vs 3x
Help
 Around 44.5x more zoom
Aperture Wider aperture f/2.8 vs f/3.3
Help
 At its widest zoom, the SX20 IS's lens captures marginally more light (0.5 f-stops)
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 Larger sensor 1/2.3" 6.2x4.6mm vs 1/2.5" 5.8x4.3mm
Help
 More than 10% larger sensor
External flash Supports an external flash Yes vs No
Help
 An external flash often produces better looking flash images
Viewfinder Has a viewfinder Digital vs None
Help
 A viewfinder can help save battery life by keeping the screen turned off
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
Fastest shutter speed Significantly faster max shutter speed 1/3200s vs 1/2000s
Help
 Around 40% faster max shutter speed
Longest exposure Longer exposures 15s vs 4s
Help
 Around 4x longer exposures
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Learn more about
the Canon SX20 IS

Advantages of the Olympus SP-700
Size Much smaller 98x57x24 mm vs 128x88x87 mm
Help
 7.3x smaller
Screen size Much larger screen 3.0" vs 2.5"
Help
 More than 20% larger screen
Weight Much lighter 180 g vs 600 g
Help
 3.3x lighter
Thickness Much thinner 0.9" vs 3.4"
Help
 3.6x thinner
Olympus SP-700 Learn more about
the Olympus SP-700
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent digicams, and ignoring price

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
39 vs 24
Explain scores
Olympus SP-700 Olympus SP-700
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS. This recommendation, however, should be taken with a grain of salt since it doesn't always make sense to compare a super zoom with a compact.

similarities

Compared to recent digicams

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses

Snapsort is not aware of any interesting strengths shared by these two products.
Light sensitivity (boost) No boost ISO Help
Lacks boost light sensitivity
Sensor type Lower-end sensor types Help
CCD
Continuous shooting Slow continuous shooting Help
0.7 fps
Light sensitivity Poor maximum light sensitivity Help
SX20 IS:1,600 ISO
SP-700:400 ISO
Touch screen No touchscreens Help
More buttons
Screen resolution Low resolution screens Help
230k dots
Wide angle Poor wide angle Help
SX20 IS:28 mm
SP-700:38 mm
Movie format Poor movies Help
SX20 IS:720p @ 30fps
SP-700:480p @ 30fps

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Nikon Coolpix P100

Nikon Coolpix P100

Super zoom
Zoom Has significantly more zoom
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the Coolpix P100 vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Compare the Coolpix P100 vs the SP-700
Canon PowerShot SX1 IS

Canon PowerShot SX1 IS

Super zoom

$644
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Continuous shooting Shoots faster continuously
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is much heavier
Compare the PowerShot SX1 IS vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Compare the PowerShot SX1 IS vs the SP-700
Nikon Coolpix L120

Nikon Coolpix L120

Super zoom

$180 - $229
Wide angle Has a significantly wider wide angle lens
Screen resolution Has a much higher resolution screen
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the Coolpix L120 vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Compare the Coolpix L120 vs the SP-700
Nikon Coolpix P500

Nikon Coolpix P500

Super zoom

$300
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 SX20 IS
Compare the Coolpix P500 vs the SP-700
Canon Rebel T3i

Canon Rebel T3i

Entry-level DSLR

$619 - $700 body only

$745 - $1,000 with 18-55mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Screen resolution Has a much higher resolution screen
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is much heavier
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the SP-700
Canon Rebel T3

Canon Rebel T3

Entry-level DSLR

$333 body only

$489 - $500 with 18-55mm lens
True resolution Takes much higher resolution photos
Light sensitivity Significantly higher maximum light sensitivity
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is much heavier
Compare the Rebel T3 vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Compare the Rebel T3 vs the SP-700

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon Powershot SX40

Canon Powershot SX40

Super zoom

$347 - $380
Zoom Much more zoom
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Size Larger
Thickness Thicker
Compare the Powershot SX40 vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Super zoom

$420
Zoom Much more zoom
Wide angle Significantly better wide angle
Size Larger
Thickness Thicker
Compare the PowerShot SX30 IS vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot G12

Canon PowerShot G12

Pro digicam

$390 - $496
Supports 24p Supports 24p
Sensor size Much larger sensor
Zoom Significantly less zoom
Macro focus Worse macro capability
Compare the PowerShot G12 vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot S5 IS

Canon PowerShot S5 IS

Super zoom
Size Smaller
Aperture Slightly wider aperture
Wide angle Much worse wide angle
True resolution Much lower true resolution
Compare the PowerShot S5 IS vs the PowerShot SX20 IS

Olympus SP-700 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Olympus SP-560 UZ

Olympus SP-560 UZ

Super zoom
Wide angle Much better wide angle
True resolution Much higher true resolution
Screen size Much smaller screen
Size Significantly larger
Compare the SP-560 UZ vs the SP-700
Canon PowerShot A810

Canon PowerShot A810

Compact

$109
Wide angle Much better wide angle
True resolution Much higher true resolution
Screen size Significantly smaller screen
Size Slightly larger
Compare the PowerShot A810 vs the SP-700
Canon PowerShot SD4000 IS

Canon PowerShot SD4000 IS

Pro digicam

$294
Wide angle Much better wide angle
Aperture Much wider aperture
Compare the PowerShot SD4000 IS vs the SP-700
Pentax Optio W90

Pentax Optio W90

Waterproof
Wide angle Much better wide angle
True resolution Much higher true resolution
Screen size Significantly smaller screen
Aperture Narrower aperture
Compare the Optio W90 vs the SP-700
Canon PowerShot ELPH 320 HS

Canon ELPH 320 HS

Compact

$249
Wide angle Much better wide angle
True resolution Much higher true resolution
Compare the ELPH 320 HS vs the SP-700

appearance

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Olympus SP-700
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Olympus SP-700
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Olympus SP-700

discussion

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