Updated (September, 2011): Compare the Canon Powershot SX40 vs Nikon Coolpix P5100

Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

47

"HD image quality is excellent and the stereo mics do a good job of picking up voices at distances of up to several metres."
cameralabs.com | talking about the SX30 IS's video-quality
"The PowerShot SX30 IS is a super-zoom truly worthy of the name. It will, without doubt, prove even more popular than its predecessors."
cameralabs.com | talking about the SX30 IS's overall-performance

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Zoom
Great zoom
35x
Wide angle
Wide angle lens
24 mm
Screen flips out
Flip-out screen
Great for movies
External flash
External flash
Better lighting
Fastest shutter speed
Fast shutter speed
1/3200 of a second
Nikon Coolpix P5100

35

Reasons to buy the Nikon Coolpix P5100

Size
Really small
Mid size 98x65x41 mm
True resolution
High true resolution
12 MP
Sensor size
Large sensor
1/1.8" 7.4x5.6mm
Thickness
Thin
1.6"
Weight
Light-weight
250 g
External flash
External flash
Better lighting

differences

Advantages of the Canon SX30 IS

Zoom Much more zoom 35x vs 3.5x
Help
More than 99x more zoom
Wide angle Much better wide angle 24 mm vs 35 mm
Help
More than 30% better wide angle
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
Movie format Higher resolution movies 720p @ 30fps vs 480p @ 30fps
Help
Shoots high resolution HD (720p) video
Screen size Larger screen 2.7" vs 2.5"
Help
Around 10% larger screen
Macro focus Significantly better macro capability 0 cm vs 4 cm
Help
Almost the same
Lowest price Cheaper $419.99 vs $503.90
Help
The best price we've seen is $84 cheaper (around 20% less)
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 8s
Help
Around 90% longer exposures
Canon PowerShot SX30 IS Learn more about
the Canon SX30 IS

Advantages of the Nikon P5100

Size Much smaller 98x65x41 mm vs 123x92x108 mm
Help
4.7x smaller
True resolution Much higher true resolution 12 MP vs 9.8 MP
Help
Capture more than 20% more detail in your photos
Sensor size Much larger sensor 1/1.8" 7.4x5.6mm vs 1/2.3" 6.2x4.6mm
Help
More than 40% larger sensor
Thickness Much thinner 1.6" vs 4.3"
Help
2.6x thinner
Weight Much lighter 250 g vs 601 g
Help
2.4x lighter
Light sensitivity (boost) Has boost ISO 3,200 ISO vs None
Help
Allows taking photos in darker situations, often at the cost of additional noise in the image
Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity 2,000 ISO vs 1,600 ISO
Help
The P5100's maximum light sensitivity is 0.3 f-stops better
Nikon Coolpix P5100 Learn more about
the Nikon P5100
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent digicams, and ignoring price

Canon PowerShot SX30 IS Canon PowerShot SX30 IS
47 vs 35
Explain scores
Nikon Coolpix P5100 Nikon Coolpix P5100
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Canon PowerShot SX30 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 digicam.

advice

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similarities

Compared to recent digicams

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Aperture Wide aperture Help
f/2.7
Image stabilization Good image stabilization Help
Lens
External flash Support external flash Help
Better lighting
Viewfinder Viewfinders Help
SX30 IS:Digital
P5100:Tunnel
Lowest price Very expensive Help
SX30 IS:$419.99
P5100:$503.90
Light sensitivity (boost) One has boost ISO Help
SX30 IS:None
P5100:3,200 ISO
Panorama Neither camera stitches together panoramas Help
You could stitch photos in post
Sensor type Lower-end sensor types Help
CCD
HDR Neither has in-camera HDR Help
You could do HDR manually
Screen size Very small screens Help
SX30 IS:2.7"
P5100:2.5"
3D Neither camera can take 3D photos Help
No 3d support
Touch screen No touchscreens Help
More buttons
Screen resolution Low resolution screens Help
230k dots
Movie format Poor movies Help
SX30 IS:720p @ 30fps
P5100:480p @ 30fps

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Canon Powershot SX40

Canon Powershot SX40

Super zoom

$347 - $380

Movie format Records higher quality movies
High-speed framerate Records high-speed movies
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is much heavier
Nikon Coolpix P500

Nikon Coolpix P500

Super zoom

$300

Movie format Records higher quality movies
Screen size Has a significantly larger screen
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
External flash Doesn't support an external flash
Sony Cybershot DSC-HX100v

Sony Cybershot DSC-HX100v

Super zoom

$409

Movie format Records higher quality movies
Screen size Has a significantly larger screen
External flash Doesn't support an external flash
Thickness Is thicker
Nikon Coolpix P510

Nikon Coolpix P510

Super zoom

$397 - $400

Zoom Has much more zoom
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
External flash Doesn't support an external flash
Nikon Coolpix L120

Nikon Coolpix L120

Super zoom

$180 - $229

Screen size Has a significantly larger screen
Screen resolution Has a much higher resolution screen
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Viewfinder Doesn't have a viewfinder
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V

Super zoom

$399

Movie format Records higher quality movies
Screen size Has a significantly larger screen
External flash Doesn't support an external flash
Thickness Is thicker
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 size Has a significantly larger screen
Lowest price Is significantly more expensive
Thickness Is thicker

Canon PowerShot SX30 IS Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Fujifilm FinePix HS20 EXR

Fujifilm FinePix HS20

Super zoom

$299 - $335

Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Zoom Significantly less zoom
Size Larger
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

Super zoom

$611

Movie format Higher resolution movies
Screen size Significantly larger screen
Zoom Much less zoom
Wide angle Worse wide angle

Nikon Coolpix P5100 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Placeholder

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P150

Compact

Size Smaller
Thickness Thinner
True resolution Much lower true resolution
Screen size Much smaller screen

appearance

Canon PowerShot SX30 IS Nikon Coolpix P5100
Canon PowerShot SX30 IS Nikon Coolpix P5100
Canon PowerShot SX30 IS Nikon Coolpix P5100

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