Inexpensive 12X Zoom Canon SX150 Takes Good Picture

Introduction

Canon SX150 has 12x mega zoom lens (35mm equivalent 28mm-336mm) with good pictures.  It is in expensive and can get it for CAD$160 on sale.  Canon SX150 replaces the SX130. Canon PowerShot SX150 IS is a solid travel-zoom camera that certainly is value for money. It is a rather big and bulky design that's looking very outdated. It has 28mm lens with Optical Image Stabilizer to reduce camera shake. The camera's 14.1 Megapixel sensor and Canon DIGIC 4 Image Processor delivers quality images.  Smart AUTO intelligently selects the proper settings for the camera based on 32 predefined shooting situations. The camera can  capture  720p HD video of stereo sound with the dedicated movie button and zoom while shooting.  Intelligent IS automatically chooses from six different modes to optimize image stabilization for the shooting condition.  The camera is powered by two AA-size batteries.

Canon SX150 Digital Camera -Back

Canon SX150 Digital Camera - Front

Canon SX150 Digital Camera - Front Left Side

Canon SX150 Amateur Hands On Review

 

 

 

Rating

Photographyblog rates Canon SX130 as " Recommended " (Click here for details)

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	3.5
Features	4
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image Quality	4
Value for money	3.5

 

Sample Picture (Source: TechRadar)

Canon SX150 Digital Camera Sample - Miniature Mode Picture 1

Canon SX150 Digital Camera Sample Picture 2

Features (Source: Canon)

 

Type
Compact digital still camera with built-in flash, 12x Optical Zoom & 4x Digital Zoom & 48x Combined Optical Zoom with Optical Image Stabilizer

Image Capture Device

Type
14.1 Megapixel 1/2.3-inch CCD
Total Pixels
Approx. 14.5 Megapixels
Effective Pixels
Approx. 14.1 Megapixels

Lens

Focal Length
5.0 (W) - 60.0 (T) mm (35mm film equivalent: 28 (W) - 336 (T) mm)
Digital Zoom
4x
Focusing Range
Auto: 0.4 in. (1 cm) - infinity (W), 3.3 ft. (1 cm) - infinity (T)
Normal: 2.0 in. (5 cm) - infinity (W), 3.3 ft. (1 m) - infinity (T)
Macro: 0.4 in. 1.6 ft. (1-50 cm) (W)
Autofocus System
Single (Continuous in Auto and Easy modes), Servo AF, Servo AE, Manual Focus

Viewfinders

Optical Viewfinder
N/A
LCD Monitor
3.0-inch TFT colours LCD with wide viewing angle
LCD Pixels
Approx. 230,000 dots
LCD Coverage
Approx. 100%

Aperture and Shutter

Maximum Aperture
f/3.4 (W) - f/8.0 (T)
Shutter Speed
1-1/2500 sec.
15-1/2500 sec. (Total shutter speed range)

Exposure Control

Sensitivity
Auto, ISO 80/100/200/400/800/1600
Light Metering Method
Evaluative, Center-weighted Average, Spot
Exposure Control Method
AE Lock
Exposure Compensation
+/-2 stops in 1/3-stop increments

Not available when shooting movies

White Balance

White Balance Control
Auto*, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom

Flash

Built-in Flash
Available
Flash Range
1.6 - 9.8 ft. (W), 3.3 - 6.6 ft. (T) (50cm - 3.0m (W), 1.0cm - 2.0m (T))
Recycling Time
12 seconds or less (battery voltage: 3.0 V)

Image brightness may diminish depending on the shooting distance

Flash Exposure Compensation
+/-2 stops in 1/3-stop increments

Shooting Specifications

Shooting Modes
M, Av, Tv, P, Auto^*1, Easy, SCN^*2, Creative Filters^*3, Discreet, Movie^*4

Shooting movies is possible with the movie button

^*1 Smart AUTO also available for videos
^*2 Smart Shutter*5, Portrait, Landscape, Kids & Pets, Low Light, Beach, Foliage, Snow, Fireworks
^*3 Fish-eye Effect, Miniature Effect, Toy Camera Effect, Monochrome, Super Vivid, Poster Effect, Colours Accent, Colours Swap
^*4 Standard, iFrame Movie
^*5 Smile, Wink Self-timer, Face Self-timer

Photo Effects
My Colours Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom Colours*

*Adjustment of contrast, sharpness, saturation, red, green, blue and skin tone are available

Self Timer
Approx. 10-sec. delay, approx. 2-sec. delay, custom*
*Delay time (0-15 sec. (in one-second increments), 20/25/30 sec.) and number of shots (1-10 shots (in one-shot increments)) can be specified.
Wireless Control
N/A

Continuous Shooting
Normal:
Approx. 0.9 shots/sec. (in P mode)
Approx. 3.2 shots/sec. (in Low Light mode)

AF: Approx. 0.6 shots/sec. (in P mode)
Approx. 1.0 shots/sec. (in Low Light mode)

LV: Approx. 0.6 shots/sec. (in P mode)
Approx. 1.1 shots/sec. (in Low Light mode)

Under conditions where the flash does not fire automatically

Differs depending on the zoom position

Image Storage

Storage Media
SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, Eye-Fi
File Format
Design rule for Camera File System, DPOF (Version 1.1) compliant
Image Recording Format
Normal, Fine
JPEG Compression Mode
Still Image: 2.3 (JPEG)
Movies: MOV (image data: H.264, Audio data: Linear PCM (Stereo))
Number of Recording Pixels
Large:
4320 x 3240

Medium 1:
3072 x 2304

Medium 2:
1600 x 1200

Small:
640 x 480

Widescreen:
3744 x 2104

Number of Recordable Images

Image data

	Large (L)		Medium 1 (M1)		Medium 2 (M2)
	F	N	F	N	F	N
File Size (KB)	3,597	1,719	1,897	902	588	278
4GB	1,058	2,194	1,978	4,022	6,352	12,069
16GB	4,334	8,985	8,101	16,473	26,010	49,420

	Small (S)		Widescreen (W)		Medium (M)*
	F	N	F	N
File Size (KB)	150	84	2,024	986	558	278
4GB	20,116	30,174	1,856	3,771	6,352	12,069
16GB	82,367	123,550	7,602	15,443	26,010	49,420

*When shooting in Low Light

The approximate number of images recordable on memory cards other than the above can be calculated by using the above figures as a reference and extrapolating accordingly.

Time of Recordable Movies

Movie data

	Standard & Other		iFrame Movie
	1280 x 720 (HD)	640 x 480 (VGA)	1280 x 720 (HD)
	30 fps	30 fps	30 fps
Video size (KB/sec.)	3,054	1,416	4,701
4GB	20 min. 43 sec.	43 min. 43 sec.	13 min. 35 sec.
16GB	1 hr. 24 min. 54 sec.	2 hr. 59 min. 03 sec.	55 min. 38 sec.

	Miniature Effect
	1280 x 720 (HD)			640 x 480
	5x	10x	20x	5x	10x	20x
	6 fps	3 fps	1.5 fps	6 fps	3 fps	1.5 fps
Video size (KB/sec.)	573	287	143	246	123	61
4GB	1 hr. 45 min. 52 sec.	3 hr. 21 min. 09 sec.	5 hr. 35 min. 16 sec.	3 hr. 43 min. 30 sec.	6 hr. 42 min. 20 sec.	11 hr. 10 min. 33 sec.
16GB	7 hr. 13 min. 30 sec.	13 hr. 43 min. 40 sec.	22 hr. 52 min. 47 sec.	15 hr. 15 min. 11 sec.	27 hr. 27 min. 20 sec.	45 hr. 45 min. 35 sec.

The approximate recording time on memory cards other than the above can be calculated by using the above figures as a reference and extrapolating accordingly.

Playback Specifications

Playback Modes File
Still Images & Videos: Easy, Auto Rotate, Scroll Display, Rotate, Favorites, My Category, Jump, Smart Shuffle, Filtered Playback
Still Images: Single, Index, Magnification (Approx. 2x-10x), Information Display, Resume Playback, Red-Eye Correction, i-Contrast, Trimming, Resize, My Colours, Focus Check, Histogram, Overexposure Warning
Videos: Normal Playback, Special Playback,

Erasing Specifications

Erase Modes
Select Image, single image, select all images

Interfaces

Video Out
NTSC/PAL
Audio Out
Stereo
Other
Memory card slot; direct connection to Canon and SELPHY Compact Photo Printers, PIXMA Photo Printers and PictBridge-compatible printers via camera's USB 2.0 Hi-Speed cable
Power Source
1) 2 AA Alkaline batteries
2) 2 AA NiMH batteries NB-3AH
3) Compact Power Adapter CA-PS-800 (included with AC Adapter Kit ACK800)

However, the separately sold DC coupler, DR-DC10 is necessary

Shooting Capacity
AA Alkaline: Approx. 110 shots
AA NiMH: Approx. 320 shots
Playback Time
AA Alkaline Batteries: Approx. 7 hours
AA NiMH Batteries (NB-3AH): Approx. 9 hours

Physical Specifications

Operating Temperature
32-104°F/0-40°C
(32-95° F (0?35°C when NB-3AH is used)
Operating Humidity
10-90%
Dimensions (W x H x D)
4.46 x 2.88 x 1.80 in (113.3 x 73.2 x 45.8 mm)
Weight
Including Batteries & Memory Card: Approx. 10.8 oz. or 306 g
Camera Body Only: Approx. 9.10 oz. or 258 g