Canon PowerShot SX120IS 10MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Images Stabilized Zoom and 3 inch LCD
Everything about the Canon PowerShot SX120 IS is easy. The Smart AUTO feature makes every shot picture-perfect. An impressive 10x Optical Zoom with Optical Image Stabilizer keeps you sharp and steady. There’s even an Easy Mode that makes shooting super simple. This AA battery powered camera enables you to easily power up Effective Pixels - Approx. 10.0 Megapixels Type - 1/2.5-inch type Charge Coupled Device (CCD) Lens - Canon 10x Optical Zoom Lens Focal Length - 6.0 (W) - 60.0mm (T) f/2.8 (W) - f/4.3 (T) (35mm equivalent - 36 (W) - 360 (T) mm) LCD Monitor - 3.0-inch low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT color LCD with wide viewing angle Shutter Speed - 15-1/2500 sec. ISO Sensitivity - Auto, ISO 80/100/200/400/800/1600 equivalent Exposure Control Method - Program AE, Manual; AE Lock, Program Shift, Safety Shift, Auto ISO Shift White Balance Control - Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom Built-in Flash - Auto, Auto w/Red-eye Reduction, Flash On, Flash On w/Red-eye Reduction, Flash Off; FE lock, Safety FE, Slow Synchro Shooting Modes - Auto, P, Av, Tv, M, Easy, Portrait, Landscape, Special Scene, Indoor, Kids & Pets, Night Snapshot, Movie, Night Scene Storage Media - SD/SDHC Memory Card, MultiMediaCard, MMCplus card, HC MMCplus card File Format - Still Image - Exif 2.2 (JPEG); Movie - AVI (Image data - Motion JPEG; Audio data - WAVE (Monaural)) Still Image - Up to 3,648 x 2,736 (Large), 3,648 x 2,048 (Widescreen); Movie - 640 x 480 (30 fps/30 fps LP), 320 x 240 (30 fps) available up to 4GB or 60 minutes per clip Power Source - Alkaline Battery AA x 2 Dimensions (WxHxD) - 4.35 x 2.77 x 1.76 in. Weight - Approx. 8.64 oz
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Perfect but not for everyone.
If you want a very easy to use “point and shoot” with good image quality, face recognition, and anti-shake there are many to choose from - I would not get this one. Yes you can do the “point and shoot” thing and it works fine, but this camera is physically larger than the others and it would be a waste of what this camera can really do.
What is so great about his camera is the amount of manual and semi-manual control you have. You can set every single component that goes into making a photo! Or you can select pre-sets where one component is the primary adjustment. So if you know something about what all these components do then this is a great camera for you - assuming you don’t always want to lug around an Digital SLR.
Also of course the optical zoom is quite nice and the image quality is very good.
I feel like I am back in the days of my old Canon or Nikon film SLR cameras. I get to choose how I want to make the adjustments, or if I am feeling lazy I just let the camera do it for me, which is fine quite a bit of the time anyway.
4 Stars new user
I have had the XS120IS for just a short time. I am impressed with the 3″ LCD, extremely clear and easy to use in any light.
I appreciate the covered shutter for safety and the manual pop up flash. The playback is quite simple, as is the download to
the pc. The pictures quality is extremely good. I seldom use the various features beyond point and shoot, but it seems
fairly well equipped. I was a little disappointed in the size as there are several other digitals in the same price range
that are much smaller. All in all, I am glad I got this camera, I have been happy with it.
2 Stars Poor picture quality
I ordered this camera from Amazon a few weeks ago that hoping to get better picture quality than my old Olympus D490 (9yrs old 3.1 MP) and my Canon SD500(7.1MP). This cameara failed to impress me. It has the 10X optical zoom and that is the only feature I can say it is better than my Olympus or old Canon. However, the picutres I took are so griny and it does not matter if I change it to program mode and adjsut the ISO settings. The picures are just so bad when you look on computer. I called Amazon and returned this product. I am getting a replacement Canon SX200IS and I am hoping 200IS is better than the 120IS.
4 Stars Very Happy with this Camera
This camera is great! So easy to use and takes great shots. The only problem I have is that the batteries it comes with don’t last very long, and I bought some rechargeable ones, and they don’t last very long either. But I can deal with that. The pictures look very polished and professional. The colors are clear and distinct. I love the zoom! Our last camera had hardly an zoom capabilities so it was something I was determined to have this time and I am not dissappointed. I can sit on my living room couch and take a perfectly clear photo of the leaves turning red on the tops of the trees outside.Amazing. It also takes great micro photos. I got some amazing shots of our garden, some real up close photos. Very happy overall. It is larger than the last camera we had, but with that said we gave up a lot of great features to have portability and it wasn’t worth it at all. It fits in the camera bag we have or in a purse. That’s all that matters. Oh and I also love the screen on the back, it is very large and has a great quality to it.
5 Stars A Rank Amateur’s Review
I can’t write an in depth review of this camera because I simply don’t have the knowledge of either cameras or photography. But I can tell you what I, as a rank amateur, like about it and why I chose it.
I have grandkids. I needed a camera that would allow me to capture decent pictures of them - and in a digital format - so that I can, like all good grandparents, brag about my grandkids via email and attach photos to prove that they are the cutest kids on the face of the earth.
I had my “good” camera - an old Pentax K1000 that I’ve had for about 30 years - and a small, inexpensive digital camera that I got a few years ago and have never been happy with. Not only was the Pentax not digital, it also turns out that the grandkids can move much faster than I can focus. And that camera purchased as my first attempt at digital just wasn’t cutting it. It was overly complicated and with it I wasn’t getting pictures good enough to share.
I gave my needs some thought and made the following criteria list:
Easy to use.
Fast shutter speed.
Easy to use.
Small enough to fit into my purse easily.
Easy to use.
My needs were simple and I didn’t think it would be too hard to find a camera to fit the bill. Happily, I was right.
After my initial research had convinced me to go with a Canon, I borrowed my brother’s Rebel (don’t know the model number) and my son’s Canon PowerShot Pro Series S5 IS. I knew that neither fit my criteria (not to mention the $500-$700 price range was more than I wanted to spend), but using them for a few days gave me the opportunity to check out some of Canon’s features.
That’s how I discovered the Optical Image Stabilizer. I can see from reviews of other cameras that it’s been around for a few years, but I’d never used it before. It immediately went to the top of my list of desired features - even above “easy to use”!
I have a tremor condition that causes fine shaking in my hands. It doesn’t bother me and doesn’t always affect close work, but it can make holding something steady - say, for instance, a camera - almost impossible. As you can guess, the result of that shakiness when snapping photos is, most often, crappy photos.
Canon’s Optical Image Stabilizer was like a miracle for me. With it, I could take close ups that were startlingly clear - not every time, of course, but MOST times. And, in combination with a fast shutter speed, the Image Stabilizer helped me to get some great shots - even action shots - of my test subject, my dog.
With my adjusted criteria list, I did some more research that led me to the Canon PowerShot SX120IS 10MP. One of Canon’s newer models, the PowerShot SX120IS puts ease of use in the forefront of its advertising. It fit all of my criteria and at a decent price.
I haven’t had this camera for very long, but I’m already thrilled with it. The Easy Mode is actually EASY! What a concept! The LCD screen is larger than what I’ve used previously and makes it easier for me to judge if the picture I just took is relatively clear. The Image Stabilizer continues to be my new best friend.
Good points:
IMAGE STABLIZER!!
Fast shutter speed
Genuinely easy to use
Small size
Decent price
Bad points:
I’m so happy with my choice that I can’t think of any right now!
If I was a serious photographer, I may well have chosen a more comprehensive camera (with all those features and symbols only serious photographers can decipher). But for my level of use and my personal needs, this one does a terrific job and didn’t overly strain the budget. Yeah!
Recommended.
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