Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 14 megapixel JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 4Mb.

The Canon PowerShot SX30 IS produced images of above average quality during the review period. The Canon PowerShot SX30 IS's main drawback in terms of image quality is noise, with ISO 400 showing some noise, blurring of detail and slight colour desaturation. The noise and loss of detail get progressively worse as you go from ISO 800 to the fastest 1600 setting.

The Canon PowerShot SX30 IS handled chromatic aberrations firly well with well-controlled but widespread purple and green fringing effects appearing in high contrast situations. The 14 megapixel images were just a little soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpen setting and either require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you should increase the in-camera sharpening level.

The night photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 15 seconds allowing you to capture enough light for most situations. Macro performance is a stand-out highlight, allowing you to focus as close as 0cms away from the subject, although there is a lot of lens distortion and shadowing at such a close distance. The built-in flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and good overall exposure. The 4.5-stop anti-shake system works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the huge zoom range.

Noise

There are 6 ISO settings available on the Canon PowerShot SX30 IS. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting.

ISO 80 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

Focal Range

The Canon PowerShot SX30 IS's 35x zoom lens has a massive focal range of 24-840mm, as illustrated by these examples:

24mm	840mm

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are just a little soft at the default sharpening setting. You can change the in-camera sharpening level if you don't like the default look.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

File Quality

At full resolution, there are two JPEG quality settings available including Fine and Normal.

Fine (3.16Mb) (100% Crop)	Normal (1.41Mb) (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations

The Canon PowerShot SX30 IS struggled withchromatic aberrations throughout the review, with well-controlled but widespread purple and green fringing present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.

Example 1 (100% Crop)	Example 2 (100% Crop)
Example 3 (100% Crop)	Example 4 (100% Crop)

Macro

The Canon PowerShot SX30 IS allows you to focus on a subject that is just 0cms away from the camera. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

Macro Shot	100% Crop

Flash

The flash settings on the Canon PowershotSX30 IS are Auto, Manual Flash On / Off, and Slow Sync Speed, with Red-eye Reduction options available in the main menu. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (24mm)	Flash On - Wide Angle (24mm)
Flash Off - Telephoto (840mm)	Flash On - Telephoto (840mm)

And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Flash On or the Red-eye-Reduction settings caused any red-eye.

Flash On	Flash On (100% Crop)
Red-eye Reduction	Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Canon PowershotSX30 IS's maximum shutter speed is 15 seconds, which is great news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 15 seconds at ISO 80. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.

Night Shot	Night Shot (100% Crop)

Anti Shake

The Canon PowershotSX30 IS has an anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. Here are some 100% crops of the images to show the results. As you can see, with anti shake turned on, the images are much sharper than with anti shake turned off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length	Anti-Shake Off (100% Crop)	Anti-Shake On (100% Crop)
1/25th sec / 24mm
1/8th sec / 840mm

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Canon PowerShot SX30 IS camera, which were all taken using the 14 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movie & Video

Product Images

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera / Flash Raised

Isometric View

Isometric View

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

Rear of the Camera / Turned On

Rear of the Camera / Function Menu

Rear of the Camera / Main Menu

Rear of the Camera / Flip-out Screen

Rear of the Camera / Flip-out Screen

Rear of the Camera / Flip-out Screen

Top of the Camera

Bottom of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Canon PowerShot SX30 IS leaves other super-zooms trailing in its wake in terms of sheer focal length, with the 24mm wide-angle and 840mm telephoto settings providing more than enough versatility to meet most people's needs. Thankfully Canon's engineers have also implemented a very effective image-stabilisation system, which along with respectably bright maximum apertures helps to keep the majority of your shots sharp. Unfortunately the longer lens and move to a 14 megapixel sensor doesn't do the SX30's image quality any favours, especially in low-light, and the official price increase puts it into direct competition with other premium super-zooms, entry-level DSLRs and compact system cameras.

Being able to shoot 720p high-definition video complete with image stabilisation, stereo sound and the ability to make full use of that incredible 35x zoom is a real attraction and something that no other compact camera can currently match. Unfortunately the story isn't quite so rosy with regards to the SX30's still images, with noise and loss of fine detail appearing at the relatively slow speed of ISO 400. It seems that the move to more megapixels has compromised the overall image quality at higher ISO speeds, limiting this camera's ability in low-light environments. Also of concern is the now more obvious chromatic aberrations which rear their purple and green ugly heads wherever there's an area of high contrast in the image.

As with the SX20, several key features have been sensibly retained - the tilt-and-swivel LCD screen, dedicated record button for instant video clips, electronic viewfinder and external hotshoe all make the SX30 IS an appealing digicam for the keen hobbyist, especially with a full range of manual shooting modes on offer. The only fly in the ointment is the continued absence of a RAW file format, pushing would-be Canon buyers to the G12 or S95, currently the only Canon compacts that offer RAW shooting. Several rival super-zoom cameras also support RAW, most notably the Panasonic FZ45, Fujifilm HS10 and Olympus SP-590 UZ, so there are other alternatives in the same category if this is a must-have feature.

So while the 35x lens is a real headline-grabber that lives up to most of its promise, the SX30 as a whole still suffers from a few notable problems - less than stellar still images, lack of RAW shooting, a significant price increase on launch and few real upgrades over the previous model. Ultimately the SX30 proves the old adage that there's no such thing as the perfect camera, despite featuring the most versatile focal range ever seen on a compact.

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

Specifications

Your Comments