Canon Powershot SX1 IS vs Canon Powershot SX20 IS

[manishnanda]

I'm am planning to buy a new camera. I love to buy a DSLR but the lenses are too costly and i can't afford them as of now.
Anyways i had a look at the Bridge cameras and would like your opinion over the SX1 and SX20 IS.
Features are almost the same but the SX1 has a CMOS sensor which i think is better although its 10mp and the other is 12mp. But i guess that doesn't really make a great difference.
Plz suggest which one is better in terms of overall picture quality and the sensor quality.
Don't really care much about the video capabilities.
If u have a better Bridge cam in mind, plz do suggest that also.
Thank u.

[OsmosisStudios]

They are, essentially, the exact same camera. The SX20is sensor is a bit nicer, though.

[Jill H]

what about the G11 as compared to the SX20?

They seem very similar in capabilities other than the G11 shoots Raw. They both have a flip out screen which is very useful.

[behind_a_shutter]

SX20 is a decent camera. Atleast for low -budget-high-expectation-people like me. It has 20X optical, though I am upset with the degraded sharpness at increasing zoom. At 20x (560mm equivalent) it is terrible. So I dare not use it these days much. At 1X(28mm equivalent) its good but again the sharpness at long distances in landscapes is crappy. I had tried all hyperfocal and other tricks but it just doesn't work.

Another depressing thing about this camera is its control of manual focus. The Manual focus control is a small wheel behind the camera which is sometimes more sensitive and sometimes not. May be I am slow too to decide on a good focus while using it. The visibility is also difficult. There is a small part in the screen which widens to show the the actual focus. But I still need a lot of practice to make the focus decision. Also the fact that once the camera is switched off all manual settings is gone (no prefocus etc).

Canon has tried to make the SX20 with basic manual controls;

a) DOF setting (min 2.8 and max 8.0) you can set this by selecting the round dial on the top of the cam to 'M'/'Av' and then 2 clicks on the middle button behing the camera and then turn the small wheel round

b) Shutter speed (min 15s and max 2000/3200). Similar controls with 'M'/'Tv'

c) Manual focus (the auto focus system is really buggy unless you focus on really close subjects) For subject futher than 2-3 m the autofocus is always incorrect and immensely out of focus.

Thus, choosing manual focus is what I am forced to do mostly. I dont know if the SLR cameras has the autofocus systems better than this. The SX20 takes about 2sec to decide on the autofocus (the later the more prone to errors).

Sometimes I try to autofocus on a subject 3-5 meters away and check the distance. I get shocked to see the distance calculated is 50cm or so. Then I have to switch to manual focus -> zoom-in the subject -> and set the focus correct. To make things worse; when I zoom out again the focus re-adjusts again to something else. So I have to remember the zoomed in distance and then manually adjust the focus again (fro the 3rd time) after zoomout. I get irritated by all this. May be thats the price you have to pay for buying a PnS with some basic manual controls.

So here are the most important drawbacks I am struggling with everyday (help to overcome this; is welcome). And now I feel the SLR option would have been better
Dont take me wrong, I am in no intent to part with the SX20. It still serves a lot lot lot of purpose and is great for a PnS to have all this packed in a still so sleek body.

I dont know about SX1 but the old SX3 and SX5 were nicer, I guess. About G10/G11; yeah they are better. Think about it. I would suggest to try these at Canon Gallery before picking them up.

I post my pictures at Behind a Shutter

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by behind_a_shutter

SX20 is a decent camera. Atleast for low -budget-high-expectation-people like me. It has 20X optical, though I am upset with the degraded sharpness at increasing zoom. At 20x (560mm equivalent) it is terrible. So I dare not use it these days much. At 1X(28mm equivalent) its good but again the sharpness at long distances in landscapes is crappy. I had tried all hyperfocal and other tricks but it just doesn't work.


I dont know about SX1 but the old SX3 and SX5 were nicer, I guess. About G10/G11; yeah they are better. Think about it. I would suggest to try these at Canon Gallery before picking them up.

First:
Are you sure you had the shutterspeeds to allow for sharp shots at 560mm equivalent? And how was the weather? At those distances, atmospheric haze can cause a serious drop in sharpness and contrast.

Second: The old "SX3" and "SX5" were actually S3is and S5is (as well as the even older S2is and S1). They were good, but not necessarily "nicer". You also cant get them anymore.

[behind_a_shutter]

Thanks for your reply...

About shutter speeds: I follow this simple practice of keep shutter speeds greater than the number of 'mm'. I also remember that there are several photos taken is good sunlight with T=1600 or more. I dont presume shake because the IS was continuous and also some shots were taken with a 2sec timer and camera kept still on the ground.

Oh sorry I misnamed S3 to SX3 ... etc .. I felt they were better as they had options to attach some lenses. But of course, Canon has stopped production now. You can only get them, if someone sells the used one; but I think no one will sell these if they have one :P