Note: Seeing as this is a personal review, I will only cover the features of the Canon PowerShot SX120IS that I’ve tried and used.

So I’m at the local Canon store and the guy hands me the Canon PowerShot SX120IS. His eyes display a genuine amazement at this camera—10 mega pixels, 3” LCD screen, 10x optical zoom, Digic 4, Face detection…all for around $250USD. I confess trying out its bigger brother too, the PowerShot SX20IS. However, I would have to cough up another $200 for it—no way. The SX120IS is good enough for me.

This camera is a joy to hold, because it’s not too slim and at the same time not so large as a DSLR. Moreover, the coarser black finish prevents fingerprints from showing up, a plus in my book. Loading the memory card and the batteries is a snap; the battery compartment cover is pretty tight though, so it does take some effort to close it. The SX120IS powers up very quickly, there is a startup sound which can be turned off if desired. The startup sound can also be adjusted between 5 different volume levels. This applies too to the operational buttons, self-timer, and shutter sounds.

The 3” LCD screen is just glorious; its brightness can be customized. You can choose how much information you want displayed. Its only failing is when you try to view it outdoors in bright sunlight—not easy, and without a built-in viewfinder you’ll have to shield the monitor screen with one hand while taking pictures. I’ve noticed that more and more digital cameras nowadays are doing away with the viewfinder as LCD screens become larger. Oh well.

I tend to use Auto mode most of the time while shooting, since it’s the easiest to use—why don’t I use Easy mode? (pun intended) Ah, here we come to another quirk of the SX120IS. I don’t like using Easy mode because it doesn’t allow you to print the date and/or time, period. I like to have the date printed on my pictures as a record, but I’m sure there will be people who prefer not to; in that case Easy mode will do just that, without one having to access the Menu options to turn the date/time imprinting off.

Program mode is basically the same as Auto mode, except that you have the option of making the flash fire every time you shoot. You can also have the flash on auto (the camera will decide whether the picture needs flash or not) There is also a slow synchro flash option in Program mode, though you’d need a tripod for doing this.

Scene mode comes in handy when you’re taking pictures like foliage, kids, snow, and even an aquarium, believe it or not. Here’s a comparison of the same scene, taken with different modes. I used Scene mode > Foliage for the first shot and Auto mode for the second. Both pictures are unedited. You can see that Scene mode > Foliage enhances the color of the greenery.

I’ve also discovered that the flash can get very confused when confronted with difficult lighting. For instance, the flash just had a hiccup when I tried taking some pictures during the Piano Idol finale…then again other friends reported the same problem with their cameras, because the lighting tended to be tungsten and changed dramatically from one moment to the next. So it wasn’t entirely the SX120IS’s fault.

Movie mode is another feature I’ve been experimenting with. The SX120IS captures movies using the avi format, and audio is encoded as mono wave files. It doesn’t have HD though. All the videos featured in my blog from My First Video post were taken with the camera perched on a tripod, with the exception of Anthea’s video which was hand-held. An 8GB memory card allows about an hour’s worth of video.

The self-timer (as I’ve discovered) is another bright feature of the SX120IS. There are many options available:

• 10-second self-timer
• 2-second self-timer
• Custom timer
• Face self-timer

The first two are self-explanatory. The custom timer as its name implies, allows you to set the time delay (from 0 to 30 seconds) and the number of shots (1 to 10). There is a beeping sound and a blinking light (both become faster just before the camera takes the picture). The Face self-timer is pretty ingenious. Select this option, compose the shot, and press the shutter button fully. Join your friends in the picture and once the camera detects a new face (yours) the lamp and beep will speed up and two seconds later the shutter is released. Not only that, the camera will take another further two shots (great for those candid moments) Again you can change this if you wish. Another nifty thing about the self-timer is that you can even use it in Movie mode (yes I’ve done that) so for instance I can engage the self-timer and then seat myself ready at the piano.

Thus far pictures taken with the SX120IS have turned out to be sharp and vibrant. Just be aware that flash shots tend to be more subtle and natural; if you want bright paparazzi-style shots, this is not the camera for you, unless you use Program and/or Manual modes where the flash intensity can be regulated by the user.

I’ll keep experimenting with this camera and may post further about any new features that I try. In conclusion I will say that I have no regrets buying the SX120IS—this camera gives a lot of bang for the buck.

LIKES

• Takes sharp, vibrant pictures
• 10x optical zoom
• Bright 3” LCD screen
• A wide range of shooting modes
• Inclusion of Manual mode (something not found in many of the Digital Ixus/Elph models)
• Controls are easy to use
• Camera feels very sturdy, not plasticky
• Uses 2 AA batteries
• Instruction manual is easy to read and understand
• Battery life is good

DISLIKES

• Flash has to be manually activated and deactivated
• Flash effect is subtle compared to other cameras
• The zoom control is too fast, not good for on the spot candids
• No viewfinder
• Easy mode does not allow date/time imprinting
• No HD movie recording
• A choice of finish other than black would be appreciated 

Related posts

• Canon PowerShot SX120IS (Part 2) (2)
• Small Rewards (3)
• Self-Portrait (2)
• October Revolution (2)
• My morning walk: a photo documentary (4)

Note: all the pictures featured in my blog from My Morning Walk post onwards were taken with the Canon PowerShot SX120IS.

Here’s what you’ll find when you open the SX120IS box:

• The SX120IS
• 2 AA-size alkaline batteries
• A 128MB SD memory card
• A camera to PC interface cable
• A camera to TV AV cable
• Wrist strap
• Getting Started Guide
• Digital Camera solutions CD
• Warranty card

The folks at the local Canon store here were kind enough to give me an 8GB SDHC memory card, which has enough storage for close to 3,000 pictures and an hour of video, plus a Canon soft pouch for storing the camera. The icing on the cake was a free extended 2-year warranty from Canon, which means that now my SX120IS has a warranty lasting 3 years! Beat that.

The detailed instruction manual is in Adobe PDF format on the CD (Canon is being environment-friendly here) so you’ll have to view it on your computer or print out a hard copy yourself. Canon’s Zoom Browser software is also included, but I didn’t feel the need to install it as I’ve already got my own picture viewing/editing software installed. Needless to say the camera is instantly detected on connection to your computer if you’re using Windows XP or Vista.

You can get about 100 shots using alkaline batteries, and over 300 using NiMH rechargeables. The camera doesn’t have a viewfinder, so all viewing has to be done with the 3” LCD monitor screen, which is bright and sharp. However, trying to view this in bright sunlight outdoors is difficult, so in a sense I do miss having a viewfinder. The SX120IS starts up in less than 2 seconds, ready to take pictures immediately.

A plethora of shooting modes are available to the user:

• Manual
• Aperture priority
• Shutter priority
• Program
• Auto
• Easy
• Portrait
• Landscape
• Night snapshot
• Kids and Pets
• Indoor
• Scene Mode (which has sub-modes)
• Movie

My preferred mode is Auto, because all you do is point the camera, zoom, and shoot. Press the shutter button halfway to focus, and all the way to shoot. The camera will beep twice and the back indicator will light green. If the indicator lights orange and “Raise the flash” appears on the LCD, you’ll have to raise the flash yourself. That’s right, this is one of the few quirks of the SX120IS—the flash unit does not automatically pop up (is Canon trying to go retro here?) I can live with this, but some people might find this a wee bit annoying. And it goes without saying that you’ve got to lower the flash yourself after you’re done with it. Another thing I’ve noticed in Auto mode is that you can’t use the flash for fill-in or force it to fire if the camera deems it unnecessary. If you want to force the flash to fire or fill-in you’ll have to use Program mode.

While on the subject of flash, I’ve noticed that compared to my A510 PowerShot, the flash on the SX120IS has a more subtle effect. In other words, flash shots tend to be more natural, in stark contrast to the A510 which tends to give a full burst of flash resulting in shots where every spot and blemish on faces can be easily seen. You can adjust the flash exposure compensation in Program mode, and the flash output can be adjusted in Manual mode. Personally I just leave it to the camera and it comes out with good results most of the time.

Controls on the camera are well-placed—the On/Off button, mode dial, shutter release and zoom buttons are on top and have a solid feel to them. I like the fact that the Auto mode position is colored green and Easy mode is red. Makes it very easy for me to see which mode I’ve set without putting on my reading glasses. There’s also a mono microphone, a speaker, and a lamp for the self-timer, AF assist beam, and red-eye reduction.

On the back from the top we have the Playback button, buttons for face detection and single erase/exposure compensation, the rotary control dial with ISO, Flash, Macro/Manual Focus and Self-Timer, finishing up with the Display and Menu buttons at the bottom. The rotary dial is a breeze to use and while it doesn’t have any clicks, picture icons appear on the LCD screen when you’re using it.

Using the camera will be covered in Part 3.

Related posts

• Canon PowerShot SX120IS (Part 3) (2)
• Small Rewards (3)
• Self-Portrait (2)
• October Revolution (2)
• My morning walk: a photo documentary (4)