Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon PowerShot SX1 IS Digital Camera - Black (10MP, 20x Optical Zoom) 2.8 inch LCD

I hoped this was it, the perfect camera, HD video and high quality stills. Well it's not. The level of noise in the still images would make me upset if the camera cost £100. The HD video is just "odd". Very sharp, very colourful, great wide angle filming and ultra powerful zoom but ... the video looks like a fast series of still photos rather than a smooth video. Its not the speed of a pc playing the huge files, even out of the camera the video just looks "odd". I have a Sony TG3 and a Panasonic SD100 video camera which both record to memory chip and look like real video when they play back. The SX1 has better colour and resolution/sharpest than both of them but SX1 video just does not look good. Its a real pain when playing back the SX1 video. If you play back using the camera you can select ALL videos and sit back while it shows all the recorded clips but .. between each clip ( i.e. when you press the record button on/off ) you get a little "jump" on the screen not a clean cut.


You could try using editing software to put together the clips but that won't be easy. The size of files created by the SX1 seems to cause issues for editing software - read endless comments on the web. My Sony Vegas version 9b just crashes when more than one SX1 file is loaded.

I really hope a firmware update will address the video performance of this camera. It has so much going for it but unless you can play back video clips without "jumps" in between them and the video can by smoothed out to look like "real" video I see it as little more than a toy rather than an alternative to carrying a video and still camera.

Really pleased - what a zoom!
Haven't been into technical useage yet - will need an evening class for that!
My only grouse - the strap has to be pushed behind the screen to shoot!

Ordering was simple and delivery was great

Dave Brock

I have nothing to say about the picture quality of this camera. The photos come out very sharp and good quality. However, the first camera I received had a faulty memory card slot that wasn't ejecting the SD card. Received a replacement from Amazon and after 2 months of usage, now there is a connection problem with the LCD Display. The LCD display just turns itself off at random times and now I have to send it to a repair centre. It is under warranty but camera is surely not the quality I have expected from Canon. Another major annoyance is being unable to watch the HD videos I take on any of my PC's because my PC's are not the latest spec. Especially all the people commenting here about converting the videos to standard resolution etc. Excuse me but I didn't pay over £400 to deal with converting movies. Canon has to make sure it works. Even with Canon's own video codec I can't play these videos. And one more thing; was it really too expensive for Canon to add an HDMI cable to the box? It only costs about £5 online. If you are manufacturing an HD Camera, please add that to the package next time and reflect this to the price if you have to. Camera is still shipped with a crappy analog video cable.

Bought this as an upgrade and I am well pleased with it in most respects. Some brilliant pics taken already. Very disappointed with the documentation being supplied on CD. I would have glady paid an extra £20 to have a user maunal included in the box.

Good quality build,solid and heavier than other makes which helps when taking handheld shots.Big advantage compared to using a DSLR is no messy lense changes + handy Super Macro function at wide angle. The CMOS censor and very usefull vari angle LCD screen are worth paying extra for together with some DSLR functions not found on other bridge cameras. Essential for spectacle warers are the diopter control and rubber viewfinder surround and you can attach flashguns for more professional use. It would be handy to be able to protect the lense with a skylight or UV filter especially if you use the Super macro setting a lot.