PowerShot SX40 HS Digital Camera

I am looking at purching this camera .. can anyone tell me alittle more about it? from what i am reading its a great camera... i want a 30-35x optical zoom, but i see this is only 12.1 mp.. is this good for printing out pictures up to 8x10? whats your pros and cons on this camera?

I am comparing it to the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX100V Digital Camera (Black) which has more mp... and has the 30x optical zoom

I hope mentioning the Sony on this tread isnt a BAD word....

I am also thinking about selling my T3i and all the lens i have with it if i can find a nice point and shoot like the cannon one..

A 12.1 mega pixel camera is more than enough to print 8 x 10" pictures. My old 40D was a 10 mega pixel camera and I got very good 16 x 20" pictures from it. The zoom on this camera is phenomenal with its long zoom range. The video it shoots is pretty good quality as well.

I used to have a Canon 40D camera with a couple of lenses. Thought I wanted a P&S, so sold the 40D and bought an SX40 from a member here. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the camera and is working the way it should. If I didn't have a DSLR before hand, I would probably be perfectly happy with the camera. What does bother me though, is the image quality between the two sensors. The 40D had a much larger APS-C sensor compared to the 1/2.8" sensor in the SX40 resulting in more noise with the SX40.

Now this could all just be me as I am a bit anal about a lot of things. For example, if something is a pixel out of alignment, it drives me nuts. I am thinking of going back to a DSLR and really like the video feature. I am looking at possibly getting a T2i locally and selling the SX40.

My wife is going to kill me for changing my mind so much!

Hope this helps...
Al

thanks for the reply... my consideration for the SX40 is because i want a good zoom.. i wont ever be able to afford any of the good L lens that require the distance i would like to have to zoom in on birds, and other things... this would at least give me another option for close ups... does the wide open Zoom give alot of noise or can it be fixed in PsP?

I thought I would buy one just for "happy-snapping". Glass zoom has the same type elements as L glass. However the shots printed out at larger than 8x10 were so clean...I tried it on a model test shoot. Used it with an STE-2 commander and three speedlights. Model loved the shots.... Since then another model shoot strobist technique and 6 small commercial shoots. Last one I presented the art director with two printed 8x10's both shot with rigs mounted on legs. Same lighting, same subjects, same compostion. One with a 5D classic. One with the SX40HS.
Same lighting setups. A bit of LR3 recovery slider and clarity slider nothing else.
Both outputs saved as high rez jpegs. Didn't tell the art director why... just asked her to pick which one she would choose. She looked closely and picked the shot from SX40HS. It went on to be published. Never told her what it was shot with. All I care about is payment and customer satisfaction. Tool doesn't matter.

It now goes everywhere with me for production shoots and happy snapping.

Only 3 drawbacks I've run into two of which are probably addressed by a CHDK hack
1) no RAW (addressed)
2) no Bulb mode (15sec max exposure time and low ISO setting by default - addressed I believe)
3) no remote shutter release due to no port. You can set custom timer.

Other wise...way, way, way big bang for buck.

photocopy wrote in post #14241483
I am also thinking about selling my T3i and all the lens i have with it if i can find a nice point and shoot like the cannon one..

I'm the opposite - I have just bought an SX40 but due to it's bulk I find myself hankering after a T3i. You also asked about zoom and noise - the only shot I have handy is this handheld one of the moon at full zoom

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optical zoom does not create noise, digital zoom does. if you do not want to have digital noise, then do not use digital zoom or the electronic teleconverter in the SX40. SX40 is a fairly competent camera in terms of optics and sensor performance. however, like most Canon point and shoots, it doesnt have as many bells and whistles compared to the competition. That said, if you want to get more features and stay with the Canon brand, you can install CHDK to gain more functions and features.

with a 12mp sensor, you can print up to 13x19 (@225dpi) with fairly decent quality. this can be improved if you shot in RAW with CHDK.

thanks all.. i went with the cannon today and playing around with it...

Gruffalogill wrote in post #14243522
I'm the opposite - I have just bought an SX40 but due to it's bulk I find myself hankering after a T3i. You also asked about zoom and noise - the only shot I have handy is this handheld one of the moon at full zoom

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I'm not sure what, if any, pp I did but I'm sure I shot it in B&W mode.

Hi,


Is that pic - clean without cropping at your 860mm range? I took this pic with my old sx20is at the 560mm end and shown not cropped just cleaned up in gimp....

imjason wrote in post #14243640
optical zoom does not create noise, digital zoom does. if you do not want to have digital noise, then do not use digital zoom or the electronic teleconverter in the SX40. SX40 is a fairly competent camera in terms of optics and sensor performance. however, like most Canon point and shoots, it doesnt have as many bells and whistles compared to the competition. That said, if you want to get more features and stay with the Canon brand, you can install CHDK to gain more functions and features.

with a 12mp sensor, you can print up to 13x19 (@225dpi) with fairly decent quality. this can be improved if you shot in RAW with CHDK.

That first sentence seems more incorrect than anything. Digital zoom does not add noise- it crops and INTERPOLATES data- a false sense of increased data. By no means is it "noise" in the digital photographic sense. That comes from the fact that an optical zoom can improve resolution- digital zoom is basically a crop and interpolation - done in the camera- using the algorithms that Canon engineers specify. Often, you can interpolate better using a program such as photoshop or something similar- and those programs sometimes give you several options as far as to what algorithm to use. Noise, on the other hand, I've always heard associated as coming from the sensor, generally either when the image is underexposed, or from using a higher ISO...

My first digital camera was a Powershot Pro 70- I believe- 1.6MP- and I used to print images from that at 8x10 all the time. Some may frown on the thought of doing that- but it can be done. Those that say it can't- haven't tried.

Pagman wrote in post #14244544
Is that pic - clean without cropping at your 860mm range? I took this pic with my old sx20is at the 560mm end and shown not cropped just cleaned up in gimp....

Sorry, yes it is cropped. Excuse my ignorance but what is the 860mm?

wayne.robbins wrote in post #14244830
That first sentence seems more incorrect than anything. Digital zoom does not add noise- it crops and INTERPOLATES data- a false sense of increased data. By no means is it "noise" in the digital photographic sense. That comes from the fact that an optical zoom can improve resolution- digital zoom is basically a crop and interpolation - done in the camera- using the algorithms that Canon engineers specify. Often, you can interpolate better using a program such as photoshop or something similar- and those programs sometimes give you several options as far as to what algorithm to use. Noise, on the other hand, I've always heard associated as coming from the sensor, generally either when the image is underexposed, or from using a higher ISO...

My first digital camera was a Powershot Pro 70- I believe- 1.6MP- and I used to print images from that at 8x10 all the time. Some may frown on the thought of doing that- but it can be done. Those that say it can't- haven't tried.

sorry i was over simplifying my explanation by assuming that the noise op mentioned was pixelation from digital zooms.

Hello gruffalogill,

The SX40 HS has 35x zoom, which equals a fantastic 860 mm. A really great and fun reach. Besides, it's one which you can't get with an DSLR...too expensive and cumbersome.

/T.J.

T.J. wrote in post #14248405
Hello gruffalogill,

The SX40 HS has 35x zoom, which equals a fantastic 860 mm. A really great and fun reach. Besides, it's one which you can't get with an DSLR...too expensive and cumbersome.

/T.J.

Thanks, it's the "860mm" I don't get? The data for the pic (in Aperture) says 150.5mm - where does the figure of 860mm come from? Again, excuse me if I'm missing something fundamental (which is usually the case) - and sorry to the op for clogging up the thread

Hi again Gruffalogill,

Ah, ok, I misunderstood you then. Well, it's all really simple...840 mm (not 860 like we both wrote earlier, I noticed that mistake after writing last time) at 35x is what the
SX40 HS is capable of in the most extreme zoom. However, 150,5 mm is how far the lens will extend to. You can easily see this for yourself, if you measure the objective from the camera body to the most zoomed position of the objective. It's all about the size and how it translates at the ratio 4:3, which is the measurements of the sensor. And for the record, I don't think it's a silly question at all. There's a lot of terms that are confusing if you're just starting to learn. I myself haven't been at it that long either, and find out new things all the time.

Anyway, I hope this made it clearer.

/T.J.

The 840 mm references the equivalant reach of a lens if it were on a camera with a 35 mm image sensor (or a full frame sensor). Because the SX40 has a much smaller sensor than full frame, there is a crop factor and the actual reach of the camera at 150.5 mm is equivalent to a 840 mm lens on a full frame sensor camera.

See this link for a more detailed explanation. http://en.wikipedia.or​g/wiki/Crop_factor

T.J. wrote in post #14249920
Hi again Gruffalogill,

Ah, ok, I misunderstood you then. Well, it's all really simple...840 mm (not 860 like we both wrote earlier, I noticed that mistake after writing last time) at 35x is what the
SX40 HS is capable of in the most extreme zoom. However, 150,5 mm is how far the lens will extend to. You can easily see this for yourself, if you measure the objective from the camera body to the most zoomed position of the objective. It's all about the size and how it translates at the ratio 4:3, which is the measurements of the sensor. And for the record, I don't think it's a silly question at all. There's a lot of terms that are confusing if you're just starting to learn. I myself haven't been at it that long either, and find out new things all the time.

Anyway, I hope this made it clearer.

/T.J.