SX30is, recommendable???

A lady friend has asked me if I would recommend the SX30is.

She wants a superzoom....with a VERY large zoom range.

This, (on paper) fits the bill.....but I keep hearing a voice saying "very soft images, very soft images."

How bad is it?

Thanks in advance, del Sol

It really depends on how high her expectations are.
If she will use the photos for email and facebook,
any softness of the SX30's small imaging sensor
will not be visible. However, if she plans on printing
large size prints, that's another story altogether.

For someone who defines what they want as a 'large zoom',
I really think it could match their expectations. But who knows...

I think I will go out on a limb, and recommend this camera to this particular person.

This lady is an accomplished painter, (oils and acrylics), and simply uses photos as a reference/guide for her paintings. She has indicated a need for a lonnnnnng zoom.

She NEVER prints above 5X7, usually 4X6.

Not at all like most of us, who enlarge, and print camera output....don't think she will be hyper critical of somewhat soft images.

Thanks, del Sol

I have had a Canon SX10 IS for just about 2 years now. I LOVE IT! I would reccommend the SX10, SX20 and I am sure the SX30 to anyone. Pro shooters who want a second camera for casual shooting to rank amatures who want it as their main camera - BUY ONE!

It is not a very good low light camera and I have a Canon flash for those times when I need it. My sister bought an SX10 at my urging . She is a professional water color painter and stopped using an outside print firm for her prints. She shoots the original with the SX10 and then prints all she wants on her wide format printer. She uses archival paper and ink and has not had one complaint.

I have an Epson Photo Stylus 1400 printer and have made many 13 x 19 prints from the SX10 and every one was GREAT!

Would this camera fit the bill for someone with close to the same requirements as above, money not being an object? I know someone who is looking for a camera with a decent zoom for a safari trip but "doesn't want to carry all that crap or change lenses". He's got a G10 now, quality is key. Should I recommend this one or are there others out there with a higher price range/quality level?

The main problem is not the price/quality ratio, but the zoom/quality ratio.
I would not go on Safari with a G10 and its 140mm tele range.
Perhaps a Nikon P7000 with a somewhat extended 200mm zoom for quality and zoom,
or one of HS10, SX30, FZ100 for a large zoom, but regular compact camera quality.

Architective - It much depends on what your friend wants the long-zoom camera for, mostly, on the Safari. If it's Std HD Video - the SX30 has the best zoom functions, stabilising and controls, of the current crop of Bridge Zooms.

If he combined that with the excellent abilities of the bigger-sensored G10 for wide scenic shots - and it also does have some zoom for the midrange and closer things - those might make a good travelling pair. It also has RAW, for the wide-scenic and fine-detail shots, which the SX30 doesn't.

The combination of the bigger sensor and RAW in the G10 - which he'd know and use very well - is quite an advantage.

If he wants low-light abilities, and better performance at higher ISOs, in a long zoom camera, he could look at the Panasonic FZ100 or Fuji HS10.

The FZ100 has HD Video, RAW, and up to 11fps Continuous shooting. It goes to 24x on the zoom, which is very usable.

The HS10 is capable of very good images (for a P&S) - but it's a camera that has to be learnt, then controlled properly. But a person who'd choose and use a G10 wouldn't have any problems with it.

The HS10 Video - it has both Std and Full HD (the Std is the better of the two) - is good, but relies on "automatic" controls fully. It's good at constant zoom, and for short to medium length clips - but for "zoom in-out" repeatedly while video-ing - the SX30 beats it.

If he needs images in low light at high ISO - the HS10 is ahead of the SX30 there - you can use ISO 800 for low-noise shots, and at ISO 1600 shots in good focus will 'clean-up' very well.

If the only way to get a shot is to use ISO 3200 or 6400, you'll get images that clean-up to be very usable onscreen or for sharing, when display size is reduced, but don't expect "clean printables", at A4/US-Letter size.

In good light the 2x integrated digital zoom is quite usable - particularly if kept to about "virtual 45x" equivalent.

Like the FZ100, the HS10 has Fast Continuous shooting - 10-7-5-3fps - with the claimed 10fps being 12fps+ after firmware update 1.02. Speeds in RAW and RAW+JPEG are 5 and 3fps.

The Fast Continuous function does let you get shots you'd have to be fast, alert - and a bit lucky - to get on Single-Shot. Why Canon didn't upgrade the SX30's 1.3fps Continuous to at least 5fps / 3fps - is a mystery.

Another camera he could look at, though getting a "bit older" now - is Canon's SX1 - which has HD Full Video, RAW, and 4fps. However, as it has the same 20x lens assembly as the SX10 and SX20 - it's not up to the SX30's video handling performance.

Dave.

del Sol wrote in post #11300369
A lady friend has asked me if I would recommend the SX30is.

She wants a superzoom....with a VERY large zoom range.

This, (on paper) fits the bill.....but I keep hearing a voice saying "very soft images, very soft images."

How bad is it?

Thanks in advance, del Sol

One of the things I quickly learned when I got my first camera (a Practika SLR in 1979) was that in photography, there are always trade-offs.

If she wants a large zoom range, the SX30 will certainly do that.

If she wants better image quality, a high-end dSLR and a $$$$$$ zoom or prime will certainly do that, too.

Do you want it good, or do you want it cheap? Can't have it both ways.

stevewf1 wrote in post #11331891
One of the things I quickly learned when I got my first camera (a Practika SLR in 1979) was that in photography, there are always trade-offs.

If she wants a large zoom range, the SX30 will certainly do that.

If she wants better image quality, a high-end dSLR and a $$$$$$ zoom or prime will certainly do that, too.

Do you want it good, or do you want it cheap? Can't have it both ways.

You make it sound like a black or white issue. Cheap or good - period.

I see it a bit differently, more complex if you will.

Just beacuse a camera is "less expensive" (sounds better than cheap) does not mean it is "not good". Some people might think "good" means that all of their pictures will qualify for National Geographic while to others, "good" might mean that they are proud to display them in their photo album at 4 x 6.

I use my SX10 to take all of our family photos which I turn into DVD slideshows using Sony Movie Studio with all the bells and whistles. The SX10 is far more than adequate for this duty. I also make some art prints from SX10 shots on my Epson Photo Stylus 1400 wide format printer. I print up to 13 x 19 and most people are amazed at the results.

Full disclosure... My new Fuji HS 10 is being delivered tomorrow!

It IS possible for a person to go "less expensive" and still get way better than "good". Here is a link to a post by kenn3d, all taken with an SX30 that I find just amazing. A "cheap" camera and way better than "good" photos:

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=953920

Well put, PhotoFranz!
And a great demonstration of the SX30's capabilities in able hands.