Canon Powershot SX220 HS review

Canon PowerShot SX220 HS: Bridge camera specs in a compact body

The SX220 is the newest member of Canon’s HS range, introduced alongside the SX230 as Canon’s new offering into the travel-zoom market. The SX220 HS comes with a 12.1MP back-illuminated CMOS sensor, a large 3-inch LCD screen, full 1080p HD video with stereo sound and 14x optical zoom. 

The SX220 is made from a combination of metals and plastics, and feels very solid. It is also a very slim camera, especially when considering all of the advanced functions and powerful zoom lens. The SX220 feels great to hold, with a good weight and an indented edge that’s perfect for your fingers. With all of the buttons on the right-hand side of the 3-inch 461K-dot LCD screen, using this camera with one hand is easy. We did find using the on/off button a little bit cumbersome at times, with it being placed on the back of the camera; however, you soon become accustomed to its position.

The only other gripe we have with the design and layout of the SX220 is its pop-up flash. The flash opens up every time the camera is turned on, and is placed where your fingers are, which means you can accidentally hold it down when powering on. This is not a major problem, though, and does not harm the camera at all as it is designed to be raised and lowered manually.

The SX220 is able to shoot in P, A, S, and M modes, as well as many auto and special effects modes. Users will be able to select from a range of automatic scene modes for different occasions or switch to full manual and take control of the shutter speed and aperture of the lens. ISO is also completely controllable, but can only be accessed through the lens, making it hard to change. The built in special effects allow for a degree of creativity, and some of them produce very good results. The auto mode was, however, very impressive and often yielded better results than manually exposed shots.

The 14x optical zoom lens makes the SX220 ideal for all occasions. It has a 35mm equivalent of 28-392mm, and has an optional 4x digital zoom to add to that. The SX220 also has built in image stabilisation, which made the images shot at full zoom perfectly usable. The zoom can also be done at two different speeds, making it quick to get the shot that you want. It’s even possible to use the optical zoom when shooting in full HD video, giving videos shot with the SX220 an extra edge.

Images taken with the SX220 are generally very good, and thanks to the HS system even shots taken using the full length of the impressive zoom come out bright and crisp. The HS system is designed to produce images with reduced noise and increased dynamic range, so the results are clear and detailed in every environment. At lower ISOs the image quality is excellent, with great colour tones across the range. At the other end of the scale, using ISO 1600 or 3200, the images start to show signs of noise, although they’re still far from unusable. 

Canon’s latest offering into the travel compact market seems to have it all, albeit with some design issues that could be addressed for future models, There is an abundance of features, both for taking control and being creative, and the image quality is generally great. Canon’s IS and HS systems really pull their weight in this little compact, and make shooting easy and rewarding in all situations.