Canon PowerShot SX260 HS review

The SX260 HS joins Canon’s PowerShot line-up as the latest addition to the travel zoom range

Offering an impressive 20x optical zoom in a very compact body, the SX260 focuses itself on being a travel compact. It therefore needs to have a zoom range that can cope with any situation, and settings that are ideal for any subject.

It’s common for cameras with longer zooms to struggle at the longer end of the zoom length. Although there is a noticeable drop in quality, images taken using the full 20x optical zoom are impressive, and the image stabilisation gives you good shots handheld.

The abundance of shooting modes found on the SX260 is enough to cater for any photographer. If you’re looking for an easy camera that will be ready for any situation, the 58 recognisable scenes make the Auto setting ideal. If you’re looking to take more control of your photos, the SX260 comes with Shutter and Aperture Priority, as well as full Manual modes. The Manual Focus option allows you to fine-tune the focus on screen and the overlay Options menu allows for simple tweaks to things like ISO and white balance.

Using the SX260 is very easy, with an accessible button layout that makes changing settings very quick and simple. There is a mode dial on the back of the camera, along with a scroll wheel for browsing the menus. The pop-up flash on top of the body is very small and discreet; although its positioning can easily catch you out with your finger placement.

Photos taken with the SX260 are generally excellent. Colours look slightly more saturated than usual, but this helps to give them a punchy look, making for impressive shots straight out of the camera. However, although noise levels are kept fairly reasonable, going any higher than ISO 800 gives a noticeable lack of detail. This won’t become an issue though, unless you’re shooting in very dark conditions.