Review: Canon PowerShot SX40 HS
October 5, 2011 4 Comments
A short, sharp review of the PowerShot SX40 HS, Canon’s latest premium ultra-zoom camera. Best viewed at 1080p.
Visit Expert Reviews for a longer review.
See the Panasonic FZ150 review here.
Filed under Canon, Reviews, Ultra-zoom cameras Tagged with 1080p, burst, burst speed, Canon, digital camera, footage, FullHD, hands on, independent, photo, photography, PowerShot, review, SX40, SX40 HS, SX40HS, test, ultra-zoom, ultrazoom, video
Short Sharp Reviews 
You mention 3 seconds between shots in Autofocus. This sounds very slow. Is that correct for all conditions?
It does vary according to lighting conditions, subject matter etc. The camera has gone back to Canon now but my recollection is that between two and three seconds is typical. I measured 2.8 seconds on average when pointing the camera at a computer screen 1m away (quite an easy target for the camera). That is very slow, particularly compared to the Panasonic FZ150, which average 0.65 seconds between shots in the same test.
im tossing up between this and the 150.
Can you go into more detail about image quality in low light/indoor conditions, including video.. I believe you elude to the fact that the canon is better but comparatively speaking is it a deal breaker?
Thx
It’s a tricky one to quantify. In bright light, the Canon’s details are very slightly crisper and smoother, but the difference is very small – I wouldn’t let it sway you. The Canon’s lead extends in low light (ie at fast ISO speeds), but again, it’s still not a huge difference. If you take a lot of pictures indoors without the flash, go for the Canon, but if you want to take outdoor shots, particularly of moving subjects, go for the Panasonic with its much faster performance. I can’t pick a winner for video picture quality, but the Panasonic’s video mode is much more flexible – longer clip lengths, full exposure control – and there’s no lens motor noise in its soundtracks.