Canon PowerShot SX40 HS review

Value & Verdict

Canon PowerShot SX40 HS review - Value

Make no mistake, the SX40 isn't a budget camera and will launch with an asking price around the £460 mark. Indeed that's the same price as a budget DSLR system, or you could pick up a Sony SLT-A35 with 18-55mm lens for the same cash.

Canon PowerShot SX40 HS review sample images WEB

Canon PowerShot SX40 HS review sample image (840mm) - click for full size gallery

In relative terms, considering the rest of the superzoom market, however, and Canon's latest offering sits towards the top end of the pricing spectrum. The likes of Sony's HX100V currently cost around £385, while others such as Fuji's HS20 have plummeted as low as £270.

If Canon's latest had revised the screen size and resolution and amped up the performance to a class-leading level then it may have warranted the high price, but as it is it does feel a tad expensive.

Canon PowerShot SX40 HS review - Verdict

Canon SX40

On the surface the SX40 HS is almost indistinguishable from its SX30 predecessor, and much the same can be said about using the camera. It's disappointing to not see significant advances in focusing speed and performance, and while a speedier 10.3fps Scene mode is available it's still not class leading in speed or ability. The small and low resolution LCD screen also feels out of date compared to the competition and there's still no sign of Raw shooting.

But it's the SX40's inner workings that escalate the camera to greatness: thanks to the new back-lit CMOS sensor image quality is a mini triumph. Add to that the lens's huge 24-840mm range and excellent image stabilisation and the SX40 HS is hard to beat for a superzoom that provides a zoom in excess of 600mm.

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Price as reviewed

: £459.00

Scores

Design	18/20
Image Quality	19/20
Performance	17/20
Value	16/20
Features	18/20
Overall Score	88%

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Latest comments

October 08 12:20

allan

the SX40 HS is a truly wonderful digital camera with fantastic picture quality and at the end of the day that`s what counts, not speed or gimmicks....picture quality!!!! no other superzoom in my opinion can match it in this regard indeed its picture quality is not far of the picture quality of an slr, well done canon this powershot is truley a winner.

October 09 15:42

AB

I disagree with above comment - you need to be able to achieve the shot. Of course we want picture quality which this Canon's good at, but it's NOT the best in performance terms.

October 14 18:35

Rafi

It's the photographer that takes the photo, not the camera.. If you set your exposures are good you will get good results.. I have the SX20 and have gotten some great results so I presume the SX40 would even be better.. I must say though I mainly use the SX20 in full daylight.. I suspect the SX40 to be much better in low light.. I agree with Allen, It depends on the photographer.

October 15 16:14

Alan Thomassen

I think that Canon has made some significant improvements over the SX30 with this camera. My photos have better colour balance and - more importantly to me - no colour fringing at all. The slow motion plays back brilliantly on my tv & the night scenes are excellent considering the shooting conditions. As for the resolution of the viewfinder & lcd screen I think that they are perfectly adequate for my needs. I bought the SX40 for portability, especially for holidays, so I think that Canon is spot-on with this all-rounder of a camera.

October 16 05:10

Tarun

I went to a multi brand shop and asked the guy to let me use my memory card and take some pics......I clicked three different shots with each sony, nikon and canon.........came back to download the images on my laptop.......saw them.........went straight to the shop and bought SX40 with no doubt in my mind :-)

October 26 13:21

Mathias Bachmann

I would like to express my gratitude to the author. Great review, it contains an answer for a lot of the questions wich I had conserning the Canon sx 40 hs

January 09 04:08

michael

what is the bestg setting for taking shots of the moon with the sx40 on manual mode I am having some problems with that ?

January 29 06:51

Paul Churchward

Good review. I am looking at the SX40, I have a Canon S5IS and been very happy with it. Also looking at the Canon 600D. But I don't like the extra weight to carry about. I too am a bit disappointed about the small LCD and the low level EVF. I just wonder if the photos are a much better than the S5IS. I also have a Panasonic TZ20 which I must say shoots Video very nicely and very stable, but the still pictures are terrible. Just too much noise, especially in low light. Never buy Panasonic again. Regards.

February 29 16:45

Shanthamenan

Canon powershot sx40HS is a super camera I perched recently. super stills, HD video.

May 09 12:50

Mike Hamblen

Just got mine from QVC for Â£311.00, ordered Sat arrived Tuesday, looking forward to the weekend to put it through its paces