Canon PowerShot SX130 IS review: Canon PowerShot SX130 IS

The PowerShot SX130 IS is one of Canon's three compact megazooms for 2010. It shares some of the same features as its linemate, the SX210 IS, mainly semimanual and manual shooting modes and 720p HD movie capture. However, that model has a longer, 14x zoom lens and a 14-megapixel CCD sensor to the SX130's 12x zoom and 12-megapixel CCD sensor. Then there's the PowerShot SD4500 IS, which is part of Canon's Digital Elph line and features a 10x zoom and a 10-megapixel CMOS sensor. Despite having the midrange specs of the three, the SX130 IS is the most basic and lowest priced. It's also a very good camera for those wanting more creative control than just about any competing model will give you and excellent photo quality for its class. Its shooting performance is the only thing that's lackluster here, but it's still on par with similarly priced models.

7.2

Canon PowerShot SX130 IS

$55 at Amazon

The Good

Excellent photo quality, features for its class; semimanual, manual shooting modes; uses AA-size batteries.

The Bad

Slow shooting performance; bulky, heavy body.

The Bottom Line

The budget-friendly Canon PowerShot SX130 IS is a solid, compact megazoom for those who prize creative control and photo quality more than fast shooting performance or a small, lightweight design.

The SX130's design is basically unchanged from its predecessor, the SX120 IS. There are a couple styling changes, including a better front grip, and it now has stereo mics in front above the longer, wider lens, but it's still bulky and heavy, especially in comparison with competing compact megazooms. Part of the reason for its heft and dimensions is that it uses two AA-size batteries for power while other manufacturers have moved to rechargeable packs. Battery life is relatively short if you use alkaline batteries, though. You'll want to pick up some rechargeable NiMH batteries, which will triple the shot count from alkaline.

The controls on the back are pretty much the same as those on the SX120 IS, though the Playback button is now to the right of the thumbrest instead of the left. Face detection, display, menu, and exposure compensation buttons are above and below the navigational scroll wheel to the right of the 3-inch LCD. The screen gets adequately bright, though some may still find it difficult to see in direct sunlight. The navigational wheel surrounds a Func./Set button and has top, bottom, left, and right pressure points for ISO sensitivity, focus (manual, normal, and macro), flash, and timer. The wheel is responsive with tactile stops to it, so you will not easily overshoot what you're trying to select. Operation is overall easy to pick up, but even seasoned Canon users will want to examine the full manual included on the software disc bundled with the camera.

The batteries and memory card slot are in a compartment accessed through the bottom of the camera, secured by a locking door. That's good considering there's nothing holding the batteries in place. On the right side of the body under a small door is a USB/AV port for connecting to a computer or external display and a DC input if you want to power the camera with an optional adapter.

If you're looking for a wide variety of shooting options, the SX130 IS will likely have plenty for you to experiment with. Among the many modes are shutter-priority, aperture-priority, and manual options. Available apertures include: f3.4, f4.0, f4.5, f5.0, f5.6, f6.3, f7.1, and f8.0. Availability is dependent on zoom position, though you do get the full range at the wide end. Shutter speeds go from 15 seconds down to 1/2,500 second, which is a better range than most cameras in this class offer.

For the SX130, Canon throws three of the more common scene-shooting modes (Portrait, Landscape, and Kids & Pets) on the actual Mode dial and keeps more specialized scene types (Low Light, Snow, Fireworks, Foliage, and Beach) under an SCN spot on the dial. Under SCN, too, are Canon's creative shooting modes like Color Swap, Color Accent, Miniature Effect, Fisheye Effect, and Super Vivid as well as its Smart Shutter option, which features a smile-activated shutter release in addition to Wink and Face Detection self-timers. Wink allows you to set off the shutter simply by winking at the camera and the Face Detection option will wait till the camera detects a new face in front of the camera before it fires off a shot. Both work well.

On the dial you'll also find Canon's reliable Smart Auto, which analyzes your subject and automatically selects an appropriate scene setting from 28 specially defined settings; an Easy mode for fully automatic shooting with no access to menus whatsoever; and a Movie mode for capturing clips at resolutions up to 720p HD and offering the ability to shoot using Color Swap, Color Accent, and Miniature Effect modes.

Shooting performance is fairly slow, which sadly is average for its class. From off to first shot takes about 2 seconds. The shot-to-shot times averaged 3 seconds without the flash while using the flash doubles that wait time. Shutter lag--the time from when the shutter release is pressed to when the image is captured--is a minimum of 0.6 second in bright lighting. Thankfully, it only jumps to 0.8 second in low light, but occasionally it felt longer. There are two main continuous shooting options: one with autofocus on every shot and one that sets focus and exposure with the first shot. The latter is faster, capturing at about 1 frame per second. The continuous option with AF slows down to about 0.6fps. Add in the shutter lag for the first shot and you'll have to be pretty good at anticipating action to get the shot you want.

Sample photos:
Canon PowerShot SX130 IS

The SX130 takes excellent photos for its class, though like most compact cameras, it's at its best below ISO 200. At ISO 400 there's a noticeable increase in noise and softness from noise reduction. Fine details can still be seen at full size right up to ISO 1,600, making photos usable at smaller sizes. The increased noise at ISO 1,600 does, however, cause some faint yellow blotching.

Colors produced by the SX130 are generally excellent--bright, vivid, and fairly accurate in our lab tests. They lose some saturation at ISO 800 and above, but not nearly as much as I've seen on competing cameras. Exposure and white balance are very good.

Canon keeps the barrel distortion in check with this wide-angle lens; there is some, but it's a livable amount. When fully extended, the lens exhibits nearly undetectable pincushioning, but not enough to be concerned with. Center sharpness is very good, and the lens stays consistent out to the sides and corners. It doesn't appear that Canon does much to help remove or reduce fringing in high-contrast areas of photos. Most megazoom cameras produce a lot of fringing, so it's not a surprise to see it from the SX130. You'll see it in larger prints or if you crop heavily. If you're able to look past it, generally don't view your photos at full size, or don't mind removing it with photo-editing software, then it's a nonissue.

Video quality is on par with an HD pocket video camera. It's not stellar and won't replace a full-size camcorder, but is certainly good enough for Web use or casual viewing on an HDTV. You do get use of the optical zoom while recording and the lens movement is very quiet so it doesn't get picked up by the stereo mic.

Last year's SX120 IS was a decent compact megazoom, but it had fewer features, slower performance, and a bulkier design than competing models. The Canon PowerShot SX130 IS catches up to the pack in features and is one, if not the only, readily available compact megazoom that takes AA-size batteries and has semimanual and manual shooting modes. Combined with a good price and excellent photo quality, it's definitely a front-runner in its class. The slow performance is the only significant thing that tarnishes the package.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Time to first shot

Typical shot-to-shot time (flash)

Typical shot-to-shot time

Shutter lag (dim)

Shutter lag (typical)

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5

1.3 

4.8 

1.7 

0.7 

0.6 

Nikon Coolpix S8000

0.8 

2.1 

1.7 

0.9 

0.5 

Fujifilm FinePix JZ500

2.7 

2.8 

2.8 

0.6 

0.4 

Canon PowerShot SX130 IS

2.1 

6.1 

2.9 

0.8 

0.6 

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55

1.8 

4.5 

3.7 

0.8 

0.6 

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