Canon SX30IS 14.1MP Digital Camera with 35x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7 Inch Wide LCD (OLD MODEL)

Alright, so I purchased the Canon SX30 IS and was expecting nothing more than an advanced Point and Shoot digital camera with a well known name. I've shot with Point and shoot camera's since they first hit the shelves. My last Point and shoot was a FujiFilm S1800 (great camera by the way, had it for about 3 years or more). I own a Nikon D7000 DSLR and love it (or used to). I've actually considered selling it now! I got this camera on the 13th of Oct. 2011 for a good stack of money. Talk on the net was that it was a bridge camera DSLR/Point and Shoot. I had to see this thing in real life action, so, I bought it. Reviews on the web i.e. youtube.com and other sites alike, made me almost not want to buy it. But, I did anyway. Here's what I've got to say about it. I "am" going to be replacing my D7000 with this Canon SX30 IS. Why? This camera is capable of shooting the same if not beyond the D7000 capability's without a doubt. I paid more than 1200.00 for my 300mm max zoom lens for my D7000 and am getting 500+ more power from a 350.00 point and shoot for 1. The clarity is amazing if you use the manual focus for all of your photographs and it's pretty simple to figure out. The best part about this camera is that you don't remove the lens and have to worry about dust or anything getting into the components and having to clean the camera about every time you turn around. The camera has full manual mode which allows you to set your ISO, Exposure, f/stop, and focus manually to your specs. Some reviews said it did poorly in low light, ha, okay, sure it did. I took a 30sec. Night shot of a water fall and believe me or not, It's beautiful, sharp, and very well lit with detail. Having the hot shoe is a major plus for me. Without it, I'd be lost with all of the portraits I take (which by the way, are amazing.) I've been a professional photographer for 6years young and having this camera saves me so much time and effort with the same and even higher quality photographs as the D7000. It does have it's flaws just like any other camera out there. But, does anyone complain when it's a DSLR that has flaws? No! So why complain about a bridge camera with the same types of flaws? I have a friend on a forum who shoots with a Canon Mark 5, he's been complaining about it since he got it about the same issue. (the manual focus don't work like the other's he's used to). It's an electronic what do you expect? Superb quality? Not me, I know the rules of electronics and that is that of each and every one on the shelf of the same exact product will be different in one way or the other, no electronic is made exactly the same. It's impossible. On with the camera! I have used every single setting on the camera just since I got it. I went to the local lake to shoot some wild life, portraits, and water sports along with waters capes and landscapes down to macro and back up to high above the atmosphere (moon). I didn't come up short in any hand with any of my photographs. Each and every one of them was sharp and in focus with the right exposure each and every time. 840mm is a distance and shooting completely hand held, with this quality, this camera should have been put in the market as a DSLR fixed lens. The biggest mistake most people make is (they don't read the manual). This is the most important thing to do before you even turn any new camera on. The manual will teach you how to take some really good photographs to start off and once you've got them down pat, then you can start advancing to more of your style photographs. I won't even get started on the software enhancements area it's just to much to deal with. Bottom line! It's affordable for almost anyone, It sits in your hand just right, it's also light compared to a DSLR, it takes crisp shots from the start, but most of all, it's a CANON. I used to be a Nikon fan, not anymore! This camera is amazing in all aspects. TIP: the camera is 14MP and has a sensor that isn't set for that high of a resolution. Go into the menu and down the resolution to med. This is where your crisp shots will come from. Med. is 7MP but well worth it. Besides, why take photographs so huge you can make a good sized billboard out of them? I normally don't shoot past 5MP do to the size and all of the re-sizing for prints I'd have to do, just saves more time and gets your work done that much faster. Good luck and happy shopping, oh, and if you do get this camera, happy shooting!

I've had a number of Canon digital point & shoots over the last 7 or 8 years. We've had compact ones that my wife likes and I've several of the 'S' and 'SX' models. We did our dream vacation this summer - Alaska cruise and land tour. Purchased an SX20IS and got some great pics. Part way through the vacation I broke the latch on the battery door and finished the trip with it taped closed. When I saw that Canon had a new model with a 35X zoom I decided to sell the broken one and buy the SX30. Glad I did. This is by far the best of the Canon's I have owned. Things I like - 1. I wear glasses & always dial in the focus on the viewfinder. On all of the old models I would have to re-adjust after the camera was handled. Canon added a ratchet 'clicker' on this model to lock in the adjustment. Small improvement, but handy. 2. The button to zoom out when trying to follow a subject at extreme magnification is a wonderful feature. Have only had the camera for a couple weeks but I think it will be great. Example - On the Alaska vacation it was a big challenge to try and follow moving wildlife like killer whales with the SX20. Wish I had this camera on the trip. 3. One of the SX30 reviewers commented about poor resolution with this model compared with the SX20. I did not find that to be the case. All of the pics I saw from this other person were taken past the optical zoom and at the extreme digital zoom. Personally, I never use digital zoom because I know the images lose quality. The chickadee I posted for this camera was taken about 75 feet from our deck & was hand-held. I cropped the image slightly. Think it looks good. Nature photography has been one of the greatest thrills of the extreme zooms on these cameras. 4. Location of controls. Quite a few years ago I lost the tip on my right index finger in an industrial mishap. My grip on the camera is a little different because of this. On the SX20 I found myself bumping the manual focus control frequently. The SX30 moved this control to a different `clock position' on the rear control. Have not had any problems bumping the manual focus at all. 5. Battery stuff. I had several sets of Rayovac Hybrid AA batteries for the SX20 & loved them. Great shelf life and lots of power. Was not sure how I would like going to a proprietary battery on the SX30. The battery on the SX30 appears to be a monster. The battery life indicator in the viewfinder is a terrific feature too. I shot 45 minutes of HD video at a grandkids Christmas show and played it back into the PC to burn a DVD. The battery indicator never moved off full. When I first got the SX30 I thought about buying a spare battery. Now I'm not sure if I will ever need it. I mentioned that I broke the battery door on the SX20. The SX20 door seemed kind of flimsy, which is unusual for Canon products. I think the battery door on the SX30 is more `robust' & doubt I will ever have a problem. 5. The control wheel on the top of the SX30 has more heavy duty grooves than on previous models. Would be nice if shooting in the cold with gloves on. All in all, I think Canon really has a winner in this new model. I'm an active amateur, not a pro. I'm not sure what benefits RAW format has. It is missing on this model too. I'll let some other reviewer comment on RAW format images. I may add comments as I use the camera more. Notes added 12/29/10 - I still think this is an awesome camera. I've seen comments comparing this camera to Nikon DSLR's and the fact that it doesn't have the features or accessories that a Nikon D50 has. Duh, this isn't an $1800 DSLR, it's a $369 (as of 12/2010) high end point and shoot. You cannot compare this camera with a DSLR. It you want all of those other features and accessories, go out and spend another $1500. For what this camera is and what it costs, it does a tremendous job. It gives you awesome zoom capabilities, a nice size screen, wonderful results when used on auto and programming features that allows you to customize your shooting session if you like to do that. All this is in a compact size with a lot of easy to access controls. I have found from owning several of these type Canons (SX20IS, S2IS and S5IS), I often leave the camera on 'P' as I like to set 'film' speed lower to get better images. One thing I changed on the camera was the strap. Although the factory strap is decent, it is shorter than I like. I spent $20 of a Tamrak N45 strap. It is longer than the factory unit, looks tough as nails and is comfortable and non-slip on your shoulder. One thing I noticed taking flash pics during the holidays - I got better results using the 'P' mode with the flash turned on and ISO set to 200. This forced the shutter speed to 1/60 where the auto mode may have used a slower shutter. **************