Canon PowerShot SX120 IS

Viewfinder (0.00)

There is no viewfinder on the SX120: the image preview and capture are done through the LCD screen on the back of the camera.

Display (6.15)

On the back of the SX120 is the LCD screen, a 3-inch model with about 230k pixels. Although this is a little on the low side in terms of resolution, it is big and bright enough that you get a good feel for the preview image and the ones you’ve just taken. This is also a fixed screen: it doesn’t pop up or fold out.

Flash (5.50)

the flash of the SX120 is in a small pop-up section of the case right above the lens. This is placed pretty close to the lens, which means it does have a tendency to produce red-eye, but the camera can use a series of pre-flashes and software correction to deal with this, and both work pretty well. There are three flash modes: Auto, On and Slow Synch. The latter combines the flash with a slow shutter speed for a night portrait. To disable the flash, you just pop it back into the case. This process is purely manual; the flash will not pop up on its own, even in very low light.

Lens (6.75)

The lens built into the SX120 has a 10x zoom ratio, with the focal length of 6 to 60mm. In the more familiar 35mm equivalent, that is a range of 36 to 360mm. That means that the wide angle end of the zoom range is not as wide as some; many other cameras start at around 28mm. That may be an issue if you shoot landscapes or large groups; you may struggle to get those at the edge in the frame. The aperture range of the lens is also a little limited: at the wide end of the zoom you have a range of f/2.8 down to f/8.0, but this range shrinks to f/4.3 to f/8.0 at the telephoto end. That means that the aperture can’t open up as much at the telephoto end, so zoomed shots in low light are going to look blurry because the camera can’t open the aperture up to gather more light.

Zoom Ratio Examples
6.0 mm	16.1 mm	60.0 mm

Battery (5.00)

Two AA batteries provide the get up and go for the SX120. These fit into a compartment on the base of the camera, and you can use either disposable batteries of NiMH rechargeable batteries. Canon supplies a set of two disposable batteries with the camera, and offers a set of 4 rechargeable batteries and charger for around $60. These batteries cannot be charged within the camera itself; they have to be charged in an external charger.

Memory (4.00)

Images captured by the SX120 are stashed on an SD or SDHC card inserted into the slot alongside the batteries, as shown above. Unlike many other cameras, the SX120 does not allow you to use its own internal memory to store photos or video temporarily: the camera refuses to capture any images if the memory card is full.

Jacks, Ports & Plugs (3.00)

The SX120 is not particularly well connected; the single USB port on the side of the camera body allows you to connect it to the USB port of a computer or printer (the cable is included) or to output composite video and audio to watch on a TV. This cable is also included, and provides a composite video and analog audio output.