canon powershot sx10is lcd display not working made in china

I"ve got a good working SX10, wasn"t aware of such a problem - I like to use the LCD for tripod shots but only EVF handheld. To some extent uses and user preference matters most.

In case it"s your bridge that rotates displays (Disp button) between LCD and EVF, I"d take time to check settings and user manual to be sure that the LCD isn"t simply properly deactivated. If that"s not it, because it is a software switch, I"d try a Menu - Tools Icon - Reset All to take the camera back to its out of the box setings and try again. Only then would I look into hardware.

I have no idea about LCD replacement, but as above, would be leery of putting much money, time or trouble into a second-hand camera as old as SX10, that might have other problems, too.

The time and date stamp need to be reset every time the camera is turned on. A notice may appear to change the batteries even after the main batteries are replaced.

Make sure the battery door closes tight and that nothing is blocking the door from closing. If the door will not latch closed use this replacement guide for changing the battery door.

The limited warranty set forth below is given by Canon U.S.A., Inc. (Canon U.S.A.) in the United States or Canon Canada Inc., (Canon Canada) in Canada with respect to the Canon-brand PowerShot Digital Camera (the "Product") purchased with this limited warranty*, when purchased and used in the United States or Canada. The Product purchased with this limited warranty is the only PowerShot Digital Camera to which this limited warranty applies.

Canon U.S.A., Inc. and Canon Canada Inc. (collectively "Canon") warrant to the original end-user purchaser, when delivered to you in new condition in its original container, that this PowerShot Digital Camera Product (the "Product") will be free from defects in materials and workmanship under normal use and service for a period of one (1) year from the date of original purchase. Product returned to a Canon USA repair facility and proven to be defective upon inspection will, in Canon"s sole discretion and at no charge, be (a) repaired utilizing new, remanufactured, repaired and/or recycled parts; (b) exchanged for a new Product or; (c) exchanged for a refurbished Product, as determined by the Canon USA repair facility. Warranty exchange or replacement does not extend the original warranty period of the Product.

THIS WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER ANY ACCESSORIES. This limited warranty shall only apply if the Product is used in conjunction with compatible computer equipment and compatible software, as to which items Canon U.S.A. or Canon Canada, shall have no responsibility. Non-Canon brand equipment and software that may be distributed with the Product are sold "as is" and without warranty of any kind by Canon , including any implied warranty regarding merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, and all such warranties are disclaimed. The sole warranty, if any, with the respect to such non-Canon brand items is given by the manufacturer or producer thereof.

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Canon 5d mk 4, Canon 6D, EF 70-200mm L f/2.8 IS mk2; EF 16-35 f/2.8 L mk. III; Sigma 35mm f/1.4 "Art" EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro; EF 85mm f/1.8; EF 1.4x extender mk. 3; EF 24-105 f/4 L; EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS; 3x Phottix Mitros+ speedlites

*Estimated delivery dates- opens in a new window or tabinclude seller"s handling time, origin ZIP Code, destination ZIP Code and time of acceptance and will depend on shipping service selected and receipt of cleared payment. Delivery times may vary, especially during peak periods.Notes - Delivery *Estimated delivery dates include seller"s handling time, origin ZIP Code, destination ZIP Code and time of acceptance and will depend on shipping service selected and receipt of cleared payment. Delivery times may vary, especially during peak periods.

It seems to be an inherent software problem with the S3 that when zooming the camera shuts down. Mine started doing this within a year of purchase. The lens error on start up is due to a small electric motor that resides within the lens unit. The motor turns the plastic geared wheels which rotate the lens inner housing which extends or retracts the lens. When the motor starts to play up with age or use, the lens will not extend or retract correctly and the camera reports a lens error. If the motor stops working altogether the lens will jam and the lens unit needs to be replaced.

It is impossible to get moisture or sand or dirt in the lens since it is a sealed unit. Canon have very cleverly situated the only moving part in the camera inside the lens unit so it cannot be replaced easily. Don"t even try to open the lens unit as small screws, springs and ball bearings will explode everywhere lol. Just to give you some idea: the lens unit has no less than five optical lens inside the unit and six aligning rods and runners all assembled with engineering precision!

Credit to Canon the lens does a good job at taking photographs but the motor assembly could have been better designed. Perhaps they overcame this with later models?

My motor has now stopped working and in my opinion it is probably a good idea to upgrade your camera rather than replace the lens unit but if you can DIY or get it done for a reasonable price at a willing camera shop it might just be worth it.

CHDK has to be one of the most innovative improvements to any cameras that has ever come along since the beginning of photography. Started out by some people who only wanted RAW out of their raw-crippled cameras, it has now grown into one of the most adaptable, flexible, and full-featured operating systems of any cameras ever made. I for one am extremely grateful for the work that everyone has put into this arena of discovery, implementation, coding, sharing, and those that provide all the information on these Wiki pages (and elsewhere in the world). I also think that those who have contributed to this great stride in the world of photography deserve a huge vote of thanks. Words cannot express how grateful some of us are to these people. But maybe they can help. Please share yours here.

[mr.anon], for his outstanding contribution to testing builds, writing and testing a lot of useful (and popular) scripts. For his huge effort on creating articles and topics for this wiki, making suggestions, providing feedback and helping other people through various forums discussions. A note of mention for his "accidental" discovery while testing various builds that these cameras could reach shutter-speeds once thought unattainable before, that discovery now implemented by the more knowledgeable code authors.

Fingalo, for his continued effort to supply some much needed improvements and more efficient methods to the uBASIC syntax and fixing problems that show up. As well as providing up-to-date builds with these new features. Most recently his using EWAVR"s excellent code to be able to easily increase the shutter speeds not just as low as 65", but now up to a mind-boggling 1/10,000th of a second shutter speed, with flash-sync included!

EWAVR/Zosim, for his extremely useful USB Remote Cable-Release discovery. (Three cheers for this one!) And for helping to make the USB-Remote code available to others. Also for discovering a new method of getting dump of firmware and his continuing effort on porting CHDK to Digic III. Another round of applause for finding a way to beat the 1-gig video limit add 1-99 levels of video compression in two flavors, as well as his remarkable discovery on a way to give all of us 6 new shutter-speeds from 20-65 seconds and high-speed continuous Tv bracketing! His code now being used to include speeds up to 1/10,000th second!

Last but not least, a special thanks to you Wiki editors, that have documented, compiled, cross-referenced, and tried to make some sense of the overwhelming amount of information from so many areas of the internet, and yet somehow found a way to present it so that most anyone can make full use of CHDK. With special mention to Divalent, a late-comer to the volunteers, for his extensive exploring, testing, and checking of all the Prop_ID values that have heretofore gone undocumented, increasing the usefulness of CHDK even more, as well as his extensive help in keeping updates and additions in check on these Wikia pages. THANK-YOU.

Recognizing that the developers are doing this on their own time and for no compensation, I am grateful for whatever efforts they continue to make. They have been more than helpful in assisting others in implementing improvements and in extending the camera"s it can be used on. If they don"t spend another sec further developing this product, that is their right.

Конечно же ОГРОМНОЕ СПАСИБО всем, кто проложил свои знания и умения к созданию такой замечательной, грандиозной, и, не побоюсь этого слова, эпохальной вещи как CHDK. Я видел процесс рождения, взросления, развития прошивки с самого начала, с надписи "Hello world" на экране. И вот сейчас она повзрослела и, распустив крылья, полетела на сотни и тысячи фотоаппаратов. Честно говоря, даже было интереснее следить за новыми возможностями CHDK чем изучать стандартные возможности фотика и технику правильного фотографирования. Как круто было продемонстрировать друзьям и знакомым "А вот что мой Canon может..."

Because of chdk and all the people who started it all and those people who are still improving what has been developed, I am not giving away my Canon Powershot A610 even though I bought a Canon Powershot S3IS. And I"m not considering buying any other brand of digicam in the future unless it"s CHDK compatible.

i was a former canon a640 user when i came accross the thread in DP about a modified firmware . i was on a big trip in asia and had already be completely addicted by taking pictures . since i had the chdk on my card and found out what i can do with this i got shear crazy ! i woke up at 4 o clock to drive 2h ontop a mountain to make sunrise pictures in HDR or timelapse videos of the awaking clouds from the jungle in northern thailand . i had a beautifull evening on the terrace of a temple while a huge rainwall approached from the mountains into a valley for my first lightning expierience ... this thing made me go out and drive , climb , walk just to get more amazing pictures wich i would never had done if this thing wasnt there .... therefore i have to thank grand and vitaly for starting to roll this stone and all the people who produced some things that helped me to gain ideas and expierience in taking my pictures . sadly the cam (wich already had 2 crashes from 1.5 meter and some dust/sand in the lens) was stolen out of my bag in my 2nd last night in bangkok before i flew back . so next day i just bought the 650is as it was there for a good price . now i face the situation of the people who are waiting for a port or even a dump .... its like an addict who cannot have his drug :D ... but iam quite sure that by time it will happen . i hope this thing will grow more and more to enrich everybodys photo experience .

Thank you all, for this great work ... Its unbelievable what you get out of this Cameras. I own a PowerShot 640, and now you show me, that this camera can do much more I ever expect. Thanks...

thank you all for increasing our satisfaction of using Canon"s cameras and making our cameras worth more. I hope that your example will be starting spark for other users to contribute and expand this job also to other camera brands.

I know there is a great feeling of accomplishment that makes all the hours and the cold pizza and the mountain dew"s worth it, but what has been done here goes beyond personal satisfaction. For the special few who are able and willing to utilize the power that has been unleashed here, there is the simultaneous high of knowing what can be done and the stunning revelation of what has been withheld. Although mine, the TX-1, is not yet on the list, I am thrilled that this work has been able to lift the veil on so many others. Sincerest thanks to all those who have put in the time and effort to make this happen. I can only hope that Canon realizes what an advantage this gives them and openly or surreptitiously helps the process.

Мы все ждем новых разработок и прошивок для новых камер Canon, спасибо вам и всем тем, кто учавствует в испытаниях. Наша рашша вас незабудет, японцы молодцы, что многим дали возможность совершенствовать совершенство, и это не предел... и, кстати большой рахмет из Казахстана.

Ребята, огромное вам человеческое СПАСИБО за проделанную работу! Вы значительно расширили границы возможностей фотоаппаратов Canon =) Я и не ожидал, что мой любимчик может так много ;)

Thank you for the excellent improvenment of Canon"s cameras. I have A610, just enough for me, but with your extensions it does me happy much more. As I"m a programmer too, especially thank you for the scripting language available now to me. Good work, good luck.

i really appreciate what you"ve done. you bring out the creativity in all users of your programs. what you did guys is OUTSTANDING! i am really looking forward for you guys to continue what you"re doing so that future canon camera users will appreciate your work more.

Let"s just hope than Canon will still allow their future cameras to be hacked this way. So that when it comes time to upgrade or when my camera is broken... I will still be happy. :D

CHDK is the solution for Time-Lapse fans. The built-in intervalometer is ridiculous (1 minute interval and 100 frames), but with CHDK, we can extremely utilize the features of Canon S[235]IS cameras.

And one day later I have a ball and have never played so long with my canon not even when she was brand new ( I got one of the first ones with the e firmware )

Thank you to all of you who contribute to the CHDK project. It looks like it isn"t yet working on the SD1100, which is on a fedex truck on it"s way, but I am excited and grateful to know that it may be some time soon.

This project just continues to astound me by getting features I would have never thought of. Thanks so much and I wish you the best of luck for this any any future projects you may or may not work on.

i found this site not long ago i was hoping that i could modify mi canon a540 but there wasn"t anything at that moment, i came back one week later, and the CHDK had been released for my camera

Thanks, especially to the founders Vitaly and GrAND but also to those who took up the banner and extended the range and functionality of Chkd. I encountered it through the Canon user forum on dpreview.com and have since had the happy experience of using the extensions on the A620, A570IS and SD1000. They are much better cameras for them. Having worked in informatics since the 1960s I very much appreciate the skills and dedication shown by all the above people. TONYWIM

Previously, when I have a plan to take a picture by tomorrow, I will always charge my batteries first to ensure that I don"t lose the power while I shoot. It"s happen since Canon doesn"t have battery indicator which always appears on the LCD screen.

By using battery indicator in CHDK, I always know how much the power in my batteries is left. It saves my battery life since I don"t have to recharge them too often. I love it! Now, it"s no reason to buy another camera. I uses Canon A620.

Muchas gracias por el esfuerzo que hacen para que todos nosotros podamos disfrutar de esta increible abanico de nuevas posibilidades con nuestras cámaras Canon. Lector de archivos de textos, metrónomo musical, juegos, números al azar para loterias, disparo remoto, crónometro... Así como hay notebooks, ahora tambien hay netbooks. Podemos decir que CHDK convierte nuestras cámaras en cambooks???

Thanks VERY MUCH for making really great software! You saved me from buying expensive camera! And there"s a lot of features that cannot be found in any other cameras!

Your work has not just re-kindled my interest in photography but has actually helped in treating and solving a medical condition I"ve been suffering from for 5 months.

Five months ago I became an insomniac. Without going into all the gory details using my A720IS on my tripod running CHDK with the Motion Detection script, I was able to end the mystery my doctors (three different doctors) and many other tests, could not reveal. I am suffering from Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS). I am now being treated for RLS and have been doing much better.

To all CHDK developers - big thanks from me. I"m in Sydney, Australia - and it"s only been because of the CHDK that I have had such an interest in photography and wore out my A530. I have since upgraded to an EOS 400D and take photography to be another one of my hobbies. I now have an SX110is as well since I couldn"t do without a "pocketable" camera - unfortunately no CHDK but I have all the confidence that one day, somebody with the right skills will come along and do it.

Muchas gracias a todos por hacer CHDK. Hace unos meses deje atras mi Canon AV-1 y ahora estoy usando CHDK en la G9 y me he enamorado de la fotografìa otra vez.-

Thank you so much to all the developers who made CHDK possible. This made me love my Point and Shoot cam more - Canon A710IS, already doing crazy shots like HDR, focus bracketing and time lapse pictures. And to the script writers for us Digic II users thanks! To those Digic III script writers, please include some tips how to convert it to Digic II. :)And to the helpful people in the forums who gave assistance and made effort to share their knowledge about the technical aspects of photography and how my camera works. Thank you. --- Brian @ Flickr

Thank you for your efforts: you"re really changing the canon"s compact scene. Now, when I have to buy a new camera, I first check the chances of CHDK being developed for it!! And I guess plenty of people is doing so.

Also, it"s great that CHDK defeat"s the stupid Powershot limitations that have no other reason but marketing decisions (some limitations are indeed technical, but plenty of them are just "political", if you know what I mean). You"re helping them (Canon) to overcome their own idiocy, but most important, you"re helping the users, real people who enjoy photography.

Sorry for double post (both ideas and thanks links) , but let me express my gratitude along with opservation about ND filter in my Canon A530, which seems to be just a little bit yellowish!?

As an electronics engineer and embedded systems programmer, I stand in awe at what this developer community has achieved! Especially those first few steps - extracting and then disassembling the Canon firmware so that additional code could be loaded to modify a camera"s behaviour. Absolutely brilliant!

Historically I"ve been a Canon fan since 1982 when I acquired my first film SLR - a Canon AV-1. Back then in Malaysia, the competing Nikon EM was the trend and I wanted something different than the Nikon EM or Olympus OM-10 (anyone still remember those models?). In 1987 I borrowed my younger brother"s EOS620 35mm SLR and really liked that camera. Sadly the EOS620 had to be permanently retired as it developed a shutter mechanism problem and the Canon service center couldn"t fix it due to lack of spare parts. :-(

When I bought my first digicam in 2004, naturally my choice was the PowerShot A80. Two years later, the Canon PowerShot S2is followed and I upgraded both cameras to a PowerShot A620 and S3is respectively.

Understandably, Canon purposely didn"t put these features into their PowerShot range for marketing reasons. My guess is that they didn"t want their PowerShot and IXUS/Digital ELPH cameras to have functions overlapping their EOS dSLR range. With my A620, I use the optical zoom in movie modes sparingly as the zoom mechanism is noisy. Canon purposely disabled optical zoom in their non-USM lens cameras due to noise. Only the USM lenses in the S-series ultrazooms had silent motors that would not be heard in movie clips whenever optical zoom is used.

My next camera would be a Canon EOS - either the EOS1000D or the EOS450D. I was tempted to upgrade to the PowerShot SX10is or the SX1is, but they"re much bigger and heavier than my present S3is and their tiny sensors can"t compete with an APS-C sized sensor in a dSLR. The SX1is" retail price is already in the EOS1000D"s territory so I may as well go into dSLRs.

Thanks to CHDK, I"ve decided not to sell off my PowerShot A620. It"s a very good camera to begin with and it"s even better with the CHDK installed. The only thing I wished the A620 had is an optical image stabilizer. Canon"s last PowerShot with the vari-angle LCD display was the discontinued A650is and this model is unfortunately bulkier and heavier than my A620. The latest SX200is would have been a good candidate to replace my A620 but it lacks an optical viewfinder and has a rather noisy sensor.

I find optical viewfinders useful in extremely bright sunlight and in low light situations where the LCD can"t help me frame a subject properly. Some people don"t care for optical viewfinders but I do. I can turn off the LCD to extend my camera"s power reserve and still take pics.

Thanks for everyone that helped in developing this project! I"ve been needing a way to use an intervalometer with my canon cameras and this is the way. I cant say enough how much this is helping out my photography. Keep up the great work.

I"m a diver and Canon are probably the leader in making underwater housings for all of their cameras. As you go deeper in water there"s less light, but worse, the colour of the light is altered as the red is absorbed. Being able to correct this is therefore important but without RAW format we"re limited. A camara offering RAW capture plus an underater housing is a very considerable investment (check out some of the housing prices and be amazed) so your add-on to the much more affordable point-and-shoot cameras is a wonderful gift. Thanks a million.

I"ve contacted Canon several times over the years, suggesting Canon should add a "Hot Pixel"-removal functionality in the firmware of all their camera models.

You guys are so selfless, that it makes me dizzy just thinking of the time and effort you must have put into developing these CHDKs. It"s guys like you who are prepared to work for no wages that make this world go round. My deepest gratitude and love to all of you. You have turned my humble Canon into a formidable high end camera !

Just wanted to add my thanks for the excellent work done all you people have done bringing this to world. Your mods have solved a particularly aggravating security problem I"ve been having with a suspicious character who has been casing our neighborhood. I went through 5 different security cameras, a Sony DV recorder, and 3 webcams trying to come up with a way to capture the license plate of the suspect vehicle. None of the security cameras could resolve the license plate due to the frame rate of the video capture board"s 1/30th second refresh rate and the interlace of the camera blurring the plate. Similar slow capture rate with the webcams plus there"s not enough focal length on webcams. The CHDK code allowed me to use the high resolution of my SD850IS along with a high enough shutter speed to finally get a decent photo of the license plate. The ability to park the camera and use the motion detect and intervalometer scripts worked great.

The Canon PowerShot SX20 IS is a new super-zoom camera, sporting a 20x zoom lens equivalent to a focal length of 28-560mm. Successor to the SX10 IS model, the Canon SX20 IS additionally features high-definition video (720p), with a dedicated movie button for instant access to movies in still mode and instant stills shooting during movie recording. There"s also an an HDMI mini port that makes it easy to play back footage on compatible TVs. The megapixel count has been increased from 10 to 12, and Canon have included image stabilisation to help ensure that the majority of your shots are sharp, plus there are Ultrasonic Motor (USM) and Voice Coil Motor (VCM) technologies that promise fast, accurate and quiet zooming and focusing. Full manual control over both aperture and shutter speed, a 2.5 inch vari-angle LCD II, an electronic viewfinder and external hotshoe complete the SX20"s headline specifications. Priced at £399.99 / €499.99 / $399.99, we find out if the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS can compete with the super-zoom big boys.

As with its forebear, the SX20 IS features built-to-last hard plastic bodywork with a larger than average grip offered, its size partly due to the four alkaline AA batteries required for power slotting into its base. While this contributes to overall weight as well as a feeling of solidity (at 560g), a matt black finish lends an overall air of sophistication, a point of difference being the metallic silver grey encircling the shutter button and left hand side of the grip (if the camera is viewed lens on). If you"re looking for a camera that will slot into a jacket pocket, however, think again. The SX20 IS" dimensions are not much more compact than an entry level DSLR, so it"s a case of attaching the provided strap for over-the-shoulder portability, or investing in a dedicated camera bag to protect it from the elements and prying eyes when out taking photographs.

There"s no full hard copy manual provided out of the box, just a very rudimentary getting started pamphlet, with the full manual on CD. While the latter is fine if you"re chained to a PC, when you"re outside shooting and can"t track down the setting you want, not having a manual to hand to quickly flick through is a right royal irritant. The new Hints & Tips feature incorporated within the user interface partly makes up for the this, providing short descriptions of key functions, but it"s obviously not as in-depth as the full manual. More positively a hotshoe for an accessory flash is offered in addition to the built-in raised variety, plus a flip out and twist (or in Canon parlance "vari angle") 2.5-inch LCD screen at the rear. This monitor tilts forward through 180° and backwards through 90° in order to achieve those otherwise awkward angle shots when users can"t quite get their eyes level with its electronic viewfinder, such as when shooting low to the ground or over the heads of a crowd.

As touched on earlier, the Canon SX20 IS offers a huge zoom range that"s not only much more portable and cheaper when compared with its equivalent on a DSLR but also has the advantage of being able to shoot video clips. Canon have fixed one of our key criticisms of the previous model and upgraded the video quality to 720p HD, although it still falls short of full HD 1920x1080 pixel video. It also boast stereo sound courtesy of microphones positioned either side of its lens, plus a dedicated button at the rear that activates the video feature whichever shooting mode you"re in. Marked by a red dot that universally signifies a record button, this falls readily under the user"s thumb at the rear of the camera.

Looking down on the SX20 IS, you"re presented with a fairly busy but well-spaced smattering of clearly labeled and sufficiently large buttons and dials. These run in an L-shape from the flash button at the far left, across the familiar DSLR-like hump housing the electronic viewfinder, built-in flash and hotshoe, to a shooting dial on the other side featuring no less than 13 user selectable modes. Canon have improved the feel of the mode dial so that it no longer accidentally moves into another position when placed inside a pocket or bag.

The aforementioned shooting modes range from full auto, through program, shutter priority, aperture priority and manual to a user-attributable custom setting – and, as you twist the physical dial, a virtual version appears in the top right hand corner of the rear screen if it"s in operation, or in the EVF above if it"s not, so you don"t need to take your eyes off the subject. This is handy, as we found the camera sometimes confused by busy scenes, so being able to re-compose a couple of times without missing the shot is a bonus. Further, this time pre-optimised modes include dedicated settings for shooting portraits, landscapes, night snapshot, sports mode, a grouped selection of scene modes, including the familiar likes of a dedicated fireworks setting among others, plus a stitch assist mode to help with shooting a sequence of shots for compositing together later as a single panorama. The final mode on the dial is that for capturing movie clips.

Adjacent to the shooting mode dial is a recessed but big enough on/off button that glows orange when the camera is activated, and on the forward slope of the grip itself we find a main shutter release button encircled by a rocker switch for controlling the whopping zoom. Press the power button and the responsive SX20 IS primes itself for an initial shot in just over a second, the zoom barrel extending to maximum wideangle setting and the rear 230k-dot LCD, or 235k-dot EVF, bursting into life for composing the image. Unlike rivals, there"s no obvious EVF/LCD button for switching between the two – as the camera"s default, this task falls to the display button. Instead the camera can be set up so if the LCD screen is facing into the body upon power up, the EVF automatically bursts into life. Alternatively, if the screen is facing out at the user, then it provides that method of shot composition.

As you"d expect from an enthusiast model, shutter delay is imperceptible and committing of full resolution images to memory takes less than a second at highest resolution – so no complaints as far as operational speed is concerned. Sound-tracked by a low mechanical whirr the zoom is also very responsive, so much so that determining an exact point in its range can be tricky, though, unusually, markings detailing incremental steps throughout its range are etched onto the top of the lens barrel. You can tab through these in baby steps with a gentle nudge of the lever. As indicated on the lens barrel, an Ultra Sonic Motor (USM) ensures your zoom transitions are commendably smooth and jerk free. Given the Canon"s relative bulk, it feels most natural to hold the camera with both hands, and fortunately there is enough of a ridge to the left, when viewing the camera from the rear, and at the back by the hinge for the LCD, for the user to do so without inadvertently smearing the screen with thumbprints.

Moving to the back of the SX20 IS then, and top left of the LCD is a direct print button that will be familiar to users of the Canon PowerShot range that doubles up in shooting mode as a user assignable short cut key to the likes of red eye reduction or auto exposure lock. Adjacent to this we have the rubber eye relief for the electronic viewfinder, just set back from a partly recessed dioptric adjustment wheel, while on the right hand side of the EVF we find the aforementioned record button for shooting video clips. Luckily, the full extent of the optical zoom can be deployed when filming, and coupled with the stereo sound, this means that, while no match for a dedicated camcorder, video clips look better than expected from your average compact.

Top right of the camera back are a trio of buttons set into the back of the curved grip whereby they fall immediately under the thumb. The top one is self evidently for image playback, its positioning meaning you can quickly check the results of a capture while your finger remains hovering over the shutter release button for the next possible shot. A press of the next one down brings up an exposure compensation slider (+/- 2EV), or, if alternatively the user is still in playback mode, allows a sequence of images to be "jumped" to find the one you"re looking for more rapidly in this age of ever larger card capacities, search criteria determined either by a number of images, categories or folders. The bottom and last of the three smaller buttons is for deleting images when in playback mode, or when in capture mode, lets the user move the otherwise central AF point to another portion of the screen. This is effected in conjunction with the four-way control pad with central "function set" button and fiddly scroll wheel that encircles it just below.

Press the function/set button at its centre when in any of the capture modes, and an L-shaped toolbar that will be familiar to Canon users appears on the screen, offering pull out toolbars with further options from the range when you come to rest on a particular setting. In auto mode, only resolution/image size for stills and video is highlighted from the range, whereas if you move into one of the more creative PASM modes and press the button again, you can choose from any of the now fully accessible options. These include being able to adjust white balance, select from the familiar Canon "My colors" modes – of which we preferred the "vivid" setting for added visual punch – the chance to bracket exposures or focus, tweak the intensity of the flash, plus switch between evaluative, centre weighted and spot metering.

Beneath this control pad and wheel are two more familiarly marked buttons, this time for image display and menu. With subsequent presses the former turns the display on off, or calls up a nine zone compositional grid with live histogram. A press of "menu" meanwhile provides the user with the ability to select from four separate folders – the first containing a comprehensive list of shooting options, the second being the fairly generic set up menu, and the third for accessing user-defined My Menu settings. Again the PowerShot SX20 IS is as quick and responsive as you could hope for as you tab though and effect the various options. While it is capable of shooting JPEG stills and high definition video however, one thing the SX20 IS still omits that several competing super zoom cameras include is RAW capture, which really would have made this an appealing proposition for current DSLR owners looking for a second camera.

The Canon PowerShot SX20 IS produced images of above average quality during the review period. The Canon PowerShot SX20 IS"s main drawback in terms of image quality is noise, with ISO 400 showing some noise, blurring of detail and slight colour desaturation. The noise and loss of detail get progressively worse as you go from ISO 800 to the fastest 1600 setting.

The Canon PowerShot SX20 IS handled chromatic aberrations quite well with some purple fringing effects appearing in high contrast situations. The 12 megapixel images were just a little soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpen setting and either require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you should increase the in-camera sharpening level.

The Canon PowerShot SX20 IS handled chromatic aberrations quite well during the review, with some purple fringing present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.

The Canon PowerShot SX20 IS allows you to focus on a subject that is just 0cms away from the camera. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

The flash settings on the Canon Powershot SX20 IS are Auto, Manual Flash On / Off, Slow Sync Speed and Red-eye Reduction. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

The Canon Powershot SX20 IS"s maximum shutter speed is 15 seconds, which is great news if you"re seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 15 seconds at ISO 80. I"ve included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.

The Canon Powershot SX20 IS has an anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. Here are some 100% crops of the images to show the results. As you can see, with anti shake turned on, the images are much sharper than with anti shake turned off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether.

DRO is Canon"s solution to improve shadow detail in photos taken in contrasty light. The selectable settings are Off and On. The examples show the effect of the different settings.

The Canon Powershot SX20 IS offers 10 My Color preset effects that you can use to change the look of your images, and you can also create your own Custom Color.

This is a selection of sample images from the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

The SX20 IS is virtually identical to its predecessor, with the only major additions being the new HD movie recording and an "upgrade" to 12 megapixels. The former is successful, the latter less so. Being able to shoot high-definition video with stereo sound and the ability to make full use of the 20x zoom is a real attraction and something that not many other cameras currently offer. Unfortunately the story isn"t so rosy with regards to still images, with noise and loss of fine detail first appearing at ISO 400 rather than ISO 800 as on the SX10. It seems that the move to more megapixels has compromised the overall image quality at higher ISO speeds, limiting this camera"s ability in low-light environments.

Other key features have been sensibly retained - the tilt-and-swivel LCD, dedicated record button for instant video clips, clear electronic viewfinder and external hotshoe all makes this an appealing digicam for the keen hobbyist, especially with a full range of manual shooting modes on offer. The only fly in the ointment is the continued absence of a RAW file format, pushing would-be buyers to the G11, currently the only Canon compact that offers RAW shooting. Several rival super-zoom cameras also support RAW, most notably the Panasonic FZ38 and Olympus SP-570 UZ, so there are other alternatives in the same category if this is a must-have feature.

Despite the less than stellar still images, lack of RAW, slight price increase and few real upgrades over the previous model, the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS remains a likeable and easy-to-use camera. It"s still a solid and reliable option for both the uninitiated moving up to a bridge model for the first time, and those stepping down momentarily from a DSLR who are looking for a model as a back up, or perhaps to supplement their existing lens range, but in a more portable and user-friendly format.

Canon SELPHY Compact Photo Printers and Canon Inkjet Printers supporting PictBridge (ID Photo Print, Fixed Size Print and Movie Print supported on SELPHY CP & ES printers only)

² Digital zoom available for still image and standard movie modes only. Optical zoom may not be available during movie recording.

Thanks for the question – I’ll attempt to keep my answer brief and not too technical. This is a question that I’m regularly asked, increasingly so as the price of DSLRs have dropped and become much more in the reach of the average digital photographer’s budget.

Let me declare up front that I own both a Point and Shoot digital camera (a Fujifilm FinePix F30) and a DSLR (a Canon EOS 5D). I like having both because I do feel they compliment each other and are each suited for different situations. My preference in terms of quality of shots is with the DSLR but for convenience the point and shoot sometimes wins out.