Canon PowerShot SX60 HS Digital Camera

I'm very happy with this purchase. I was sceptical about it since I have many other highend cameras (such as Nikon Df, Fuji XT1) and I was expecting to be disappointed from the image quality of this one. To the contrary ! I was pleasantly surprised. The lens is very sharp and the image quality is very decent with nice colors and WB. I'm not a pro, so I'm not looking for the perfect camera, but a superzoom was missing from my collection and I thought of buying this camera, instead of spending much more on a telephoto lens or a 1" bridge camera (such as the FZ1000). I used to own the RX10, but I sold it recently because it was more like a vacations camera. With this little beast (canon sx 60hs) you open new perspectives. The zoom range is amazing. you get to see details that you cannot see, not even slightly with the naked eye. Most importantly I loved the stablization, because it is very effective in video shooting. I also loved the 20mm wide angle, which does not show any visible distortion in video, at least not if the subject is around the center of the frame. I also liked the fact that it is very light and you can hold it with one hand, whereas the rx10 and fz1000 are much heavier. I also filmed a theater performance with it and the results were pretty decent. What I didn't like is that when I zoomed in and out, the lens moved abruptly for a fraction of a second, as if it were accelerating, which caused the picture to become unsteady. In this area the RX10 is much better, the zoom is slower and very smooth. I liked the fact that it has a mic port and I attached a rode videomic pro which works terrific. It even has in-camera settings for the sound level !As a bottom line, I would say, that this is a great vacation camera and a great camera for shooting action in good light. the broad zoom range gives you many possibilities and great flexibility and the body is light, but at the same time well made. The battery life is also good and the swivel screen very useful for video.If you are looking for a do-it-all camera, this is not it, because it has a relatively small sensor which does not do well in low light. for a do-it-all camera I would look for a used sony rx10 or panasonic fz1000, although they are much more expensive.If you use this camera in good light, it is terrific, especially for video due to the very good stabilization.

I was looking forward to purchasing this camera for some time but I was very disappointed once I received it. The picture quality is not up to the standard of the sx50. Every photo I took seemed to have a washed out look about it and it was so soft without any true sharpness. Even in Raw, the quality was very disappointing. The focus is also hit and miss. It can take anything from a second to 5 seconds to seek out the subject. This is even in bright light. I regularly missed shots due to the camera focusing so slowly. I also experienced it focusing and locking on the subject even though the subject was still totally blurred. The longer the zoom, the harder it is to keep your subject in view, the picture seems to bounce around all over the place even with image stabiliser on continuous mode. When you do finally take a photo, its mostly blurred as the camera picks up the slightest shake and makes it pretty hit or miss. Out of approximately every 20 photos, I only had 1 that was acceptable but still not great. I tried this camera indoor and outdoors. It has a lot of noise once you go above 400 iso. This camera really does need to be on a tripod to get the best out of the zoom or a clear photo, so its not great for point and shoot. The image stability obviously doesn't work for the size of the lens. Such a shame as this could of been a fantastic camera with the improved view finders.

When purchasing this camera I was influenced by the offer of a £40 cashback. However, when it came to claiming this from Canon they asked for my bank account details so they could do a BACS transfer. I am not happy to give them these details so it seems I will not get the £40 cashback. These days there are so many scams that I do not feel I can take the risk of handing out such details unnecessarily. I feel it would have been better all round for Canon to offer a £40 discount or transfer the money into my credit card account from which the purchase was made. I am most disappointed and wonder how many customers have been put off this offer..I found that the magazine reviews I have seen are a bit hard and the camera and appear to be comparing it with much more expensive SLR cameras. For a camera in this price range I think it has a good specification I am very happy with it

Having already bought the earlier SX 50 model I was expecting this SX 60 to be another step up. It is not, OK the zoom is another 10x more but i was hoping for even more from this model. The zoom seems to have been gained at the cost of clarity and shutter speed. I use them for photographing cetaceans which are often distant and appear momentarily. I was disappointed with this and nearly gave three stars but on reflection 4 is pretty much right. Don't get me wrong, for the money its a lot of camera but it is just not as good as the SX50 which really is amazing. It is slower and not as sharp and interestingly can now be bought cheaper which shows Canon/Amazon seem to have come to the same conclusion!So I was a little disappointed initially but looking back I was wrong. I have used this camera for nearly two years now and it has become a good friend. The SX 50 remains as a back up, but as most of my work is long range the extra 15 X does make a difference. What is truly amazing is its robustness I use it out in the field on the coast or on boats on a daily basis. It has had all manner of knocks, gets damp, sometimes with salt spray and yet its still going strong. The image I have posted may not be impressive in terms of winning any prizes but the Risso's Dolphin was over half a mile away shot on sports setting and quite heavily cropped. The light was poor and yet I still have an excellent record shot. The second image is relatively close up taken from 5 yards away seconds after the first, again not a prize winner but really shows the exceptional versatility of this camera.Both images are hand held! I am not a professional photographer in fact always use either Auto or Sports mode. So I am upgrading my review to 5 Stars based on long term use and results!