She impresses with versatility and performance.
1. Versatility:
The SX 280 HS offers functions that are otherwise missing in pocket cameras.
With cameras in this price range, manufacturers often deliberately reduce the manual intervention options.
Here Canon has however tried to meet all buyers meet.
Those who do not have much idea of taking pictures, select the green auto setting, and then the camera from worries of good results.
Who wants to use a greater potential, can the conscious choice of the appropriate scene mode (z. B. Sport, Portrait, Snow, Night Scene) are also in difficult situations to beautiful results.
The real strengths, the camera can play if you use their manual control. And it really has a lot of possibilities! So many that they are not all intuitively find trying out, you have to be incorporated and to read the digital manual accompanying.
2. Special features:
I mention some of the things that I've been looking in vain for many small compact:
- Full manual working ability, time, aperture and program automatic
- Instant access to exposure compensation
- Fixing the exposure time without focusing (in Program mode)
- Retaining the focus without determination of exposure values (in Program mode)
- Show a grid
- Change the flash intensity
- Measurement of the white balance
These are just some examples of what the SX 280 HS offers.
I would like to highlight the wide range of the optical zoom (20x, 25 mm to 500 mm equivalent to mm format), the good image stabilization, the camera shake often prevented and waiving showpiece pixel count in favor of better picture quality.
A feature that I like to use, is the subsequent contrast adjustment via i-Contrast in the camera.
New in the SX series and very much appreciated by me is the ability to transfer the pictures from this camera via radio immediately on smartphone, tablet or notebook. What's needed is not even a wireless connection, because the camera can even produce an access point. So you can just shot the image still on the way provide when required by smartphone into the net or emailing. Or you can still in place to check the image effect on the tablet and reshoot if necessary.
3. Image Quality:
I was excited about the camera, because it the latest Canon DIGIC 6 works. The image quality is impressive.
One of the important achievements of recent image processors, for example, the ironing out of problems at high ISO speeds. Formerly an image at 800 ISO was completely snowed. Today often falls not on that high ISO number was at work. Only in comparison with a 80-ISO shooting one notices, depending on the subject, the difference in the drawing of fine details. This is solved very well with this camera. But this was also the predecessor DIGIC 5 is the case.
A superzoom can not offer the same resolution on all ranges. But may also herein be proud of the camera. In most uses, the lens features sharp and brilliant. Even at the edges of the wide-angle the sharpness is still usable, Vignette makes little noticeable. For very long focal lengths the resolution of fine details to be something (remember, these are the focal lengths, which do not provide the lauded for special sharpness Cams, because there already is closing at zoom factor 5 or even 3.6).
The autofocus is reliable, even in low light fail, even with switched off auxiliary light.
Mention deserves the improved quality of the digital zoom to magnification factor of two, the Canon called "Zoom Plus". This means that even up to 40 times depending on the subject and output format often useful results are achieved when zooming.
For Canon's "Zoom Plus" feature I have an example photo (Buddha head, in 2 versions) set up in the gallery. The focal length of this picture is amazing 1000mm equivalent to small format, combined from 20x optical and 2x digital zoom.
In this recording from bare hands can also be seen in the effectiveness of the image stabilization. Because with a very long focal length already caused at 1/100 sec the slightest movement camera shake.
(Unfortunately, the image file Amazon has been greatly reduced in size when uploading, so the original resolution can not be judged.)
4. Weaknesses:
Speed auto focus at long focal lengths. Snapshots moving subjects with a long focal length are problematic. However, this is typical of compact cameras.
The position of the flash: He's placed where normally rests the left index finger. That does not bother because the flash goes out unexpectedly in some programs. On the other hand it must be triggered in a raised position, because of the long lens in telephoto zoom would shade him.
Battery performance when shooting videos I've tried it, although I usually turn any videos. When the battery is not freshly charged, the battery warning appears equal. The error occurs even though I did the firmware update. I do not use the video function. If I, however, turning video is important, I would look for another camera.
(March 2015, addendum to the battery problem:
On January 15, 2015 Canon launched a kind of recall for the Canon SX280 HS. It is surrounded by a battery contact failure talk that can occur in such models, which have at the 6th position from the left in the serial number of a digit from 0 to 4. It will be offered a free repair this error. I put a link on the relevant page of Canon below in a comment because Amazon can within the review to any links.)
5. My conclusion:
Considered as an overall package and in its price group to 200, the SX 280 HS is a very good all-round camera for such users, which depend only on photography, not on Making videos.
But you should not expect them to low zoom ratio, or a quick reflex can achieve on their areas of expertise a high-intensity action.
The overall performance of the camera when taking photos is so good that they outweigh the weaknesses far for me.
Because they thereby remains small and light, it is the ideal Always-In-Camera for me.
