Canon PowerShot SX610 HS Review

The Canon PowerShot SX610 HS digital camera has Wi-Fi and NFC networking options and a fantastic long-zoom capability in a tiny point-and-shoot frame. In addition, the Power Shot SX610 HS camera’s strong 18x Optical Zoom lens (equivalent to 25-450mm) provides consumers with high-quality optics in a pocket-sized camera chassis. 

The PowerShot SX610 HS camera combines a 20.2-Megapixel CMOS sensor and Canon’s DIGIC 4+ Image Processor to produce the Canon HS System allowing for excellent low-light performance. With Auto Zoom mode activated, the Camera will automatically frame the subject of a photo by zooming in and out to produce a clean, clear image with pin-sharp focus.

See: Best Memory Cards for Canon PowerShot SX610 HS

The 18-megapixel Canon PowerShot SX610 HS may not have the manual exposure modes of other point-and-shoots, but this slender Camera is straightforward to use, which is a real bonus for those who want to shoot and share video with as little hassle as possible. Furthermore, the Camera’s sleek and stylish design makes it an excellent choice for travelers. In addition, this Camera, which costs $230, has a few neat features up its sleeve.

Canon PowerShot SX610 HS Design

The SX610 HS looks just as wonderful as it feels in your hand, and it’s available in three different colors: red, silver, and black. The dimensions are 4.15 inches by 2.40 inches by 1.05 inches, and it weighs just 6.74 ounces with the battery and SD card included. When you pull the Camera out of your pocket or handbag, you’ll have a secure hold on it thanks to a raised thumb rest and a little raised grip on the front of the Camera. On the other hand, the red model’s controls have a low profile and are designed to blend in.

The Camera features a wide viewing angle that makes it simple to display your photographs on the LCD screen, which is 3 inches and has a good resolution. This allows you to see the entire composition at once. In addition, the display is crisp, clear, and usable in almost every lighting condition except direct sunlight.

Even though some other small cameras, such as the Nikon Coolpix S9900, have longer lenses, the image-stabilized 18x zoom on the SX610 HS (comparable to 25-450mm in focal length) provides an excellent focal range for wide-angle as well as telephoto images. In addition, if you switch to the Macro mode, you can focus on subjects as near as 5 centimeters away.

Canon PowerShot SX610 HS Features

With its limited range of exposure settings, including Program, Auto, and other Scene modes, the SX610 HS excels at keeping things straightforward and easy to use. Metering is one of the user-selectable parameters, along with white balance, ISO, and other factors.

But diving further beyond the fundamentals, you’ll find more fascinating possibilities.

There is an option called Creative shot that, when used, takes up to six pictures with a single press of the shutter button, each of which has a different special effect and crop applied to it.

In addition, you can select particular special effects, such as a Toy camera, Sepia Monochrome, and others. The Digest mode records two and four seconds of video before registering each frame. It then aggregates all of the individual clips into a short movie. Other settings include grin and wink detection, which, when activated, causes the Camera to take a picture whenever the photograph’s subject smiles or moments.

Other features worth mentioning include the capacity to automatically expand the focus area while the Camera is being used, which helps to guarantee that captured photographs are crisp. You will also receive a notification from the Camera once the eyes of the person are closed. You can discover pictures using the playback search options, which include search choices for favorites, faces, and the date the image was captured.

Canon PowerShot SX610 HS Performance

The Canon PowerShot SX610 HS has a slower start-up time than average compared to other cameras in its category. However, the Camera’s responsiveness is moderate and can shoot up to 7.2 frames per second in high-speed continuous mode. With sufficient light, autofocus is often quick and precise, but it may experience some difficulty in low-light situations.

The reproduction of colors is accurate as a whole, but if you want more vibrant hues, you may choose the Vivid setting, which is an available choice. The photograph of the green foliage in the garden is an excellent illustration of the color accuracy and intensity of the SX610 HS.

Even when set to the lowest possible ISO of 80, as in this well-lit picture, the Camera prioritizes altering the shutter speed rather than the aperture. As a result, purple fringing was visible around the high-contrast border of the shadow, although I could only see it in isolated spots.

I could take this picture of the museum by hand with a shutter speed of 1/80 of a second while keeping the ISO at a low setting. This was made possible by the excellent image stabilization of the Camera. Because this Camera has an ISO range of 80-3200, it is in your best interest to maintain the ISO as low as possible to reduce the amount of image noise while also using the image stabilization capabilities of the SX610 HS.

Canon PowerShot SX610 HS Video

The quality of the footage that could be shot with such a small camera exceeded my expectations. It is as easy as pushing a single button; the colors and focus are true, and zooming is usually relatively smooth and unobtrusive. A specialized mode of dynamic image stabilization is also explicitly designed for recording video while walking.

The Canon PowerShot SX610 HS does not have impressive movie mode specifications compared to other cameras, such as the Nikon Coolpix S9900 or the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX500’s primary selling point is how simple it is to operate. For example, you have the option of shooting in full HD (1920 x 1080), HD (1080 x 720), standard definition (640 x 480), and micro effect mode, all of which run at 30 frames per second. In addition, the SX610 HS automatically records everything in MP4 format, which can be easily edited and shared, so there is no need for you to try to figure out what format you should shoot in.

You can transfer video files from the Camera to your phone via Wi-Fi if you download the free Camera Connect app for iOS(which opens in a new tab) or Android from Canon. Once the videos are on your phone, you may edit them and share them with others.

Canon PowerShot SX610 HS Image Quality

The SuperFine JPEG option at 20 megapixels was used to capture each sample photograph included in this study. This setting results in an image that is around 8 megabytes in size on average.

It shouldn’t be surprising that Canon has upgraded the SX600 HS’s 16-megapixel sensor to a 20.2-megapixel chip, given that many of Canon’s competitors are putting 18 and 20-megapixel sensors in their tiny cameras. It seems terrific on paper, but in practice, there is minimal discernible improvement in the visual quality.

The new Camera does resolve somewhat more information than its predecessor, but in general, you could enlarge a picture captured by the SX600 HS to dimensions of 20MP and achieve equivalent clarity. But, of course, this is only true if you scrutinize the new Camera more closely than its predecessor did.

Despite the questionable detail improvements resulting from its higher pixel count, the SX610 HS can produce appealing photos photographed in solid light. The colors are bright, and the details are defined satisfactorily. In addition, because the Camera’s exposure metering is so precise, the images it takes seem like the real thing and have an excellent harmony of highlight and shadow detail.

However, things are not in such excellent shape when there is little light. Grain noise that is barely discernible in low ISO photographs is readily apparent at ISO400, particularly across neutral tones. At ISO800, grain noise is accompanied by color speckling and some information smearing in the picture.

This worsens until the highest sensitivity setting of ISO3200, when grain and color speckling is easily discernible, even when the image is at fifty percent of its original size. Despite this, these pictures still have sufficient information to make them suitable for web sharing and little 6×4 printouts.

The optical performance is satisfactory, and although some chromatic aberration (also known as purple fringing) is noticeable in high-contrast regions, it is not very bothersome. This is especially true in low-light situations. The distortion is likewise relatively low, with only a touch of barrel distortion when the photograph is taken at a wide angle and no discernible pincushion effect when the picture is magnified. The sharpness in the corners is acceptable. However, the detail is not nearly as distinct as in the frame’s center.

Canon PowerShot SX610 HS Battery Capacity

The maximum number of photographs that can be taken with the battery life of the SX610HS is around 270 (or 400 if the Camera is set to Eco mode), which is about the norm for most compact cameras but is more than 100 photographs fewer than what can be taken with the Nikon S9900.

Canon PowerShot SX610 HS Specifications

Body type	Compact
Max resolution	5184 x 3888
Other resolutions	4:3 (5184 x 3888, 3648 x 2736, 2048 x 1536, 640 x 480), 16:9 (5184 x 2912, 3648 x 2048, 1920 x 1080, 640 x 360), 3:2 (5184 x 3456, 3648 x 2432, 2048 x 1368, 640 x 424), 1:1 (3888 x 3888, 2736 x 2736, 1536 x 1536, 480 x 480)
Image ratio w h	1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9
Effective pixels	20 megapixels
Sensor photo detectors	21 megapixels
Sensor size	1/2.3″ (6.17 x 4.55 mm)
Sensor type	BSI-CMOS
Processor	DIGIC 4+
ISO	Auto, 80-3200
White balance presets	5
Custom white balance	Yes
Image stabilization	Optical
Uncompressed format	No
JPEG quality levels	Superfine, fine
Focal length (Equiv.)	25–450 mm
Optical zoom	18×
Maximum aperture	F3.8–6.9
Autofocus	Contrast Detect (sensor)Multi-areaCenterSelective single-pointTrackingSingleContinuousFace DetectionLive View.
Digital zoom	Yes (4X)
Manual focus	Yes
Normal focus range	5 cm (1.97″)
Macro focus range	5 cm (1.97″)
Number of focus points	9
Articulated LCD	Fixed
Screen size	3″
Screen dots	922,000
Touch screen	No
Screen type	PureColor II G TFT LCD
Live view	Yes
Viewfinder type	None
Minimum shutter speed	15 sec
Maximum shutter speed	1/2000 sec
Aperture priority	No
Shutter priority	No
Manual exposure mode	No
Subject/scene modes	Yes
Built-in flash	Yes
Flash Range	3.50 m
External flash	No
Flash modes	Auto, on, slow synchro, off
Continuous drive	2.5 fps
Self-timer	Yes (2 or 10 secs, custom)
Metering modes	MultiCenter-weighted spot
Exposure compensation	±2
Resolutions	1920 x 1080 (30p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Format	MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone	None
Storage types	SD/SDHC/SDXC card
USB	USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI	Yes (micro-HDMI)
Microphone port	No
Headphone port	No
Wireless	Built-In
Wireless notes	802.11b/g/n with NFC
Remote control	Yes (via smartphone)
Environmentally sealed	No
Battery	Battery Pack
Battery description	NB-6LH lithium-ion battery & charger
Battery Life (CIPA)	270
Weight (inc. batteries)	191 g (0.42 lb / 6.74 oz)
Dimensions	105 x 61 x 27 mm (4.13 x 2.4 x 1.06″)
Orientation sensor	Yes
GPS	None

Canon PowerShot SX610 HS Conclusion

The Canon PowerShot SX610 HS is a well-designed camera that is simply due to its bulky, ergonomic build, logical controls, and intuitive menu design. All of these features contribute to the Camera’s ease of use. You can be confident that the photographs it takes will be sharply focused and have enough exposure.

The performance and image quality are adequate, although they are not exceptional. The upgrade to a sensor with 20.2-million pixels is impressive on paper, but in practice, the Camera can only resolve slightly more information than the 16-million-pixel SX600 HS sensor could. Unfortunately, the additional megapixels have decreased battery life, and the rapid pace of the Camera can take several shots. However, at least the typical amount of time required to analyze a picture is still relatively quick.

But has Canon made sufficient improvements to ensure the SX610 HS remains competitive? For example, the Nikon Coolpix S7000 has a terrible battery life, and neither the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX350 nor the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ55 can match the quality of the SX610 HS’s upgraded monitor. On the other hand, comparable cameras, such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ55 and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX350, all offer 20x optical zoom and Wi-Fi connectivity for prices similar to or lower than those of the SX610 HS.

Canon PowerShot SX610 HS FAQs