Canon PowerShot SX · announced February 2011
The Canon PowerShot SX220 HS: the Europe-only 14x travel zoom that left the GPS out
We found no other name: Canon's user guide calls it the PowerShot SX220 HS, and DPReview and Imaging Resource describe a European model with no US announcement.123
In February 2011 Canon announced two nearly identical pocket superzooms: the SX230 HS with GPS at $349.99, and the Europe-only SX220 HS without it at €269. The cheaper twin kept the new back-illuminated sensor and 1080p video; reviewers praised its zoom and its picture quality, and grumbled about a flash that pops up by itself and some awkward controls.
- Launched
- February 2011
- Sensor
- 12.1 MP CMOS
- Lens
- 28–392 mm, 14×
- Card
- SDXC, SDHC, SD, MultiMediaCard
- Battery
- NB-5L
Canon PowerShot SX220 HS specs: sensor, lens, battery, memory card and cable
Launched in February 2011 at €269, the Canon PowerShot SX220 HS is a 12.1 MP CMOS compact with a 28–392 mm (35 mm equivalent) 14× zoom lens. Inside: it runs on the NB-5L battery. Sources
- Sensor
- CMOS, 1/2.3", 12.1 MP source
- Lens
- 28–392 mm equivalent, 14× zoom source
- Memory card
- SDXC, SDHC, SD, MultiMediaCard source
- Battery
- NB-5L source
- USB / A/V cable
- See our Canon cable page
Meet the camera
DPReview reported the SX220 HS from the CP+ show on 7 February 2011 alongside the SX230 HS, which it called Canon's first GPS-enabled camera; it described the SX220 HS as a Europe-only version without GPS.2 Both had a 28-392 mm equivalent 14x lens, a 12.1-megapixel sensor and a 3-inch screen of about 460,000 dots, and DPReview said the GPS receiver was the only difference between them.2 The SX230 HS was priced at $349.99 in the US and €299 in Europe, and the SX220 HS at €269;2 PhotographyBLOG and TechRadar gave £269 for the UK, which PhotographyBLOG put £90 below the SX210 IS at its own launch and £30 below the SX230 HS.45 Imaging Resource noted that the SX220 HS had not been announced for the US.3 By the end of March, ePHOTOzine was quoting £229.6
TechRadar described a metal front plate;5 PhotographyBLOG judged the camera bigger than an average compact yet still just about pocketable, with the lens poking some two inches out of the body at full zoom, and said it came in purple or grey.4 Canon lists it at 105.7 by 59.3 by 33.2 millimetres and 215 grams with battery and card.1
Why this one was interesting
A new sensor in a familiar body
ePHOTOzine described the SX220 HS as an update to the SX210 IS that swapped its 14-megapixel CCD for a 12-megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor, meant to speed up shooting and lower noise.6 TechRadar explained the idea: moving the wiring to the far side of the chip so it does not block light, which in theory widens what the camera can shoot without a flash or tripod; it added that Canon argued fewer pixels let each one be larger.5 PhotographyBLOG said the camera looks cut from the SX210 IS's mould but is not an exact match, and that it improved on that model mainly by offering more for less money.4
Full HD with the zoom still working
The SX220 HS records 1080p at 24 frames a second, and PhotographyBLOG counted it among the few compacts then on sale to do so with stereo sound.41 PhotographyBLOG said the full 14x range works while filming, and heard no motor buzz on its recordings; TechRadar and Pocket-lint both noticed a faint whirr or purr from the lens, and ePHOTOzine said the zoom runs slower during filming, so little lens noise reaches the sound.4586 A Super Slow Motion mode records 640 by 480 pixels at 120 frames a second or 320 by 240 at 240.1
The rival it was built to beat
PhotographyBLOG pitched the SX220 HS against Panasonic's TZ18, which it said the Canon bettered on paper in several respects.4 ePHOTOzine laid out the field at its review: the TZ18 at £229 with a 14-megapixel sensor and 16x zoom, the Nikon Coolpix S9100 at £249 with an 18x lens, and Olympus's SZ-10 at £199 with 18x.6 In its timing test the Canon needed 1.8 seconds from switch-on to a photo, against 1.9 for both rivals, and 3.0 seconds shot to shot with flash against 2.5 for the TZ18.6
What was lost
Battery life fell to about 210 shots; PhotographyBLOG called that so-so and 50 fewer than the SX210 IS gave.4 ePHOTOzine's unit ran for a little over 200 shots before going flat and suggested a spare battery.6 There is no raw format, and the high-speed burst, at about 8.1 frames a second, is limited to 3 megapixels.41 There is no viewfinder, so every shot is composed on the rear screen.3 For the GPS, you needed the SX230 HS.2
The dark: its weak point
The back-illuminated sensor was Canon's answer to dim light, and the reviewers did not quite agree on how far it got. PhotographyBLOG found noise-free pictures at ISO 100 to 400, some noise and slight loss of colour at 800, clearer noise and colour loss at 1600 that was still perfectly usable, and a 3200 setting that did not suffer too badly.4 ePHOTOzine called noise very low from ISO 100 to 400, low at 800 and still low at 1600, with 3200 becoming very noticeable.6 TechRadar saw a fine grain of noise at every sensitivity, kept in check at the lowest few, and at the top settings practically no colour noise but little detail in night shots, with highlights hard to hold without underexposing.5 Pocket-lint went furthest, saying it detected noise even at low ISO settings and that it would limit how far you could enlarge pictures.8 The longest exposure is 15 seconds, and PhotographyBLOG's own 15-second night picture took 30 in all, because the camera spends as long again on noise reduction.41
Real photographs taken with this camera. The sensitivity shown is recorded in each file's own EXIF data, and the camera's own EXIF model name matches.
Curious what one sells for? See recent eBay sold listings for this camera ↗
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The little wins
Stabiliser that earns its keep
PhotographyBLOG's handheld test pairs, listed at 1/10 s at 28 mm and 1/4 s at 392 mm, came out much sharper with the stabiliser on.4 What Digital Camera called it very effective and said it even steadies the framing when you pan.7
Fixes from the SX210 IS
TechRadar said Canon replaced the awkward zoom lever with a collar around the shutter button and moved the power button from the top plate to a more sensible spot on the back.5
How it drew the picture
PhotographyBLOG scored image quality 4.5 out of 5, though it found out-of-camera files a little soft at the default sharpening and worth sharpening afterwards.4 Pocket-lint saw vibrant colour and plenty of detail, with the far end of the zoom the weak spot: crispness and colour drop off there.8 What Digital Camera liked natural, muted tones and good control of shadows and highlights; TechRadar, by contrast, said highlights often lose detail in contrasty scenes.75 Fringing divided them. PhotographyBLOG called the camera's handling of chromatic aberration excellent, with limited purple fringing in high-contrast scenes, mostly at the edges of the frame;4 TechRadar said chromatic aberration was visible across the zoom range and bordered on objectionable at full size, mentioning vignetting at f/5.9 as well;5 ePHOTOzine listed soft corners, slight vignetting at full zoom and some purple fringing in extreme conditions.6
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Photos taken with this camera, from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each picture. We checked the Commons category on 27 October 2026: it holds 4,837 files, and we picked nine photos from eight different uploaders.
Where it let you down
The flash pops up every time the camera starts. PhotographyBLOG found it slightly irritating and TechRadar annoying;45 TechRadar could find no way to stop it and said it stays up even with the flash turned off, while Pocket-lint and ePHOTOzine said you can hold it down with a finger and raise it later.586 The body has little grip, so the thumb ends up on the controls;586 What Digital Camera found the mode dial very stiff and the control wheel too easily bumped, whereas ePHOTOzine called the dial's firmness about right.76 PhotographyBLOG counted six button presses to delete one picture.4 The 16:9 screen leaves black bars around ordinary 4:3 photos; to fill it you have to shoot 16:9, which drops the picture to about 9 megapixels.6581 Flash results differed too, with PhotographyBLOG seeing no red-eye indoors, while ePHOTOzine saw some in a flash portrait and advised the red-eye reduction flash.46 PhotographyBLOG's text also says creative effects cannot be used while filming, but its own specification list and Canon's guide both show a miniature effect for movies.41
What the reviewers said
| Outlet | Date | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| TechRadar | 1 Mar 2011 | A healthy zoom in a pocketable body with good results across the board; against it, the wide screen only pays off if you film, and chromatic aberration at the long end. Three stars out of five on the page.5 |
| PhotographyBLOG | 14 Mar 2011 | Design 4, features 4.5, ease of use 4, image quality 4.5 and value 4 out of 5; a strong recommendation as a travel zoom that does it all with minimum fuss.4 |
| ePHOTOzine | 31 Mar 2011 | Recommended, a great travel companion with excellent colour; soft corners and slight vignetting count against it. No numeric scores in the copy we read.6 |
| What Digital Camera | 14 Apr 2011 (page metadata; the page itself shows 30 Oct 2014) | An impressive all-round travel compact priced competitively, but handling quirks and some image-quality issues mean it just misses the mark; the page's star rating shows 4.5 out of 5, which sits oddly beside that wording.7 |
| Pocket-lint | page dated 16 Apr 2013 | 4.0 out of 5. A worthy successor to the SX210 IS with plenty of control options; noise at low ISO and soft results at the long end counted against it.8 |
Imaging Resource's page is a launch overview without lab tests, so it is not in the table.3 DPReview's page is a news item, and we found no DPReview review.2
Where sources disagree: PhotographyBLOG put the camera's start-up at just over a second and TechRadar at just under one, while ePHOTOzine timed 1.8 seconds from switching on to taking a photo;456 the three outlets may count different things, so treat all three as rough. Pocket-lint's page carries a 2013 date although the review compares the camera with last year's SX210 IS, so the date probably reflects a republication; we show the date the page gives.8 The SX220 HS is not in our catalogue of Canon Camera Museum entries, which does include the SX230 HS, so we take dates and prices from the launch reports above.
The timeline
- 7 February 2011DPReview and Imaging Resource report Canon's new SX230 HS and the Europe-only SX220 HS.23
- 1 March 2011TechRadar publishes its review.5
- 14 March 2011PhotographyBLOG publishes its review.4
- 31 March 2011ePHOTOzine posts its review at £229.6
- 14 April 2011The publication date in What Digital Camera's page metadata (the page itself shows only a 30 October 2014 date).7
- 16 April 2013The date shown on Pocket-lint's page.8
Should you buy one now?
Buy one if you want a pocketable 14x zoom with full manual modes and Full HD video, and you can live with a flash that wakes up on its own, and, according to some reviewers, a stiff dial and noise in dim light. It launched at €269 and £269;24 what it sells for now is a question for the sold listings, not for us. We have not tested a unit. Before you bid, check these:
- The name and region. Search the Canon PowerShot SX220 HS. DPReview called it a Europe-only model;2 do not confuse it with the SX230 HS, which has GPS.2
- The battery. It uses an NB-5L, and the box held a CB-2LX or CB-2LXE charger;1 a fresh battery is on Amazon ↗.
- The card. It takes SD, SDHC and SDXC cards, and Canon's list also names MultiMediaCard types;1 see our memory card guide and glossary.
- The cable. Canon's package list names the IFC-400PCU interface cable and the AVC-DC400ST AV cable; PhotographyBLOG's accessory list names an HTC-100 HDMI cable as an extra;14 see our IFC-400PCU page.
- The flash. It pops up by itself at start-up, so check that it rises, stays up when raised and closes flush.45
- The controls. What Digital Camera's complaints concerned the mode dial and the control wheel, so turn both and see how they feel.7
- The lens. Check that it extends to full zoom and retracts cleanly and that the glass is free of scratches.
If you are wondering why cameras like this are being hunted down again, we tell that story once, in Pictures that never left the card. For another Canon travel zoom, see our reviews of the PowerShot SX130 IS and the PowerShot SX280 HS.
See recent sold prices on eBay ↗Shop on eBay ↗NB-5L battery ↗
Sources
- Canon, Camera User Guide for the PowerShot SX230 HS and SX220 HS (PDF; package contents p. 2, specifications pp. 198-201)
- DPReview, Canon unveils SX230 HS GPS-enabled compact & SX220 HS (staff news, 7 February 2011)
- Imaging Resource, Canon PowerShot SX220 HS overview (posted 7 February 2011; a launch page, not a review)
- PhotographyBLOG, Canon PowerShot SX220 HS review by Mark Goldstein (14 March 2011), including the specification list
- TechRadar, Canon PowerShot SX220 HS review by Matt Golowczynski (1 March 2011; eight pages)
- ePHOTOzine, Canon Powershot SX220 HS review by Joshua Waller (31 March 2011)
- What Digital Camera, Canon PowerShot SX220 HS review by Paul Nuttall (published 14 April 2011 per the page's data, modified 30 October 2014; three pages)
- Pocket-lint, Canon PowerShot SX220 HS review by Chris Hall (page dated 16 April 2013)
Camera photo by Badudoy (CC BY-SA 3.0); other photographs are credited under each one, all via Wikimedia Commons. Links to eBay and Amazon are affiliate links.