Canon PowerShot SX · on sale spring 2013

The Canon PowerShot SX280 HS: the 20x pocket zoom that also knew where you were

Canon's museum also lists the SX270 HS with it: otherwise near-identical, without Wi-Fi and GPS.

In March 2013 Canon announced a 25–500 mm lens, built-in GPS and Wi-Fi in a camera it priced at an estimated $329.99. Three 2013 reviews rated the pictures at or near the top of its class and the wireless part half-finished.

Launched

April 2013

Launch price

US$329.99 (estimated) · £299 · €359²

Sensor

12.1 MP CMOS

Lens

25–500 mm, 20×

Card

SD, SDHC, SDXC

Battery

NB-6L

Specs and sources

Meet the camera

It is a compact with a metal body and a raised ridge on the front for the fingers: Expert Reviews called the body solid and said the ridge helps one-handed shooting.⁵ Canon lists it at about 106 by 63 by 33 millimetres and 233 grams with battery and card.¹ The 3.0-inch screen has about 461,000 dots and does not respond to touch.¹³

Canon's museum lists the PowerShot SX280 HS for Japan and the Americas, and the same name together with the SX270 HS for Europe, Asia and Oceania.¹ The SX270 HS leaves out Wi-Fi and GPS, and Canon did not offer it in the United States.² PhotographyBLOG reported the announcement on 21 March 2013 with prices of £299, €359 and an estimated $329.99, expected to ship in April in the US and available from early May in the UK and Ireland.² Canon's museum dates the camera to April 2013.¹

Why this one was interesting

Twenty times, with a steady hand

The lens runs from 4.5 to 90 millimetres, which is 25 to 500 on a 35 mm camera, and Canon's ZoomPlus extends the reach digitally to about 40x.¹ Canon's own claim, as PhotographyBLOG relayed it, was four stops of image stabilisation.² Cameralabs found the stabiliser works well at full zoom for both stills and video,⁴ and PhotographyBLOG singled out the telephoto end and low light.³ Expert Reviews found focus sharp across the whole range, with colour fringing at the long end that the processor does not correct.⁵ The price of the reach is a lens that, PhotographyBLOG said, sticks out about 2 inches from the body at 500 mm.³

GPS that worked, Wi-Fi that half did

GPS is on board and off by default. PhotographyBLOG had little trouble getting a lock indoors or in a built-up area, to within a few metres, and a logger mode can record a trip for up to 48 hours on one charge; the review advises checking local rules on GPS use.³ Cameralabs reported a lock in around 15 seconds or less with assisted GPS, and noted that, unlike the Panasonic ZS30/TZ40, it does not show a place name or an on-screen map.⁴ Wi-Fi sends pictures to other devices such as computers, smartphones and printers.⁴ PhotographyBLOG called the setup fiddly and the whole feature half-baked next to rivals;³ it described the companion app as covering remote control, while Cameralabs and Expert Reviews both said the camera offers none, and we could not settle that from the reviews alone.³⁴⁵ Expert Reviews had trouble pairing an Android phone and none with an iPad.⁵ The cost shows up in the battery: about 210 shots with GPS off, roughly 100 to 150 with GPS on, and PhotographyBLOG said using GPS and Wi-Fi quickly drained it.³

New processor, same body

PhotographyBLOG described this as the first Canon model with the DIGIC 6 processing engine.³ Canon said it gave up to 30 percent more detail at ISO 3200 than earlier models.² Cameralabs reported that it shares essentially the same body and controls, and the same 20x range, as the SX260 HS.⁴ Expert Reviews said the SX260 HS is a little slower and lacks 60 fps video and Wi-Fi, and that image and video quality were largely indistinguishable.⁵ If you want to see where the line began, our PowerShot SX130 IS review covers an earlier pocket zoom from Canon.

The dark: its weak point

The three reviews drew the high-ISO line in different places. Cameralabs saw slight loss of contrast at ISO 400, a noticeable drop at 800, most fine detail gone at 1600, which it called the practical limit, and emergency-only results at 3200 and 6400.⁴ PhotographyBLOG called results clean to ISO 400 and usable up to 1600, with noise and colour loss from 800, and advised against ISO 6400.³ Expert Reviews was kinder: noise unobtrusive to ISO 800, softened detail at 1600 and 3200 but little visible grain, and an ISO 3200 shot it called superb for an ultra-zoom.⁵

Two features tried to work around that. Cameralabs described the handheld night-scene mode as stacking a burst of frames, picking ISO 800 in its test, which removed nearly all visible noise but added no detail and cropped the picture.⁴ PhotographyBLOG noted a longest shutter time of 15 seconds.³

Four photographs from this camera at ISO 1600, the setting where the reviewers parted ways. ISO and camera model are read from each file's own data; credited under each picture.

On eBay right now

Live listings for this camera, supplied by eBay and updated automatically. We earn a commission if you buy through them.

The little wins

How it drew the picture

Cameralabs found the camera crisper and cleaner at 100 percent than the 18-megapixel Panasonic ZS30/TZ40, but hard to tell apart at 10 by 8 inch prints, and noted that corners soften slightly.⁴ PhotographyBLOG scored image quality 4.5 out of 5 and called it the best in its class, though default sharpening was soft enough to want some post-processing and there is no raw format.³ Expert Reviews saw very little smeary noise reduction in bright light.⁵

Photos taken with this camera, from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each picture. The misty-shoreline frame was taken at an EXIF focal length of 49 mm, about 270 mm on a 35 mm camera by our arithmetic from Canon's 4.5–90 mm = 25–500 mm; the fossil frame was taken at ISO 800.

Where it let you down

There is no touchscreen, and the single autofocus point cannot be moved.³⁴⁵

Expert Reviews measured about 1.6 seconds between shots in normal use, about half the time of rival Panasonic and Sony cameras, which it said are twice as fast, and the camera got pretty hot during long video recording, at which point the battery indicator started blinking.⁵ Video at 60 fps is limited to around 17 minutes by the 4 GB file size limit, with no countdown to warn when recording is about to stop, and the zoom motor can be heard on the soundtrack.⁵ The battery charges only in the external charger, not over USB, and Cameralabs also listed no in-camera panorama mode and no HD slow motion.⁴ PhotographyBLOG found the on/off button unresponsive and manual focus fiddly.³ Cameralabs' verdict placed it below the Panasonic ZS30/TZ40, which it said has fewer annoyances: a touchscreen with selectable focus area, remote control from a phone, longer battery life and USB charging.⁴

What the reviewers said

All three reviews are of the camera when new. Digital Trends also reviewed it, but the page we found carries a 2023 date, so we did not use it.

The timeline

• 21 March 2013Canon announces the SX280 HS and SX270 HS; US price estimated at $329.99.²
• April 2013Canon's museum dates the camera; Canon's US release targeted shipping this month.¹²
• Early May 2013Announced UK and Ireland availability.²
• 28 May 2013PhotographyBLOG publishes its review.³
• 15 June 2013Cameralabs' image-quality pages are dated.⁴
• 1 October 2013Expert Reviews publishes its review.⁵

Should you buy one now?

Buy it if you want a long zoom that fits a coat pocket and you will mostly shoot in daylight; skip it if you want touch controls, or if you plan to leave GPS on, which cut PhotographyBLOG's battery life to roughly 100 to 150 shots.³ It launched at an estimated US$329.99;² what it sells for now is a question for the sold listings, not for us. We have not tested a unit yet. Before you bid, check these:

• The version. The SX270 HS has no GPS or Wi-Fi.² The camera in our lead photo carries a Wi-Fi logo.
• The sensor. It is CMOS, not CCD; see our glossary entry on CCD sensors if you are hunting for one.³
• The battery and charger. Canon lists the NB-6L;¹ the camera charges only in an external charger, per Cameralabs,⁴ so check the listing includes one. Spares are on Amazon ↗.
• The card. SD, SDHC and SDXC cards work.³ See our memory card guide.
• Firmware. Cameralabs said version 1.0.2.0 fixed a battery readout that differed between stills and video.⁴
• GPS and Wi-Fi. Check the GPS locks and that the Wi-Fi menu opens; we have not checked whether current phone software still pairs with it.
• The lens. It extends about 2 inches at full zoom;³ check it moves out and back smoothly with no grinding.

See recent sold prices on eBay ↗Shop on eBay ↗NB-6L battery ↗

Sources

1. Canon Camera Museum: PowerShot SX280 HS (names, April 2013, lens, DIGIC 6, size, weight, battery)
2. PhotographyBLOG, Canon PowerShot SX280 HS / SX270 HS announcement (21 Mar 2013: prices, availability, Canon's claims)
3. PhotographyBLOG, Canon PowerShot SX280 HS review by Mark Goldstein (28 May 2013)
4. Cameralabs, Canon PowerShot SX280 HS review by Gordon Laing (image-quality pages dated 15 Jun 2013; verdict page undated)
5. Expert Reviews, Canon PowerShot SX280 HS review by Ben Pitt (1 Oct 2013)

Sample photographs are credited under each one, all via Wikimedia Commons. Links to eBay and Amazon are affiliate links. For why people want cameras like this, we tell the story once, in Pictures that never left the card.