JeremyB2 wrote:
I'm not sure if anyone has answered the OP's question regarding IQ between the SX730 and the SX740. We've seen the sample images for the 740 which don't really impress me. Has anyone been able to compare these images with ones from the 730? The reason I ask is that I'm considering a 730/740 as a second smaller camera to go with my SX50. I appreciate that images from the 730/740 are not going to be up to the quality of the SX50 but I'm prepared to accept a degree of compromise.
Earlier this year I bought an SX740 and used it on a trip. When I examined the SX740 images, there were way too many that were smeared such that they were effectively less than a megapixel.
My response was to abandon it. I bought a used SX50 from eBay at a good price. It ended up being a good copy. I shoot 100% raw with it so I can control the tradeoff between noise and smeary noise reduction. Also I suspect that the larger lens gives it enough of a boost that fewer images turn out to be impossible.
I'll never use the SX740 again. It is in my to-be-eBayed pile.
(Background info: I have a lot of Canon cameras to choose from. An S100 for when small and decent with a bit of zoom are needed. A G7X for when not-quite-so-small but need better image quality is needed. Three EOS-Ms bodies and a lot of EOS-M lenses. Two crop and one FF DSLRs + lenses that don't get used much at all. And a Pixel 2 that I use whenever possible. The SX740/SX50 are for the need-a-whole-lot-of-zoom but still has to at least look good on a laptop screen niche. The SX740 didn't pass this test. The SX50 does. For me.)
[Edit. Just realized that this thread is over a year old. But I guess my post is still relevant because I don't think much has changed since then in this niche of the Canon P&S market.]
Wayne