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Canon sx710 new review

Started Jan 27, 2015 | Discussions
stevenic Senior Member • Posts: 1,459
Canon sx710 new review

Hi all,

A new review of the canon sx710: http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/canon_powershot_sx710_hs_review/conclusion/

They say its a drop in image quality comparing it to the sx700 because of the 20megapixels. What is canon doing going that high with the megapixels with such a small sensor.

Cheers

Steve.

Canon PowerShot SX710 PowerShot SX700
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4everAnoob Regular Member • Posts: 299
Re: Canon sx710 new review
1

stevenic wrote:

Hi all,

A new review of the canon sx710: http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/canon_powershot_sx710_hs_review/conclusion/

They say its a drop in image quality comparing it to the sx700 because of the 20megapixels. What is canon doing going that high with the megapixels with such a small sensor.

Cheers

Steve.

While that statement is probably true, I have got to say that I find that website one of the worst review sites I have ever seen. Their testing methods are completely unprofessional, for example you cant really compare the SX700/SX710 ISO performance samples, because not only do they NOT use a tripod, but I was comparing the quality between one of the books and I couldnt because in the SX710 image it had disappeared. What a joke. I also havent seen a review on that site where they don't recommend a camera, it is always highly rated.

When I compare a ISO 1600 sample on that site, the SX710 actually wins for me. Slight more grainy, but seemingly less NR than SX700. But for the price difference between them it is not worth it anyway.

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OP stevenic Senior Member • Posts: 1,459
Re: Canon sx710 new review

4everAnoob wrote:

stevenic wrote:

Hi all,

A new review of the canon sx710: http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/canon_powershot_sx710_hs_review/conclusion/

They say its a drop in image quality comparing it to the sx700 because of the 20megapixels. What is canon doing going that high with the megapixels with such a small sensor.

Cheers

Steve.

While that statement is probably true, I have got to say that I find that website one of the worst review sites I have ever seen. Their testing methods are completely unprofessional, for example you cant really compare the SX700/SX710 ISO performance samples, because not only do they NOT use a tripod, but I was comparing the quality between one of the books and I couldnt because in the SX710 image it had disappeared. What a joke. I also havent seen a review on that site where they don't recommend a camera, it is always highly rated.

When I compare a ISO 1600 sample on that site, the SX710 actually wins for me. Slight more grainy, but seemingly less NR than SX700. But for the price difference between them it is not worth it anyway.

Hi,

I am waiting till the cameralabs or image resource review for a more detailed review, hopefully they compare the sx700 with the sx710. My main concern is as they go up in megapixels that the cameras will only be good in daylight conditions, the older models seem to be better allrounders for various lighting conditions, which I think most people would use it for or prefer.

Cheers

Steve.

4everAnoob Regular Member • Posts: 299
Re: Canon sx710 new review

Personally, Im still not decided on HX50/HX60 vs SX700 as an upgrade over my SX230. I think any newer superzoom will probably have worse IQ than my SX230. Im leaning towards the Sony now though. It may have more detail smearing but it has beter dynamic range, more features, better battery and a better design.

Oh and cameralabs is a good review site, so hopefully they will test it soon.

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OP stevenic Senior Member • Posts: 1,459
Re: Canon sx710 new review

4everAnoob wrote:

Personally, Im still not decided on HX50/HX60 vs SX700 as an upgrade over my SX230. I think any newer superzoom will probably have worse IQ than my SX230. Im leaning towards the Sony now though. It may have more detail smearing but it has beter dynamic range, more features, better battery and a better design.

Oh and cameralabs is a good review site, so hopefully they will test it soon.

Get a canon sx50 such a great price at the moment. I compared it to about 7 superzooms and it came down to the canon sx50 and Nikon P600. I found the sx50 had a bit better image quality over the the sx700 especially in lower light conditions. The sx700 was good especially on video it was probably the best video out of all the ones Ive tried.

Cheers

Steve.

4everAnoob Regular Member • Posts: 299
Re: Canon sx710 new review

Yes i know in the us the refurbs are dirt cheap. In europe no such luck im afraid. Not that much cheaper than a sx60.

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OP stevenic Senior Member • Posts: 1,459
Re: Canon sx710 new review

4everAnoob wrote:

Yes i know in the us the refurbs are dirt cheap. In europe no such luck im afraid. Not that much cheaper than a sx60.

What about ebay or amazon. In Australia the canon sx60 is around $600 and I was lucky to get the sx50 for $300 and then another $50 cash back.

Cheers

Steve.

MarioV Veteran Member • Posts: 7,089
Re: Canon sx710 new review

Unless their SX710 is a cherry picked sample, the lens is better than the SX700.

Increasing to 20MP is a bit silly, however, its still FAR better than 20MP on the Sony HX50/60.

Canon really should at least have given the SX710 RAW and HDR mode.  From what I've seen so far, I dont think the Panasonic TZ70 has a better lens than the SX710.  But, Photographyblog said the TZ70 review is coming soon, so will be interesting to see the samples.

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4everAnoob Regular Member • Posts: 299
Re: Canon sx710 new review

The consensus so far is that the TZ70 is not enough of an improvement over the TZ60 according to the panasonic forum. About the SX710, maybe you are correct about the lens, but I highly doubt it is a different one since the spec is identical AFAIK. If the SX700 (or any digic 6 camera) ever gets proper CHDK that gives it a big advantage over the others. Canon processing is better in jpegs than all the others except dynamic range. I can get much more dynamic range from RAW than from jpeg with Canon.

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DUTCH van Atlanta Senior Member • Posts: 1,714
Re: Canon sx710 new review

4everAnoob wrote:

Personally, Im still not decided on HX50/HX60 vs SX700 as an upgrade over my SX230. I think any newer superzoom will probably have worse IQ than my SX230.

As the owner of an SX230HS and an SX700HS, I can tell you from first hand experience that the SX230HS has a better IQ.  However, that 30X optical zoom is a very nice feature of the SC700HS.

At full zoom on the 230 and an equivalent zoom on the 700, there is a significantly better IQ with the 230 - especially when viewed at 100%.  Disappointing.

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MarioV Veteran Member • Posts: 7,089
Re: Canon sx710 new review

DUTCH van Atlanta wrote:

4everAnoob wrote:

Personally, Im still not decided on HX50/HX60 vs SX700 as an upgrade over my SX230. I think any newer superzoom will probably have worse IQ than my SX230.

As the owner of an SX230HS and an SX700HS, I can tell you from first hand experience that the SX230HS has a better IQ. However, that 30X optical zoom is a very nice feature of the SC700HS.

At full zoom on the 230 and an equivalent zoom on the 700, there is a significantly better IQ with the 230 - especially when viewed at 100%. Disappointing.

A couple reasons. It's easier to manufacture a high quality short zoom than a high quality long zoom. Also, it's just another way for Canon to cut costs on it's consumer cameras where the average person doesn't check their photos at 100%.

Personally, I use the SX700 as a pocket video camera. It takes reasonable photos too.

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brianj Forum Pro • Posts: 14,657
Re: Canon sx710 new review

DUTCH van Atlanta wrote:

4everAnoob wrote:

Personally, Im still not decided on HX50/HX60 vs SX700 as an upgrade over my SX230. I think any newer superzoom will probably have worse IQ than my SX230.

As the owner of an SX230HS and an SX700HS, I can tell you from first hand experience that the SX230HS has a better IQ. However, that 30X optical zoom is a very nice feature of the SC700HS.

At full zoom on the 230 and an equivalent zoom on the 700, there is a significantly better IQ with the 230 - especially when viewed at 100%. Disappointing.

My friend owns a SX230 and a SX700 and said the same thing, the SX230 is much better, and we put that down to the fact that it has the 12mp sensor.  But the question is, if you view the 230 and 700 image at the same size, do they then look about the same quality.

I have a IXUS255 (12mp) and just bought a SX600 (16mp) and the IXUS is better, but when viewed at the same screen viewing size then it is not so apparent.

Brian

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LionelA Junior Member • Posts: 30
Re: Canon sx710 new review

brianj wrote:

DUTCH van Atlanta wrote:

4everAnoob wrote:

Personally, Im still not decided on HX50/HX60 vs SX700 as an upgrade over my SX230. I think any newer superzoom will probably have worse IQ than my SX230.

As the owner of an SX230HS and an SX700HS, I can tell you from first hand experience that the SX230HS has a better IQ. However, that 30X optical zoom is a very nice feature of the SC700HS.

At full zoom on the 230 and an equivalent zoom on the 700, there is a significantly better IQ with the 230 - especially when viewed at 100%. Disappointing.

My friend owns a SX230 and a SX700 and said the same thing, the SX230 is much better, and we put that down to the fact that it has the 12mp sensor. But the question is, if you view the 230 and 700 image at the same size, do they then look about the same quality.

I have a IXUS255 (12mp) and just bought a SX600 (16mp) and the IXUS is better, but when viewed at the same screen viewing size then it is not so apparent.

Brian

So even in good daylight the 12mp SX230 looks better then the 20mp SX700 at 100%?

in 2014 canon jumped back in the high mp bandwagon

brianj Forum Pro • Posts: 14,657
Re: Canon sx710 new review

LionelA wrote:

brianj wrote:

DUTCH van Atlanta wrote:

4everAnoob wrote:

Personally, Im still not decided on HX50/HX60 vs SX700 as an upgrade over my SX230. I think any newer superzoom will probably have worse IQ than my SX230.

As the owner of an SX230HS and an SX700HS, I can tell you from first hand experience that the SX230HS has a better IQ. However, that 30X optical zoom is a very nice feature of the SC700HS.

At full zoom on the 230 and an equivalent zoom on the 700, there is a significantly better IQ with the 230 - especially when viewed at 100%. Disappointing.

My friend owns a SX230 and a SX700 and said the same thing, the SX230 is much better, and we put that down to the fact that it has the 12mp sensor. But the question is, if you view the 230 and 700 image at the same size, do they then look about the same quality.

I have a IXUS255 (12mp) and just bought a SX600 (16mp) and the IXUS is better, but when viewed at the same screen viewing size then it is not so apparent.

Brian

So even in good daylight the 12mp SX230 looks better then the 20mp SX700 at 100%?

in 2014 canon jumped back in the high mp bandwagon

I am needing to know whether the owners compared the two cameras output at the same viewing size, its no use blowing them both up to 100% because they will be different sizes.  The increased noise of a higher mp sensor will be reduced when the viewing size is made the same smaller size as a lower mp sensor, that is the only real way to compare.

Brian

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4everAnoob Regular Member • Posts: 299
Re: Canon sx710 new review

ISO-640 at 784mm (digital zoom 2.0x) SX230HS

I have done a quick test to see what the quality is like of the SX230 when using digital zoom.
By setting the digital zoom to 2.0x (or digitlal teleconverter) the actual zoom becomes 2*392 = 784 mm. Thats actually a bit more than the SX700 maximum focal length.

Not a good picture by any means. How does it compare to SX700?.

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Ken53 Senior Member • Posts: 2,270
Age old disscussion

stevenic wrote:

Hi all,

A new review of the canon sx710: http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/canon_powershot_sx710_hs_review/conclusion/

They say its a drop in image quality comparing it to the sx700 because of the 20megapixels. What is canon doing going that high with the megapixels with such a small sensor.

Cheers

Steve.

We have been criticizing to many pixels for a long time. Sometimes they move too quickly, but we have to push the technology or we would still be using 3mp cameras.

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/20918930

Ken

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MarioV Veteran Member • Posts: 7,089
Re: Age old disscussion

Ken53 wrote:

stevenic wrote:

Hi all,

A new review of the canon sx710: http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/canon_powershot_sx710_hs_review/conclusion/

They say its a drop in image quality comparing it to the sx700 because of the 20megapixels. What is canon doing going that high with the megapixels with such a small sensor.

Cheers

Steve.

We have been criticizing to many pixels for a long time. Sometimes they move too quickly, but we have to push the technology or we would still be using 3mp cameras.

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/20918930

Ken

I agree Ken, but sensor technology and lens quality also both need to keep up with the increase in pixel count.

I've said it before - look into a mirror.  I cant wait til image quality approaches that. Thats where sensor sensitivity and efficiency and ultra quality glass (or some other medium) and a LOT of pixels all come together.

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racollins Contributing Member • Posts: 600
Re: Age old disscussion

I find it interesting that Panasonic has chosen to go the opposite direction with their upcoming 30x camera, the ZS50, and reduced the mp count to 12.1 instead of going higher like Canon chose to do. It seems they've decided that adding more and more pixels is not the best route to take. I will be most interested to read the reviews of that camera's IQ when it is released.

Andy

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Steen Bay Veteran Member • Posts: 7,418
Re: Age old disscussion
1

MarioV wrote:

Ken53 wrote:

stevenic wrote:

Hi all,

A new review of the canon sx710: http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/canon_powershot_sx710_hs_review/conclusion/

They say its a drop in image quality comparing it to the sx700 because of the 20megapixels. What is canon doing going that high with the megapixels with such a small sensor.

Cheers

Steve.

We have been criticizing to many pixels for a long time. Sometimes they move too quickly, but we have to push the technology or we would still be using 3mp cameras.

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/20918930

Ken

I agree Ken, but sensor technology and lens quality also both need to keep up with the increase in pixel count.

Sensors and lenses can improve, but things like (resolution limiting) diffraction we can't really do anything about. A camera with a 20mp 1/2.3" sensor like the SX710 has the same diffraction at f/5.6 (relative to the pixel size) as a 20mp FF camera has at f/32 (or 70D at f/20). To take advantage of such high MP counts I think that not only better, but also faster lenses are needed. Faster lenses (especially at the long end), with less diffraction, that are sharp wide open.

I've said it before - look into a mirror. I cant wait til image quality approaches that. Thats where sensor sensitivity and efficiency and ultra quality glass (or some other medium) and a LOT of pixels all come together.

MarioV Veteran Member • Posts: 7,089
Re: Age old disscussion

Steen Bay wrote:

MarioV wrote:

Ken53 wrote:

stevenic wrote:

Hi all,

A new review of the canon sx710: http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/canon_powershot_sx710_hs_review/conclusion/

They say its a drop in image quality comparing it to the sx700 because of the 20megapixels. What is canon doing going that high with the megapixels with such a small sensor.

Cheers

Steve.

We have been criticizing to many pixels for a long time. Sometimes they move too quickly, but we have to push the technology or we would still be using 3mp cameras.

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/20918930

Ken

I agree Ken, but sensor technology and lens quality also both need to keep up with the increase in pixel count.

Sensors and lenses can improve, but things like (resolution limiting) diffraction we can't really do anything about. A camera with a 20mp 1/2.3" sensor like the SX710 has the same diffraction at f/5.6 (relative to the pixel size) as a 20mp FF camera has at f/32 (or 70D at f/20). To take advantage of such high MP counts I think that not only better, but also faster lenses are needed. Faster lenses (especially at the long end), with less diffraction, that are sharp wide open.

Faster lenses arent practical for long focal length - which are the types of cameras we are discussing here.  Diffraction is not the problem. FYI diffraction is around f/8 for the 16MP 1/2.3" sensor in the SX700.  Short of a larger sensor, a more efficient 1/2.3" sensor is the solution if there is to be an increased MP count without increasing noise.

I've said it before - look into a mirror. I cant wait til image quality approaches that. Thats where sensor sensitivity and efficiency and ultra quality glass (or some other medium) and a LOT of pixels all come together.

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