Still loving it 5 years later
1
Excellent pictures.
GPS, WiFi image transfer, 20X zoom, lots of manual options and exposure modes, decent low light, HD 1080p @ 30 or 60 fps, pocket size, what's not to like?
Oh yeah, the battery life thing. Only applies to movies, not stills. That's a pain in the neck but once you get used to it (don't zoom in and out so much during one shot, turn the camera off and on between movie shots) it's not so bad, I find that shorter sequences are generally appreciated, if you know what I mean. Newer battery 1060mAh is much improved over the original 1000mAh, if you are still using this camera and struggling it's probably time for a new battery anyway and you will have 2 then so get the upgraded firmware and the 1060mAh battery if you can find one.
This camera has been my go to for years and people still remark on the picture quality.
At its introduction it was a solid leap forward. No reason to replace it as the newer cameras (SX700's) don't take better pictures although they do have a few nice features.
The Canon Camera App (Canon Connect) sucks, but I don't blame the camera and no matter what camera you buy from Canon you will be stuck with the same kludgy app.
When I see all the GoPro's around I wonder why Canon didn't stick the guts of the SX280 in to a slightly different shape and kick butt...with a zoom! I've done side by side without the zoom....in auto mode this is the equal of an expensive action cam....add the zoom and adjust some settings to suit the lighting and it's game over GoPro.
Last camera in the series to include GPS, last camera in the series to include underwater colour compensation. I use mine underwater all the time, did I mention the ZOOM, take that SportsCam. I bought a DigiPac bag for the underwater use and it works great although pressing the camera buttons is a hassle and takes some learning.