Friday, March 07, 2014

Canon PowerShot SX60 HS (with release date and feature history)

Update: The Canon PowerShot SX-60 HS has been announced. It will be available 24 October, 2014. Features
  • 65x Optical Zoom (21mm–1365mm)
  • Shoot realistic 1080p Full HD video recorded at 60p
  • Wi-Fi and NFC-enabled
  • f-stop: 3.4 to 6.5 aperture range
  • Bright 3.0-inch adjustable screen LCD (the previous versions have all had this, I don't think many other camera do, but I could be wrong)
  • suggest retail price of $550
One thing I didn't think of until reading about the new camera, is that it might be possible to view the photos on your iPad min (or other table or phone) immediately (the camera even lets you control it with a smart phone/camera - set up a shot etc.). That can help see the photo and details more clearly that the small screen (even the larger [that I currently have] 3" size).

Amazon won't ship it out of the USA due to unspecified "regulations." Of course it is produced by a Japanese company and shipped into the USA, but that just means outside the USA get it from another source.

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The Canon PowerShot SX looks like a pretty awesome camera for someone like me. Basically I want something easy and good with the ability to zoom well and take photos well in low light with a nice LCD (viewfinder alternative - this is probably the weakest part of the SX) and . Another thing I don't like about the SX is they have a special battery now instead of just using standard AA which my older version uses.

The killer feature for me is a 50 times optical zoom with 1 lens (4.3-215 mm) which translates to in the old film camera comparison of focal lengths: 24–1200mm.

I think this is not classified a dSLR, for some reason (maybe it doesn't use a mirror?)? For me the dSLR don't come close to meeting the killer feature (or I can't find those that do). I also had trouble finding it because I figured dSLRs were "better" so I thought I wanted a dSLR. The dSLRs costs more and I believe have greater quality when using the large zoom (maybe they auto focus a bit better at large zoom settings too) - but the quality is pretty awesome on this for most everyone as far as I can tell - not if you are going to print posters or such things. The camera has a dSLR look/form-factor.

The current version is Canon PowerShot SX50 and was released in Nov 2012.

Since I am looking at buying I though I would look at release patterns (maybe I'll wait a few months).

  • Canon PowerShot SX 60 - ?
  • Canon PowerShot SX 50 HS - Oct 2012 (50x optical zoon [24-1200mm], 2.8 inch LCD [double the resolution of previous LCD screens, I think])
  • Canon PowerShot SX 40 HS - Oct 2011 (35x optical zoom - 24mm to 840mm, Full HD 1080p, 2.7 inch LCD)
  • Canon PowerShot SX 30 IS - Oct 2010 (35x optical zoom - 24mm to 840mm, HD[1280 x 720] movie recording, 2.7 inch LCD)
  • Canon PowerShot SX 20 IS - Sep 2009 (20x optical zoom, HD movie mode [720p], 2.5inch LCD)
I think the list price has stayed pretty much around $500 for all of these (with prices from $325 or so, possible from stores providing discounts).

Because I can't find these release dates officially I am making my best guess based on internet sites. So it seems they usually release in the fall and release new version 4 straight years but not in 2013 (so a wild guess of a release for a Cannon PowerShot SX 60 from now to Oct 2014 seems pretty reasonable to me).

People are posting "rumors" online about the Canon PowerShot SX 60 being release in the Spring or Summer of 2014 but I have no idea if they have any more evidence than I do (which is close to absolute 0 evidence). It seems to me these "rumors" might even fall short of the very limited requirements to be a rumor. They have pointed to a 100x zoom lens patent Cannon has with a focal range of 3.6mm to 340mm and then say it may be for the Canon PowerShot SX 60.

There were also "rumors" the Canon PowerShot SX 60 would be announce at CES in January of 2014, which is was not. Since it missed the natural October 2013 date it isn't surprising there are continued rumors, since as far as I can tell Canon is not providing guidance.

Related: Curious Cat Travel Photo Blog - Good Customer Service from Canon - Curious Cat Travel Web Shorts

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