Anyone else with the Powershot SX60?

hasii — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 16:46:54 GMT

I know it's not as much high-end as most cameras here, but I got it a couple months ago and so far I'm happy.

Right now I'm focusing on learning how to shoot in RAW after several years shooting in JPG. I guess I'll work my way up to more sophisticate cameras on time.

Anyone else with that camera, how has your experience been? Any advice to make the best out of it?

Re: Anyone else with the Powershot SX60?

Tronhard — Fri, 04 Jan 2019 09:02:22 GMT

Hi Hasli and welcome to the forum! You will find a wealth of photographic knowledge here, and of course there will be many opinions of varying kinds as well. I don't know your background or level of experience, so I am offering my own experience without regard for yours.

I have quite a few cameras (see my gear list) but the SX60HS is among them and has its place. It does have an amazing focal range and for the size of the sensor it does a great job. The SX60 is a sophisticated camera, and you will find it shares most of the controls you will find in higher end units - it is a great unit to hone your skills before you take on a larger unit like a DSLR or MILC. I have done very little video work but it had produced acceptable results when I have tried it.

How much value you will get out of the camera will depend on a couple of things: the kinds of images you take, e.g. travel, portraits, macro, or wildlife. Like most super zoom lenses it is popular with animal and bird photographers, but it also has a decent wide-angle capability. The other major factor is what you intend to produce with it. Small sensors cannot produce lage (greater than A3) prints, but for smaller ones and for putting on multimedia they can do a great job. The following images for comparison hopefully make my point even if the prices are a bit out of date - they were 2017 vintage in Canada

Like any small sensor camera it needs a fair amount of light - small sensors tend to be noisier than larger ones, so you will notice a big difference between different lighting conditions. Generally I am very conservative in my ISO choices - I rarely go about 200 ISO as that alone is a big source of camera noise for a camera like this. This is where having the flash hotshoe is good: to improve exposure in dubious lighting conditions you may well want to use a flash, but I prefer not to use the on-board one, unless it is to fire another (slave) flash. Using a separate unit allows for a much more powerful illumination, can be bounced but also does not deplete the rather small battery of the camera as external flashes have their own energy sources.

I personally shoot in both JPG and RAW - the former to gauge the quality of the photos and dump the unacceptable ones quickly, and the RAW for future post production.

On the subject of batteries, I keep a spare, charged battery with me when I take the camera out. I do not use the rear LCD screen much for two reasons: first the screen uses a lot of energy and again depletes the battery quickly, and I always use the camera with my eye to the viewfinder, thus having 3 points of contact with the camera and creating a much more stable platform than holding the camera like a cell phone - which seems to be a common trait among the latest generation of photgraphers - probably because they began using phones to take pictures and old habits die hard.

While the new SX70 has come out recently, I feel it has lost some performance as a stills camera in order to make it more attractive as a video and vlogger camera. Since I am not a videographer I think the SX60 is the better choice still.

@hasii wrote:
I know it's not as much high-end as most cameras here, but I got it a couple months ago and so far I'm happy.
Right now I'm focusing on learning how to shoot in RAW after several years shooting in JPG. I guess I'll work my way up to more sophisticate cameras on time.
Anyone else with that camera, how has your experience been? Any advice to make the best out of it?

Re: Anyone else with the Powershot SX60?

dbhuff49 — Sat, 05 Jan 2019 06:03:28 GMT

I too have an SX60 and love it! I love the zoom and take shots of wildlife from a distance. But I am getting into macro shots recently. Again, I love my SX60.

topic Re: Anyone else with the Powershot SX60? in Point & Shoot Digital Cameras

Anyone else with the Powershot SX60?

Re: Anyone else with the Powershot SX60?

Re: Anyone else with the Powershot SX60?