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Powershot SX70

Caribe
Contributor

I had some focusing problems with my old Canon powershot after it was about 6 or 7 years old, and thus I replaced it with the SX60.  I noticed right away the focusing problems with autofocus, could not hold a focus on anything that was zoomed in. I thought it was defective, but the salesperson recommended a different camera. So I returned it, opting for the Nikon P900 which I do not like the weight, the lack of clarity at zoomed in, or the color saturation, just too much blue/purple. I want my Canon! Does anyone know: How common is the focusing problem on the SX70? Has Canon made a fix for this autofocus problem yet?

8 REPLIES 8

Grazie
Rising Star

@Caribe wrote:

How common is the focusing problem on the SX70? Has Canon made a fix for this autofocus problem yet?


Hi Caribe - I'm running an SX60. I have no issues. What are your exact steps to Focussing?

Thank you,

I think I'll go back to the SX60HS.

John_
Authority

I have 2 SX50's and never had a focus problem on either. I do not think many people have reported focus problems here with the SX70.

Debra1
Contributor

I had a shutter/focus problem with my new SX70 which I thought was due to a defective camera, but after reading an online reviewer's test results, I wonder what percentage of SX70s have this same problem? I've posted a few questions on forums including this one, but Canon seems to be silent on this topic.

After I would pre-focus and then fully press the shutter release button, the camera would usually, but not always, either hesitate or refocus. I didn’t notice much at first when photographing still subjects but it was so frustrating with birds who move around. I have the SX60 and compared them by setting both cameras to Default and Auto (apples to apples!) and tried both side by side. The SX60 was definitely faster. Then I set both cameras to Program Mode (P) with Spot Focus and tried a few different subjects with the same result; the SX70 would usually hesitate after pressing the button all the way down, and the SX60 behaved as it should and released the shutter as soon as the button was fully pressed.

I spoke with Canon Tech Support who did the same comparison and said it sounded like a shutter defect and to send it back. So I returned it.

 

I otherwise liked the camera very much, but that was a deal breaker. In fact, I liked the SX70 so much that I might end up buying another after more reviews on it are available if they make me feel confident that my defective camera was an uncommon situation.
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Below is a paragraph from an online review describing the same problem I experienced:

Focusing -  
Using auto-focus, if you tend to pre-focus your shots (by half-pressing the shutter release button), and then fully pressing the shutter release button, the camera has an annoying habit of refocusing for you, after you've fully pressed the shutter release button. This appeared to be an intermittent issue, and would randomly happen some of the time, but not others. Other people in the office who tested the camera found the same issue.

Thanks for the info!

I read that there are some ways to manipulate the auto focus on the SX70, but doesn't always work.  My last SX60 was returned due to the auto-focusing going in and out. I am hoping it was a defect as many say they have not had that issure. I'll try it again - Might as well stick with what's simpler, and hope for the best.

It would be nice if we could get an OFFICIAL RESPONSE FROM CANON on this SX70 shutter topic. I hate to discourage people from buying the SX70 because there were many things I really liked about the SX70 for the short time I had it, but so far I have not seen any official feedback from Canon on this issue, and this is supposed to be the "official" Canon Forum! A little disappointing.

😞

 

Yes, I agree Canon should address this issue with the SX70. But also I have seen that people have trouble with blurry or cloudy shots at close zoom  For me, I think that the SX60's 62X zoom is amazing, and can be quite clear most times. This was taken with the SX60, the flag at full zoom and at a distance of exactly 1 km from where i was shooting.

1a-IMG_0071.jpgIMG_0075.JPG

Debra1
Contributor

I have the Powershot SX40 and the SX60 and have not experienced any focus problems that were the camera's fault. Both are great cameras! Attached is a photo I took with the SX60 of a bird photographed through a grid wire cage at the zoo.

sac zoo bird sx60.jpg

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