Review: Canon PowerShot SX600 HS

Introduction and featuresThe travel sector of the compact camera market is proving to remain robust in an otherwise declining market. What these cameras offer that smartphones can't is a high zoom lens. The SX600 HS offers an 18x optical zoom in a body which is slim and compact. Camera manufacturers know, however, that they still need to pack dedicated camerass with lots of additional extras to make people fork out for and carry around an additional device. FeaturesAlong with the 18x optical zoom lens, there's also a 16 million-pixel 1/2.3 inch back-illuminated CMOS sensor – that's larger than the typical smartphone sensor. There's also a Digic 4+ image processor, which although a couple of generations old now, has still proven to be a good performer in the past. That 18x zoom lens doesn't have a wide maximum aperture, starting at the relatively narrow f/3.8 at the widest point, rising to f/6.3 at the telephoto end of the optic. If the 18x optical reach isn't enough, there's also the option to engage ZoomPlus, Canon's digital zoom technology, up to 36x, and yet further using standard digital zoom to boost that up to 72x. This is not a camera designed to appeal to very experienced photographers, and as such most of the modes on the SX600 HS are automatic. The most control you'll be able to take is when using 'P' (Program) mode, which allows for parameters such as white balance and metering to be controlled, but not shutter speed or aperture. Instead, this camera is designed for those who want decent image quality without having to worry too much about changing settings. As such, there's also a number of features that should appeal to those who are at home with Instagram and other image editing apps. One fun feature of the SX600, which we've seen on several other Canon compacts, is the Hybrid Auto setting. This films a two-second video before every shot is taken, then splices them all together at the end of the day to give a video recap of your day – it's particularly nice for parties, holidays and other special occasions.There's also a Creative Shot mode that applies a number of digital filters to an image to give you a variety to choose from. There are some other filters to be found in the standard automatic mode that give you more specific control over which filter to use. In Program Mode you can also experiment with 'My Colors' to give different effects too. It's starting to become an industry standard now, but the SX600HS has built-in Wi-Fi and NFC technology. This means you can send images across to a smartphone or tablet for sharing quickly on social networking sites, which again should appeal to mobile phone camera users. NFC connectivity means if you have a compatible device, then simply touching the two devices together will start an instant connection. Canon has played it pretty safe with the rear LCD screen. It's a 461,000 dot fixed, non-touch sensitive screen, but it is still fairly large at 3 inches. Another specification that we more or less expect to see is Full HD video recording, and the SX600 HS does not let us down. Videos can only be a maximum of 10 minutes long each though, as opposed to the SX280's ability to record up to 29 minutes and 59 seconds at a time. Build quality and handlingThe SX600HS is very slim, especially considering the 18x optical zoom that the body is concealing. The camera should easily slip into a jacket pocket or bag without too much of a problem. There's not a huge number of buttons on the camera, which for something that's almost entirely automatic, isn't particularly surprising. On the top of the camera is the on/off switch, along with the shutter button, around which there's a zoom ring for extending and retracting the lens. A slightly pronounced grip on the front of the camera works well with a thumb rest on the back of the camera to make it feel secure in the hand, especially when you're using the camera one-handed. Built into the thumb rest is a switch for toggling between Hybrid Auto, Creative Shot and standard shooting modes. Other buttons on the back of the camera include a traditional four way navigational pad. Each of the directional keys has a specific function assigned to it. The left button can be used to activate macro (close) focusing, the up key is for accessing exposure compensation (only accessible in Program Auto mode), the right key is for changing the flash settings, and finally the down key is used for altering the display. All of the buttons are grouped on the right hand side of the body of the camera, which is also useful when shooting one-handed as they are easily reachable by the thumb.In the centre of the pad is a function button that can be used for quickly accessing the most commonly used settings. This function menu changes depending on the mode you're shooting in. In Hybrid Auto, your options are limited to simply turning on the timer, or changing the movie quality. However, in standard shooting mode, you'll find a lot more options, including filter options, scene modes and the ability to set to Program Auto. If you choose to shoot in Program Auto, even more options will be available on the function menu, including white balance, metering and sensitivity. Unfortunately there's no way to change the shutter speed or aperture. Using Hybrid Auto mode gives you zero control over the shooting parameters, with the camera choosing everything for you. The camera will start shooting a short video as soon as the shutter is half pressed, and then combine all of those videos together at the end of the day, in-camera, as a snapshot of the day that has just happened. It's a shame that you can't activate this mode while shooting in other modes, since it's a fun addition if you're photographing a holiday or a family event such as a party or wedding. Shooting in Creative Mode is also frustratingly limited. By activating this mode, when you take a shot, the camera will automatically apply a number of different filters to each image. You can choose different sets, such as 'Retro' and 'Special' or just leave it on automatic. Although it's nice to have different options to choose from, it would have been nice to just be able to use one filter at a time too. There are some separate filters that you can choose when using the standard shooting mode – these are accessed via the function menu. By default, the camera's autofocusing mode is set to Face AiAF, which gives priority to faces, but can make focusing and recomposing on other subjects tricky. Instead, I'd recommend changing to Center Point AF. You can't change the AF point to somewhere else in the scene, which is a shame, but not wholly unexpected from a camera of this level. The SX600 HS has built-in Wi-Fi and NFC technology. Setting up the connection between the camera and phone via Wi-Fi is quick and easy. There's a dedicated button on the back of the camera to start up the Wi-Fi functionality. We tested this camera in conjunction with an iPhone 4S, to which it connected very quickly despite its lack of an NFC chip – you don't need to enter a password, so the connection is speedy. Once you've connected to the camera, you'll then need to start the Canon Camera Window app on the phone (an Android version is also available).When playing back images on the camera, you can also use the dedicated button to quickly start up Wi-Fi to share the image with your phone. You can also browse all of the images on the camera to choose the one(s) you want to transfer across. Unlike some other Canon compacts, such as the PowerShot S120, you can't upload images directly to Facebook or other social networking sites straight from the camera, which is a shame. On the upside however, you can use the Canon Camera Window app to control the camera remotely. You won't get any controls over shooting parameters, but you can zoom in and out from the app and take a picture, which will be saved both to the camera's memory card and your phone. PerformanceWe're usually impressed by the output of Canon cameras, compact or otherwise, so we were pretty much expecting good things from the SX600. Canon has once again produced a good all-round performer, which although not offering anything hugely exciting, does the job that it sets out to do.Colours straight from the camera are bright and punchy, characterised by the typical warm tones of Canon cameras, without going over the top and producing overly saturated images. Images from the 16 million-pixel sensor are well detailed. If you examine an image at 100%, you'll see examples of image smoothing, right the way through the sensitivity run. A painterly effect can be seen even at ISO 100, but at normal printing and web sizes, such as A3 or below, images give an overall good impression of detail. At higher sensitivities, such as ISO 1000, examining images at 100% reveals a fair amount of noise, but it's not unusual for a camera at this price point, and again, a good impression of detail is given when viewing at normal printing and web sizes. Image quality begins to suffer when you head further up the ISO scale, but in scenarios where you can't use the flash, it's certainly better than not being able to get the shot at all. This is the kind of camera that most people will use in fully automatic mode. Hybrid Auto does a good job of accurately assessing the scene to produce good images in the majority of conditions.Generally, the camera's automatic metering system does a very good job of producing accurate exposures. We found we very rarely needed to alter exposure compensation to get a better balanced image. However if you're shooting a scene with very high contrast, you may find that altering the metering mode, or dialing in some exposure compensation is necessary – something that's easy to do when shooting in Program Auto mode. The SX600's automatic white balance system does a good job of producing accurate colours. Under artificial lights, it generally manages to stay accurate and doesn't err too badly towards yellow or orange tones. If you are finding it it to be a problem though, you can change the white balance setting while shooting in Program Auto mode.With a large zoom such as is found on the SX600HS, it is important that it performs well at the furthest reach of its lens. At 18x optical zoom, equivalent to 450mm in 35mm terms, optical image stabilisation does a reasonable job of helping to keep images blur free, although we would argue to not quite the same standard as Sony cameras are capable of. Canon's Zoom Plus technology is also available, which is basically a form of digital zoom. This also does a reasonable job if you really need the extra reach, but again, we would say that Sony cameras generally perform better here. The range of digital filters on the Canon SX600 is interesting, because some of its best are those that you can't control. If you shoot in Creative Mode, the camera will randomly apply different filters and crops to images, and while this is fun, it would be nice to be able to use some of the filters that you really like independently. However, if you shoot in Program Auto, there are some different filters available to try. It's worth experimenting with them, but it's also worth noting that you won't have a standard version of the image should you decide you don't like the filter down the line. Our favourite of those available in Program Auto is Toy Camera, but Super Vivid is also good for when you want to boost contrast. I found the autofocusing speeds are generally pretty good, especially when shooting in good light. When the light drops, it does take a little longer to focus, but it's not until light levels are very low that the camera really struggles. That's good news – there's an AF illumination light to help with those kind of scenarios too. Macro focusing can be activated when you want to shoot close-up, but we found on occasion that the camera gave a false positive focus: when looking back at the image later on a computer screen, it hadn't quite managed to focus correctly.Sample imagesThe SX600HS is capable of reproducing detail, but if you check the image at 100%, you can see that areas of the image suffer from image smoothing and a painterly effect, something which is not uncommon for compact cameras at this price point. Colours straight from the camera are bright and punchy, with pleasingly warm, but not inaccurate, tones. Click here to see the full resolution image.The camera's metering system generally does a good job of producing well-balanced exposures. Click here to see the full resolution image.It's possible to get shallow depth of field effects, even though the maximum aperture of the camera's lens is f/3.8, but the background has to be pretty distant and the focus point close. Click here to view the full resolution image.Use macro focusing to get closer to subjects, but be aware that sometimes a false positive is shown and you may need to check focus has been acquired. Click here to view the full resolution image.The camera's automatic white balance system copes well with artificial lights to produce accurate colours. Click here to view the full resolution image.Using the camera's Creative Mode can throw up some interesting results, but you don't have control over what the camera will choose – instead it will randomly pick five different effects for you to choose from. It's a fun mode, if a little frustrating that you can't pick and choose your favourite filters. Click here to view the full resolution image.At high sensitivities, such as ISO 1000 as shown here, then you will see noise and smoothing when examining the image at 100%. It's not too bad at normal printing and web sizes, and if you can't use the flash, is better than not being able to get the shot at all. Click here to view the full resolution image.Digital filtersThere are a number of digital filters which can be applied in Program Auto mode, as follows. VerdictWe are usually pretty pleased with the performance of Canon cameras, and here in the Canon SX600HS, the company has produced another solid performer. It's specifications aren't especially exciting, but it produces good pictures and offers a good range of functions. If you're looking for a well-performing compact camera with a good zoom range, then this is an appealing prospect. Although the 18x zoom certainly isn't the longest on the market, it's also significantly cheaper than those that offer even longer zooms, and 18x should cover the majority of scenarios. You've also got a digital zoom if you do need that extra reach. Although it's starting to become more common, it's still nice to see Wi-Fi connectivity included on the camera. It's easy to set-up and use, and gives those that want to share their photos quickly on social networking the option to do that, which is always welcome. It's also great to see NFC included here for anyone with the technology available to them.As mentioned, this camera doesn't have any particularly exciting specifications. For instance, it would be nice if it had a touchscreen, but on the other hand, not having one probably helps to keep the costs down. You don't have manual control with this camera, but it's not meant to be aimed at enthusiast photographers. It's aimed more at people looking for something capable of producing good quality pictures without too much help. That said, there is Program Auto mode for those who want to experiment with some of the settings that are available, such as white balance and sensitivity. The Hybrid Auto mode is a fun function which we've seen on quite a few Canon compact cameras. It's especially nice if you're using the camera to photograph a holiday or a big event such as wedding, since you'll have a video clip along with the shots that you take. It would be nice if you could activate this function when shooting in other modes though. Creative mode is a bit of a strange one. While it's quite fun letting the camera choose different filters for you and it can be interesting to see what comes out of it, it would also be nice if you could take control over what the camera was doing, or just shoot with a particular filter that you liked. The other filters that are available in Program Auto mode aren't quite as fun, so it's a shame that there isn't more control. We likedProbably the best thing about this camera is the 18x optical zoom, which offers a very good range for the majority of users in the majority of scenarios. It's not the longest available on the market, sure, but it's also not the most expensive. Images taken at the telephoto end of the lens are good, too. We dislikedThere's not too much to dislike about the SX600, it's more a collection of small niggles, many of which may be down to personal preference anyway. For instance, the lack of a touchscreen or lack of control over Creative Mode. VerdictIf you're looking for a reliable camera with a decent zoom range that's capable of producing good quality images – without too much input from you – this is a good option. If you want something with manual control, take a look at the Canon SX700 HS, which offers this functionality, along with an even longer zoom. It does come at a higher price though.

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