Canon 12.1MP PowerShot SX260 HS 20x Zoom Review by CNET US With Rating 4/5

On February 7 2012, Canon announced the addition of 4 PowerShot cameras: the ELPH 530 HS, ELPH 320 HS, SX260 HS, and D20. The SX260 HS camera features a 20x Optical Zoom and 25mm Wide-Angle lens with Optical Image Stabilization. It comes with a 12.1 Megapixels high-sensitivity CMOS sensor, DIGIC 5 image processor, and supports 1080p Full HD video.

The camera also includes Intelligent IS and GPS photo tagging with location and elevation information, as well as Smart AUTO scene selection with 58 scenes and Face ID functions. It supports a High-Speed Burst HQ allowing for about 10 high-resolution shots at a continuous rate at 10.3fps. The camera is available in black, green and red for $349.99. Here's the summary of review by CNET US, giving the camera a rating of 4 out of 5:

"The SX260 HS produces some excellent photos for a compact megazoom, particularly at higher ISOs. While photos do get softer and noisier above ISO 200 (pixel peepers will see noise and soft details below ISO 200), ISO 400 and 800 are still very usable. The noise and noise reduction are well balanced so you still get very good color and detail at these higher sensitivities. Colors desaturate some at ISO 1600 and 3200, subjects look very soft, and detail is greatly diminished, but photos are still usable at small sizes for prints or on a computer screen. Basically, if you need to shoot in low light or want to freeze action, this camera is one of the best options in its class. Color performance is a strong point with the SX260 HS, as it was with its predecessor. Everything turns out bright, well-saturated, and reasonably accurate. More importantly for me, is that they pretty much stay that way up to ISO 800 and only seem to desaturate some at ISO 1600. Video quality is very good, too. Maybe not as good as the high-bit-rate AVCHD movies from Sony and Panasonic cameras, but still very good. Panning the camera will create some judder and there is slight trailing on moving subjects, but the video is watchable on larger HDTVs and certainly at smaller sizes on a computer screen or mobile device. The optical zoom is available while recording, though you will hear it moving. Along with full HD movies, the camera also records high-speed clips for slow-motion playback as well as iFrame-format video for easier editing and uploading.

Shooting options on the SX260 HS run the gamut from simple point-and-shoot options to full manual controls. The manual shooting options are better than on most compact megazooms. You get semimanual and full manual control over shutter speed and apertures as well as manual focus with a safety for fine-tuning. Apertures include f3.5, f4, f4.5, f5, f5.6, f6.3, f6.8, f7.1, and f8. With the lens fully extended, you only get three settings, though: f6.8, f7.1, and f8, so the lens is really slow at the telephoto end. Shutter speeds can be set from 15 seconds to 1/3,200 second (1/2,000 is the fastest with the lens extended). There are options for setting color saturation, sharpness, and contrast, too, and the flash strength can be easily adjusted, too. Canon also included its Live View Control mode, which enables you to adjust brightness, color, and tone with onscreen sliders and see what the photo will look like as you make the changes. However, that's all you can adjust; everything else is automatic. As a reviewer, it's always nice when the new version of a product you liked actually gets better. That's the case with the Canon PowerShot SX260 HS. The last version was very good, but thanks to changes in design, performance, and features, it's just an excellent compact megazoom."