Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

The Canon PowerShot SX40 HS is basically the same camera as the critics' former favorite extreme-zoom, the Canon PowerShot SX30 IS -- only the SX40 HS boosts the shooting speed and substitutes a superior image sensor and full 1080p HD video. That gives the SX40 better image quality, especially in low light, experts say. Add the unsurpassed 35x optical zoom lens -- a holdover from the SX30 IS -- and testers say the SX40 HS is a very entertaining camera to shoot with, indeed.

A better sensor

"An ultrazoom superior to all others we've tested so far this year," declares DigitalCameraInfo.com's Christopher Snow in his test of the SX40 HS. It switches from a CCD image sensor to an advanced CMOS image sensor, and it cuts the resolution from 14.1 to 12.1 megapixels -- a move that actually improves image quality by making each pixel bigger and able to take in more light. Snow compares the SX40 HS to the SX30 IS and says "The difference is clear ... the SX40 is not only the better camera, but a testament to the real difference consumers can expect when they forget about megapixels, and instead educate themselves on what really makes a sensor better."

Not quite DSLR-quality images, but better than its ultra-zoom peers

Shakiness can plague some extreme-zoom cameras, but testers say Canon's excellent optical image stabilizer does a great job keeping things steady, all the way from its 24 mm wide-angle setting to its full 840 mm telephoto zoom. The lens carries over unchanged from the earlier SX30, along with an electronic viewfinder, hot shoe for an accessory flash and a 2.7-inch, tilt-and-swivel LCD screen. The screen's a little smaller than the now-common 3-inch screen, and its 230,000 dots are "distinctly low-res" compared with the screens on some Panasonic, Nikon and Fujifilm rivals, TrustedReviews.com's Andrew Williams says. Testers say the SX40 HS delivers very good image quality through ISO 800, "so you can capture good images in modestly lit environments," says Jim Fisher at PCMag.com. As for speed, Williams says it's "much improved" over the SX30, which critics complained was a slow worker. The SX40 can shoot 2.4 fps or 10.3 fps in High-speed Burst HQ mode.

The bottom line

The SX40 HS looks like a little digital SLR camera, with its chunky, business-like black body (testers say it won't fit in a pocket). But although its images look great for an ultra-zoom, they can't match a real DSLR's. "If image quality tops your list of priorities, then you should probably be on the lookout for a budget DSLR and forget all about the ear candy of this camera's fabulous 35x optical zoom," Williams says. For example, the SX40 HS can't shoot RAW (uncompressed) images like DSLRs (and some rival ultra-zooms) can.