Canon Powershot SX70: The Camera to Pack for Your Next Travel Adventure [Review]
We’re taking more photographs than ever before, yet many of us don’t own a standalone camera. Thanks to the advent of smartphones, most people carry a fairly decent camera around with them in their pocket every day. It’s true, for most of us, that dedicated point-and-shoot cameras aren’t as exciting as they used to be. But, while your smartphone is more than capable for everyday snaps, when it comes to travel photography, most smartphone cameras just don’t cut it. Avid travellers know the value of having a great compact camera on-hand for capturing those once-in-a-lifetime moments in all their glory. Created with travel-lovers in mind, Canon’s PowerShot SX70 HS compact camera offers a great argument for investing in a dedicated camera for your next trip.
Unmatchable image quality:
When it comes to taking detailed, crisp and clear shots, smartphone cameras still can’t rival most dedicated camera devices in terms of image quality. Better lenses and bigger sensors generally give dedicated cameras the edge in terms of things like dynamic range. While this might not matter too much if you’re just taking a quick snap of the kids on a beach, you probably don’t want to rely on an iPhone to capture a once-in-a-lifetime trip, that game-drive shot of a lion, or a picture you want to have printed and hung on your wall. A sensor in a smartphone is a fraction of the size of one in even the most compact camera. This limits your ability to make high-quality enlargements and shoot in dim light.
With a 20.1MP high-sensitivity CMOS sensor powered by Canon’s latest image processor DIGIC 8, the PowerShot SX70 HS is able to capture the crisp details of beautiful landscapes, age-old landmarks, and grazing animals that you may come across on your travels.
Getting up close and personal:
In addition to image quality, one area where smartphone cameras just can’t compete with dedicated cameras is zoom capabilities. Bottom line? Your smartphone camera is not actually doing any zooming, but rather digitally cropping your photo so it looks like you’ve zoomed in. If you’ve ever tried to zoom in on your kids on a sports field or a bird in your backyard, you would have noticed that the digital zoom on your smartphone results in your image getting murky and blurry the closer you get. A dedicated camera will definitely help you get a clear, vivid version of those shots. Because smartphones are aiming to become thinner and lighter with each new model, it’s just not possible to fit in a proper optical zoom lens.
When huge crowds at tourist hotspots prevent you from getting up close to big attractions for a snapshot, having a camera like the Canon PowerShot SX70 HS in your pocket is invaluable. The Powershot’s high optical zoom that can go up to 65x, giving you the option to zoom way above and beyond the crowd to get a clear shot of the landmark you travelled so very far to see.
What’s more, the wide zoom range of the PowerShot SX70 HS, which boasts the widest angle in its class at approximately 21mm, is also ideal for capturing landscapes and breathtaking scenes in their entirety. Why snap a portion of that majestic mountain you’re about to climb when you can capture the sheer breadth and magnitude of the natural wonder in one clear image? I used this nifty point-and-shoot to capture some close-up shots of visiting whales as well as sweeping landscape shots of the beautiful Overberg coastline on a trip to Hermanus recently. Having the PowerShot SX70 HS allowed me to get some great shots I wouldn’t have been able to capture with my smartphone alone.
Capture low-light moments:
When you’re on holiday, the fun doesn’t stop when the sun goes down. While your smartphone camera may be very limited when it comes to capturing moments in dim lighting, a dedicated camera like the SX70 HS will allow you to capture more usable shots. The model’s Dual Sensing IS and improved AF speed help to reduce camera shake, allowing for superb image quality, even in low-light conditions. I found it surprisingly easy to shoot in low-light conditions with this camera, especially using the ‘Handheld Night Scene’ mode. This setting takes a series of photos and combines them together to produce sharp photos in dark conditions while keeping noise to a minimum, and it works impressively well.
The PowerShot SX70 HS also offers casual photographers the option to tinker with basic controls and adjust settings such as ISO, aperture and shutter speed. This lets you gain more control over your images, and achieve the look you are aiming for, in a way that many smartphone cameras don’t allow. The super-fast autofocus system on it also means you’ll be able to focus faster (particularly in low light) and track moving subjects better. The autofocus is really one of the stand out features of the SX70 HS and I was beyond impressed by how fast and consistent the autofocus is, even in low-light situations. It rarely fails to lock on to your intended subject, and focus tracking works flawlessly.
Share with ease
Of course, when it comes to instant photo sharing, many smartphones have a dedicated camera beat. But, sharing your holiday snapshots is easy with the SX70 HS. Once you’ve found a shot you want to share. simply use the built-in WiFi to easily transfer photos from the camera to your smartphone via the Canon Connect app. From there you can upload your photos to Instagram or Facebook.
For a general-purpose point-and-shoot, the Canon Powershot SX70 HS is hard to beat. It’s the perfect everyday camera and an ideal travel companion for families wanting to capture holiday snapshots. Whether you’re capturing precious personal moments, sporting events, or wildlife, the SX70 HS ensures you get the shot when it counts the most.
The Canon Powershot SX70 HS retails for around R7,595 at Orms.
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