Canon Powershot SX40 HS review

Is it time to upgrade to the SX40?

Canon Powershot SX40
Canon's new bridge camera features a 35x zoom lens

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Canon powershot sx40

Colours straight from the SX40 are represented well, without being overly vibrant.

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Canon powershot sx40

Shot in miniature mode, the SX40 effectively blurs the top and bottom of the frame to create a tilt-shift lens effect, and works best when shot from above.

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Canon powershot sx40

The Hi-Speed shooting mode is capable of shooting 10.3fps for up to 8 frames, allowing you to capture action.

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Canon powershot sx40

Macro mode works well to lock focus onto close subjects.

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Canon powershot sx40

One of the art filters on board the SX40 is pinhole, which creates this "retro" look for images.

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Canon powershot sx40

The fisheye digital filter can be fun to play with, with the option to alter the level of distortion from minimal to overexaggerated, as here.

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Canon powershot sx40

The colour of the sky is represented well in this shot, only blowing out highlights slightly in the corner where the sun is.

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Canon powershot sx40

You can use Colour Select mode to choose to highlight one particular colour within a scene, such as the yellow-green colour picked out of this scene.

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Canon powershot sx40

Using the camera in foliage mode helps to boost the colours of leaves.

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Canon powershot sx40

The 25mm wide-angle lens can capture whole scene, such as this tree...

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Canon powershot sx40

... but also zoom in extremely close, thanks to the 35x zoom on board the camera, these leaves are from the same tree in the previous picture. Even at 35x zoom, the camera has focused well to produce a sharp, clear image.

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Canon powershot sx40

Another example of the incredible zoom on this camera. In the distance, in the middle of the shot, you can just about make out St Paul's Cathedral in London.

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Canon powershot sx40

In this shot, taken at 35x zoom, you can clearly see the architecture of the tower of St Paul's, making this a great camera for holiday and travel photographs.

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Amy Davies

Amy has been writing about cameras, photography and associated tech since 2009. Amy was once part of the photography testing team for Future Publishing working across TechRadar, Digital Camera, PhotoPlus, N Photo and Photography Week. For her photography, she has won awards and has been exhibited. She often partakes in unusual projects - including one intense year where she used a different camera every single day. Amy is currently the Features Editor at Amateur Photographer magazine, and in her increasingly little spare time works across a number of high-profile publications including Wired, Stuff, Digital Camera World, Expert Reviews, and just a little off-tangent, PetsRadar.