Canon's new bridge cameras boast whopping great zooms

Canon Sx400
Check out the zoom on that thing

Canon has introduced two new bridge cameras into its range of PowerShot devices.

The SX520 HS and SX400 IS offer 42x and 30x optical zooms, respectively.

The SX400HS is a replacement for the SX170, which was a super zoom compact that has been redesigned to fit the bridge style aesthetic for the SX400HS.

With a 42x optical zoom lens, the SX520HS is designed as a more advanced offering, as it also offers manual control, as well as semi-automatic exposure modes.

Canon's HS System combines with a Digic 4+ processing engine for the SX520HS, which Canon claims allows it to be 60% quicker at higher ISOs and 30% faster at focusing and processing than cameras equipped with a standard Digic 4 engine. The SX400IS also has a Digic 4+ processor, but doesn't have the HS system.

Resolution

Both cameras feature a 16 million pixel 1/2.3 inch CCD sensor, although Canon was unable to confirm to us whether they are the same sensor, it would seem likely.

The SX520's lens offers an equivalent of 24-1008mm in 35mm terms, while the SX400's zoom is equivalent to 24-720mm.

In terms of other differences, the SX520 offers full HD video recording (compared with 720p on the SX400) along with Creative Shot.

The Canon SX520HS price will be £299, approx US$540/AU$508, while the Canon SX400IS price will be £249, approx US$450/AU$423. Both will be available from August 2014.

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.