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Canon SX120 IS vs Canon SX530 HS

Portability
87
Imaging
33
Features
28
Overall
31
Canon PowerShot SX120 IS front
 
Canon PowerShot SX530 HS front
Portability
69
Imaging
41
Features
48
Overall
43

Canon SX120 IS vs Canon SX530 HS Key Specs

Canon SX120 IS
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/2.5" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 640 x 480 video
  • 36-360mm (F2.8-4.3) lens
  • 285g - 111 x 71 x 45mm
  • Released August 2009
Canon SX530 HS
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-1200mm (F3.4-6.5) lens
  • 442g - 120 x 82 x 92mm
  • Introduced January 2015
  • Replaced the Canon SX520 HS
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Canon SX120 IS vs Canon SX530 HS Overview

Lets look closer at the Canon SX120 IS vs Canon SX530 HS, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both of them are created by Canon. There exists a huge gap among the sensor resolutions of the SX120 IS (10MP) and SX530 HS (16MP) and the SX120 IS (1/2.5") and SX530 HS (1/2.3") provide totally different sensor sizes.

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The SX120 IS was unveiled 6 years earlier than the SX530 HS which is a fairly significant gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Canon SX120 IS being a Compact camera and the Canon SX530 HS being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before delving into a full comparison, here is a simple view of how the SX120 IS scores versus the SX530 HS for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Canon SX120 IS over the Canon SX530 HS

 SX120 IS SX530 HS 

Reasons to pick Canon SX530 HS over the Canon SX120 IS

 SX530 HS SX120 IS 
IntroducedJanuary 2015August 2009Newer by 65 months
Screen resolution461k230kClearer screen (+231k dot)

Common features in the Canon SX120 IS and Canon SX530 HS

 SX120 IS SX530 HS 
Manual focus More accurate focus
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen dimensions
Selfie screen Absent selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Neither comes with Touch friendly screen

Canon SX120 IS vs Canon SX530 HS Physical Comparison

For those who are planning to travel with your camera, you need to take into account its weight and volume. The Canon SX120 IS comes with external measurements of 111mm x 71mm x 45mm (4.4" x 2.8" x 1.8") with a weight of 285 grams (0.63 lbs) while the Canon SX530 HS has sizing of 120mm x 82mm x 92mm (4.7" x 3.2" x 3.6") along with a weight of 442 grams (0.97 lbs).

See the Canon SX120 IS vs Canon SX530 HS in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you have attached at that moment. Following is a front view measurement comparison of the SX120 IS versus the SX530 HS.

Canon SX120 IS vs Canon SX530 HS size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the SX120 IS and SX530 HS is 87 and 69 respectively.

Canon SX120 IS vs Canon SX530 HS top view buttons comparison

Canon SX120 IS vs Canon SX530 HS Sensor Comparison

Quite often, it's hard to visualise the gap in sensor dimensions only by seeing a spec sheet. The pic below will offer you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the SX120 IS and SX530 HS.

As you can see, both of those cameras have different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The SX120 IS with its smaller sensor will make getting shallower DOF harder and the Canon SX530 HS will provide greater detail having an extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop shots a bit more aggressively. The more aged SX120 IS will be behind with regard to sensor tech.

Canon SX120 IS vs Canon SX530 HS sensor size comparison

Canon SX120 IS vs Canon SX530 HS Screen and ViewFinder

Canon SX120 IS vs Canon SX530 HS Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Canon SX120 IS Portrait photography details
Canon SX530 HS Portrait photography details
33
manual focus
great flash sync speed (1/500 seconds)
no external flash support
megapixel count low (10MP)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.5")
lack of RAW files
44
focusing manually
good resolution (16MP)
includes face detect focusing
no external flash support
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
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Street Comparison

Canon SX120 IS Street photography info
Canon SX530 HS Street photography info
51
has image stabilization (Optical)
no moving screen
sensor size is tiny (1/2.5")
lack of RAW files
heavier than others in class (285g)
47
image stabilization (Optical)
fixed screen
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Canon SX120 IS Sports photography features
Canon SX530 HS Sports photography features
26
has image stabilization (Optical)
max frames per second low (1.0 frames/s)
megapixel count low (10MP)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.5")
lack of phase detect AF
51
amazing zoom range (24-1200mm 50.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Optical)
good resolution (16MP)
includes tracking focus
has phase detect AF
low fps (1.6 frames/s)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
terrible battery (210 per charge)
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Travel Comparison

Canon SX120 IS Travel photography information
Canon SX530 HS Travel photography information
51
has built in flash
long reach (360mm)
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
heavier than others in class (285 grams)
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
wide angle not fantastic (36mm)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
55
good resolution (16MP)
has built in flash
quite wide (24mm)
great reach (1200mm)
lack of Time Lapse function
terrible battery (210 CIPA)
display is not selfie friendly
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.4)
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Landscape Comparison

Canon SX120 IS Landscape photography factors
Canon SX530 HS Landscape photography factors
36
manual focus
pretty good screen size (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
wide angle not fantastic (36mm)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.5")
lack of RAW files
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
46
focusing manually
quite wide (24mm)
nice screen size (3 inches)
image stabilization (Optical)
good resolution (16 megapixels)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.4)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
terrible battery (210 per charge)
lack of Time Lapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Canon SX120 IS Vlogging info
Canon SX530 HS Vlogging info
23
has image stabilization (Optical)
wide angle not fantastic (36mm)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
video quality not great (640 x 480 pxls)
doesn't have external mic jack
heavier than others in class (285g)
29
quite wide (24mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
includes face detect focusing
video res high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.4)
display is not selfie friendly
lack of mic port
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Canon SX120 IS vs Canon SX530 HS Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Canon SX120 IS and Canon SX530 HS
 Canon PowerShot SX120 ISCanon PowerShot SX530 HS
General Information
Manufacturer Canon Canon
Model type Canon PowerShot SX120 IS Canon PowerShot SX530 HS
Class Small Sensor Compact Small Sensor Superzoom
Released 2009-08-19 2015-01-06
Body design Compact SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Processor Digic 4 DIGIC 4+
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.5" 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 5.744 x 4.308mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 24.7mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 10MP 16MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 3:2 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 3648 x 2736 4608 x 3456
Highest native ISO 1600 3200
Min native ISO 80 100
RAW support
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Total focus points - 9
Lens
Lens support fixed lens fixed lens
Lens zoom range 36-360mm (10.0x) 24-1200mm (50.0x)
Max aperture f/2.8-4.3 f/3.4-6.5
Macro focusing range 1cm 0cm
Focal length multiplier 6.3 5.8
Screen
Range of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display sizing 3 inches 3 inches
Display resolution 230 thousand dot 461 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None None
Features
Slowest shutter speed 15 seconds 15 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/2500 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 1.0fps 1.6fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 3.00 m 5.50 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Fill-in Auto, on, off, slow synchro
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/500 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps), 160 x 120 (15 fps) 1920 x 1080 (30p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 640x480 1920x1080
Video format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 285 gr (0.63 lbs) 442 gr (0.97 lbs)
Physical dimensions 111 x 71 x 45mm (4.4" x 2.8" x 1.8") 120 x 82 x 92mm (4.7" x 3.2" x 3.6")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth rating not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested not tested
DXO Low light rating not tested not tested
Other
Battery life - 210 pictures
Battery form - Battery Pack
Battery ID 2 x AA NB-6LH
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, Custom) Yes (2 or 10 secs, custom)
Time lapse feature
Storage media SD, SDHC, MMC, MMCplus, HC MMCplus SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots Single Single
Price at launch $249 $379