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Canon SX280 HS vs Canon SX420 IS

Portability
91
Imaging
36
Features
43
Overall
38
Canon PowerShot SX280 HS front
 
Canon PowerShot SX420 IS front
Portability
80
Imaging
46
Features
34
Overall
41

Canon SX280 HS vs Canon SX420 IS Key Specs

Canon SX280 HS
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-500mm (F3.5-6.8) lens
  • 233g - 106 x 63 x 33mm
  • Announced March 2013
  • Succeeded the Canon SX270 HS
Canon SX420 IS
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-1008mm (F3.5-6.6) lens
  • 325g - 104 x 69 x 85mm
  • Introduced January 2016
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Canon SX280 HS vs Canon SX420 IS Overview

Lets look much closer at the Canon SX280 HS and Canon SX420 IS, both Small Sensor Superzoom cameras and both are built by Canon. There is a crucial difference among the sensor resolutions of the SX280 HS (12MP) and SX420 IS (20MP) but they feature the exact same sensor measurements (1/2.3").

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The SX280 HS was launched 3 years before the SX420 IS which is a fairly serious gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Canon SX280 HS being a Compact camera and the Canon SX420 IS being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before diving straight into a detailed comparison, below is a short introduction of how the SX280 HS grades versus the SX420 IS in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Canon SX280 HS over the Canon SX420 IS

 SX280 HS SX420 IS 
Display resolution461k230kSharper display (+231k dot)

Reasons to pick Canon SX420 IS over the Canon SX280 HS

 SX420 IS SX280 HS 
IntroducedJanuary 2016March 2013More modern by 34 months

Common features in the Canon SX280 HS and Canon SX420 IS

 SX280 HS SX420 IS 
Focus manually More accurate focusing
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Display dimension3"3"Identical display measurements
Selfie screen Neither has selfie screen
Touch display Neither has Touch display

Canon SX280 HS vs Canon SX420 IS Physical Comparison

When you are intending to carry around your camera often, you have to think about its weight and dimensions. The Canon SX280 HS has physical dimensions of 106mm x 63mm x 33mm (4.2" x 2.5" x 1.3") along with a weight of 233 grams (0.51 lbs) and the Canon SX420 IS has dimensions of 104mm x 69mm x 85mm (4.1" x 2.7" x 3.3") along with a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs).

Analyze the Canon SX280 HS and Canon SX420 IS in the new Camera with 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 chosen at that time. Here is the front view over all size comparison of the SX280 HS vs the SX420 IS.

Canon SX280 HS vs Canon SX420 IS size comparison

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the SX280 HS and SX420 IS is 91 and 80 respectively.

Canon SX280 HS vs Canon SX420 IS top view buttons comparison

Canon SX280 HS vs Canon SX420 IS Sensor Comparison

Generally, its tough to see the contrast in sensor sizes merely by going through specifications. The pic here should provide you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the SX280 HS and SX420 IS.

To sum up, the 2 cameras posses the exact same sensor measurements but not the same MP. You should expect to see the Canon SX420 IS to produce extra detail utilizing its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution will enable you to crop images somewhat more aggressively. The more aged SX280 HS will be behind with regard to sensor tech.

Canon SX280 HS vs Canon SX420 IS sensor size comparison

Canon SX280 HS vs Canon SX420 IS Screen and ViewFinder

Canon SX280 HS vs Canon SX420 IS Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Canon SX280 HS Portrait photography information
Canon SX420 IS Portrait photography information
34
you can focus manually
offers face detection focusing
can't use external flash
resolution not great (12 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW support
44
focusing manually
decent MP (20MP)
comes with face detection focus
no manual control
cannot use external flash
small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
Photography Glossary

Street Comparison

Canon SX280 HS as a Street photography camera
Canon SX420 IS as a Street photography camera
61
built in image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competition (233g)
screen does not articulate
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW support
52
built in image stabilization (Optical)
no articulating screen
small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Canon SX280 HS Sports photography highlights
Canon SX420 IS Sports photography highlights
36
excellent zoom range (25-500mm 20.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
offers tracking autofocus
slow fps (4.0 fps)
resolution not great (12MP)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
bad battery (210 CIPA)
no phase detect AF
41
excellent zoom range (24-1008mm 42.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (20MP)
max fps very slow (0.5 frames per second)
lack of shutter priority mode
small sensor size (1/2.3")
bad battery pack (195 CIPA)
lack of phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Canon SX280 HS Travel photography info
Canon SX420 IS Travel photography info
61
lighter than competition (233 grams)
built-in flash
relatively wide (25mm)
great reach (500mm)
does not have Time Lapse mode
bad battery (210 shots)
resolution not great (12 megapixels)
doesn't contain selfie friendly display
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
61
decent MP (20 megapixels)
flash built-in
reasonably wide (24mm)
very long zoom (1008mm)
lack of Time Lapse recording
bad battery pack (195 CIPA)
does not feature selfie friendly screen
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Canon SX280 HS Landscape photography advice
Canon SX420 IS Landscape photography advice
41
you can focus manually
relatively wide (25mm)
good sized screen (3")
built in image stabilization (Optical)
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
resolution not great (12 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW support
bad battery (210 CIPA)
does not have Time Lapse mode
47
focusing manually
reasonably wide (24mm)
decent sized screen (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (20MP)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
no manual control
small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
bad battery pack (195 shots)
lack of Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Canon SX280 HS Vlogging info
Canon SX420 IS Vlogging info
34
relatively wide (25mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
offers face detection focusing
video res high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
lighter than competition (233g)
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
doesn't contain selfie friendly display
does not have external mic jack
29
reasonably wide (24mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
comes with face detection focus
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
does not feature selfie friendly screen
low quality video (1280 x 720 pxls)
lack of external mic jack
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Canon SX280 HS vs Canon SX420 IS Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Canon SX280 HS and Canon SX420 IS
 Canon PowerShot SX280 HSCanon PowerShot SX420 IS
General Information
Brand Name Canon Canon
Model Canon PowerShot SX280 HS Canon PowerShot SX420 IS
Type Small Sensor Superzoom Small Sensor Superzoom
Announced 2013-03-21 2016-01-05
Body design Compact SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Powered by Digic 6 DIGIC 4+
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CCD
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 20MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 4000 x 3000 5152 x 3864
Highest native ISO 6400 1600
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 25-500mm (20.0x) 24-1008mm (42.0x)
Highest aperture f/3.5-6.8 f/3.5-6.6
Macro focus range 5cm 0cm
Focal length multiplier 5.8 5.8
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of screen 461k dot 230k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None None
Features
Min shutter speed 15s 15s
Max shutter speed 1/3200s 1/4000s
Continuous shutter speed 4.0fps 0.5fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 3.50 m 5.00 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto, flash on, slow synchro, flash off
External flash
AEB
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60, 30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps) 640 x 480 (30, 120 fps), 320 x 240 (240 fps) 1280 x 720 (25p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video file format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, H.264
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS BuiltIn None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 233 grams (0.51 pounds) 325 grams (0.72 pounds)
Dimensions 106 x 63 x 33mm (4.2" x 2.5" x 1.3") 104 x 69 x 85mm (4.1" x 2.7" x 3.3")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 210 images 195 images
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model NB-6L NB-11LH
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, Custom) Yes (2 or 10 secs)
Time lapse feature
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots One One
Launch price $325 $299