Canon SX150 IS

Canon SX150 IS is Canon's Small Sensor Superzoom camera originally introduced on May of 2012. The camera has a 14MP, CCD 1/2.3" size sensor with a peak resolution of 4320 x 3240.

Canon introduced this camera in an effort to upgrade the earlier Canon SX130 IS (Read Full Comparison) & afterwards introduced the newer Canon SX160 IS (Read Full Comparison) in order to upgrade this model.

The SX150 IS is rated #159 out of 244 in Small Sensor Superzoom cameras & all-around #776 out of 1465 for cameras in our collection. You can test our Advanced camera finder to see camera ratings based on your customized factors.

The following is a graph of various criteria used in the scoring system.

The Canon SX150 IS is part of a family of products. You can read the full list underneath.

You can look at the SX150 IS from several angles in the gallery underneath.

Here is a selection of upsides and downsides of the Canon SX150 IS based on things which are normally seen as essential in a camera.

The Canon SX150 IS is run by the Digic 4 chip. The dimension of the sensor in the Canon SX150 IS is 6.17mm x 4.55mm (1/2.3"). The 28 mm² sensor can resolve 4320 x 3240 pixels using aspect ratios of 4:3 and 3:2. The camera has Image Stabilization (Optical). Sensor stabilization is better than digital stabilization as the latter can cause cropping.

Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

The CCD sensor has 14 megapixels and has a native ISO range of 80 - 1600. Sadly, RAW format is not supported which means that the user has less room to maneuver in post.

The graphic underneath shows the SX150 IS's sensor size compared to other common sizes. The SX150 IS sensor has a crop factor of 5.8 and is highlighted in green.

Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

To get an idea of specific aspect ratios, you can refer to the visual below.

Canon SX150 IS weighs about 0.67 lbs (306 grams or 10.79 oz) & has outer proportions of 113mm x 73mm x 46mm (4.4" x 2.9" x 1.8"). The weight of general Small Sensor Superzoom camera is 387 grams so the Canon SX150 IS is lighter as compared to its rivals.

Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Down below is a picture of the Canon SX150 IS alongside a soda to help you to get a sense of its size.

The top view under will show you the button arrangement on the SX150 IS.

The SX150 IS offers an inbuilt lens offering a focal range of 28-336mm making it a 12.0 x zoom which won't be huge nevertheless it would certainly be helpful in certain situations.

At it's widest 28mm, the lens has an aperture of f3.4 and that is really sluggish and not good for low light occasions and you might find it hard to get a shallow depth of field. You could also have to raise your ISO setting which causes noisy photographs. At the long end, 336mm is brilliant zoom and comes at f5.6 which is fairly slow and you might have to set slow shutter speeds.

The SX150 IS has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• Wireless Yes

Cameras that come with NFC and Bluetooth compatibility are able to be controlled wirelessly by smartphones. You will be able to send photos and at times alter settings without the hassle of connecting directly with the camera.

Many apps also enable a Liveview and press the shutter in case you aren't near the camera. If the camera has a HDMI port, it can easily be hooked up to an external screen. Virtually all cameras enable you to recharge the battery through the USB socket.

The highest video quality in the Canon SX150 IS is 1280 x 720 and you can record in H.264 format. 720p is terrible for today's standards. You should try to get a minimum 1080p quality for decent video. The body doesn't include a microphone and headphone port which means you have absolutely no control over the audio. It is perhaps a better idea to find an alternative model in case you want decent audio for your video clips.

Canon SX150 IS doesn't have weather sealing so wet conditions can easily affect the camera.

The Canon SX150 IS has a 3" fixed display screen having a resolution of 230k dots.

Please note that the display has no touch support.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The ViewFinder specs for Canon SX150 IS are below:

• ViewFinder None

Viewfinders are rather useful for sunny outdoor conditions which will make the camera display washed out and difficult to see.

Canon SX150 IS continuous shooting rate is 1.0 frames/s. The highest shutter speed is 1/2500 sec.

Canon SX150 IS has just inbuilt flash with no external flash ability.

Canon SX150 IS has only Contrast Detect Auto Focus & does not have Phase Detect Auto Focus. Phase Detection focusing is a lot snappier and precise as compared to Contrast Detect focusing. The camera has Face detect making it useful for portrait photography.

The AF system has 1 focus points to pick from. It also features Tracking Auto Focus for things on the move. Canon SX150 IS features manual focus when required for low light or you need more exact focus control.

The battery power (2 x AA) in the Canon SX150 IS is built to last for 130 shutters with respect to the CIPA specifications making it lesser in comparison with it's competition. The typical Small Sensor Superzoom camera battery life is 316. Fujifilm HS35EXR offers the highest (600) battery life for this range of cameras.

Below is a list of Small Sensor Superzoom cameras having the strongest battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Fujifilm HS35EXR
SX150 IS vs Fujifilm HS35EXR600 yesnono

Nikon B500
SX150 IS vs B500600 nonoyes

Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Nikon L840
SX150 IS vs L840590 noyesno

Panasonic FZ200
SX150 IS vs FZ200540 yesnono

Leica V-Lux 4
SX150 IS vs V-Lux 4540 yesnono

The following chart presents a summation of the Canon SX150 IS for various styles of photography. To understand more, go to the specific paragraph underneath.

The Canon SX150 IS receives a rating of 42 which is low, meaning that it is just not very good for portrait photos. Taking portrait photos leans heavily to sensor resolution, RAW support and option to work with external lighting.

With a decent points total of 59, the Canon SX150 IS is reasonably suitable for street photography. A decent street photography camera features a perfect balance of image quality and portability.

A low sports photography points tally of 40 suggests the Canon SX150 IS is just not very good for taking photos of sports. A camera should have fantastic autofocus plus shutter speeds for sports photography.

Weight is extremely critical when buying a travel camera. Over-all, the Canon SX150 IS gets a nice 64 as a travelling camera which is a fine pick to take with you on your trips.

If you are looking to buy a camera for landscape photos, the most significant aspect will no doubt be image quality. The Canon SX150 IS at it's average rating of 46 as a landscape camera is relatively acceptable amongst its competition.

A camera for vlogging preferably should posses a articulating display, mic input and ideally IBIS. Considering every thing, the Canon SX150 IS is just not very good for vlogging as it delivers a low score of 31.

If you want alternatives to the SX150 IS, below is a selection of the top rated cameras which fall within the family of Small Sensor Superzoom.

The line graph just below gives you a bird's eye view of the SX150 IS versus it's highest scored rivals suggested earlier.

Following are additional cameras you might have a look at as alternative options. To read through a thorough comparison, go to the "compare" link.