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Canon PowerShot SX40 HS review: Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

Headshot of Joshua Goldman
Headshot of Joshua Goldman
Joshua Goldman Managing Editor / Advice
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
Expertise Laptops, desktops and computer and PC gaming accessories including keyboards, mice and controllers, cameras, action cameras and drones Credentials
  • More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
Joshua Goldman
9 min read

Editors' note: Several of the design and features are identical between the Canon PowerShot SX40 HS and the Canon PowerShot SX30 IS we reviewed earlier, so readers of the earlier review may experience some déjà vu when reading the same sections below.

7.5

Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

The Good

The <b>Canon PowerShot SX40 HS</b> has a flexible lens range, very good image stabilization, excellent photo quality for its class, and shooting modes for every kind of user.

The Bad

The SX40 HS's shooting performance lags behind that of the competition and has a couple potentially irritating design points.

The Bottom Line

If you're after a wide and long lens and excellent photo quality, the Canon PowerShot SX40 HS is a standout. In features, design, and performance, though, it's a bit lacking.

The Canon PowerShot SX40 HS is a nice improvement over its predecessor, the SX30 IS. Sure, they look the same, have the same ultrawide-angle 35x zoom lens, and, for the most part, have the same shooting modes. But a switch to a new sensor and new image processor seemed to have improved both photo quality and shooting performance, though its performance is still sucking wind a bit behind competing models from Nikon, Sony, and Panasonic.

For that matter, so is its feature set and its design, particularly if you want to take advantage of its electronic viewfinder and manual controls. On the other hand, it has some of the best JPEG photo quality you're going to find from a high-end megazoom.

7.5

Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

Score Breakdown

Design 7Features 8Performance 7Image quality 8