Canon SX520 HS review

The Canon SX520 HS is a mid-price bridge camera, with a whopping 42x zoom lens sat in front of a less remarkable 1/2.3in sensor. Larger sensors are increasingly common, even at this price, but not in ultra-zoom models. The only camera to offer both a big zoom and a big sensor is the Panasonic FZ1000, and that costs £750. All is not lost, though. If you want to shoot distant subjects in bright light and aren't so concerned about low-light photography, this kind of camera makes a lot of sense.

£299 isn't exactly cheap, but the SX520 HS has various signs of being built to a price. There's no viewfinder, and the 3in screen isn't articulated. That means the camera must be held with outstretched arms at eye level for a clear view of the screen. This isn't ideal for holding it steady while framing telephoto shots. There's no Wi-Fi, GPS or RAW capture and the slim battery lasts for just 210 shots.

It's well equipped with physical controls. There's a mode dial and command dial on top, plus buttons for ISO speed, exposure compensation, continuous mode, flash and macro. Less common are the pair of buttons on the lens barrel. One pulls the zoom back momentarily to help locate subjects in the frame – just the thing when shooting at the telephoto end of the zoom. A quick press of the same button enables a Zoom Framing Assist mode, which works in conjunction with face detection to zoom in on a face, upper body or whole body automatically. The other button uses the optical stabilisation to help keep a subject in the centre of the frame. This button also slows the zooming speed down for careful adjustment.

The camera is reasonably responsive in normal use, powering up and capturing a shot in 1.6s and taking 1.1 seconds between shots. Continuous mode is less impressive, though, lumbering along at 1.3fps. There's no live view in continuous mode, and with image reviews running two frames behind the action, there's absolutely no chance of following moving subjects.

Salvation comes from a scene preset that captures 4-megapixel frames at 10fps, and can continue until the card is full. 4 megapixels isn’t enough for large prints but it's fine for viewing on TVs, computers and tablets. There's no direct control over the shutter or ISO speed in this mode, but the very fast shutter speeds used should work well in most cases, and exposure compensation is still available. It's odd that Canon has provided a dedicated button to access the largely pointless 1.3fps mode, but hides the 10fps mode among the scene presets. Still, it's a great feature for those who know where to find it, and particularly well suited to wildlife photography.

VIDEO AND IMAGE QUALITY

Videos are captured at 1080p and 30fps, with clips up to 17 minutes long. Picture quality was good enough for casual use, but details weren't as crisp as we'd like and low-light clips fizzed with noise. We struggled to produce successful handheld videos at the telephoto end of the zoom. The digital stabilisation used for video capture resulted in twitchy motion, and autofocus often went awry as we zoomed in and out. Overall, this camera handles video reasonably well but it doesn't excel.

The same could be said for its photographic prowess. Image quality in bright conditions and at wide-to-medium focal lengths were generally up to scratch. We'd have like to see greater clarity of detail, but the slightly smudged appearance of fine details in the 16 megapixel JPEGs are unlikely to be visible at normal viewing sizes. Telephoto shots were less successful, though, with hazy focus and chromatic aberrations that were visible even after resizing photos to around 1 megapixel. Shooting in low light inevitably pushed up noise, and the resulting noise reduction took a further toll on details. It's a common problem for any camera with a tiny 1/2.3in sensor, but the SX520 HS fared worse than the Canon SX50 HS and Panasonic FZ200.

^ This wide-angle shot in direct sunlight is generally up to scratch, although there is some blooming around the over-exposed highlights. (1/500s, f/4, ISO 160, 24mm equivalent)

^ We love the colours in this macro shot, and the shallow depth of field works well too. (1/800s, f/4, ISO 200, 24mm equivalent)

^ Shooting in shady conditions has pushed the ISO speed up to 800. Details look a little vague at modest sizes, and close inspection reveals heavy noise reduction. (1/25s, f/3.5, ISO 700, 28mm equivalent)

^ Focus is distinctly hazy at the full zoom extension. (1/160s, f/6, ISO 100, 1010mm equivalent)

^ Focus looks sharper here but there are chromatic aberrations around the edges of the branches. (1/320s, f/6, ISO 100, 1010mm equivalent)

^ There's a lot to be said for the 4-megapixel, 10fps scene preset, as it captures as much detail as the lens allows for telephoto shots. (1/1,000s, f/6, ISO 320, 1010mm equivalent)

CONCLUSION

Compared to the SX50 HS, the SX520 HS seems overpriced. Both are currently available for £300 but the SX520 HS is beaten for image quality and features. It would start to be more appealing with a price closer to £200. However, the Nikon S9700 costs £229 and delivers sharper focus from its 30x zoom, plus Wi-Fi and GPS – and it fits into pockets. Ultimately, the SX520 HS falls between two camps – it's not convenient enough for casual users and lacks the quality demanded by enthusiasts.