Canon PowerShot SX740 Digital Camera w/40x Optical Zoom & 3 Inch Tilt LCD - 4K VIdeo, Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth Enabled (Black)

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I used to do professional sports photography so I have a very high end Canon DSLR and several (mostly telephoto) lenses, but that setup just isnt all that useful for everyday walking around due to size and weight. I also try to avoid using it in situations where it might get damaged such as fishing in saltwater with a small boat. This, on the other hand, is pocket sized, easy to use, has a great zoom range for its size, shoots really terrific video in decent light, and is inexpensive enough that if it gets damaged it wont break my heart. The auto focus is good, but I find a bit better clarity with center focus. Ive given it a good shakedown with both with still photos and video, and am pleasantly surprised by the video quality (except in really low light). As Canon users already know their smartphone app is unintuitive and clunky, but it does work okay once you get the hang of it. All-in-all its vastly superior to a cell phone camera and nearly as convenient. Im glad I got it.

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Canon quality construction. Image quality is good outdoors in daylight but looks a little muddy grainy in low light in video mode. It does have that canon warm soft reddish hue. You can change some of the settings to try and balance it out a little. Its more prominent at night indoors or under low light. Could be sharper in 4k. You can bump up the sharpness in the settings menu but 4k should be super sharp. Some of my action cameras have better 4k. This is surprisingly bad 4k. The sharpness and clarity is not there in video mode. The image stabilization is getting closer to almost gimbal like but not quite there yet. Still a ways off but its pretty good. The audio is great for an on board microphone. Most manufacturers forget about the audio. This camera has audio that is better than most. Its not hollow or tin can ish. Arms length away you dont need an external mic. Sound comes in great. They forgot to have an external mic input but the audio is so good I dont think Ill ever need one with this. I can always use a DVR. But it would be nice to have so I can use a lav. The other thing they could have done is to make it splash proof. Which all cameras should be. Auto focus works well no hunting even zoomed in. Face tracking works pretty good too. Taking photos requires a steady hand. The slightest movement like pressing the shutter button will result in a blurry picture. The UI is easy to use all the adjustment are smooth and easy. Good responsive interface. The zoom is one of its strong points. I was amazed out how far you can zoom with no focusing issues. 5 points a camera must have: 1) Image Quality .... Good but rather soft noisy and muddy indoors and in low light. 2) Audio Quality .... Great for an onboard mic. 3) Image Stabilization .... Nice getting closer and closer to a gimbal. 4 External Mic Input .... At least the onboard is good but its always nice to have. 5) Waterproof .... Not talking about scuba diving here but it would be great not to worry about rain spills wet hands etc. Update: Putting the camera on the center focusing setting instead of the face tracking drastically improves the sharpness and clarity. Turning the lighting optimizer to low or off also helps a lot. Bumping up the sharpness under the standard profile helps a little too. The image is much sharper and not as soft and muddy. It still struggles a bit in low light indoors etc but the amazing zoom the image stabilization and onboard microphone win me over every time. The zoom on this thing rivals my Canon SX60HS superzoom camera. But the 4k image quality is several steps behind. It is also cropped in quite a bit. Its becoming a pain to use. If youre not in well lit conditions like out in the sun the image suffers. Faces are to red. In face tracking mode its starting to focus hunt. The main thing that is getting to me now is the blurry soft video quality everywhere except other than being in sunlight. If I had to do it all over I probably would not buy this.

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So far, Im not impressed for what this camera should be doing and what the other reviewers say. Im not a professional but Ive had photography classes and know how to work and change the settings. The photos are just not crisp. The lighting is touchy and although I havent done much outside yet, Im sure the outdoor photos are better than indoor. I mainly want to take photos and videos of my toddler son. Took over 100 tonight indoors and took similar photos in the same lighting and setting with an older Canon Elph. The Elphs photos are much clearer and in focus. I changed all kinds of settings playing with the SX740 and not much help. The focus is very persnickety and I cant have this while trying to capture moments that dont last long. If the camera isnt going to be good indoors its not going to work out for me. I also find that the flash that you have to pop up yourself prior to needing it is cumbersome. The audio for the video is good but again the video is not as crisp as I feel it should be. Disappointed.

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I love this camera. The butterfly picture I took I was not all the way up to it, zoomed in! The flower is in macro mode and the lamb was in a dark barn. I have a few cameras but the other two are heavy and I wanted one for those days we are walking a lot and I didnt want to lug the bigger ones. This fits the bill. I have not played with all the features yet but I did link it to my phone so I could send photos to it and share them with my daughter easily. I have had this camera for only 9 months and the shutter is sticking when I turn it on (off and on) so I removed two stars from my original 5 because it should last longer than this.

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This camera has surprised me in how good the Zoom works. I had another brand that was so confusing to use that i returns it and purchased this one. So far it has surpassed what i even expected in the quality of the camera and its photos. I take most photos of Deer,Eagles and other wildlife. This will be an excellent addition to my cameras for that purpose.

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I wanted a relatively simple point and shoot camera that would easily travel. I didnt want the bulk of a 35mm and I definitely wanted something more robust and versatile than an iPhone. This camera is robust, full of features and can be manipulated (programmed) or configured for "Auto" for simple click and go. The zoom is incredible. The attached picture of the moon was taken at 128X digital zoon; note the detail in the craters. I also took this to Yosemite and was able to get some nice shots of Half Dome. And, truth be told, it dropped a couple of times and there are no external scratches, nor did it affect the quality or ease of shooting This camera is a gem and I highly recommend it!! I wanted to amend this review. I was traveling (through Chile and Easter Island) and unfortunately, lost my camera along the way. I had taken a number of unbelievably clear and gorgeous shots of the big heads on Easter Island at sunrise. Anyway, my friends were over the top impressed with the quality of shots. When I returned home, the first thing I did was to order a replacement camera. I was sad to lose the first one, but loved it so much that I didnt think twice about replacing it. The second one is equally great and I still highly recommend it!

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Wanted a nice point and shoot to take bird photos and for backpacking! Really jazzed with the 40x optical zoom! Bought a sweet leather case to go with it and Im good to go! So far - so good! :-)

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Ive previously have used a Nikon F4, Nikon D100, and a Nikon D200 ( to replace a stolen D100,a broken Canon SD100 that accidentally fell into the toilet, and a dropped Nikon S7000 and so, got the Canon SX740 HS as an early 2018 Christmas present WITH the extended warranty/insurance and just recently took it with me on a trip to Kauai and loved using it! The 40X Super Zoom equivalent of a 24-900mm 35mm zoom lens was GREAT! The camera itself was easy to use! It is nicely balanced. I think the 20.3 Megapixel sensor resulted in great pictures. Ive been keeping on the Auto Mode for now and havent need to use the other manual settings yet! I even had a stroke and my left side is paralyzed, so it was even easy balanced and light enough for me to use with just my right hand! I would get this again and highly recommend it to everyone!! Personally, I think the User Manual could have been more informative, but overall is very easy to use and scrolling through the menu to look at all the settings was easy enough!

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At first I purchased the Nikon A900. Poor choice. This camera suits my needs. And very easy to transfer photos to all my Apple devices.

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Canon has packed a lot of features in a very nice little package. Unfortunately they have sacrificed quality at every turn to achieve the goal. The picture quality is terrible. I have a Rebel that takes great pictures and so didnt get the SX cause I wanted the smaller size for carrying when I didnt want the larger camera. Big mistake! After 6 months I have stopped carrying it as my cell phone takes better pictures. A friend bought the SX60 and it is what I wish I had gotten. Either keep using your cell phone or buy the SX60, but this camera is a waste of your money and time.

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