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

For close by pictures you are probably better of with a good smartphone, like Samsung S9 Plus. For zoom, this is the camera to get. Only problem I have encountered is the connectivity, which sometimes is difficult, you have to try several times, but it finally connects to your smartphone. Have not been able to try the automatic photo sync, which includes location data. On single transfer I have not seen the location data.

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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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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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Im sure that someone with more computer knowledge than myself would find the wifi useful. I a have found that I dont need it. All I need is to stick the memory card in my computer to down load the pics. The camera does take great pictures It is just far more complicated than I need. Now my zoom is not working. Unfortunately my return window ran out yesterday. It is under warranty and I purchased the extended. I hope I can get it fixed.

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I took this camera on a trip to Jamaica for its maiden outing. Lots of light, lot of elements to contend with, and many impromptu photo ops. Should be a good test, right? Almost $400 seemed like a lot of moolah for this camera, not having a touch screen. It is otherwise responsive and easy to use for the most part. The screen, like most, is hard to see in the sunlight. And it flips up for selfies if thats important to you. The camera is small, but surprisingly easy to hold on to. The battery life is about average for a camera this size. My biggest concern is the sharpness of my photos. I downloaded them to my computer and really didnt see any images exceptionally crisp. I used Auto, TV, and AP settings, and a few with the flash, which incidentally works quite well, but the switch to employ it is too tiny. My last point & shoot was the venerable G15 which was wonderful until I scratched the lens. It costs more than this camera, but was a much better unit. Keep looking. And good luck.

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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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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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I am no photography expert, but I take a lot of photos and have owned many point and shoots. Ive had a Canon, 2 Panasonics, and a Nikon. I loved my Nikon S9100 but it is getting buggy on me so I did a lot of research to settle on the SX740 for a long zoom mainly travel camera. I was impressed at first, it fits nice in the hand, the controls are easy to use and reach. Photos look good on the big screen. But then I go to do the official test against my old cameras and, wow, this camera takes terrible photos. Images are soft and lacking detail. Colors are dull and muted. The zoom is nice, but not when the images are such poor quality. My 10 year old Panasonics and S6 Samsung smartphone take much crisper, sharper images. I have since been trying the Sony HX80 and so far am impressed. 30x zoom vs. the 40x of this Canon, but much, much sharper, more realistic images. If you have nothing to compare the 740 to, youll be fine with it, but know that it cant compare to other cameras and you may be disappointed. Photos here with this review: the first three are the Canon, the last two are the Sony. Decide for yourself.

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I thought the battery needed charging - on Christmas Eve. That wasnt the problem. The darn thing turns on, but thats it. The view finder is blank - no buttons work. Its too late to return so Im contacting the manufacturer. So all my Christmas photos are on my phone. I am not happy. For the price, I expected a lot better. Ill never buy another Canon. I sent the camera to be repaired. I received an email today that they will replace it with a new or REFURBISHED camera. I paid $400 for this - I dont want a refurbished one!

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I have now received two cameras that have came with the same poor quality video and subpar pictures, the only redeeming thing about this is the audio which is still not that good. I will be returning both cameras and looking at something other than canon. I have heard many great things about this camera but all Ive gotten is poor quality pictures and even worse video, at 1080p and at 4k. I do not recommend this camera at all. If I were you, look for a different camera.

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