REVIEWS / POINT AND SHOOT / CANON INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

Value For MoneyCanon PowerShot SX160 IS Review

25 Oct, 2012, 12:04 pm IST | by Anand Tuliani | Point and Shoot

Point and Shoot

Too large and chunky to fit into the pocket

Too large and chunky to fit into the pocket
Large control panel with well spaced-out buttons
Full manual controls and easy-to-use modes

PRICE IN INDIA

12,995

TECH2 RATING

7.0

AVERAGE USER RATING

8.5

How we test

CONTACT

Canon India Private Limited

 info@canon.co.in

 +91 0124 4160 000

 www.canon.co.in

Ergonomics

Although you can, the design of the SX160 IS is a tad heavy for single-handed use. Hence, it’s recommended that you wear the wrist strap all the time and grip the camera using both hands. The user interface is typical Canon—it’s similar to what’s present in other PowerShot and IXUS models. The Function/Set button brings up the vertical stack of settings on the left and the options are listed in the horizontal strip at the button. You use the up/down buttons to navigate through the vertical stack and the jog dial to select options. As you navigate, a one-liner describing the option is displayed. The Menu button brings up a page with less frequently used options including AF type, grid lines, IS mode, blink detection and digital zoom. The user interface is snappy and intuitive, requiring few key presses to change values while shooting.

 

Performance

It takes about two seconds for the SX160 IS to initialise and get ready to shoot. The AF is pretty quick throughout the zoom range and we didn’t encounter any focussing issues throughout while testing.

 

Noise test

The noise is handled quite well at up to ISO 400, after which you can clearly see a lot of graininess creeping in. However, the grains are tiny with a bit of artefacts and they don’t take away too much of the detail. Use a noise-removal plug-in/software and rescale the images, and you will have great-looking results even if viewed at 100 percent zoom.

ISO 100

ISO 100

 

ISO 400

ISO 400

 

ISO 800

ISO 800

 

ISO 1600

ISO 1600

 

Page 2:

Ergonomics-Noise Test


Tags:

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Would you buy it?




 


How We Test

The Tech2 Labs receives many products every single week and each of them is tested with the utmost care and highest level of objectivity. There’s a constant effort to reduce and totally eliminate subjectivity. Each product is tested according to set test processes so the same test scenario is used.

Verdict
The ratings awarded to a product are derived from a number of tests and calculations, keeping certain important factors in mind. These factors consist of features, performance, quality and value for money. In case of software and some other categories, build quality might be replaced with ease of use or ease of installation. Products are compared with other products in a similar price range or product category.


Features
The features component of the score is rated based on the kind of features present on a particular product. Features are a big part of what people look for when they’re buying a new product such as a phone or a camera.

Performance
The performance score is derived from the benchmarks and tests run on the product. In case of the subjective scores, an average of the scores given by the group of reviewers is considered.

Build Quality
The build quality of a product is important so that it doesn’t fall apart after some use. The build quality scores from the way the product is designed and the kind of materials used in the product.

Value
Value for money comes from the fact that a cheap product is able to provide most of the performance of a higher priced product. Once again, value for money is judged by comparing pricing and performance of products in a particular price range or category. 

There are many other aspects of the product that are looked at such as the bundled software and accessories. All of these scores are aggregated together to form the final score.

What do the ratings mean?

Ratings are simple - higher the score, the better the product. A brief listing of the features and what they mean are given below.

1 - 3

The product is bad in almost every aspect. We strongly advise against purchasing this product.

4 - 6

An average product that isn't the best you can buy, but isn't the worst either.

7 - 8

Product with this rating is highly recommended because it's priced sensibly, has a good set of features and performs well.

9 - 10

Exceptionally excellent product with features and performance unlike any we've seen in the past. A must-have for everyone!

What is the Average User Rating?

We at Tech2 take product reviewing very seriously and every product is tested with the utmost care and level of objectivity. The end user who buys a particular product and uses it over an extended period of time has his own take on a product and there might be nuances that he or she can shed light on. The Average User Rating is present to help readers get the complete picture of how good or bad a product is. The Average User Rating is calculated by averaging the ratings by the thousands of readers visiting Tech2.com every single day. To record your own rating of a product, simply click on the user rating bar. If you disagree with our ratings or our community's product rating, please don't hesitate from voicing your opinion in the comments section below the review.

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