Canon SX540 HS Review + Photo and Zoom Video Test - Serious Zoom on a budget?

Canon Powershot SX540 HS Review + Photo and Zoom Video Test
Link to the Canon SX 540 HS: https://amzn.to/3TD6Dda
SD Card for the Canon SX 540 HS: https://amzn.to/3ZELaoh
Link to Batteries for the Canon SX 540 HS: https://amzn.to/3ZELaoh
Panasonic FZ-80: https://amzn.to/3ZuHN35
0:00 Intro

In this video I’ll be reviewing the Canon SX540 HS zoom camera and also testing out its zoom, photo and video capabilities. At first glance, the Canon SX540 looks no different from any Canon zoom camera or even any other superzoom camera on the market. It has a massive 50x zoom lens on the front, which is controlled by this toggle switch around the shutter button. The camera has a ½ inch sensor, similar to its competitors like the Panasonic FZ 80, which I reviewed a while back. The button and dial layout on top are pretty much what you’d find on any modern Canon camera. No real surprises here. The layout on the back is also fairly straight forward. The only thing I am not a big fan of is the movie record button, which is a bit awkwardly placed in my opinion. I would have preferred to have it on the top face, which makes it a bit easier to access when shooting. Again, it's a minor gripe and more my preference than anything. The rear face also has a 3 inch screen which sadly does not flip or articulate, so the camera really won’t work for vlogging. The menus and options are very well laid out, in typical Canon fashion. However, you do have to use the navigation buttons on the right to scroll through and select options, as the screen is not a touchscreen. The screen is also pretty bright and is quite usable even in the bright sunlight. The SX 540’s battery and SD card are located in this compartment on the bottom. I highly recommend using at least a class 10 SD card, especially if you plan to shoot video. I’ll leave a link to one I recommend, right below the video. Another thing I like is that they provide a wall charger to charge the battery. This is really helpful because you can buy spare batteries and swap them out when needed, while your depleted batteries charge up. Again, I’ll leave links to spare batteries below, in case you need ‘em. The camera also has a standard ¼ inch tripod mount on the bottom. The camera’s grip is well designed and is deep enough to be used even with one hand. The camera isn’t very heavy, since it’s mostly made from plastic. The plastic is pretty rugged though and will be tough enough to take a few beatings when you travel. The camera also has a pop up flash on the front, which is pretty helpful for shots of the nightlife. When it comes to taking pictures, the camera can take pictures as large as 20MP and stores them in the JPEG format. The pictures are actually pretty impressive for a camera at this price. The images are very well exposed, sharp, and the colors are also pleasing to the eye. Now, the colors aren’t perfectly reproduced or very accurate, however, the pictures have a very pleasing aesthetic that is typical of Canon cameras. The low light shots were also decent, even without the flash turned on. When it comes to video, the camera shoots 1080p video at 60 and 29 frames per second. I really feel the lack of 4K in this camera is a bit of a disappointment. However, the Full HD at 60fps can capture some pretty smooth footage. However, in my opinion, the most useful video setting for most people is the 29fps mode, which strikes a decent balance. As with the photos, the video is very well exposed, the colors are pleasing and the footage is reasonably sharp, despite the lack of 4K. Definitely, good enough for vacation videos or even shooting sporting events, wildlife and even landscapes.
The Canon SX 540’s biggest asset, both for photos and videos, is its phenomenal 50X optical zoom range. This zoom range is what really sets it apart from other entry-level zoom cameras and really helps you capture a lot of pictures and footage that you really couldn’t get with a smartphone camera or even an entry-level point and shoot camera, as you can see from these shots. The image stabilization also seems to work very well throughout the zoom range and keeps shots steady even when zoomed in all the way. I highly recommend turning off the digital zoom, as it tends to reduce your image quality at the higher end of the zoom range.

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