Canon’s new PowerShot SX740 HS puts superzoom in your pocket
Canon has today announced the launch of the latest travel compact in its range, the PowerShot SX740 HS, replacing PowerShot SX730 HS that was released last year.
Like it predecessor, the SX740 HS comes packing a 40x optic zoom (equivalent to 24-960mm in 35mm terms) and a 20.3MP 1/2.3-type (6.17 x 4.55 mm) back-illuminated CMOS sensor.
However, Canon has finally let go of its penchant for including just Full HD video capture in its cameras, adding 4K Ultra HD video capabilities to the SX740 HS, which includes a 4K time lapse mode, with both allowing frame grabs of about 8MP in size.
The new travel compact also features Canon’s powerful Digic 8 image processor for speedy autofocus and a continuous burst speed of up to 10fps.
ISO sensitivity ranges from 80 to 3200, with a maximum of ISO 1600 in auto mode, and shutter speeds range from 1/3200 second to 15 seconds.
Is that a camera in your pocket or…?
If you think a 40x zoom isn’t enough to take you closer to the action, then Canon’s ZoomPlus feature gives you 80x of digital zoom, but you’ll need to be prepared to sacrifice some image quality if you go beyond the reach of the optical zoom.
To keep things steady, however, Canon has added 5-axis image stabilization, which provides up to 3-stops of camera shake compensation.
The SX740 HS also shares the 3.0-inch tilting LCD display with its predecessor, which turns all the way around to face forward, making good use of the Self Portrait mode on the camera.
To make taking pictures quick and easy, the SX740 HS comes with a range of automatic settings, which include a Smart Auto shooting mode that has 29 scenes pre-programmed for auto detection.
An Hybrid Auto mode automatically creates a short movie with the day’s photos, while the Zoom Framing Assist adjusts the zoom or the focus to achieve the best composition.
There’s also Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for easy transfer of images from camera to handheld device and a built-in flash that has a range from 50cm to between 2m and 4m, depending on the zoom position.
However, it does not support raw file capture.
The Canon PowerShot SX740 HS will be available from August in the US and the UK for $399.99 and £349.99, respectively.
In Australia, though, the SX740 HS will go on sale in early September and the price will be “set at dealer discretion”. If the price of the SX730 HS is anything to go buy, we can expect the Australian price to be at over the AU$500 mark.
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