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Canon PowerShot SX520 HS 16-megapixel digital camera with 42X optical zoom

Item # 280SX520

When you're sitting on the sidelines at your child's soccer game, or bird-watching on a sunny day, you need...

When you're sitting on the sidelines at your child's soccer game, or bird-watching on a sunny day, you need...

2 questions - 2 answers

Item # 280SX520

Shop all Canon Point-and-shoot Cameras

About the Canon PowerShot SX520 HS

Eric A.

Get closer to the perfect shot

When you're sitting on the sidelines at your child's soccer game, or bird-watching on a sunny day, you need to be able to zoom in on your subject without physically moving closer. Getting you closer to that perfect shot is what the Canon PowerShot SX520 HS does exceptionally well. The camera's wide-angle lens features 42X optical zoom capability, which means you can capture sharp, clear images without fear of adding the visual artifacts often produced by digital zoom. The new Zoom Assist Framing technology built into the camera helps you locate and track a moving subject with ease, even when it's far away.
The Canon PowerShot SX520 HS has a built-in flash to help illuminate your scene.

The Canon PowerShot SX520 HS has a built-in flash to help illuminate your scene.

Get closer to the perfect shot

When you're sitting on the sidelines at your child's soccer game, or bird-watching on a sunny day, you need to be able to zoom in on your subject without physically moving closer. Getting you closer to that perfect shot is what the Canon PowerShot SX520 HS does exceptionally well. The camera's wide-angle lens features 42X optical zoom capability, which means you can capture sharp, clear images without fear of adding the visual artifacts often produced by digital zoom. The new Zoom Assist Framing technology built into the camera helps you locate and track a moving subject with ease, even when it's far away.

Keep your image steady

Canon made sure to think beyond the lens. The camera's hand grip has been specially designed to help you operate buttons easily, so you're less likely to introduce hand tremor into the image when you're at high zoom. The SX520 also features intelligent image stabilization that knows how to compensate for specific types of motion. For example, when shooting stills, the camera's Macro mode makes adjustments that keep a close-up sharp and steady, while Panning mode reduces the jumping and jittering that can accompany a wide swing of motion.

A great video camera, too

Everything the PowerShot SX520 does for still photography, it can also do for video. It records highly detailed 1080p HD video, and processes your moving images effortlessly, thanks to a lightning-quick, accurate DIGIC 4+ image processor inside the camera. A dedicated, centrally-located movie button lets you start and stop recording instantly, instead of flipping through a series of modes as your subject slips away.

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Product highlights:

  • 3" color LCD (461,000-dot) viewscreen
  • 42X optical zoom
  • wide-angle lens (24mm-1008mm equivalent)
  • 16-megapixel CMOS sensor delivers photos with fine detail and brilliant color
  • DIGIC 4+ image processor enhances image quality and processing speed
  • records 1080p HD video
  • dedicated movie button that lets you start and stop recording instantly
  • electronic wind filter suppresses noise that can muffle or distort the sound
  • Intelligent image stabilization analyzes camera movement and applies the best shake correction method for the shooting situation
  • high-speed autofocus helps you freeze action
  • Hybrid Auto mode records up to four seconds of video every time you shoot a still image to create a video montage
  • Creative Shot mode can apply any of 46 filter options to create artistic versions of each photo
  • Zoom Framing Assist seek function makes it much easier to track a subject using the camera's powerful zoom lens
  • Smart Auto selects optimal settings to ensure the best possible image capture
  • Canon HS system provides excellent tracking and imaging in low-light situations
  • curved grip lets your fingers comfortably and naturally reach the shutter, minimizing potential for shake at long zoom lengths
  • shooting modes provide intelligent presets with optimized settings for specific situations, including Low Light, Super Vivid, Fireworks and more
  • 4-3/4"W x 3-1/4"H x 3-5/8"D
  • weight: 15.6 oz.
  • warranty: 1 year
  • MFR # 9544B001

What's in the box:

  • Digital camera (black)
  • Lens cap (installed)
  • Lens cap string (installed)
  • NB-6LH Lithium-ion rechargeable battery (3.7V 1060mAh 4.0Wh)
  • CB-2LY Battery charger (4.2V 0.7A)
  • Neck strap
  • Getting Started booklet (3 copies - Eng/Fren/Span)
  • Wireless printing promo sheet
  • Warranty card

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More details on the Canon PowerShot SX520 HS

Mark G.

Features & specs

General
LCD Screen Size 3"
Adjustable-angle LCD No
Wi-Fi No
Touchscreen No
Waterproof No
GPS-enabled No
Lens 35mm Equivalent 24-1008mm
Optical Zoom 42x
Digital Zoom 4x
Filter Diameter N/A
Manual Focusing Yes
Manual Exposure Yes
Built-in Flash Yes
HDMI Output Mini
Memory
Internal Memory None
Memory Stick No
CFexpress Cards No
CompactFlash Cards No
SD Cards SD, SDHC, SDXC
XQD Cards No
Image
Sensor Size 1/2.3" CMOS
Megapixels 16
Image Stabilization Optical
Highest Resolution 4608 x 3456
4K Video No
Video Resolution 1920 x 1080
Dimensions
Width (inches) 4-3/4
Height (inches) 3-1/4
Depth (inches) 3-5/8
Weight With Battery (ounces) 15.56
Warranty
Parts Warranty 1 Year
Labor Warranty 1 Year

Product Research

Features
Playback, Editing and Print Functions
Battery Information
Inputs and Outputs Notes
Software

Recording Features

LCD Monitor: The Canon PowerShot SX520 HS has a 3" TFT LCD monitor, featuring 461,000 dots with approximately 100% picture coverage. The LCD display's brightness can be adjusted to one of five levels.

Note: There is no separate viewfinder on this camera.

Image Sensor: The camera is equipped with a 1/2.3" High-sensitivity CMOS image sensor with 16.8-million total pixels, and 16.1-million effective pixels.

DIGIC 4+ Processor: The SX520 HS is equipped with the DIGIC 4+ image processor, which features accelerated processing speed for fast, responsive performance and enhanced image quality. High ISO shots are processed approximately 60% faster than with the DIGIC 4 processor.

Optics: The SX520 HS has a 42x optical zoom lens with a 4.3-180.6mm focal length (35mm equivalent is 24-1008mm).

Zoom: In addition to the 42x optical zoom, the camera features a 4x digital zoom. When used in combination, the total zoom is approximately 168x. When optical and digital zoom are combined, the total focal length is 24-4032mm (35mm equivalent).

Zoom Framing Assist: When the camera is zoomed in completely, it is sometimes difficult to locate or track a distant or moving subject. The Zoom Framing Assist function temporarily zooms out to a wider angle of view to allow you to more easily locate your moving subject. Once the subject is located, the camera will automatically return to the original zoom position. The Zoom Framing Assist Lock will keep the camera automatically locked on the subject until you're ready to take the picture. The Zoom Framing Assist button is located on the side of the lens.

Digital Tele-Converter: The focal length of the lens can be increased by an equivalent of 1.6x or 2.0x through the use of the Digital Tele-Converter. The equivalent focal lengths of the lens (35mm equivalent) are 38.4-1612.8mm when using the 1.6x digital tele-converter, and 48-2016mm with the 2.0x tele-converter. The digital zoom and digital tele-converter cannot be used simultaneously.

Optical Image Stabilization: The built-in lens shift-type Image Stabilizer helps control camera shake to give you clear images when you're zoomed way in. Image Stabilization can be used for Still Images (Normal IS), Panning (Panning IS), Macro Shots (Hybrid IS), Strong Camera Shake (Dynamic IS), and Slow Camera Shake (Powered). When using the camera on a tripod, the Image Stabilization is turned off for still images, but some stabilization is used for movies to counteract wind or other sources of vibration.

Recording Media: The camera records still images or moving images with stereo audio on SD, SDHC, and SDXC Memory Cards. Still images are recorded in JPEG format, and the movies are recorded in MOV format (Image data: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, Audio data: Monaural Linear PCM). The camera has no built-in memory, and no memory card is included with the camera.

Still Image Resolution/Compression: The SX520 HS can record still images in 4 different sizes (Large, Medium 1, Medium 2, and Small) and 4 aspect ratios (4:3, 16:9, 3:2, and 1:1). For each resolution, you can set the compression to Super Fine or Fine. You can choose from the following resolutions:

  4:3 16:9 3:2 1:1
Large 4608 x 3456 4608 x 2592 4608 x 3072 3456 x 3456
Medium 1 3264 x 2448 3264 x 1832 3264 x 2176 2448 x 2448
Medium 2 2048 x 1536 1920 x 1080 2048 x 1368 1536 x 1536
Small 640 x 480 640 x 360 640 x 424 480 x 480

Movies: Movies can be shot in Full HD at 1920 x 1080p and HD at 1280 x 720p at 30 fps. Standard definition movies can be recorded at 640 x 480p pixels at 30 fps. Audio is recorded in stereo with the built-in microphone. Recording will automatically stop when either the clip file size reaches 4 GB or the recording time reaches approximately 30 minutes for HD and Full HD, and 1 hour for SD. SD Speed Class 4 or higher memory cards are recommended when recording movies.

Miniature Effect: In addition to shooting standard movies, you can shoot movies that look like scenes in miniature models. Miniature Effect movies are recorded at 1280 x 720, and you can choose between 6fps, 3fps, or 1.5fps. Miniature Effect VGA movies are recorded at 640 x 480 at 6, 3, or 1.5 fps. When played back at normal speed, people and objects appear to move quickly during playback.

Continuous Shooting Mode: You can use the continuous shooting mode to shoot successive frames while the shutter button is fully pressed. You can shoot full resolution images continuously in P mode at approximately 1.6 images per second. In the Low Light mode and High-Speed Burst mode, you can shoot at approximately 10 fps at a reduced resolution of 2304 x 1728.

Focusing Range: The camera features the following focus ranges (from the end of the lens):

  • Auto/Manual: 0.0" to infinity (W), 4.3' to infinity (T)
  • Normal: 2" to infinity (W), 4.3' to infinity (T)
  • Macro AF: 0.0" to 1.6' (W)

Shooting Modes: The SX520 HS has a top-mounted mode dial for selecting the desired shooting mode. The available shooting modes include: Auto, Hybrid Auto, Live View, Program AE, Tv (Shutter Speed Priority), Av (Aperture Priority), Manual, Movie, Creative Filters, Special Scene, and Creative Shot.

Hybrid Auto: The Hybrid Auto mode lets you make a short movie of the day's events while you take still shots. The camera records 2-4 second clips of scenes before each shot. These clips and stills are later combined in a digest movie.

Creative Filters: The Creative Filters shooting mode lets you add a variety of effects to your photos. After turning the mode dial to Creative Filters, you can select one of the following filters: Super Vivid, Poster Effect, Fish-eye Effect, Miniature Effect, Toy Camera Effect, and Monochrome.

Special Scenes: The Special Scenes shooting mode lets you choose a scene to match the subject matter for optimal shooting settings. Specific scenes include: Portrait, Low Light, Snow, Fireworks, Smart Shutter, and High-speed Burst.

Creative Shot: In the Creative Shot mode, the camera determines the subject and shooting conditions, and applies special effects and recomposes the shot to emphasize the subject. Six still images are recorded for each shot and can be displayed as a group or individually.

Metering Modes: You can select from the following metering modes:

  • Evaluative Light Metering: used for standard conditions. The area within the frame is divided into several zones and light is measured based on subject position, brightness, direct light and backlighting.
  • Center-Weighted Averaging: averages the exposure from the entire image, but places more weight on the subject at the center
  • Spot: meters the area within the spot AE point at the center of the LCD monitor or viewfinder.

Exposure Compensation: If you are shooting against a bright background or strong backlight, you may need to correct the exposure so that the subject doesn't come out too dark. You can set the adjustments from -2 to +2 in 1/3-stop increments.

Locking the Exposure Setting (AE Lock): You can set the exposure and focus separately. This is effective when the contrast is too strong between the subject and background, or when a subject is backlit. Flash Exposure Lock (FE Lock), just as with the AE lock, lets you lock the exposure for shooting with the flash.

White Balance: You can choose from the following white balance settings: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, and Custom.

Flash Modes: The PowerShot SX520 HS has a built-in pop-up flash. You can select Auto (flash fires in low light), Slow-synchro, On (flash always fires), or Off (flash doesn't fire). The built-in flash has a range of 1.6' to 18' in Wide Angle and 4.3' to 9.8' in Telephoto. In the menu, you can turn on the Red-Eye Reduction lamp for the flash, or apply Red-Eye Correction to the images that have been taken.

ISO Speed: The ISO speed can be set Automatically (ISO Auto), or manually to ISO 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, or 3200. Lowering the ISO speed results in sharper images but there's a greater chance of subject or image blurring in certain shooting conditions. Raising the ISO speed results in a faster shutter speed, reducing blurred images. The images, however, will appear more coarse.

My Colors: You can choose the look and feel of the photos you take by using My Colors to add the following effects to the image you are currently recording or have already recorded: Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, B/W, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, and Custom Color.

Self-Timer: The SX520 HS utilizes a 10-second, 2-second, and a custom self-timer to allow the photographer to be included in the shot, or to avoid camera shake when using a tripod. The custom self-timer allows you to set the time delay to 1-15, 20, 25, or 30 seconds for up to 10 shots.

Playback, Editing and Print Functions

Index Display: This feature allows you to view 6, 12, 36, or 100 images at once on the LCD monitor so that you can search for an image quickly. Movies cannot be played in the index playback mode. You can view the index display by rotating the zoom lever toward wide angle while the camera is in playback mode.

Filtered Playback: When there are many images on the memory card, you can filter and display them by a specified filter. You can also protect or delete all images at once while filtered. Available filters include: People, Shot Date, Favorites, and Still Image/Movie.

i-Contrast: Images with excessively dark areas, particularly faces or backgrounds, can be detected and automatically to the optimal brightness. Also, photos with insufficient contrast are also automatically corrected, to make subjects stand out better. You can choose from four correction levels, and save the corrected images as separate files.

Red-Eye Correction: You can correct red eyes in already recorded images. However, red eyes may not be automatically detected in some images such as faces near the screen edge, faces that appear extremely small, larger dark or bright in relation to the overall image and faces turned to the side or at a diagonal and faces with a portion hidden which prevents the Red-Eye Correction from working. You can choose to overwrite the file with the corrected image, or store the image as a new file, retaining the original image.

PictBridge: Using an optional Mini-B USB 2.0 cable, you can connect this camera directly to a PictBridge-compatible printer of any brand. In this way, you can make prints directly from the camera without having to connect to a computer.

Battery Information

Power Requirements: The Canon PowerShot SX520 HS powered by the NB-6LH Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery. The battery charges in about 2 hours in the included CB-2LY battery charger. For long periods of continuous use, or when connected to a computer, it is recommended that the camera be connected to the optional ACK-DC40 AC adapter kit. A fully-charged battery will last for approximately 210 shots (290 when Eco Mode is on), 50 minutes of movie recording time, 1 hour 30 minutes of continuous shooting, and 5 hours of playback time.

Date/Time Battery: The camera uses a built-in backup battery for maintaining the date and time data for about three weeks after the battery pack has been removed. By inserting a charged battery or connecting an AC adapter kit, the date/time battery can be charged in approximately 4 hours, even if the camera is not turned on.

Power Saving Functions: The camera is equipped with the following power saving functions:

  • Eco Mode: The screen will dim approximately 2 seconds after the camera is last operated. Approximately ten seconds after dimming, the screen turns off. You can "wake" the camera at this point by pressing the shutter button halfway to turn on the screen and continue shooting. After about 3 minutes, if no buttons are pressed, the power will turn off.
  • Auto Power Down for Playback Mode and Connection to a Printer: The camera power down approximately 5 minutes after the last control is accessed on the camera.
Note: The Power Saving Function will not activate during a Slide-Show or while the camera is connected to a computer.
Inputs and Outputs Notes

A/V Output/Digital Terminal: The camera has a Mini-B Version 2.0 USB terminal to allow you to connect the camera to a compatible computer or compatible Canon printer via an optional USB cable. This USB 2.0 Hi-Speed-compatible terminal allows you to rapidly download images to your computer or printer. Through the same USB jack, you can connect the camera to a TV or video monitor using the optional AVC-DC400ST AV Cable (composite video/stereo audio). You can set the video output to NTSC or PAL.

Software

Software: The PowerShot SX520 HS comes with no software included in the box. The following software is available for download from the Canon website:

  • ImageBrowser EX: Manage images: view, search, and organize; Print and edit images
  • CameraWindow DC: import images and change camera settings
  • User Guides: Camera User Guide, Software Guide

Compatible Operating Systems:

  • Windows 8/8.1
  • Windows 7 (SP1)
  • Mac OS X (v10.9, v10.8)

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Customer Q&A

2 questions already asked

Q
Will this camera take decent action shots like for basketball and football games and galloping horses?
jeanne  Feb 07, 2015
1 answer
A
I am sorry but I do not know. I haven't tried this yet with this camera but it does have a stabilizing feature and that should allow you to do this. I bought this camera because of its up close features which will allow me to take close up pictures of while flowers.
mary frances ke  Feb 09, 2015
Q
Hi! For just a hobbyist or someone who just want to capture moments of our daily lives, which one should i get? Sony dsc h400 or canon sx520 hs? Ofcourse we also want it to be quality images eventhiugh its just hobby. Thank in advance!
abhi  Nov 22, 2014
1 answer
A
Thanks for your question. For information on comparing two or more models I would recommend reaching out to an Advisor by phone (1-800-324-9695) or online chat. They will be able to help determine the differences and help you make the best choice for your system and your budget.
kristina  Nov 24, 2014 (Staff)

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