I shoot everything with this cameras. I am a working photographer who shoots for advertising and enterprise customers, and to create images of my own photography books. In the last two years I have been using small cameras like the Canon G10 and the SX10 for more and more of my work. In the study, firing shots or create small products shine force these cameras easy to use Live View and increased depth of field. When I bought the SX10 was for the long-range zoom lens which meant they could be fired from a construction site of tight shots of the booths in the top of construction cranes. I did some portraits with studio lighting and a SX10 and were also very helpful. I wish the 10 SX and SX20IS had a capacity of RAW file, but do not. That just means I have to be a little more careful with the WB exposure. I used the SX10 at swimming meets and found that the lens performs better than expected right out of the box.

So why the SX 20? I was recently asked to make smaller and smaller segments for clients and my editor and although I like the results of the SX10 want real high-definition video of the times that a medical practice has called for video clips, both its website and to the point of supply and other uses. I wanted the extra detail for the times we used the clips for this project. The price point is just right.

I spent a couple of days testing the SX 10 and the results are very, very good. The front-mounted microphones are of very high quality and sound for most applications is acceptable. Would I like a microphone input? Yes.  Of course. Does that sour the deal? Not at all.

The image quality of the frames is as good as the SX 10 at low ISO and close to 1 / 2 a stop better at 200 and 400. I’ll chalk that up to the new DIGIC processor.

Overall the build quality and easy operation make the camera a winner to me. These days customers are more interested in the use of images and video in a wide range of multimedia and the SX 20 is a great tool for anything that went to the site. Still have traditional SLR cameras and use them, but left to my own encounter the sensor of the smaller cameras to be highly competent and very helpful.

With an SX20 and a G-10 I feel I can handle almost anything except close shots that require depth of field. Traditional photographers do not want to hear that video is becoming a necessary skill but do not make it go away. This camera is a cost effective way of getting your feet wet to the high end DSLRs.  I like it.

Let me start by saying I am not a professional photographer. My decision to buy the SX20ISis based on a desire to get a good shot still camera with high zoom capability, which also had to HD video (720p) capacities. So, I began my research and spent many hours surfing the Web to make an informed decision. I had reduced my choice to the Canon SX20ISand the Panasonic DMC-FZ35.

# 1. The articulating LCD screen (out, tilt / motion) was a key factor, as I wanted to be able to shoot from different angles. Came in handy in no time – the second time I used the camera – I flipped out the LCD screen and get some decent photos at a football match when I had to lift the camera high over my head to shoot over people standing in front of me.

# 2. The ability to easily share video files. The file format. MOV is a widely accepted format that can easily be shared (without processing and conversion). Files are accepted on sites like YouTube. The files can be played with Quicktime and other media players. Although the Panasonic uses a format that is more compressed and allows more data to be stored on an SD card, the file format is not as widely distributed and is not as easy to share with others, without converting the file .

# 3. Consumer Reports rankings for last year’s model: Canon # 1, Pana # 5 (SX10 IS & Pana DMC-FZ28). I suspect that the SX20ISwill follow the same trend this year, when Consumer Reports releases its test results for 2009.

# 4. Canon takes AA batteries. This makes the camera a bit heavier, but always be able to obtain economic batteries in a hurry, without the need to purchase a property of the lithium ion battery. Can I recommend the Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable batteries. I bought some new on Amazon. They are excellent. I have not loaded yet and I have taken 120 photos and 40 minutes of 720p video. I’ve also replayed images and movies on your TV or projector and transferred all the files on my computer, using the same batteries, without charging them. And they are “still going … ..”

I made some big shots to close family and macro photos. They look great and are very detailed. I took some night / action pictures (with flash) and adjust the shutter speed and ISO settings and the photos looked great, given the conditions.

I must admit I am thoroughly impressed with the video quality / resolution. I shot a video test of my one year old with my old camcorder (Panasonic SDR-H40, a standard definition camera), and shot the same material with the SX20 IS. The difference in quality was unbelievable. Not only was the Canon much sharper, but the richness and vividness of color was much better. I sold on my old Panasonic SDR-H40 in two days. I will now have only one camera to shoot still images and high definition video of 720p – the SX20IS from Canon. The videos of the SX20ISimpressive – both in my 32 inch LCD 720p and my 100 + inch screen via a 720p DLP projector. I connected the camera with an HDMI cable and pow!– I was ready to watch the video and see great still shots “on the big screen. If I had the opportunity to see a football game shot in standard definition on ESPN or the same game shot with the SX20IS(on a tripod, without my hand jittering), I’d choose the latter in a second.

No buyer remorse here! If you are looking for a SLR type camera, which is awesome and great video stills HD 720p (both with the possibility of a 20x optical zoom), it would be difficult to get more for your money then the SX20ISon Amazon.