Canon PowerShot SX520 HS announced with 42x optical zoom lens

Canon has officially announced the PowerShot SX520 HS bridge camera that offers an impressive 42x optical zoom lens with a 35mm focal length equivalent range of 24-1008mm.

As the whole world is waiting for Canon to reveal the 7D Mark II DSLR and the PowerShot SX60 HS compact, it seems like the Japan-based company has other plans for the time being.

The manufacturer has taken the wraps off of the PowerShot SX520 HS camera, which consists of a bridge shooter with a 42x optical zoom lens.

Canon PowerShot SX520 HS is now official with a 42x optical zoom lens.

Canon PowerShot SX520 HS unveiled with 16-megapixel sensor and 42x zoom lens

It is perfect for families who are active, as it will allow the photographer to get very close to the action. This way, the user can capture close-ups of a football/soccer game and dance recitals, said the company in a press release.

Canon PowerShot SX520 HS is said to be great for low-light photo shoots, thanks to the impressive DIGIC 4+ image processor and the BSI-CMOS image sensor. Speaking of which, the bridge camera sports a 16-megapixel 1/2.3-inch-type sensor.

The ISO sensitivity ranges between 100 and a maximum of 3200, whereas the maximum aperture stands at f/3.4-6, depending on the selected focal length.

The 24-1008mm lens (35mm focal length equivalent) comes with built-in optical image stabilization technology. However, the aperture and ISO ranges are not the best on the market, so we will have to wait for expert reviews before deciding whether or not Canon is right in praising the low-light capabilities of this camera.

Canon PowerShot SX520 HS features a 3-inch LCD screen on the back.

This camera is aimed at beginners, not professional photographers

Professionals will be happy to hear that the Canon PowerShot SX520 HS camera comes with manual focus support. They will not be very pleased to hear that they cannot capture RAW photos with this shooter.

Either way, those who prefer autofocus will benefit from an autofocus assist lamp, while a built-in pop-up flash is also available.

The shutter speed is situated between 1/2000-15 seconds. It is worth noting that the flash X sync speed also stands at a maximum of 1/2000th of a second.

Canon’s new bridge camera is capable of capturing up to 2fps per second in continuous mode and full HD videos at 30fps with stereo audio support.

This is what you will find in the Canon PowerShot SX520 HS shipping package. The bridge camera will be released in September for about $400.

Release date and price details

This new Canon PowerShot camera features a fixed 3-inch 461K-dot LCD screen on the back, although there is no built-in viewfinder.

Photos and videos are stored on a SD/SDHC/SDXC card and they can be viewed on an HDTV courtesy of a built-in HDMI port. Additionally, content can be transferred to a PC via a USB 2.0 cable.

Canon SX520 HS measures 120 x 82 x 92mm / 4.72 x 3.23 x 3.62-inches, while weighing 441 grams / 0.97 lbs / 15.56 ounces.

The release date of the bridge camera has been set for September 2014 and its price tag will stand at $399.99. Amazon is already listing it for pre-order with a shipping date of August 31.