Home » Canon PowerShot D20 Review

Canon PowerShot D20 Review

A month ago we gave you a taste of what the Canon PowerShot D20 is capable of. Now let’s get to know more the rugged point-and-shoot in our full review after the break.

As you might have known by now, the Canon PowerShot D20 is not your average Point-and-Shoot. But for the benefit of those who donâ€™t, you can check out our first impression here. Let’s kick things off with a tour of the camera’s body.

Design and Construction

The design of this camera is something that you wonâ€™t typically expect out of a rugged camera, let alone a PnS. The curved design seems to have been inspired by a Pacific Regal Blue Tang or more popularly known as Dory from Finding Nemo.

This camera is a bit chunkier and heftier compared to other rugged cameras, but that should be forgivable considering that it is mostly due to the added protection from water, drops and rough weather. But this doesnâ€™t take away the fact that this camera is one of the best looking rugged camera weâ€™ve seen in our time.

Looking at the front of the camera, the first thing you’ll notice is its lens covered with a high grade glass and surrounded by a thin strip of shiny Aluminum that extends up to the flash on its left. Just below the flash is the lamp and underneath that is the Microphone.

On its back, you’ll be greeted its 3â€ LCD screen enclosed inside a tough clear glass. Towards the right of the screen are the buttons. At a glance you may find the buttons are too cramped together. But when you get to use it, you’ll find that they are just where they need to be. It’s also worth noting that the buttons provide a very tactile feedback when pressed which adds to a more comfortable picture taking.

The top part is pretty straightforward. It features three buttons namely the Power, Shutter and Playback. At the bottom there’s the tripod hole and the battery compartment which are sealed inside a protective latch along with the memory card slot.

Not much is going on at the left part of the camera (if youâ€™re holding it facing the screen) besides the hole for strap. On the other side, inside the terminal cover are the USB/AV Out, HDMI and DC IN ports.

Display

The 3â€ LCD screen is a bit on the downside only featuring 461k dots resolution. And although the protective glass above it absorbs most of the damage that may happen to the screen inside, it also worsens the display of the D20.
It’s not the worst screen weâ€™ve seen on a tough camera but this aspect is certainly not its best.

Modes and Controls

Much like any other point-and-shoots, controlling the settings of this camera relies on the on-screen display. The D20’s buttons placement is a familiar sight to those whoâ€™ve used other Canon PnS in the past. In addition to the usual location of the buttons, it also does almost the same functions as with other Canon digicams.

This camera allows 4 shooting modes for stills namely Auto, P (Program), Underwater (Normal and Macro) and Snow and two extra modes for video recording (iFrame and Slow Motion).

There isnâ€™t a shortage of Art filters in this camera featuring a total of 17 different image add-ons for a more creative photo.

Shooting

Whether it’s in or out of the water, the Canon PowerShot D20 takes pretty decent stills thanks to its 28mm wide-angle lens backed by 12.1MP High Sensitivity CMOS sensor and Digic 4 Image processor. In addition to this, the snapper also features Intelligent Image Stabilization that ensures great photos on almost every shot even if you have shaky hands.

Picture Gallery

Apart from the said features above, the camera also allows up to 5x Optical Zoom and up to 20x Digital Zoom in some shooting modes. It also has built-in GPS that helps you keep tabs on where your photos are taken.

[fancygallery ID=”canond20″]

Video Recording

As mentioned earlier, this camera boasts more than your usual video recording features like iFrame which shoots at HD clips at 30fps and Super Slow Motion Movie which records movies in 640 x 800 at 120fps and 320 x 240 @ 240fps.
But what is a bit disappointing about the D20 is its below standard 24fps in full HD video recording. Everything else is what youâ€™d typically expect out of modern PnS.

Here’s a sample clip taken underwater using the Canon PowerShot D20.

Here’s our previous full HD video taken from the Surfing Camp in La union.

Battery

The Canon PowerShot D20 comes with 1000mAh NB-6L battery, the same one found in newer models of Canon PnS. We were able to take at least 200 pictures and recorded total of 10 minutes of Full HD videos before weâ€™ve reached for its charger.

Canon PowerShot D20 specifications:
12.1 MP CMOS sensor
6.2 x 4.6mm sensor size
DIGIC 4 Image sensor
ISO 100-3200
15-1/1600 sec shutter speed
5x Optical Zoom
20x Digital Zoom
3â€ LCD TFT Display, 461K dots
Built-in Flash up to 3.5m
1.9fps Burst mode
Intelligent Image Stabilization
Full HD 1080p recording
1920 x 1080 @24fps, 1080 x 720 @30fps
SD/ SDHC/SDXC Card
Built-in GPS
Waterproof up to 33ft.
Shockproof up to 5ft.
Temperature Resistant -10-45.55Â°
Li-Ion NB-6L 1000mAh
Dimension: 112.3 x 70.8 x 28.0mm
Weight: 228g

Conclusion

The Canon PowerShot D20 is a perfect travel companion that you can literally bring anywhere you go. Whether youâ€™re into water sports, mountain climbing or just a plain traveller who just needs an extra durability, this rugged camera got your back.

In context, it’s basically just a reinforced Point-and-Shoot with a not-so-typical design. But with only a slight margin in pricing between this and a mid-range PnS, we strongly suggest getting this one instead. The suggested retail price of the Canon PowerShot D20 is Php21,998 and comes with free 4GB SD card, camera case, and 1-year warranty.

canon d20canon powershot d20

Ronnie Bulaong

This article was written by Ronnie Bulaong, a special features contributor and correspondent for YugaTech. Follow him on Twitter @turonbulaong.

https://www.yugatech.com

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4 Comments

peebee says:

12 years ago

does it have built in panorama shot?
- Reply
Calvin says:

12 years ago

what does POS mean? or is it P&S?
- Reply
Prosti says:

12 years ago

Hope this one doesn’t inherit it’s predecessor’s leak problem.
- Reply

pepeng_agimat says:

12 years ago

@Prosti: known problem ba ng canon D10 ang leak problem? yan ang problem ko sa d10 ko kaya tambay na lang sya ngayon :(