The Canon PowerShot SX40 HS, announed in 2011 is one of the cameras from Canon's new range of PowerShot digital cameras. It has a 12.1 megapixels and a 35x optical range, plenty for all your needs usually but it you want more you will find you have to pay a high price for a better lens. The HS part f the cameras name means high sensitivity and is meant to reduce noise on images. The newer processer, the DIGIC 5 means you can shoot 1080p video at 24fps. These are the main features that set it aside from it's predecessor, the SX30 IS. Otherwise the casing is pretty much all the same. The camera also comes with some cool features including a number of filters that can be put on while using the camera.

One of the first things i tried out on the camera was the 35x optical zoom. In general the zoom will be plenty for all you needs but as i said if you want more you will find yourself paying a high price for a better lens. In any case if you want a better optical zoom it's most likely because you are a proffesional photogrpaher and probably wouldn't go for this camera in the first place. Thats not to say it's a bad camera at all but you can pay a lot more for a camera with higher specs. Another nice feature this camera has is 'zoom framing assist'. When you are zoomed in if you have lost the composition of the image you can quickly zoom out to check it again then it will automaticlly go back to the origional focal length. For the price you will pay for this camera the Nikon Coolpix P500 at around the same price has an optical range of 36x. I have never tried it but i can only assume it would not make much difference.

The build of this camera, as i mentioned, has not changed from its predecessor. It is still quite a bulky camera and weighing in at 600g it's not exactly light. As usual with Canon DSLR's it is comfortable in your hands but does not have a rubber grip unlike most of the other models around this price. The casing is all plastic and gives the camera a cheaper feel to it but overall what matters about the camera is the quality of images not the casing so it doesn't bother me too much.

The screen is also the same on this as on the previous model which means in this area it is lacking behind its rivals. Its a 2.7" screen but is begging to look a little old. It does flip and twist around though so all is not lost in the screen department. In the end though the screen is not going to affect the image quality but a brighter and bigger screen is always a good thing as you can get a better feel for if your imnages are good quality on the go.

Turning the dial to creative filters lets you view your images in a range of effects such as fish eye, minature effect, monochrome, toy camera, super vivid and a few more. All of them create good results when taking images of certain things and you can have some real fun playing around with all of them but it does all feel like a bit of a gimick.

In conclusion the Canon PowerShot SX40 HS is a camera that comes packed with some pretty cool features and at an average price of about £300 it wont break the bank at the same time. Overall it wont win any medals compared to some of the DSLR's on the market today but is still value for money and definetly a good purchase if you simply enjoy your photography.