Canon PowerShot D20 review

Rugged, waterproof cameras are perfect for the chronically clumsy, but Canon seems to have a more glamorous group in mind for the D20. Its sweeping contours look like something we’d expect to find in a surf shop, especially in the blue finish we were sent for testing.

Its rugged credentials are up to scratch, rated as waterproof to 10m and shockproof to 1.5m. We like the chunky strap that fastens securely around your wrist and its quick-release mechanism for when it’s not needed. The substantial buttons should be easy to find by touch or sight when you’ve got a face full of sea spray to contend with.

GPS makes perfect sense in a camera that’s destined for some interesting locations, and its implementation here is first rate. It calculated its position within a couple of minutes of switching on. An option to keep tracking its position even when switched off means that it can be ready to tag photos straight away. This drains the battery if left on permanently but it’s useful to enable it when you’re out and about. Tagging was invariably within a couple of metres of our true position.

GPS aside, the inside of this camera is fairly run-of-the-mill. The lens has a modest 5x zoom and its f/3.9 maximum aperture is a little darker than usual. The 12-megapixel sensor strikes a sensible balance of detail and noise levels, but this isn’t the same 12-megapixel sensor that impressed us in various other recent Canon cameras.

The menus are standard point-and-shoot fare, with a fully automatic mode, various scene presets and a Program mode that adds functions such as exposure compensation, ISO speed and white balance. There are a few creative effects such as Toy Camera and Fish-Eye, but no HDR shooting. The Stitch Assist mode merely shows the previous shot to help line up photos, and doesn’t actually stitch them together. The video mode is a step up from the norm, though, with plenty of detail in its 1080p clips. The zoom and autofocus motors didn’t spoil the soundtrack but the microphone picked up some background hiss and a fair amount of handling noise.

Details are sharp in the centre but chromatic aberrations towards the edges soften focus and give high-contrast lines a discoloured glow

The D20 put in a respectable rather than exceptional performance in our photo tests. It was reasonably quick, taking 2.2 seconds between shots and running at 2fps in continuous mode. Brightly lit shots mostly looked great but highlights were often clipped. Close inspection revealed slightly vague fine details and a little noise in darker areas.

We’ve seen Canon compact cameras with crisper details and more dynamic range than this, but it’s not a bad effort

Meanwhile, the edges of frames suffered from chromatic aberrations, giving a discoloured halo around high-contrast lines. Shooting into the sun resulted in heavy lens flares, although they weren’t hugely offensive to our eyes. We also found that backlit subjects were engulfed in an angelic glow, but giving the window in front of the lens a quick wipe fixed this.

The noise reduction copes well with solid expanses of colour, producing excellent results in this low-light shot

Image quality held up reasonably well in low light, though. Noise reduction took a heavy toll on fine details but photos were easily good enough for sharing online.

This is a camera for people who love the great outdoors more than the art of photography, but on those terms it does its job well. It might be worth waiting to see what 2013 holds for the rugged camera market, but if your adventurous spirit can’t wait that long, the D20 is a solid choice.