Canon PowerShot SX740 HS Black 2018

The Canon PowerShot SX740 HS is a compact point-and-shoot with a genuinely impressive 40x optical zoom and 4K video in a pocketable body. Battery life is rough at 250 shots per charge, and there's no electronic viewfinder or weather sealing. It's a solid travel companion if you find it at the lower end of its USD 600 to USD 799 price range, but the compromises are real.

The 40x optical zoom is the headline act, and it delivers real reach. You can go from a wide 24mm equivalent all the way out to 960mm, which is absurd for a camera this small. The optical image stabilizer does decent work at moderate zoom levels, but push it to the long end and you'll want steady hands or a tripod. Multiple owners report soft or blurry images at full zoom, and that matches what we'd expect from a 1/2.3-inch sensor trying to resolve fine detail at extreme focal lengths.

Burst shooting tops out at 7.4fps, which is solid for a point-and-shoot and fine for casual action shots. The 4K video at 30fps looks good in decent light, and 1080p at 60fps gives you smoother motion for everyday clips. But the sensor is small, so low-light performance is limited. ISO tops out at 3200, and pushing it there introduces noticeable noise. The autofocus system is nothing special either, sitting below average in our database. For a camera marketed partly at vloggers and streamers, the lack of an electronic viewfinder and the mediocre stabilization hold it back.

Stacked against the competition, the SX740 HS occupies a weird niche. The Panasonic Lumix S5 II and Sony a6700 are full-frame and APS-C interchangeable-lens cameras that absolutely destroy this Canon in image quality, autofocus, and low-light performance, but they cost significantly more and require buying lenses. The Nikon Z5 II and Fujifilm X-S20 are similarly in a different league for serious photography. The OM System OM-1 is a rugged, weather-sealed option for outdoor shooters.

So how does the Canon PowerShot SX740 HS compare to those cameras? It doesn't, really. It's not trying to compete with them. The SX740 HS is for people who want a single, pocketable device with massive zoom and don't want to think about lenses. If you're comparing it to a phone, the 40x optical zoom is the killer feature. If you're comparing it to a mirrorless camera, you're shopping in the wrong category. The honest comparison is against other superzoom compacts, and in that space, the SX740 HS holds its own on zoom range but falls behind on battery life and build quality.

Pricing for the Canon PowerShot SX740 HS is all over the place. In the US, we're seeing listings from USD 600 to USD 799, a USD 199 spread across four vendors. That's a big gap for the same camera, so it pays to shop around. The best deal we're seeing is at the lower end of that range, and honestly, at USD 600 this camera makes a lot more sense than at USD 799. In Canada, the spread is even wider, from CAD 700 to CAD 935, a CAD 235 difference. If you're paying near the top of either range, you're overpaying. At the lower end, the zoom range and 4K video give you something your phone can't match, but you're still making compromises on battery and low-light performance.

The Canon PowerShot SX740 HS is a compact point-and-shoot that lives and dies by one spec: a 40x optical zoom. That's the kind of reach that lets you frame a bird on a wire from across a parking lot, and it's the main reason anyone picks this camera over their phone. At USD 600 to USD 799 depending on where you shop, it sits in that awkward middle ground between "just use your phone" and "buy a real interchangeable-lens camera."

Inside you get a 20.3MP 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor, Canon's DIGIC 8 processor, 4K video at 30fps, and a 3-inch articulating screen that flips up 180 degrees for selfies. It weighs just 275g, so it genuinely disappears into a jacket pocket. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are built in for wireless photo transfer, which is handy when you want to post vacation shots without a card reader.

Is the Canon PowerShot SX740 HS good for travel? That's the question most shoppers are asking, and the answer is complicated. The zoom range is fantastic for sightseeing, but the battery life of 250 shots per charge is rough, and there's no weather sealing. More on that below.

Skip the Canon PowerShot SX740 HS if you shoot in low light often, need all-day battery life, or want a viewfinder. The small sensor and 250-shot battery make it a poor fit for evening events or multi-day trips without charging access. If you're serious about image quality, look at a mirrorless option like the Sony a6700 or Fujifilm X-S20 instead. And if you mostly shoot in bright sun, the lack of an electronic viewfinder will drive you nuts. This camera is for casual shooters who want big zoom in a small package, not for anyone pushing the limits of what a compact can do.

Should you buy the Canon PowerShot SX740 HS? If you want a pocket camera with ridiculous zoom reach and you're willing to carry a spare battery, yes, at the right price. The 40x optical zoom is genuinely fun, and the 4K video is a nice bonus for casual clips. The flip-up screen makes it workable for selfies and vlogging, and the wireless transfer is painless once it's set up.

But the battery life is a real problem. 250 shots per charge is one of the worst numbers in our database, and for a travel camera, that's a dealbreaker for some. The lack of an electronic viewfinder makes shooting in bright sunlight frustrating, and the small sensor means you'll see noise creep in as the light drops. Owners also complain about soft images at full zoom, which undercuts the main selling point. If you can live with those trade-offs and find it near USD 600, it's a solid buy. At USD 799, you're paying too much for what you get.