Canon PowerShot ELPH 170

Point-and-shoot cameras

A 20-megapixel camera from Canon with a 1/2.3 sensor, a 2.6-inch LCD, and an image stabilizer.

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CR Expert Take

How did it perform in our expert lab testing?

Overall Score

The Overall Score for this model is derived from our expert lab test results.

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Current Range of Tested Point-and-shoot cameras

What goes into the Overall Score?

Image quality

/ 5

Ease of use

/ 5

Video quality

/ 5

LCD quality

/ 5

Flash photos

/ 5

Image stabilization

/ 5

Color

/ 5

Sensor types

/ 5

Battery life (shots)

/ 5

4K video

/ 5

WiFi

/ 5

Widest angle (mm)

/ 5

Megapixels

/ 5

Weight (oz.)

/ 5

Detailed Test Results

PHOTO QUALITY. This 20-megapixel Point-and-shoot camera captured images with good quality. We judged this model very good for outdoor performance, such as shooting landscapes in the daytime; good for indoor performance, such as photographing a well-lit basketball game in a gym; FLASH. The PowerShot ELPH 170 captured flash shots that were good. In our distance test, we found the camera's flash could illuminate most subjects that are closer to the camera, but had some problems with distant subjects. The flash also has good, relatively even coverage.LENS. It has a moderately long 12x zoom lens that can be helpful when you need to zoom in to capture your subjects. The lens also has very wide-angle (25mm) capability that's very useful for landscapes and group portraits, although you may notice a bit of distortion when you're shooting faces up close, for instance.IMAGE STABILIZATION. This is an important feature with a long zoom lens; taking hand-held shots at the telephoto end of the zoom range can generally blur or soften images due to the slight movement of your hands. Shooting zoom set at 4x in well-lit scenes, this model did an excellent job of minimizing the effects of camera shake. Shooting telephoto in well-lit scenes, this model did a very good job of minimizing the effects of camera shake. In low-light settings, it performed excellently and almost never produced blurry photos. Overall, the shake reduction results from our tests were very good.SPEED. In terms of performance, the Canon PowerShot ELPH 170 powers up very quickly.VIDEO. The Canon PowerShot ELPH 170 takes fair video. It captures HD video at 1280 x 720 30p. As for sound, it captures good audio in mono.ADDITIONAL COMMENTS. Like most point-and-shoot models, this camera does not include a viewfinder, which means you'll need to rely on the LCD to compose your photo or video. It has a small 2.6-inch LCD, which has good quality that lets you compose your shots and has decent playback of photos and video.

About

The PowerShot ELPH 170 is a 20-megapixel camera with 12x optical zoom and a 35mm-equivalent focal length range of 25mm-300mm. It has a 2.6-inch LCD (230,000 pixels). Because of its small size, we consider this model a Point-and-shoot camera. The PowerShot ELPH 170 stores photos and video on SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards but has no on-board storage. It captures images as JPEG files at a top resolution of 5152 x 3864 and HD-resolution video as MOV files at a top resolution of 1280 x 720 and a frame rate up to 30p. Like most digital cameras, this model comes with a proprietary rechargeable battery. The image stabilization system for this camera is optical. The PowerShot ELPH 170 measures 3.9 inches wide by 2.3 inches high by 0.9 inches deep, and weighs 5 ounces (with battery, memory card, and strap).

Features & Specs

Features

Viewfinder

Manual focus

Exposure compensation

Yes

Image stabilization type

Optical

Touch screen

Manual controls

Macro focus

Eyeglasses

Specs

Maximum aperture

f 3.6-7

Shutter speed range

1 - 1/2000

Optical zoom

35mm equivalent zoom ratio

25-300

LCD size (in.)

2.6

AA batteries

Price & Shop

Canon PowerShot ELPH 170

CR Expert Take

Overall Score

What goes into the Overall Score?

Detailed Test Results

About

Features & Specs

Features & Specs

Features

Specs

Price & Shop

Price & Shop

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