The Canon PowerShot Elph 130 IS ($199.99 direct) is one of a couple of cameras in the Elph series that pack a 16-megapixel CCD image sensor and an 8x zoom lens. It differentiates itself from the less expensive Elph 115 IS($225.00 at Amazon) by including Wi-Fi, but both cameras suffer from slow performance and noisy images at moderate ISO settings. This is something we've come to expect from less expensive cameras, but you can get our Editors' Choice compact Canon PowerShot Elph 330 HS($60.00 at Amazon) for only $30 more. That means that there's not much sense in buying the 130 IS, unless your budget is very, very tight and Wi-Fi is a must-have feature.

Design and Features
The Elph 130 IS($86.95 at Amazon) measures 2.2 by 3.8 by 0.8 inches (HWD) and weighs about 4.7 ounces. It's small, but not quite as small as the tiny Nikon Coolpix S01( at Amazon) (2.1 by 3.1 by 0.7 inches, 3.4 ounces). Canon offers the camera in silver, red, or gray finish. Like other Elph bodies, its construction is all metal.

The lens is an 8x design that covers a 28-224mm (35mm equivalent) focal range. It's identical in design to the one found in the Elph 115 IS, and like that camera the 130 IS doesn't perform well in low light. This issue is exacerbated by the relatively narrow f/3.2-6.9 aperture—if you're going to shoot zoomed in, you'll be doing so in brighter light.

There's a big toggle switch on the rear of the camera to switch from Automatic shooting to Program mode. When shooting in auto you'll only be able to control whether or not the flash fires; everything else is handled for you. More advanced shutterbugs will appreciate the ability to switch to Program, but should be aware there's no full manual, aperture priority, or shutter priority shooting available. There are physical controls to adjust the flash, change the brightness of your photos using exposure compensation, and to enable macro shooting, but they won't work when the rear switch is set to Automatic.

Pressing the Function/Set button brings up an overlay menu that allows you to control additional shooting settings. From here you can change the ISO sensitivity, adjust the white balance, and select the light metering pattern. When shooting in Auto these options are grayed out, but you will be able to access the self-timer, adjust the image quality and aspect ratio settings, and toggle between HD and SD movie recording.

The 3-inch LCD is sharp and bright. The resolution is 460k-dots, which is equal to the screen on the Elph 330 HS. It's not as sharp as the 921k-dot displays found on top-end cameras like the Nikon Coolpix P7700($209.98 at Amazon), but it's adequate for framing and image review.

In addition to the larger, sharper screen, the big difference between the Elph 130 IS and the lesser-priced Elph 115 IS is Wi-Fi. Your extra $30 grants you the ability to beam images directly to your smartphone or tablet via the free Canon CameraWindow app for iOS and Android. You can also transfer photos to your computer, print to a compatible printer or another Canon Wi-Fi camera, and add GPS data to images that you transfer to your phone.

Canon lets fans of social media post directly to Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook when the camera is connected to a hotspot. You'll need to configure these services using the included Canon Image Gateway software. That requires you to plug the Elph into your PC or Mac via USB, but you can start sharing to your phone or tablet out of the box. Canon's Wi-Fi implementation is one of the better ones we've seen. When you're away from your home network or a known Wi-Fi network, the phone and camera will talk to each other automatically, assuming the CameraWindow app is running and the Elph is set to Wi-Fi mode. And if you're at home or on a known network, you can simply post directly from the camera. It's a seamless experience that's painless to configure and fast to transfer images.

Performance and Conclusions
The Elph 130 IS isn't the speediest camera on the block. It requires 1.9 seconds to start and capture a photo, and languishes for a full 2.3 seconds between shots. The shutter lag is 0.2-second, which is acceptably speedy. Compare this with the Elph 330 HS. It also takes a while to start up, about 1.8 seconds, and its shutter lag is just a hair faster at 0.15-second. But its burst shooting is much faster; it shoots photos at about 2 frames per second.

I used Imatest to check the sharpness of photos captured by the camera. It exceeds the 1,800 lines per picture height required for a sharp image by a good margin—the Elph 130 IS scores 2,115 lines. Imatest also checks images for noise, which makes them appear grainy at higher ISO settings. It keeps noise below 1.5 percent through ISO 400. This is about a stop better than the Elph 115 HS, but close examination of photos using a calibrated NEC MultiSync PA271W display shows the two cameras are neck-and-neck when it comes to capturing detail and texture at identical ISOs. Neither can match the Elph 330 HS—its CMOS sensor keeps noise under control through ISO 1600, which means that it can capture comparable images in light levels that are only one-fourth as bright.

Video capture is a weak point. Footage is limited to 720p25 in QuickTime format, and it looks just OK. Even under studio lights the footage looks grainy. You can zoom in and out while recording; the audio is loud and clear, but you can hear the lens moving on the soundtrack. The camera does include a dedicated wall charger for its rechargeable battery. That's good news if you're the type of photographer who likes to carry a spare battery; you won't have to stop shooting while charging as you do with other recent models that require you to charge the battery inside the camera. The only interface port is a standard mini USB connector, and the usual SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards are supported by the Elph.

The Canon PowerShot Elph 130 IS delivers similar image quality and performance as the less expensive Elph 115 IS, but we're giving it a lower rating. Cost is a big factor in that decision—there's a $30 price difference between the two models, and while that extra money buys you a sharper rear LCD and Wi-Fi support, it doesn't do anything to improve upon image or video quality. Our Editors' Choice for mid-priced compact cameras is another Canon camera, the Elph 330 HS. It's priced at $230, about $30 more than the Elph 130 IS. Its CMOS sensor is a much better performer in dim light, and it also includes Wi-Fi support. Our recommendation is to stretch your budget and go for that model instead. If you can't spend more than $200, consider the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX80; its low-light image quality is just a smidge behind the 330 HS and it includes integrated Wi-Fi, but it does have a rather disappointing rear display.

Best Camera Picks

• The Best DSLR and Mirrorless Cameras for 2020
• The Best Bridge Cameras for 2020
• The Best Point-and-Shoot Cameras for 2020
• The Best Instant Cameras for 2020
• More Camera Reviews
• More from Canon

Camera Product Comparisons

• Nikon D7100 vs. Nikon D7200
• Nikon D500 vs. Nikon D750
• Sony Alpha 5100 vs. Sony Alpha 6000
• Canon EOS 6D vs. Canon EOS 5D Mark III
• Sony Alpha 6000 vs. Sony Alpha 6300

Further Reading

• Canon vs. Nikon vs. Sony: Choosing the Right Camera System
• Raspberry Pi's $50 'High Quality Camera' Supports Interchangeable Lenses
• How to Use Your Canon DSLR as a Webcam
• Canon Details Upcoming EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera
• Peak Design to Donate First Round of Travel Tripod Profits to Charity