Canon PowerShot SD1200IS 10 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Dark Gray)
by Canon
|
Our Price: $214.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $59.94 (click here) Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon PowerShot SD1200IS 10 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Dark Gray)
Customer Review: Nice Compact Camera
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm very satisfied with the Camera. It takes great well exposed, sharp images and is very compact, It's roughly the size of a 7/8" thick Credit Card and it has a nice solid metal body feel to it. I use it as a second camera when I don't want to haul around my bulkier Digital SLR. The optical viewfinder is a nice feature. Canon seems to be one of the only brands to still make subcompact/compact cameras with an optical viewfinder. It saves battery life and if you take shots with the LCD function turned off Canon claims you can get around 700 shots, more than double if you use the LCD display.The optical viewfinder is a nice option in bright sunlight when the LCD display is hard to see or if you run low on juice without a spare. You can always review your shots on the LCD with the press of a button if you have the auto review set to off.
To load your images, You can simply plug and play with Windows XP. Using Windows XP there is no need to download any of the Canon software (Including ZoomBrowser EX) if you have any basic Photo Editing programs. The supplied Canon package gives you just the basic photo editing functions and the Canon Movie Maker is pretty much the same as XP's Movie Maker 2. After seeing what the Canon software did, I quickly uninstalled it and just went with what XP and my Photo Editing program had. You plug in the Camera turn it on and follow XP's Camera wizard. Same with the Movie files. The Video function is very nice and takes nice images. On best quality (640x380) 30 frames per sec, You can get up to 32 minutes on a 4 GB card. Only the digital zoom, not the optical works while in movie mode so whatever focal length you start out with it's pretty much set. The digital zoom just digitally magnifies the image so zoom quality will drop off. Not too bad considering the small size and convienience of the camera. With the RCA cable ends on the supplied adapter you can hook the camera up to your TV and view photos or Movies. If you have a DVD recorder you can record your movies direct to DVD, just remember to press the Display button to turn off the Time Display info overlay on your camera or it will record that too!
Another note, I had a tough time to get the Auto Focus Assist Beam to turn off. I wanted the little light that assists focus to stay off at all times. I turned the function off in the menu but it kept firing up. I discovered that in the Flash menu you have to turn off the Red-Eye Lamp option too. That keeps the light off permanantly.
Customer Review: Great camera for the price and size
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't often write reviews on many purchases but this camera deserves the praise! I bought one for my son when we were looking for a small, easy to carry, inexpensive camera for him to take on his college study abroad in Tunisia. When he came home and showed us his over 500 photos I was blown away by the quality of the pictures. For this reason, when my wife and I were going on a Caribbean cruise, instead of schleping my Canon XSi or her S2IS both of which are much larger and clumsier to carry, we decided to order an SD1200IS along with a 4G card, accidental damage warranty and carrying case from Amazon, all for just over $200. Well, we are back from our trip, attached the camera to directly to our TV to look at the pics and the SD1200, once again, did not disappoint. Although I know my way around a digital camera I am far from an experienced or professional photographer. I can not give a detailed, technical review as many other have posted here. Let me just say what I liked:
1. As I stated, the picture quality is wonderful and consistent given the price of this camera.
2. The image stabilization works well and even pictures taken out the window of a moving vehicle are clear and crisp.
3. Having an optical viewfinder is a plus, especially when taking pictures in the bright Caribbean sunlight.
4. The size and weight make it comfortable to stick in a shirt or pant pocket while still being easy for someone with large hands to operate.
5. I was concerned about the modest 3x zoom but found that the pictures are good enough that zooming into a particular area of the picture while in your photo software (or even while viewing on your TV) allows you to see close up clearly.
6. I did not find the need to bother with any special settings, other than the occasional use of fill flash in the program mode. Otherwise I just left it on full auto and let it do its thing.
7. Although the movie mode is not "HD" and I did not use it extensively, it is certainly good enough for the occasional recording of a video.
The bottom line is that, for the price, size and ease of use of this camera I don't think it can be beaten. You will not be disappointed!
Customer Review: Great Little Camera
Summary: 5 Stars
This ia a great little camera that you can carry in your pocket. I was looking for a small camera without a wide angle lens to take pictures of family and friends at indoor and outdoor events. My wide angle camera incuded more scenery than I wanted and picture qualty suffered. This SD1200SI solved that problem. The SI feature is just what I needed to get better shots in all settings.
I have been using it for about a month. I used it to take about 60 flash photos of a large indoor gathering. The flash refreshes very quickly and seemed to always be ready for the next picture. None of the pictures were blurred. Only complaint is that the flash coverage begins to weaken beyond about 10 feet, but I knew that when I bought it. I take all my pictures with the flash on, even outdoors so I never use Auto as the setting because I find that I get better results for indoor shots. The auto focus is very good and quick.
I also like the fact that the LCD can be set to stay on longer for multiple shots of indoor activities. I also very much like the view finder. I have a wide angle camera that does not have a view finder and even when the LCD is set to its brightest level, it is difficult to frame a shot in outdoor sunlight. The view finder does rob some of the LCD area but the tradeoff is worth it to me.
I also like the simplicity of its features. Picture review has its own button, which works great. All in all, this is a great little general purpose camera. I have no problem with the size of buttons. Everything about it seems to be designed correctly for the non-professional who just wants to take basic snapshots, indoors and outdoors. I have not used the video so I cannot comment on it. I considered the SD780 but was not interested in HD video or the higher resolution for a much higher price. The price offered by Amazon for the SD1200 was the best deal on the Internet.
Customer Review: This camera is amazing. Period. Get it. Quickly.
Summary: 5 Stars
Okay, first off- don't listen to the idiot who thinks this camera doesn't totally kick ass. They don't know how to take full advantage of this canon masterpiece.
It comes in several colors, it's small, sleek, sexy, lightweight, 10MP! (which is plenty enough. trust me. any higher and you're just throwing your money away), long battery life (I went to italy for a month and snapped over 200 pictures before it showed low battery), takes awesome pictures (so sharp-even with motion, and looks even better on your computer), and it's easy to use. Comon, WHY ARE YOU STILL READING THIS?! BUY ONE ALREADY!
For people who aren't intersted in switching modes for everything, It's as simple as this... Use the Auto mode (The small button, pushed to the top) when its very dark and you need a flash, like in a bar/club or outside patio Yatzee! tournament(hey whatever floats your boat). Use the Manual mode (The small button, centered) when it's in the afternoon, like at a soccer game or something, and you don't want a flash. That's it. Now if you want to take advantage of all the modes this camera has to offer.... READ THE BLOODY MANUAL.
Don't complain that this canon1200 hasn't impressed you over your outdated canon110 when the truth is- YOU DONT KNOW HOW TO USE ONE!
FINAL THOUGHT: Buy this camera for your daughter, sister, mother, friend, wife- WHOEVER. Just get it while the price is nice and low. As soon as an undisclosed number of these are sold- The price will jump high. Most likely into the 250s or low 300s. Think I'm lying? Look at the prior models. They cost almost a third more than this one. It will surely jump in price, and you don't want to be the one guy that was like, man, i should have listened to that kid and bought one while it was so low. SO BUY IT NOW.
This review WAS NOT made to entertain you at all. :)
Customer Review: This Camera Kicks ASS!
Summary: 5 Stars
As I look at some of the other reviews I am wondering a few things: 1. Are these folks reviewing the same camera? 2. Did they get a broken/faulty one? 3. Did someone in their family drop it w/o their knowing? 4. Did they sniff a considerable amount of glue before operating it?
I'm not trying to be a jerk but this camera kicks! I have had other Canon cameras, there are a few I looked at that I absolutely did not like and would not buy. But this one is the least expensive ELPH with the latest D4 processor, as usual it has WAY too many functions. Last week at the zoo I mastered the rapid fire photo mode, anyone with a 4 y/o will appreciate that mode and it works great to catch memories-in-motion. I caught expressions that I normally miss. You will need a large data card but I deleted the unwanted extra frames when reviewing on my pc. Movie clip mode is even better than my other two Canons A500 series and A80, [four and eight years old].
It does have more settings and noticed the full auto function tends to over flash a bit indoors causing some wash-out, but like any product you have to get to know your camera! We tend to expect gizmos to do all of the thinking for us, that is an unrealistic expectation. I told my wife try full auto flash and try it w/o for best results in different conditions. I have noticed that eventhough cameras now have a huge screen to instantly check your picture folks don't...they shoot away without giving it a second thought. Then they get home and are pissed when the pic's suck, well it's not always the cameras fault. A lot of times I have caught my wife taking pic's with the camera in the wrong shoot mode...Oops! maybe one day cameras will talk, "hey dummy! I'm in the wrong mode." But until then learn your camera and experiment with it!!! We have lost our share of one-time memories to pilot-error.