Canon PowerShot SX200IS 12 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-inch LCD (Black)
by Canon
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon PowerShot SX200IS 12 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-inch LCD (Black)
Customer Review: Excellent camera with little or no cons
Summary: 5 Stars
First of all, the HDMI a/v door has been said to be flimsy and cheap by many. The door is plastic and it moves around and is on a rubber hinge. This is specifically designed that way. It is not an oversight by Cannon. It is a protective feature that allow you to plug and un-plug your cable using your fat fingers without damaging the door or hinge, which is bad. If the door or hinge bends, the door does not close and dust settles in. Pretty smart of Cannon huh?
Night shots and low light pics are great. Many reviews state otherwise but it is not Cannon's fault if someone does not know how to operate or adjust the camera to appropriate settings when taking these shots. IF you only use easy or Auto for every pic, you wasted a great deal of money on this camera when you could have bought a more simple point and shoot without all the options and settings for half the price.
Camera is compact and can fit in my pocket but I wear baggy pants. IF you wear these slim pants people wear tody, no way will it fit in your pocket. This is not really a pocket camera (like the Elphs) but for the amout of optical zoom, it is quite small. Compared to the ELPHS, it is probably 0.5 inches thicker and 1 inch wider.
It is somewhat heavy but not anything that will be bothersome or affect pics; remember there is a big lens in this camera. Probably extends 3 inches.
Video is great and has 4x zoom. However, quality diminishes with zoom. Appears to be a digital zoom in video mode.I have a Cannon HG 20 so the video was a deciding factor for me but if it is for you, check out zoom quality before you purchase.
Another cons I have seen on multiple reviews is the placement of the flash. The flash is located where some would place their left index finger (on top of the camera, but fortuantely Cannon thought of that (despite the reviews) and the flash pops out and the moves forward so 75% of the top of the camera, where some would place thier finger, is still available. I am one of those people and there are no issues at all with the place ment of the flash: even if you want to put your finger on the front of the camera.
Customer Review: Great pictures in a compact size camera
Summary: 5 Stars
For those having trouble with noise on indoor shots I recommend using the "indoors" setting. This is very easily accessible on the dial and does yield significantly better results than "auto" or "easy," so when my camera is just sitting around the house waiting for the dogs to do something cute that's where it's set (see exception below though RE: low indoor light).
Macro is a little tougher to find (you have to be in the "P" mode on the dial or the foliage scene mode), and while the manual says you can't use zoom past the area that will show yellow in the zoom bar on the screen, in my experience you can't zoom at all in macro without blurring your shots. But once you figure that out, the macro works great.
The zoom is also outstanding. I took a picture of a building across the river (approximately a half mile) and I was able to magnify the image on my computer enough to read the lettering on the building before the image got too pixelated. Will try to post this.
The only disappointing images I've had have been in low light using the indoors mode. But I've gotten good results indoors in low light using the "auto" or "easy" modes. On the other hand, I've had outstanding results with backlit subjects. I took a couple pictures of my husband and dogs outdoors with the sun behind them that came out great. Then at a party I took several pictures of people sitting inside in front of windows; it was early evening in late May and still very bright outside. Not only did all the people come out great, but in several pictures the scenery visible through the window also came out great, which I find pretty amazing.
The pop-up flash does not bother me.
This camera fixes everything I didn't like about the SX100 (which took great pictures but was too big and had very slow flash recycle).
I've always loved Canon's unique feature that lets you customize the self-timer for multiple shots. By setting it for 5 or 6 I always get at least 1 group shot where everyone looks good.
Customer Review: Freaking AWESOME! I can't believe it is point and shoot cam!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am experienced photographer with successful history of international competitions who was on a market for smaller camera which could travel with me most of time. I own also sx110is and say it is very decent cam for the money. I read reviews about sx200is and ordered it from Amazon indirectly (I earned some points with thankyou program). I must say after I received the cam ( about 2 weeks) I can't believe the level of technology and finesse Canon packed into this cam.
First of all it produces nice images with grate picture quality. On ISO levels below 400, in good lighting conditions it is better or equals than Pentax k10d!!!! I shot number of shots on the same focus length and I was amazed to see images coming out of this came. I need a camera for mostly nice lighting days and this baby outshoots any other camera in 12m level! Yeh, you can get some slightly nicer shots with DSLR setup of $1200 body and $3000 worth of lenses but man, let givea credit where the credit is due!
The physical quality of cam is another song to sing! It is real JAPAN made cam (sx110is) is China made, and while I like 110 a lot for its value and capacity, the all metal body of sx200is, its amazing "clicking wheel", the lens are out of this world. If you buy DSLR, to match this level of optical performance, you must be prepared to cash out a lot!
Video out of this cam retires to hell my little camera I was using. In good lighting the quality of HD 720P out of this baby is to be seen to be believed. I really appreciate that canon went toward smart 720p in this cam and not 1080i for many reasons.
I must say, I am greatly thankful to Canon for making such amazing quality unit so inexpensive. I handle it in my hand as a jewel. Really amazing tool, amazing cam, outstanding engineering.
Customer Review: Perfect mid-sized camera
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had mine for several months now and the problems most people find with this camera (specifically the pop-up flash placement and the lack of optical zoom in movie mode) don't bother me at all anymore.
First I'll cover what i LOVE about this camera, then I'll address the concerns others have voiced.
The real features for this camera seem to go unnoticed by most people. It has aperture, shutter and manual focus. This is unheard of in non-SLR cameras! It allows you to get crisp, sharp and artistic photos of portrait, landscape and macro that have previously not been possible with a compact camera. Because of this, I don't even really consider this a true point-n-shoot. More like a compact SLR.
Also, the 12x zoom that is the first draw for this camera also seems to let in more light because of its size. We all know more light through the lens makes for a better photo.
My only wish is that the continous shooting was a little faster, but that's what my SLR is for I guess! So for an easy-to-carry camera this one gets my money if you are going to an event that is difficult to pack your SLR and all of it's accesories.
As far as the compaints others have made:
The flash positioning is actually not bad. If your hand naturally sits over that spot and you don't need the flash, just keep your hand there. The mechanism that pops the flash up is designed to slip instead force itself up, so you can hold it down if you prefer. It doesn't seem like it might break, which was my main worry when i purchased it.
I'm not even getting into the HD movie optical zoom issue becaue this is a camera, not a video camera. That's just a bonus feature to begin with.
Customer Review: Great overall digital Camera
Summary: 5 Stars
I received this before a weekend trip and it turned out to be a very well rounded camera. It's not as small as an Elph but it's still just small and light enough to carry around in your pocket or purse for easy access. The 12x zoom lens is terrific and in well lighted situations even the digital zoom creates clear, sharp pictures. The offset is that you lose the f2.8 aperture of other 3x camera's.
I tried most of the scene settings and they all produce slightly different results. The AUTO setting uses a higher shutter speed and ISO setting than Portrait. In Program mode you can set the ISO setting to 80 or 100 and have the camera adjust the shutter speed. The foliage setting does enhance the greens. If you have enough light the indoor setting works better and uses a faster shutter speed while Night snapshot uses a slower shutter speed and produces a better overall shot in lower light. In all but the low light scenes the camera does tend to over expose the shot slightly so I ended up using the exposure adjustment at - 1/3 or -2/3's to compensate.
I really liked the ability to adjust the settings to get a well exposed picture out of a range of situations that you can't always get with an Elph and the zoom lens allows you to frame a shot from just about any distance. The pictures are clear, bright and on par with other Canon camera's in it's class. There's plenty of features to play with like face detect and blink detect and the Image Stabilization works very well.
If you are ready to step up from a point and shoot camera to one that provides more control, has a better zoom but is still pocketable the SX200 IS is well worth putting on your list to check out.