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Canon Powershot SX200 IS Review Summary
12 Megapixels
Ultra-Zoom: At least 10X optical zoom.
Stabilization: Compensates for tiny involuntary movements of the camera.
720p HD Video: 1280 x 720 resolution or more but less than 1920 x 1080.
Manual Controls: Both fully-manual (M) and semi-automatic modes (T and V).
Custom White-Balance: Specifies exactly what should be white to the camera.
Action Photography: Shutter speeds of 1/1500 or more.
Night Photography: Reaches shutter-speeds longer than 4 seconds.
Spot Metering
Accepts Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) and SD memory.
Neocamera detailed review
Discontinued: No longer produced by the manufacturer. May still be in stock or found used.Canon Powershot SX200 IS Assessment
The Canon Powershot SX200 is a budget ultra-zoom with a rather compact body, a wide-angle lens with 12X stabilized optical zoom lens and full manual controls.
Canon did a good job selecting the features to put in this digital camera, giving a very flexible zoom range and a complete set of manual controls while avoiding the least used features such as a viewfinder and hot-shoe. Since the majority of consumers do not use those features, it is very reasonable for Canon to remove them from budget models and keep them in more advanced models such as the Canon Powershot SX20 IS.
The compact ultra-zoom category is now populated with numerous models from several manufacturers. Among these the SX200 distinguishes itself as one of three current models to feature full-manual controls and the only one to have 720p HD movie mode as well. While the SX200 is not the most compact such camera, at 1.5" thick it is smaller than typical compacts equiped with much less powerful zoom lenses.
The Fuji Finepix F70 EXR is the only ultra-compact with a wide-angle optical zoom and full manual-controls. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 which lacks manual controls makes a unique offering by starting its 12X optical zoom at a very wide 25mm effective focal-length. It also takes 70p HD video.
The bottom line is that no other digital camera features this feature-set in such a compact size. Those looking for a compact ultra-zoom will be quite satisfied with the Canon Powershot SX200 IS.
Neocamera detailed review Read the full Canon Powershot SX200 review.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| 12X Wide-angle optical zoom in compact body | High image softness above ISO 100 |
| Good lens sharpness | Oversaturated colors |
| Excellent white-balance | Chromatic aberrations |
| Reliable exposure | Narrow lens aperture |
| Generally low noise | Weak flash |
| Low optical distortion | Flash recycles slowly |
| Accurate but slow focus | Flash always pops up |
| Good LCD visibility | Short battery-life |
| Generally responsive | Slow shot-to-shot speed |
| Good build quality | Slow continuous drive |
 Good Good |
|
Recent Similar Cameras
Related Information
| Sister Models |
|---|
| Canon Powershot SX120 IS - 10 Megapixels, 10X non-wide zoom, VGA Movie mode, AA batteries |
| Previous Models |
| Canon Powershot SX110 IS - 9 Megapixels, 10X non-wide zoom, VGA Movie mode, AA batteries |
Canon Powershot SX100 IS Canon Powershot SX100 IS - 8 Megapixels, 10X non-wide zoom, 2.5" LCD, VGA Movie mode, AA batteries |
| Reviews | |
|---|---|
| Neocamera | DC Resource |
| Imaging Resource | Trusted Reviews |
| Photography Blog | Photo Review |
| Digital Camera Review | Test Freaks |
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Canon SX200 IS Facts
Compact digital camera| 12 Megapixels Travel Zoom | ISO 80-1600 |
| 12X Wide Optical Zoom | Shutter 1/3200-15s |
| Built-in Stabilization | Full manual controls |
| 0.8 FPS Drive, Unlimited Images | Custom white-balance |
| 1280x720 @ 30 FPS Video Recording | Spot-Metering |
| 3" LCD 230K Pixels | Lithium-Ion |
| Secure Digital High Capacity |
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