Canon PowerShot SX200 IS Review

It can't match DSLRs on speed, but many other features make the SX200 a fine traveling substitute.

Summary

Traveling photographers are a picky bunch. They want a wide focal range in order to capture everything from broad vistas, to the eyeballs of scampering wildlife. They also want good quality, without the bulk and expense of DSLRs. Enter cameras like the new Canon PowerShot SX200 IS, with its compact size and image-stabilized 12x zoom, plus the ability to take high-def clips. The SX200 is one of the first of Canon’s Class of 2009, and we were anxious to see if the company would maintain its standards during a trip to Aruba. (Hey, even reviewers have to take “working” vacations, right?)

Features and Design

The SX200 IS, like the very popular Panasonic TZ and ZS series, has an extremely compact body for a camera, with a huge optically stabilized 12x zoom with a very nice range of 28-336mm. Panasonic’s new traveling cams (ZS3, ZS1) also have 12x zooms, but use 10MP imagers. The Canon has cool, curvy shape with muted color tones and silver accents. We tested a very attractive red model, but it’s also available in blue or black. Canon just knows how to add a touch of panache to its point-and-shoots, and it’s very welcome relief from the typical silver Altoids tin shape. It measures 4.1 x 2.4 x 1.5 (W x H x D, in inches) and tips the scales at 8.2 ounces fully loaded. It’s not wafer thin, but it can easily be carried around all day.

As you’d expect, the front of the SX200 IS is dominated by the 12x zoom that extends pretty far when you power up. A built-in lens cover means no dealing with flapping caps on a string. The front also has an AF assist lamp, a single pinhole mic, as well as assorted logos and nomenclature that don’t really detract from the overall vibe.

On top, you’ll find the shutter with surrounding wide/tele zoom toggle, a metal mode dial, power button, and potent flash, which pops up when you turn it on. The dial has two auto settings: a small heart for totally no-brainer shooting (you can’t adjust anything) and auto. In keeping with the ’09 trend, auto is actually “intelligent” or “smart” auto, in which the camera decides what type of scene is in front of it and makes the appropriate adjustments. Call it “no-brainer plus,” as you can change some of the basic settings, but you have to go to P (Program AE), aperture/shutter priority, and manual to really tweak white balance, ISO and so on. The dial offers direct access to five popular scene modes, while SCN gives you seven more including ISO 3200, which drops the resolution to 3MP (more on this in the performance section). The SX200 IS has a movie mode, and in keeping with the times, the “standard” setting is high-def 1280 x 720 pixels at 30 fps (standard 720p specs) rather than the old standard of 640 x 480.

A three-inch LCD rated at 230K pixels covers most of the camera’s rear. It’s a good screen, but after using 460K displays, it suffers by comparison. The screen does work fairly well in direct sunlight, but the Aruba sunshine required pushing the brightness to the max in order to frame subjects. Still, it was usable, and far better than the Nikon S610.

To the right are controls found on every digicam: a dial with center set button four keys for playback, display, menu and so on. Canon added a nice touch with a jog wheel surrounding the control dial, for quickly moving through the menus and reviewing your shots. There’s almost an iPhone-like feel as you scroll through images, and it’s nicely done.

On the left side is a speaker, while the right has USB and mini HDMI connections. The bottom of this Made-In-Japan camera has a tripod mount, and compartment for the battery and SD card slot.

What’s In The Box

You won’t find any surprises here, just the typical bundle. That includes a battery and charger, USB and A/V cables, strap, and a 180-page printed owner’s manual. Unfortunately, you’ll need to pick up a mini-HDMI cable and at least a 2GB high-speed card on your own, especially if you plan to shoot HD videos. The CD-ROM has Canon’s ZoomBrowser EX 6.3 for handling images, and PhotoStitch 3.1 to make panoramas. Mac fans get ImageBrowser 6.3 and PhotoStitch 3.2.

We charged the battery and took the camera where it was meant to be used – on vacation.