Canon with model PowerShot SX200 IS finally changed the design of whole PowerShot series. Despite changed looks and new feature in form of ability to record HD 720p videos, new PowerShot SX200 IS does not introduce any other new and significant feature.
The moment we took new PowerShot SX200 IS out of the box, that still has “good old” design, we were pleased with new body design. This camera you won’t be carrying in the pocket, that’s for sure, because it weights 200gr without battery. Black (there are also blue and red) colored body has dimension of 103x60.5x37.6mm and it is slightly curved at its right side. This curvature creates nice handgrip. There is enough room for fingers around the lens so we can only be pleased with new body design. Canon provided enough room for thumb on the right side of the display, but users with large hands will have problems manipulating with buttons. Chromed detail on right side, made out of plastic, hides HDMI and miniUSB connectors. Unfortunately, cover for those connectors does look a bit flimsy. Bottom side is reserved for SD/SDHC memory card slot and battery that is in this case lithium-ion with 1120mAh capacity. All this is located behind the cover that definitely looks much better than previous one. There is also stand mounting point unusually positioned toward left side.
Commands like mode wheel, trigger with zoom ring, 4-way cursors and additional four buttons have traditional layout. New feature is ring around 4-way cursor buttons that has same function as up and down function buttons (scroll). It looks odd to have double controls, and our impression is that Canon should have decided which one to use, and not to supply both. Another problem with this scroll-ring is that it can be moved when left or right function buttons are used which may result in selecting wring option. Users with larger hands and fingers will have problems with these controls.
Another new detail is flash. When camera is not used it resides inside the body. The moment you power up the camera it pops out of the case and stays there despite the fact that it won’t be used. During testing period, we really wanted to tape it down so it cannot pop-up when not needed, especially since left index finger always gets in the way of that flash. Really odd decision on Canon’s side.
Specifications of this camera are in line with the rest of Canon cameras based on Digic IV CPU. CCD is 1/2.3’’, with 43MP/cm2 density and effective resolution of 12.1 magapixels. Another big plus is 22-336mm lens (equivalent 35mm). It covers wide range, but with 12x optical zoom it allows great flexibility when taking pictures of distant objects and landscapes. Shutter aperture goes up to f/3.4 and f/5.3 while shutter speed can be set in range from 15 up to 1/3200sec. Maximum ISO sensitivity is 1600 (3200 is option if appropriate scene mode is selected), while minimum value is 80. Autofocus is automatic with face and scene detection, with option to focus on center. There are no other manual focus points, which is a shame for a camera with manual controls. Focus area size can be changed from small to normal, while focus can operate in single or servo (continuous) mode.
Big display of 3-inches and resolution of 230.000 pixels is mounted at the back. Pictures look great on even on bright and sunny day.
Camera has a lot of predefined scene modes, and thanks to presence of Smart Auto option camera can adjust itself according to pictured scene. Unfortunately, ISO settings are also applied automatically which is good option for absolute beginners but for more advanced users not so interesting because it can degrade picture quality.
One of the trump cards that this camera has is recording of HD 720p (1280x720) videos in 30fps, but in mono mode. Length of the video can be 4GB or 30min in HD resolution. If you need more than that, you can select VGA resolution and record videos that can be even 1 hour long.
