Tuesday, December 20, 2011

#10: Canon PowerShot SX230HS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with HS SYSTEM and DIGIC 4 Image Processor, 14x optical zoom (Black)

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511 of 518 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Only for serious picture takers, April 5, 2011 This review is from: Canon PowerShot SX230HS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with HS SYSTEM and DIGIC 4 Image Processor, 14x optical zoom (Black) (Camera) Pros:
[1] Very advance camera in a small package. Has a lot of the features of the Canon DSLRs.
[2] You can edit the pictures within the camera (color, cropping, filters)
[3] HD video recording is awesome.
[4] 14X zoom plus 56X digital zoom.
[5] GPS
[6] Trigger shooting with smile or wink
[7] Mini HDMI out put
[8] Many modes to choose from. Tv, Av, M, P, Portrait, Landscape...just to name a few
[9] Adjustable shutter up to 1/3200
[10] Adjustable ISO from 100-3200
[11] HS and IS makes this thing worth the money
[12] Menus are easy to navigate (because its similar to the Canon DSLRs)
[13] The mode selector dial goes all the way around without stopping.
[14] Too many to list...

Cons:
[1] Get your finger off the flash. The location of the flash takes a little to get used to
[2] Battery life is terrible
[3] I have big hands so it's hard for me to grip it.
[4] Aperture is only F3.1 wide open
[5] Flash charges slow, but is decent for a point and shoot (I'm so used to my Canon 430 EX ii speed lite on my DSLR)
[6] Shutter speeds of 1 second or longer is limited to only ISO 100.

Final Thoughts:
[1] Canon makes some of the best Cameras if not the best. You get a lot of the DSLR technology compacted into this little thing.
[2] If this camera had a F2 Aperture like the Canon S95, it would be Canon's best point and shoot camera released to date, but there's a trade off when you want zoom. Both cameras are neck and neck in my book with the S95 edging it out by a hair because of the F2.
[3] The biggest difference between the SX230 and SX220 (UK) is the GPS. Why isn't there a SX220 in the US? If you feel like importing one, it's about $80 less.
[4] Love this camera so far. If you have a Canon EOS camera, it will be a sinch to use. I didn't even read the manual. Otherwise, if this is your first time using features like Tv and Av mode, then you'll want to read a book.
[5] The price is just right, but could be just a tad lower. You get a great feature rich compact camera for this price. Don't get fooled by the touch or dual screen cameras. They are only gimmicks. If you don't want to carry around a huge DSLR, this is the one for you.
[6] This camera is for my wife to replace her crappy Sony Cyber Shot. I own a Canon 7D.
[7] The pros clearly out weigh the cons and there are really no deal breakers in the cons so if I were you, I would stop reading reviews on this camera and just buy it.

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163 of 168 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars First Canon with GPS, March 28, 2011 This review is from: Canon PowerShot SX230HS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with HS SYSTEM and DIGIC 4 Image Processor, 14x optical zoom (Black) (Camera) I bought this camera as a replacement for my Canon SD800IS, where I was very interested in getting the new GPS capabilities. I also have a professional camera with my Canon 7D, so this is more of a family/trip camera.

Overall, I'm very happy the photo quality and manual features offered (control over exposure level, aperture setting, flash level, etc.) Having a single button to shoot video is great. However, the battery life is much shorter than my old camera. I'm getting around 200-220 photos (instead of 600+), with a few videos thrown in, per battery with the GPS feature turned on. Buy an extra battery. For the GPS: it takes about 1-2 minutes for the camera to lock on the satellites once outside. I think it's cool to see exactly where you took a photo and this will be neat for vacations (wish I had it for an Italy trip a few years back).

I recommend this camera for anyone needing a super zoom with GPS. Just note the slightly bulky size and need to carry an extra battery.

Pros:
*Excellent daylight photos
*Very good inside photos w/o a flash, for a compact camera
*GPS feature generally works well, photo locations show fine in Apple Aperture
*Zoom works quickly and they finally show a screen indicator for the zoom position
*HD video works well
*HDMI out is handy, but the cable is sold separately

Cons:
*Battery life is not great with GPS on (about 200 photos/battery). The low battery indicator starts flashing red pretty early (with 25-30% left), so that could be a pro or con.
*Camera is bulky compared to my old SD800IS, so get a case that will hold it. It is 4.16x2.42x1.31in

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125 of 130 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Nice camera but somewhat flawed, March 26, 2011 This review is from: Canon PowerShot SX230HS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with HS SYSTEM and DIGIC 4 Image Processor, 14x optical zoom (Black) (Camera) Canon needs to stop putting these weak little batteries in thier cameras! It's just not fitting! The SX230 HS sucks up power from that small battery like a drunk at the end of prohibition! They use the same battery that comes with the SX210 IS and it was insufficent on that camera. The SX230 HS is even more power hungry if you are using the GPS for geotagging. I was thinking about taking this camera to Africa with me but I have serious concerns about its rate of power consumption. I may need to three batteries insure I have atleast one that is good to go at all times.

The GPS is sometimes a little slow to aquire a fix outside and offers a rare treat if it picks up your position inside. The indoor GPS performance is well within what I expected. If GPS is on your A list of requirements, Panasonic models with thier built-in geolocation database is better. The GPS implementation is sort of a tack on that Canon put little extra effort into.

At the end of the day, the SX230 HS is a camera so that's the most inportant thing here. The images are good. I was mildly surprised but it will never replace a Canon S95 (which I do have). The 12MP SX230 HS seems to retain about the same level of detail as the 14MP SX210 IS in low light conditions at ISO 800. I also own the SX210 IS. The SX230 seems to be slightly more light sensitive but seems to have more agressive noise reduction than the SX210. The SX210 preserves detail at the expense of more noise. The SX230 also seems to suffer more from color de-saturation at ISO 800 than the SX210 IS. If you think the GPS, faster burst frame rates, full HD and cleaner look at base ISO are important, the the SX230 HS a worthwhile upgrade. Go for it. Otherwise, there just isn't enough newness here to jump on.

I would say that I'm generally satisfied with the SX230 HS and it competes well with other cameras in this segment. Not everything is for everyone.

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