| Customer Reviews Collected from usa.canon.com |
Canon - PowerShot 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black
Average Customer Rating:
4.4
Rating breakdown 126 reviews
5 Stars
78
4 Stars
30
3 Stars
10
2 Stars
5
1 Star
3
82%of customers recommend this product.
(
103 out of
125)
Customer Reviews for Canon - PowerShot 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black
Customer Rating
5
on July 20, 2009
Posted by: Connor
from Cranberry, PA
I read some of the reviews this camera was getting, and was not very pleased. I had to write my own review. This camera is my favorite Powershot camera through Canon. And I will explain why.
1. It is easy to use and has simple controls/menu. You press the power button and and snap a photo. Then press play to view your pictures. Though at first, I couldn't find some features, I looked in the direction manual and I found them very quickly, very simply.
2. The features are amazing. Truly amazing. I love Color accent and color swap. I use the beach setting even when I'm not at the beach to make the photo a lot more vibrant. For self timers, you get to pick how long you want to self-time and there's a timer feature that, when it sees your face, it snaps the picture. Everything is very simple to use.
3. The LCD screen is bright whether it be indoors or outdoors. But it isn't too bright when in the dark.
4. I read people saying they didn't like the image quality?! Hello! It's a twelve.one megapixel, 12x optical zoom all packed into one camera that easily slides into your pocket. Unless you plan on getting an EOS which are over twice the price, you can't get much better than this, and EOS's don't fit in your pocket at all. The other more expensive powershots have either more megapixels or more optical zoom. But NOT both. If it has more megapixels, it lacks optical zoom, and vice versa. And the more expensive models don't fit in your pocket either.
5. Good Low-Light Performance. Enough said.
6. It is very portable because it slides easily into your pocket.
7. The battery is spectacular. The first day I got it, I was disappointed in the battery. But I didn't realize it was only on a 1/4 charge. So I charged it that night. And it took a very long time to die. It took about a week and I took plenty of pictures in that time. Enough to fill my memory card. Of course, I didn't leave it on all the time, I just it off when it wasn't in use, but you get the point. I read that the battery life lasts for 300minutes. That's quite a lot.
8. Durable. I reccomend getting a screen protector on the playback screen and a case. Because, though this camera is durable, it still is a camera and is likely to get scratched at some point. No complaints on my part though.
My one and only con is that it is a bit heavy. Not too heavy to carry or anything. But if you forgot your belt and you put this in your pocket, it pulls my pants down a bit. I mean it's a little heavier than a typical cell phone or ipod touch, but it is very manageable and this really isn't a complaint. I was just stating that it's a bit heavier than I would have liked. And hey, for everything they pack into this, I'm surprised it doesn't weigh one hundred pounds!
Love the camera, hope this helps!
-Connor
Pros: easy to use, Simple controls/menu, Nice features/settings, Bright LCD, excellent image quality, Good Low-Light Performance, Lightweight/Portable, good battery life, durable
Cons: Heavy/Bulky
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
I used this camera to its max
on June 11, 2009
Posted by: mee
from Orlando, FL
First, I'd like to say that I really pushed this camera's capabilities, so this review may not be for everyone.
I purchased this camera because I wanted a compact camera with good zoom and manual controls. This camera did live up to those requirements. The zoom is very good, and the manual controls allow you to take pictures which other point&shoots cannot take. You can do long exposure, ultra short exposure to freeze motion, small apeture to get better depth of field, you can adjust the brightness of the flash, override the iso to get images in low light, etc. The manual controls turned out to be extremely useful, and I use them about half the time.
On the other hand, a large portion of my photos are upclose macro shots, and, when I tried the camera in macro, I was very disappointed. First off, like most cameras with a good zoom, the sx200 has a huge barrel that blocks light and flash when closeup. The camera has issuses with chromatic abberation, and these are particularly bad in macro mode. The CA is not terrible in the center of the shot, but anything out of the middle of the picture looks awful. The focus in macro mode is poor, with the focus region somewhat blurry even when the autofocus claims it is in focus. Beyond that, all images, whether in macro or not, just don't seem crisp. I don't know whether this is due to chromatic aberration, poor autofocus, a lack of a superfine compression mode, or excessive noise reduction, but images just seem to lack any fine detail. I suspect it is the lack of superfine, since many older Canon cameras did not have this problem.
You may have noticed that I put "Wide Angle" in both the Pros and Cons catergories. Most reviewers seem to think that a wider angle would be more useful to the average user, and they are probably right. However, wide angle is terrible for macro. The object you are photographing takes up a much smaller portion of your field of view, and you have to get much closer to it in order to get the same level of magnification. For the same reason, wide angle is also bad for zoom shots, effectively negating some (but certainly not all!) of that nice optical zoom. Anyway, wide angle may be good for many users, but, for me, its a step in the wrong direction.
To summarize, I think the sx200 has some impressive capabilities and some disappointing shortcomings. I understand that some of its competitors many have better image qualitiy, but I'm not sure I'd be willing to sacrifice the capabilities provided by manual control.
I purchased this camera because I wanted a compact camera with good zoom and manual controls. This camera did live up to those requirements. The zoom is very good, and the manual controls allow you to take pictures which other point&shoots cannot take. You can do long exposure, ultra short exposure to freeze motion, small apeture to get better depth of field, you can adjust the brightness of the flash, override the iso to get images in low light, etc. The manual controls turned out to be extremely useful, and I use them about half the time.
On the other hand, a large portion of my photos are upclose macro shots, and, when I tried the camera in macro, I was very disappointed. First off, like most cameras with a good zoom, the sx200 has a huge barrel that blocks light and flash when closeup. The camera has issuses with chromatic abberation, and these are particularly bad in macro mode. The CA is not terrible in the center of the shot, but anything out of the middle of the picture looks awful. The focus in macro mode is poor, with the focus region somewhat blurry even when the autofocus claims it is in focus. Beyond that, all images, whether in macro or not, just don't seem crisp. I don't know whether this is due to chromatic aberration, poor autofocus, a lack of a superfine compression mode, or excessive noise reduction, but images just seem to lack any fine detail. I suspect it is the lack of superfine, since many older Canon cameras did not have this problem.
You may have noticed that I put "Wide Angle" in both the Pros and Cons catergories. Most reviewers seem to think that a wider angle would be more useful to the average user, and they are probably right. However, wide angle is terrible for macro. The object you are photographing takes up a much smaller portion of your field of view, and you have to get much closer to it in order to get the same level of magnification. For the same reason, wide angle is also bad for zoom shots, effectively negating some (but certainly not all!) of that nice optical zoom. Anyway, wide angle may be good for many users, but, for me, its a step in the wrong direction.
To summarize, I think the sx200 has some impressive capabilities and some disappointing shortcomings. I understand that some of its competitors many have better image qualitiy, but I'm not sure I'd be willing to sacrifice the capabilities provided by manual control.
Pros: Nice features/settings, Bright LCD, manual controls, excellent zoom, portable, wide angle
Cons: terrible macro, chromatic aberration, loss of detail, wide angle
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Wonderful prosumer point and shoot
on August 24, 2009
Posted by: Michael G
from Maui, Hawaii
This is a very solidly built camera with a large array of options to create the desired pictures in-camera. Although it does not have a grip, it is very easy to hold securely - the curvature of the right side of the body and the rubber pad on the back of the camera do the trick.
I would not necessarily recommend this camera to photographers who just want great pictures out of the box. The variety of adjustments can assure immaculate pictures, but they will need to be used occassionally to get the desired results. The learning curve to make full use of the camera could be quite a long one for true amateurs and lead them to be critical of the camera although it might not be designed for them.
For those who wish to have a point and shoot but are also motivated to become "prosumers" over time and don't want a bulky DSLR-like camera, the SX200 IS might be the best choice, and if you like HD movies (albeit without optical zoom), the only choice.
Pros: Nice features/settings, Bright LCD, excellent image quality, Good Low-Light Performance, Lightweight/Portable, durable
Cons: not for amateurs who wish to remain amateurs
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
Decent Camera With Some Faults...
on May 27, 2009
Posted by: LastTreeOnEarth
from Anchorage, AK
The build, style, manual controls and HD video are excellent qualities of this camera. However, there's no SuperFine picture quality setting and yes, I can tell the difference between SF and Fine with past Powershot cameras. The flash pops up upon power-up and that's fine. The problem is that it stays up. A firmware should be released that would make the camera deploy the flash ONLY if the flash was selected the last time the camera was used. Also, if the flash is not selected, the flash should return the the retracted position and remain so until selected again. As for someone who likes to sneak cameras into concerts, this camera is a bit of a disappointment for me. Unlike past Powershot models, the built-in mike cannot handle the loud volume of a show. I have owned the SD 1000, SD850, SD870, SD880, SD770 and now the SD780 and the sound is real nice. The SX200 simply cannot handle it. Otherwise, this is a great travel camera when you don't want to lug your SLR and lenses around.
Pros: easy to use, Simple controls/menu, Bright LCD, excellent image quality, Good Low-Light Performance, Lightweight/Portable, good battery life, durable
Cons: Missing features/settings
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
3
Great features... poor performance
on June 30, 2009
Posted by: waynesms
from Grass Valley, CA
I have always had excellent luck with Canon camera's. I have a lot of them. It was time to upgrade my "pocket cam". The features and usability are just fine, if not great. The flash is not that big of a deal once you get used to it. Battery life is great (one battery lasted an entire week in New York/DC) and I didn't have to put in my spare until the way home. Granted, I was mainly using my DSLR, but my other P&S cams that use AA's would have gone through many sets.
My complaint is the low light performance (which is many steps backwards from previous point and shoots), and poor color reproduction. The color is way off, no matter what white balance is used. And the highlights are so bright that I lose detail, unless I underexpose, and then I lose the detail in the shadows. I am very disappointed in what would otherwise have been a great camera. It will now be used only as an emergency back-up.
Pros: easy to use, Bright LCD, Lightweight/Portable, good battery life
Cons: Poor image quality, Poor Low-Light Performance
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
Not bad for what it is
on September 25, 2009
Posted by: Jake D
from New York, NY
I had more then my share of canon cameras and for what it is worth this one does its job. For quality I still preffer Elph SD 690, but there was no zoom in that one. I had SX 120 IS. Great camera, but bulky, heavy and less zoom then this one. Now lets discuss this camera. It takes a decent picture. If you are in the low light or try to get into the digital zoom, do not expect anything good to come out of it, even with the monopod that I used, the pictures are not that great. If you are taking shots in good light conditions, within the range or your 12x optical zoom that the camera is great for, then you will end up with amazing shots. I also like the fact that it combines the high power features and the ease of use, so if I give it to someone to take a shot, it is still easy to get a great quality shot.
Another downfall, but takes getting used to and after a while becomes a second nature is to remember that the flash pops up whether you use it or not. Not sure why they did this, but I guess someone at canon had a reason. The camera is light, since it uses battery packs as oppose to some like SX 120, that use AA batteries. Battery packs when charged properly can get you a long way. I snap pictures of anything and everything and I usually stay within a power of one, maybe one and a half batteries. Not bad a all.
Overall it is not bad, but if you do not require a long range zoom, then I strongly recommend one of the Elphs. SD 690 IS takes a professional quality shot.
Pros: easy to use, Simple controls/menu, Nice features/settings, excellent image quality, Lightweight/Portable, good battery life, 12x zoom 12 mp
Cons: Poor Low-Light Performance, pop-up flash, worse then some of the others in digital zoom
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Great Point and Shoot
on April 14, 2009
Posted by: CanonRox
from New York, NY
I am merely pointing out that out of ALL of the new point and shoot's with optical zoom over 10X, in small to average body, NONE of the (about 5) models have viewfinders. This is not something Canon only omitted. Basically it's a great point and shoot with incredible optical zoom for it's size. As said, the zoom in the movie mood is basically unusable. But don't fault the camera for lack of a viewfinder, as that is a feature NO other camera of this size with this advanced optical zoom by any manufacturer has.
Pros: easy to use, Simple controls/menu, Nice features/settings, excellent image quality, Good Low-Light Performance, Lightweight/Portable
Cons: Missing features/settings, Short battery life
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Love this camera!
on July 31, 2009
Posted by: Lucky Strike
from Louisiana
This camera does everything I hoped it would do. I have a smaller Canon and DH has an SLR Canon. I wanted something for travel sized between the two that would take better pictures in low light and would zoom. I returned from Europe with wonderful pictures at night with no flash (had to prop to prevent shaking but the camera warned me). beautiful pictures of interiors where the camera seemed to create light, and a decent shot of Notre Dame Cathedral zoomed from the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. I knew the optical zoom was 12X but did not realize digital zoom goes up to 48X - what fun! The pop-up flash does not bother me at all. If you happen to have your finger on it (doesn't happen often) it just waits until you move your finger to pop up. I got great videos of the traffic in Paris and Rome - the video does zoom digitally - why all the complaints? I am not a professional but returned with over 5GB of photos and love them all. I don't understand complaints about quality and battery life was always adequate for a full day. I charged each night. Love, love love!
Pros: easy to use, Simple controls/menu, Nice features/settings, Bright LCD, excellent image quality, Good Low-Light Performance, Lightweight/Portable, good battery life, durable
Cons: wrist strap doesn't tighten to fit securely
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com