The SX210 IS - Great Photos Within Your Grasp                                                          

The SX210 IS has something for everybody. From the novice who knows next to nothing about digital cameras — all the way up to the experienced user. In reality the Canon SX210 IS is probably targeted towards someone who wants to move up several levels  from a standard compact digital point and shoot camera. 

I recently purchased the Canon PowerShot SX210IS  to replace my old Fuji. Although not a professional photographer, I’d say I was a very keen amateur who loves his photography. 

So.. If you want to skip my SX210IS review there is great  information and reviews on the   Powershot SX210IS at this site. 

The first thing you will notice when you take your Canon Powershot out of its box is how small, slim and light it is. In fact when you are out and about you can almost forget you have the the SX210IS with you at times. Having said that, this Canon compact has a good solid feel to it and I don’t doubt it will stand up to a bit of rough handling.

The type of handling you can expect when your eight year old is running round the garden trying to take a picture of the family pet!  The Canon SX210 IS is comfortable to hold for a compact camera and a lot less fiddly than I expected.

Like its predecessor the Powershot SX200,  the flash on the Canon Powershot SX210IS pops up when you switch the power on. However Canon have adressed this with the Canon SX210 IS. You can get rid of the pop up by simply putting your finger on the top of the flash and press down when you power up.

This stops the flash engaging and you won’t see it again until you re-boot the camera and allow it to pop up. The shutter can also be opened manually as well.  The SX210IS works great in low light conditions giving you good detail in your images, so for the most part you won’t need the flash anyway. 

Stephen from Southern California says:

I am a professional motion picture camera assistant and an advanced hobby photographer. I own a Nikon D90 and several other compact cameras. There are times that I wanted to bring a decent camera but didn’t want to haul my SLR kit around with me. I have always felt like I had to make a big compromise until now. The Canon SX210 IS captures amazing images for such a compact device. If wanted it also allows for full control of all aspects of your shots including ASA, shutter time and aperture. The HD video it captures is fantastic and it does this without the need to hand focus like my D90….

Review paraphrased for size - Read the full review here

 

What else can you expect with the Canon SX210 IS

The LCD screen on the back of the Canon SX210 IS gives you a clear view of your subject and frames your shots. What you see is what you get when you click the shutter. Dont worry if the result isn’t great. With digital cameras you can instantly delete any pictures you don’t like and start over.   The only slight niggle I have with the Canon SX210 IS, is that it takes six steps to delete an image, unless I’m missing something of course!

The bevel around the  3 inch LCD screen on the back of the Canon Powershot SX210 IS doesn’t stand very proud, so be careful when you lay the camera on its back or you might scratch the screen.  You might think about buying a screen protector.

The Canon SX210 IS gives you extra zoom, 14 x optical zoom lens in fact and a 28mm wide-angle lens at the other end of the scale. It takes great pictures at both settings and anything in between. The image quality is outstanding. The images are full of detail and great for editing later. This detail is a result of the SX210 IS 14.1 megapixel resolution.

 This number of megapixels means the resulting file sizes are about 3.5 Mb and will soon fill the memory card that comes with the camera.  Buy a bigger card straight away, you will need it.

This many pixels also means you get great quality in your bigger prints, even poster size.

The camera has several useful modes.  Most used is the auto mode. The auto mode is great for the beginner or those who just want to point-and-shoot.  Whatever mode you decide to use you can expect great results as is the trademark of a Canon.

The latest Image stabilisation technology has been included and this all but eliminates camera shake entirely as it compensates  in real time as you click away. It also works well in video mode, particularly if you are shooting on the move.

The SX210IS takes great video too.

The SX210IS Digital Camera takes both video and still photos of equal quality. The HD video it captures is brilliant, even at full zoom.  You won’t believe the quality of the HD movies  you can shoot. It focuses quickly and tracks the action well.Frame rate for movie clips is 30 fps (frames per second) in the Motion JPEG AVI format with sound recorded in stereo.

The LCD screen crops down to the 4:3 aspect ratio when shooting stills, but you get full widescreen coverage on the LCD when using SX210′s movie mode.    You can view your videos on your HDTV using the HDMI port. You will have found by now there is no HDMI cable included with the camera. Remember to buy one when you buy your battery.

 There are also a few fun settings including Fish Eye, Miniature and Monochrome. With monochrome you can set one colour to show up in your black and white images.

The one I like is the Smart Shutter mode.  The face detection allows you to trigger the self- timer by winking or smiling at the camera. Neat don’t you think? My kids love it.

To summarise..

The Canon Powershot SX210IS is easily the best compact camera I have ever bought,in fact as far as compact digital cameras go the Canon Powershot SX210IS has to be  hard to beat.  It’s not cheap, however it represents gerat value for money. It is ideal for everyday use, a true family camera, and great for taking on holiday. Yes there are a few minor niggles but no show stoppers.  It wont beat a DSLR but will give it a good run for the money. 

I’m confident most people will love the SX210IS.