Canon PowerShot SX210 IS – Decent Compact Megazoom to Start With

Canon — On April 29, 2010 | Leave a Reply |

We loved:

The Canon PowerShot SX210 IS has got a decent set of manual and semi-manual controls; has got supple lens in its compact body and the phone offers great photo quality.

We hated:

The Canon PowerShot SX210 IS has got some definite uncomfortable design feature, has unimpressive LCD and offers sluggish shooting performance.

Introduction:

Having a huge zoom lens in a small body seems to be a huge target for the camera makers in 2010. In the urge to provide as big lens as possible in as compact body as possible, various manufacturers have entered their models and the 14 megapixel PowerShot SX210 IS is the entrant from Canon. The Canon PowerShot SX210 IS is the most compact Megazoom from Canon and the camera sports a 28 mm equivalent wide-angle lens with 14x zoom. The Canon PowerShot SX210 IS follows SX200 IS, with a little upgrading in both the zoom range and resolution, along with a slight trimming of body to make the camera a bit more pocket-friendly.

Though, the Canon PowerShot SX210 IS has got some improvisation in the controls in comparison to controls on other models, but still the camera has few designing flaws which made us hate the camera. Even the shooting performance of the camera is a lot sluggish. Then again, the camera has the ability to great pictures and has a decent set of manual semi-manual shooting options. So if you are not a heavy aesthetic lover and don’t want a quick performance then the Canon PowerShot SX210 IS is a considerable compact Megazoom.

Build and Design:

The Canon PowerShot SX210 IS comes in three colors of purple, gold and black, but in all the three colors the camera looks nothing more than mammoth Digital Elph. The PowerShot SX210 can easily get into a handbag or a coat pocket, although the 14x zoom lens on the façade of the camera stops it from being an easy pant pocket fit. But still it’s better to have a protective case, so as to prevent the smooth finish of the metal shell from getting scratched.

Just as its predecessor, the SX200, this Canon also makes the flash pop up every time the camera is turned on. Although, this time you can push the flash down and it will remain as it is. This popped up flash, makes holding the camera a little awkward, as you exactly don’t have anyplace to put your fingers. The LCD screen of the camera is decently bright, but in comparison to the other cameras from the same price range, it is a bit lower in resolution. Also despite being 3 inches (diagonally) in size, you only get to use only 2.5 inches for framing your shots unless you switch to the sole wide-screen resolution of 4320 x 2432 pixels of the camera.

The controls for the camera are a bit mixed and while they are good for some, they can be bad for some as well. Though for the users with large hands they definitely are bad as they are a bit cramped. Positioned at the top of the camera is the shutter release button, a small power button which almost is flush with body and will be hard to locate without looking at it and a nubbin of a zoom control. The sizeable shooting mode dial of the camera falls just under your thumb.

Positioned straight under the dial is an out-and-out record button for movies and a playback button. Under them is a safe directional pad/Control Dial. If you want to connect the camera to your computer, HDTV or monitor then there are Mini-HDMI and Mini-USB ports on the right spine of the camera. The memory card and battery compartment are located at the bottom of the camera under a non-locking door; though, the door closes decisively. The battery of the camera can not be charged inside the camera.

Specifications:

Manufacturer: Canon USA
Part Number: 4246B001

Price: $328.30 – $349.99
Product Type: Compact Digital camera
Weight: 7.8 oz
Dimensions (H x W x D) in inches: 2.3 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
LCD size: 3 inch
Resolution: 14.1 megapixels
Optical Zoom: 14 xs

Digital Video Format: H.264
Operating System Support: Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or later and Apple Mac OS X 10.4 – 10.6
Software: Canon ImageBrowser, Canon PhotoStitch, Canon ZoomBrowser EX and Drivers & Utilities

White Balance Presets: Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent light (daylight), Tungsten light and Fluorescent light (cool white)
Additional Features: AF lock , AE lock , DPOF support , Safety zoom , AF/AE tracking , Direct print , Built-in speaker , Wink Self-timer , Histogram display , Cropping an image , Exif Print support , Resizing an image , Smart Flash Exposure , PictBridge support , USB 2.0 compatibility , In-camera red-eye fix , Digital tele-converter , Digital image rotation , Digital noise reduction , 720p HD movie recording , Face Detection Self-timer , RGB primary color filter , Face Detection AF/AE/FE/WB , Blink Detection technology , Motion Detection Technology , Scene Detection Technology , Smile Detection Auto Shutter , Camera orientation detection and I-Contrast (Intelligent Contrast Correction) system
Focus Adjustment: Manual and Automatic
Features: UD glass, UA lens, Built-in lens shield and Aspherical lens
Exposure Modes: Program, Manual, Shutter-priority, Automatic and Aperture-priority
Connector Type: Composite video/audio output, HDMI output and USB
Shooting Programs: Beach, Snow, Foliage, Indoor, Landscape, Fireworks, Kids & pets, Low light, Stitch assist, Portrait mode and Night snapshot
Shooting Modes: Frame movie mode
Peripheral Devices: CD-ROM drive and USB port
Battery: Rechargeable Li-ion battery, 895 mAh

Performance:

Like we mentioned at the beginning of our review, the performance of Canon PowerShot SX210 IS is in general pretty slow. So the camera surely is not meant for capturing moving subjects and if that’s what you are interested in, then the camera is not meant for even you either. The shutter lag timing for the camera is about 0.6 seconds in good lightening, while in low light its 0.8 secs. The continuous shooting rate of Canon PowerShot SX210 IS is about 0.5 frames per second.

But in terms of quality the performance of PowerShot SX210 is very close to being excellent, although there definitely are some issues, but nothing special. Like any other compact camera, the performance for this camera also starts getting soft after ISO 200, but that’s something that almost every compact has. But the good thing here is the color performance for the camera, and pictures turns bright and vibrant with plenty of color. The video performance from the camera is similar to what you expect from an HD pocket video camera.