Canon PowerShot SX200 IS Digital camera
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About this camera

This camera was purchased as a replacement for our Canon Powershot Digital Elph SD700 IS. The SD700 had served us well, always delivering excellent photos, decent video quality, a nice small size and a battery that seemed to last forever. Unfortunately when digital cameras are dropped in the water, at least the ones that are NOT waterproof, they never tend to work the same afterwards. Point noted, as when the SD700 hit the water, it died an instant death.



Over the years and during our sailing travels in Alaska & British Columbia, Canon cameras have been good for the Mad Dogs. In addition to the Canon SX200 we also have a Canon Elura 40MC video camera and the Canon 7D SLR digital camera and the Canon EOS 20D dSLR along with zoom lenses, IS (Image Stabilization) lenses, flashes & accessories galore including the Ikelite underwater waterproof housing etc. The Ikelite Underwater Housing is specifically designed for our Canon EOS 20D camera to allow full control of every button & knob on the EOS 20D while providing full waterproof protection for the camera.

 

The Canon SX200 appeared to be an excellent replacement with a large lens and capability to produce HD video. For those unsure what this means, an HD video has 4 times as many pixels and should delivery very crisp, high quality movies. Unfortunately with the Powershot SX200 Canon has gravely disappointed us this time.

Even with a large, higher quality lens, the Canon SX200 produces photos of lesser quality that the SD700. The HD video capability is completely unusable as the camera, even with a high speed SD memory card, cannot record the HD video without dropping frames and creating a jittery video. The Image Stabilization mode seems very finicky and does not deliver the smoothness of the Canon SD700.

The Mad Dogs plan to replace this one in the future, possibly before sailing south in 2011, and we will be looking to other brands. If the "developments & enhancements" Canon introduced to the Powershot IS SX200 are an indication of how they plan to develop new products maybe it is time to consider a shift to another brand as the Mad Dog's choice of small and portable camera gear.

Tips for making better photos: (we are still learning)
Digital camera tips - Buying a digital camera
Digital camera tips - Why you should save photos as Raw images