| | |  | Point-and-Shoot Digital Cameras | Home » » » » » Canon PowerShot SX230 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 14x Image Stabilized Zoom 28mm Wide-Angle Lens and 1080p Full-HD Video (Black) | | | | | | | Description: | | Travel the world with the new PowerShot SX230 HS digital camera. It's the first Canon PowerShot to come with GPS technology that'll automatically tag your photos with time and locations. You can even view all the photos' locations on a map by using special bundled software. And with amazing features, such as the HS SYSTEM, 12.1 Megapixels, 14x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom and 1080p Full HD Video, the stylish PowerShot SX230 HS is your essential traveling companion.Experience the Power. | | | Features: | |
• Canon's HS SYSTEM with a 12.1 MP CMOS and DIGIC 4 Image Processor
• Full 1080p HD Video for exceptional quality with stereo sound, plus a dedicated movie button for easy access
• Remember where you were and when your pictures were taken with a GPS tracker that records your location, and a logger
• Powerful 14x Optical Zoom with Optical Image Stabilizer and a 28mm Wide-Angle lens.
• Smart AUTO intelligently selects the proper settings for the camera based on 32 predefined shooting situations
• 12.1 effective megapixels, 1/2.3-inch high-sensitivity CMOS; 14x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 4.2 inches | | Product Width:
| 2.4 inches | | Product Height:
| 1.3 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.49 pounds | | Package Length:
| 6.4 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.6 inches | | Package Height:
| 2.7 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.3 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 334 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 334 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
740 of 751 found the following review helpful:
 Only for serious picture takersApr 05, 2011
By Toua Yang
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.
216 of 224 found the following review helpful:
First Canon with GPSMar 28, 2011
By Jeff Wright
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
100 of 101 found the following review helpful:
Avant garde performer, low light champion.May 08, 2011
By NJ's dad
I have canon sx210-IS for almost a year now, but when my baby spilled water over it, it stopped working and the cost of repair estimated by Canon repair service was costing me almost equal to a new sx210-IS price, that was when I decided to buy this upgraded version from Canon.
Most of features of this camera were also the part of its predecessor, but let's focus on the new features which make this one better than its' predecessor:-
*Low light support: This is the most talked about feature, and this was be one of 'THE reasons' I chose this camera and it really worth a pat on back for this . The results are really amazing for a point and shoot category camera.
*Super slow motion video: The results are really awesome. It is amazing to see my baby; flipping her hair and running, trying to catch a butterfly - in super slow motion! I should say that the slow motion option with 240 fps is for brightly lit places; otherwise the results are not that good.
*Full HD video: This definitely is an improvement over sx210 is, which can only shoot 720p videos. This makes the video quality of sx 230-HS exceptional.
*GPS tracker: It is a nice to have feature. I used it once but, this sucks the battery so I keep this option off, all the time.
Other features worth mentioning:-
*14x zoom: It is really amazing how they are able to put 14x zoom in such small body. It is worth mentioning the fact that these super zooms are only effective if they come with automatic image stabilization feature and let me ensure you that this camera as its' predecessor - sx210, does this job exceedingly well.
*12 mega pixels: Although SX 210 has 14 mega pixels but I would not consider this as a degrade. Too many pixels packed in a small camera, do not do any good to image quality (though my wife still considers this as a degrade, can't help)
*The low wait time: Between two shots is definitely an improvement over sx210.
*Battery life: The charge drains out fast, so would advise you to have a standby battery with you if you are planning to go out with this camera. This was the main reason I did not give it 5 star rating.
Conclusion: I would recommend this camera to all of you who are not satisfied with the image quality of your camera and are looking for a camera which gives nice indoor image quality, specially under low lights. I am using this camera for almost a month now and I am loving it and also bought a hard case for it this time :) remember...
Edit:
Suggestions-
* Wish I could edit, and upload my pics and videos online, straight from the camera thru wifi.
* A camera mode to capture time lapse videos, a feature similar to the one provided by some of the iPhone/iPad apps.
I know I am asking for too much but my assertion is, if a free iPhone app can do this then why can't a decent canon camera?
84 of 86 found the following review helpful:
Excellent camera!May 03, 2011
By E. Dowd
I use a canon g12 as my travel camera and for special occasions but I wanted a smaller camera to carry with me every day in my pocket or briefcase while not traveling. I find the G12 to be superb, indoors and outdoors, in bright or dim light. It is very sharp, the optical viewfinder is helpful for action shots, and the articulating screen make unobtrusive waist level photography easy.
I find the sx 230 weighs about seven ounces compared to the about 14 ounces of the G12. The G12 is very sharp but the sx 230hs is almost equally sharp indoors and outdoors. The zoom control on the sx230 is far smoother than the one on the G12. Photos seem perfectly exposed, in sunshine and in rain, and in artificial light. The long zoom is more useful than I thought and are quite sharp at all focal lengths. It is even quite sharp at maximum zoom if the shutter speed is set at 1/125 seconds or faster. The menus of the two cameras are similar so it is easy to switch between them.
I discover from the internet that it is perfectly okay to keep a finger pressed on the popup flash so it doesn't pop up when you don't want it to. From what I read, this doesn't hurt the flash and it removes an annoying design flaw.
I have tested it extensively against the Sony wx9 on still photos and find the sx 230 hs to be considerably sharper and have more consistent proper exposure.
I find the sx 230 hs access to aperture priority and shutter priority and exposure compensation to be major assets
All in all, I like this camera very much and recommend it for someone looking for a compact digital camera. I am planning to use it as a take everywhere with me camera. I have found that cameras that are even smaller, like the sony wx9 and the canon elph 300 hs are too small to be ergonomically confortable.
Hope this helps with your decision.
146 of 155 found the following review helpful:
Nice camera but somewhat flawedMar 26, 2011
By Mr Todd
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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