Canon PowerShot SX230 HS Review

Raising The Bar On Vacation Cameras

by Wayne Rasku

It's not that the Canon PowerShot SX230 HS is just a vacation camera, but there are some features that make this little compact camera great for travel and vacations. First, the new SX230 is the first in the PowerShot lineup to have GPS (Global Positioning System) capability. Add to that some inherited features that you will probably expect in a vacation camera, namely 14x zoom and full HD 1080p video. This all comes in a compact package that will fit in a pocket or purse to avoid the hassle of a case or backpack full of equipment.

Click Here To Go Directly To The Canon PowerShot SX230HS Product Page

Canon's HS System

Also new to the PowerShot SX2300 HS, is the HS in its name. It's a new camera with newly improved technology. So Canon replaced the "IS" in previous versions with "HS" in this one. This is basically upgraded technology in the already excellent CMOS sensor and the DIGIC 4 image processor. The improvement is in how the camera handles low light situations with improved image quality, especially with less noise. In the past, normal high ISO shots would have lots of noise, or graininess, in them. The HS system defines the way these kinds of images are handled in-camera.

More Features In The Canon PowerShot SX230 HS

1. Full Range of Shooting Modes - Manual, Aperture, Shutter Speed, and Program as well as a host of basic modes.
2. High Speed Burst - in addition to the normal 3.2 fps continuous shooting rate, you can choose "high speed" in the camera settings to boost the rate to 8.1 shots per second.
3. Self Timer - the traditional 10-second and 2-second delayed shooting setting is available, but there is also a custom setting that allows you to set a delayed start time and automatically shoot a series on shots on auto-timed delay.
4. Improved Video - former models had HD video at 720p. This one has upped the ante to HD 1080p @24fps. But 720p @ 30fps is still a viable option for twice the recording time and still getting very high quality.
5. When shooting video, the SX230 now has "Dynamic IS" (video image stabilization) to improve video quality.
6. Smart Auto - this is know as intelligent auto in other brands. There are 32 predefined settings to choose from in the Smart Auto menu.
7. New Scene Modes - this PowerShot model has a Toy Camera Effect and Monochrome to enhance your photos. These effects are added to the existing Fish-eye Effect, Miniature Effect, Super Vivid, Poster Effect, Color Accent, and Color Swap.

PowerShot SX230 HS Controls

Controls are fairly intuitive, especially if you are familiar with recent models. There are no surprises in button or settings placement.

The mode dial has moved off the top of the camera to the rear, as well as the on/off button. On top of the camera is just the shutter button with the zoom lever.

The GPS is also located on top of the camera body. It works well to record your location, a handy feature to keep a kind of journal of your shots when you are traveling.

The movie button is not hard to find and use because it is the only button aside from the mode dial and scrool wheel for setttings.

Conspicuously missing are any icons around the scroll wheel to indicate that you can change things like pressing the right side of the wheel to change flash settings. But when you do press the wheel on one of the four sides, the functions that you can change are displayed on the LCD screen. Apparently, Canon knows you will soon get to know these settings through use?

There is also a small green LED that shows when there is camera activity, such as when the GPS is working or the camera is synching with the computer.

Canon PowerShot SX230 HS Specs in a nutshell:

• 12.1 Megapixel CMOS Sensor
• Lens - 14x zoom
• Optical Image Stabilizer - yes
• Focal Length equivalent - 28mm - 392mm
• Largest picture size - 4000 x 3000 pixels
• Video - 1920 x 1080, 1280 720, 640 x 480, 320 x 240
• Movie Format - MOV
• Sensor size - 1/2.3"
• Digital zoom - yes
• Aperture Range - f/3.1 (wide)/ f/5.9 (tele) to f/8.0(max)
• LCD - 3 inch
• Shutter speed - 15sec max, 1/3200sec min
• ISO - 100 - 3200
• Continuous Shooting - 3.2 frames per second
• Flash - Internal flash / auto, red-eye reduction, flash off, slow sync
• External flash - no
• Battery - Lithium-ion rechargeable - record about 210 photos
• Storage - SD/SDHC/SDXC
• Amazon User Rating - 4.1 out of 5 stars

Pros

• Great low-light photos.
• Image quality is what you come to expect from Canon.
• Wide range of features and choices.
• Auto works well for those who don't want to "play" with all of the available settings.

Cons

• The most negative comments have come with regard to the GPS. It seems to work well outside, but it may struggle indoors.
• Every time you turn on the camera, the flash pops up.
• Short battery life. Don't forget to turn off the GPS when not using the camera as it will continue to operate.

Bottom Line:

Is the Canon PowerShot SX230 HS For You?

We are expecting more and more from digital cameras as time goes on. With this in mind, the Canon PowerShot SX230 HS goes a long way toward providing the features needed for many shooting situations. Are there things that could be better? Always. But for a price tag that is less than half what you would pay for a cheap digital SLR camera, you get great image quality and plenty of settings and controls so you can take the photos you might dream about. For an inexpensive vacation/travel camera, it will be hard to beat.

Click Here to go to the Canon PowerShot SX230HS Product Page