Recently, Canon Cameras introduced a new series of digital compact cameras, including the 12.1 megapixel 
Canon PowerShot SX230 HS. Despite the new PowerShot SX230 HS`s compact format, the camera features a very powerful 14x optical zoom with a 28mm wide-angle lens. Because of Canon`s HS System, quality pictures are possible under just about any all shooting circumstance. By combining the 12 Megapixel CMOS sensor with the built-in image processor, there is less noise and a greater dynamic range. The result are impressive – clear, natural colors, even in lower than average light situations. The Canon PowerShot SX230 HS is easy to take along in your pocket because it is quite thin.
The white balance of any digital camera controls the final color quality of the photo. All colors of light give off a color temperature. The camera analyzes and internally adjusts itself so that the colors in the frame are captured in the final photograph. Without proper white balance, the color in any photo may contain an too much blue, green or orange hues.
The PowerShot SX230 HS supports GPS technology. This means that it can tag the location of your photographs automatically. The camera also has the HS System, a 14x Wide-Angle Zoom lens, 12.1 Megapixel sensor, and 1080p HD video recording. This is all available at a very affordable price.
As mentioned, the SX230 has a DIGIC 4 image processor that provides improved shooting in low light situations. The lens it supports is a 28mm Wide Angle lens. One of the best features of this lens is that it gives you exceptional quality of video capture and keeps your video shot stabilized with the Dynamic IS. As an added bonus, the camera has 32 predefined shooting scenarios available.
Canon Powershot Automation
The PowerShot SX230 camera takes the quality of your still photos and videos to a new level, all automatically. The camera has an advanced Smart AUTO system which analyzes many important factors about the scene you are shooting. It then automatically selects the best settings for you. The camera has an expanded range of 32 shooting scenarios. It also handles a wide variety of situations, which free’s you up to concentrate on composing your shot and capturing the exact scene and moment you want. Whether it is portraits, landscapes or action scenes, the PowerShot SX230 HS can get the job done for both stills and videos.
The Powershot 230 is available in black, red and blue. Overall, this camera is a very capable camera with a focal length that zooms from a 28mm equivalent lens, way past 500mm, an integrated GPS, the software to make you a better photographer, and a 3 inch LCD screen for easy viewing of your photos, scrolling through the menus, or finding out where you are on a map. It is good enough, small enough and cheap enough to become a nice addition to you cell phone camera. Shop around to get the best price. Yo might want to start with Amazon.
Now, a couple valuable tips on storage. Be sure to store the camera’s battery correctly. Don’t leave the camera or your batteries in a hot car or in humid conditions. The ideal place to store the camera and batteries is a cool, dry place. Actually, the refrigerator is good place if you place in a packet of silica gel with the camera in a sealed bag to keep everything dry. Of course, it is always a good idea to fully charge your NiCad, Lin-ion or Ni-MH batteries before use if they have been in storage for a period of time.
The video quality of this camera is very good – above average for this price range. While it does shoot in full HD, one downside is that is only shoots at 24 frames per second. That is less than ideal for fast action. You will notice some shudder, which is typical of video shot from smaller compact cameras. This also applies to quickly panning, or zooming in and out, with the camera. Other than that, the final quality of the video is impressive, even with lower resolutions. Regarding the zoom lens, it does function when you are recording video, but in quiet scenes you’ll hear the movement of the lens in and out. The camera does have stereo microphones on the front, but you have to be careful how you hold the camera to avoid covering the left microphone.
The Canon PowerShot shows you a lot of information on its 3 inch display in shooting mode. The camera’s large screen makes the preview photos area smaller than the 3 inch LCD. The camera will fill up the entire screen if you are recording wide screen photos of videos. On the screen, there is a battery strength indicator, zoom indicator, and framing gridlines.
The SX230 has good performance in terms of speed and shooting capability. While it is not the fastest zoom camera around, it does have one of the fastest startup speeds. Its quick shot-to-shot, burst mode plus auto-focus performance are definitely above average.
The SX230 has pretty much a typical PowerShot menu system widened up enough to fit the 3 inch screen. The menu system is similar to other Canon camera models with options for manual focus plus continuous AF. Everything is understandable and clear on the menu. It has an intuitive scrolling line at the bottom of the screen that gives you a description of each menu item function.
The PowerShot SX230 camera features a quite capable playback mode with several options. These include the basics like image rotation, resizing and cropping, 10X playback zoom, a slide-show playback and tagging photos as favorites for later printing. The camera automatically groups pictures that are taken in a single session together.
As of this writing, the Canon PowerShot SX230 is the only travel-zoom camera to have a widescreen display. This 3 inch wide LCD has a resolution of 461K dots. This makes its photos very sharp. It is also a well rounded camera in terms of brightness both indoors and out. The 3 inch widescreen has it good points and bad points, depending on what your main use will be for the camera. Motion video will fill up the screen nicely, however composing still photos will leave a blank area on each side of the preview. This makes the effective viewing area quite a bit smaller than the full 3 inches of the LCD screen.
This camera is a good travel-zoom camera that has a strong feature set. However, it does also have a few quirks. You should certainly definitely suggest check out and compare its pro’s and con’s against other cameras in its class before you make a final decision.