Deciding Whether A Canon Powershot SLR Is Right For You

So, you’re thinking about purchasing a Canon SLR digital camera. There are a few things you can do to help make sure you choose the right camera model for you and also to make sure that your pictures look great every time. Digital cameras typically save images in a number of file formats including JPEG, TIFF and RAW. The major camera manufacturers each have a proprietary RAW format used in their digital cameras. The Canon PowerShot cameras let you point and shoot, or take your pick from a range of pre-set shooting options. Canon cameras are available in many models starting from compact ultras to full size digital SLR’s.

One of the features of the Powershot 230 is the ability to download images to your computer directly from the camera. This makes it extremely convenient for processing and sharing your photos and videos. Two methods exist for retrieving the images. You can use the camera along with the software that is included with it, or you can use the built-in memory card reader. Some of the newly released digital compact cameras from Canon feature Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) technology. These Wi-Fi cameras, including the Powershot SX230, offer users a variety of ways to connect and share pictures or videos with other electronic devices. This feature also allows you to share your photos on Internet social sharing sites like Facebook, Flickr, Snapfish and many more.

Many still photography cameras also have the capability to record video. This video can be saved in a variety of popular industry standard formats. Because video files tend to be large, digital cameras with video capability, like the Powershot SX230, use a slightly lower resolution, smaller frame size and more advanced video compression than full sized, dedicated camcorders. The Canon Powershot line of camera models record video as either MPG4, MOV, or AVI files, all easily transferable industry standards.

One nice advantage of the new Canon SLR cameras is that they can give you advance warning when something may be going wrong with the camera or with the shot you are about to take. With the old film-based SLRs, you had to wait until your film was developed to see if the camera was functioning properly – that’s a little late by today’s standards. Canon and other digital SLR’s will quickly give you information about any problems including details of the problem and suggestions for how to correct them. One of the ways that the Powershot SX230 does this is to display a “busy” message. If you see this message for an extended period of time, it will almost always indicate that there is a problem with the camera. Usually, it will eventually give you details on the specific problem(s) and corrective actions you should take. If it doesn’t, simply power the camera off then back on again.

One thing to be aware of with the Canon 230 is the issue of “lens flare”. Lens flare occurs when light enters directly into the camera lens. It then reflects off interior walls of the lens which in turn creates bright light effects. Sometimes these effects can add to the composition of the photograph. Other times they detract from your intended image. To counteract lens flare you can use what is known as a lens hood. This accessory attaches to the end of the lens and basically acts like a shade awning. It shades the lens, preventing lens flares from even being an issue. The SX230′s zoom lens is controlled by a circular object on the shutter release button. When the lens is not being used, it will retract into the camera lens casing. Sometimes, dirt or debris can get stuck in the telescoping components of the zoom lens. If there is enough debris stuck in there, it may prevent the lens from retracting properly. Simple cleaning of the lens retracting mechanism can prevent this from happening.

Most digital SLR cameras and some point-and-shoot cameras come equipped with a bracketing feature that allows you to take a photograph with several different exposure settings. The camera will rapidly expose a number of frames automatically adjusting either the shutter speed or aperture to achieve different levels of brightness. If you are working with a complex scene, the bracketing feature of your Powershot SX230 gives you a sort of “insurance policy” that you will get at least one shot that is properly exposed. If you want to get really fancy with your composition, you could layer several in a series of these bracketed images and use the best exposed areas of each one to construct your finished photograph.

Digital SLR cameras have become a top choice for both professional and amateur photographers. The Canon Powershot SX230 falls more in the amateur category. But don’t mistake this for low quality. This camera performs at the level of higher priced cameras in a variety of categories including image quality and motion video quality. The optical quality of most SLR cameras is greater than the simpler point-and-shoot cameras. When selecting your SLR, consider budget and you main photographic interest. If you are an amateur or even an advanced amateur, you will be hard pressed to find a better choice the Canon Powershot SX230.

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.