Canon PowerShot S200 - Back To Basics (Part 2)

Ergonomics

We received a glossy white unit of the S200, which has a slippery grip compared to the matte black S110 we reviewed last year, which offers a firm grip. Canon has provided a plastic thumb rest on the back panel, which provides some grip. The interface and menu are intuitive and so are the buttons. The control ring provides an easy way to change the parameter assigned to it. The LCD is fixed flat on the back panel, but the thumb rest and the protruding four-way control unit provides some protection to the screen. The display quality seemed quite ordinary.

Explore manual options for your own expression using
the controller wheel, control ring and Live View control

Performance

The Canon S200 performed well in our tests. Autofocus was fast and precise even under low light. Images were sharp out of the box. All metering modes performed as expected. The lens produced slight barrel distortion up to 100mm equivalent focal length.

Auto White Balance performed very well with the camera reproducing cast-free images under most lighting conditions. The slight casts produced under a few artificial light sources could be removed easily in post-processing. The camera produced images of native size 9.12 x 12.16 inches at 300 ppi.

With a wide-angle 28mm lens and 12x zoom, the compact PowerShot SX200 IS
captures landscapes or distant subjects in stunning detail

At 25 percent of the screen size, images were noise-free up to ISO 1600. ISO 3200 appeared soft due to noise-reduction, while ISO 6400 was noisy. But all images were usable in a crunch. At 50 percent enlargement, images remained usable up to ISO 3200, though we observed mild noise at ISO 1600. Viewed at 100 percent, we found slight noise at ISO 800, but not so much to be of concern. In fact, the images were still usable up to ISO 1600.

The S200 produced prominent flare along with purple fringing in strong against-the-light images at the wide-angle end, with wide-open aperture. We also observed prominent darkening at the corners of a uniformly illuminated surface at the above setting.

Eastern Cape Scuba Diving taken by Canon Powershot S200

Value for Money

The Canon PowerShot S200 retails at an MRP of $334. We wish the price was a couple of thousands less considering that the premium S110 retails at $300.

Specifications: ·         Effective Pixels: Approx 10.1 Million pixels ·         Imaging Processor: DIGIC 5 ·         Sensor size: 1/1.7 inch (7.60 x 5.70mm) ·         Lens Focal Length: 24 – 120 mm (35mm fi lm equivalent) ·         Focusing Range: Normal: 3cm – infinity (W), 30cm – infinity (T) Macro: 3 –  50cm (1.2in. – 1.6ft. (W) 30- 50cm (12in. – 1.6ft. (T) ·         Image Stabilization: Lens-shift type System (IS) ·         Display: 3.0-inch type, Approx. 461,000-dot TFT ·         Aspect Ratio: 4:3 ·         Focus Control system: Continuous AF, Servo AF, Manual ·         AF frame: Face AiAF, Tracking AF, Centre, FlexiZone ·         Metering System: Evaluative, Centre-weighted average, Spot ·         ISO Sensitivity: Auto, ISO 80 – 6400 ·         Shutter Speed: 15 – 1/2000sec. ·         Aperture Type: Iris ·         Maximum Aperture: f/1.8 (W) to f/5.7 (T) ·         Flash Modes: Auto, On, Slow Synchro, Off ·         Flash Range: 50cm – 7.0m (W), 50cm – 2.3m (T) ·         Shooting Modes: M, Av, TV, P, AUTO, Live View Control, SCN, Creative Filters ·         Scene Modes: Portrait, Smooth Skin, Smart Shutter, High-speed Burst, Snow, Fireworks, Stitch Assist ·         Creative Filters: Fish-eye Effect, Miniature Effect, Toy ·         Camera Effect, Soft: Focus, Monochrome, Super Vivid, Poster Effect, Colour Accent, Colour Swap ·         Smart Shutter: Smile, Wink Self-timer, Face Self-timer ·         Continuous shooting: Approx. 1.9 shots/sec. (In P mode) Approx 4.5 shots/sec. (in High-Speed Burst mode) ·         Max. Recording Pixels: Still Images: 3648 x 2736 Movies: 1280 x 720 (24fps) Max. Movie Recoding Time Approx. 50mins ·         Other Functions: WiFi, Eco Mode ·         Power Source: Battery Pack NB-6LH ·         Dimensions: 99.8 x 59.0 x 26.3mm ·         Weight: Approx. 181g including battery and memory card