Choosing a super-zoom camera (part 6)
Canon PowerShot SX230 HS
5 stars
$331 including VAT
www.currys.co.uk
Canon is in an auspicious year with PowerShot and IXUS
cameras, most of which use the 12MP illuminated sensor, reappearing in the
SX230 HS and help it provides the best picture we've seen from pocket super zoom
digital cameras. Low noise level, with illuminated clear photographs similar to
SLR’s photos. Low light shots light on details but smoother and clearer than
opponents.
Len do well it’s own job, with the sharp focus on the
corner of the image throughout the zoom range of 14x. There is little chromatic
aberration phenomenon around high contrast lines, but not enough to ruin the
focus in other areas of the image. 28-392mm focal range (equivalent) not as
versatile as many of its rivals, but the focus is excellent and low noise
mean that SX230 HS that is strong enough to resolve details of the far
away subjects like Nikon 18x and S9100 Olympus SZ-30MR 24x.
There is a full complement of manual exposure modes as
well as priority modes and manual focus. Excellent performance, with the
navigation pad wheels get more roles to adjust settings quickly. Standard image
capture time is a bit slow (2.2 seconds), but 0.9fps continuous mode with
update autofocus will appeal to anyone who enjoys continuous shooting. Continuous
shooting with 2.1fps fixed focus lasts until the memory card is full.
Large proportion of image correlation of the 3 inches
wide screen has unique advantages for video recording. The video quality is
excellent, with sharp 1080p images, fresh stereo sound and smooth
autofocus. Zoom and focus motor were recorded by the microphone but only
in quiet scenes. The maximum clip length of 16 minutes is disappointing, but we
can live with it.
There are GPS radio to paste geotag images so you can
identify them on the map in Google Picasa and many other photo management
programs. This may not attractive, SX220 HS £ 178 price at Amazon with the lack
of this feature. However, both are excellent value.
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Summary
Identify.
Excellent image quality and comprehensive controls, quite fast enough to
offset modest zoom range.
Super zoom digital camera.
12MP (4.000x3.000), 14x optical zoom (28-392mm), 3 inch LCD (461,000 pixels),
SDXC slot (not supplied), Li-ion battery, 62x106x32mm, 223g, one-year RTB
warranty .
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Nikon Coolpix S8200
2 stars
$426 including VAT
www.dabs.com
The S8200 releasing amazed us, because Nikon has had an
outstanding pocket super-zoom camera with S9100 elite. 16MP sensor of this
model might be considered as upgrade from the S9100 12MP sensor, but the
opposite was true - higher resolution bring along much more noise rather than
details. S8200 also has a shorter range to 14x. S8200 currently is the most
expensive but Nikon both confirmed that it is only because of its newness;
Nikon considers S9100 is better camera.
Both cameras have a 3 inches screen, 921,000 pixels,
excellent 1080p video recording and many slow motion video modes to help
balance the frame rate with resolution rate. Both have a dedicated mode on the
dial for continuous shooting at 10fps speed, though only 5 images. But while
the S9100 can also capture 12 images at a rate of 1.7fps, this option is absent
on the S8200.
That is not the only aspect that S8200 be outdone by his
brother. S9100 is a little faster when opening and capture, and capture images
appear on the screen much faster. They both focus rapidly in the high bright
and successful when taking pictures every 1.5 seconds, but S8200 significantly
slower when focusing in low light.
Our image quality test revealed the common pitfalls of
too high-resolution sensors. The photos taken in the clear light look beautiful
with a glance, but when look insightfully, they reveal the shadow noise and
noise reduction has reduced exquisite light compositions. These issues are not
statistically significant, but they became worse when setting low light or long
zoom remote requiring faster ISO speed. At ISO 1600, the noise level is worse
than the S9100, and much worse than the Canon SX230 HS. 14x zoom lens provides
sharper focus than the S9100's 18x zoom lens, especially in remote snapshot,
but the SX230 HS 14x lens is equally sharp.
It's too expensive when we implement this article, and
whether the price has dropped to nearly £ 200 mark, S8200 still can’t be
comparable to the excellent quality of the Nikon or Canon PowerShot SX230 HS
S9100.
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Summary
Identify.
Coolpix S8200 has some impressive features but there is no reason why it's
more expensive Nikon S9100.
Super zoom digital camera.
15.9MP (4.608x3.456), 14x optical zoom (25-350mm), 3 inch LCD (921,000
pixels), SDXC slots (93MB internal), Li-ion battery, 61x104x33mm, 213g, 2
year RTB warranty .
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