Cameras Review: Canon PowerShot SX150 IS - big and beautiful

Like many small zoom cameras, the Canon SX150 IS faces a tough fight, thanks to the overcrowding in this segment. It seems that many people are interested in getting something more than just a simple point-and-shoot, but at the same time, feel that a bulky prosumer camera or DSLR limits usability.

The SX150 is part of a growing breed that offers a long zoom (12x optically stabilised) lens in a fairly compact shell, with advanced features like manual exposure and manual ISO settings. In many ways, the new SX150 is similar to the SX130 IS - save for some subtle design tweaks and a bump in the CCD resolution - 14 Megapixels instead of 12.

Like the previous SX130 IS, the SX150 is not the most compact camera. It won't fit into a trouser pocket but it will fit in a jacket pocket or purse easily. This is because the lens housing juts out of the body even when the camera is powered off. However, the SX150 makes up for that by giving you solid, metal construction, a large, bright screen and easy-to-use controls.

On top is a large mode dial while most of the other controls are to the right of the screen. Like some other PowerShot models, the flash has to be raised manually if you want it to fire (even in full auto mode) - this is a good thing because you are sure about when the flash will or will not fire, rather than having to check flash settings every time.

Coming to the performance - the camera starts up fast (about a second) and is ready to shoot within another second. Shot-toshot times are good (unless you are using the flash, in which case you have to wait a couple of seconds between each shot).

Unfortunately, the SX150 does not use a large CCD sensor like the Canon S95, so noise does tend to creep in, especially indoors. It's best to turn off the auto ISO setting and manually choose 100 or 200 ISO for best results. The lens offers generally pleasing results throughout the zoom range. A word of advice though - don't expect the image stabilisation system to compensate for camera shake when zoomed in. The camera can also record 720p HD video at 30 frames per second. Video quality is good when shooting outdoors, with minimal judder.

It uses two AA batteries for power - while this does increase the bulk, it does offer some convenience because you can use Ni-MH rechargeable batteries most of the time, but regular alkaline AA batteries also work just fine (albeit with a reduced battery life as compared to high-power Ni-MH). On a set of fully charged Ni-MH batteries, you can expect to take about 300 shots (with mixed use of the flash).
There were some things we didn't like too. Flash recycle times are too slow at times, probably because of the AA batteries.


More information , Welcome refer to: http://www.top-shoppingmall.com/digital-cameras-camcorders-1.htm