I was going to recommend the SX210 IS, but I just read a Canon Ixus 300 HS review and now I’m not sure what to recommend.

He’ll be using the point and shoot both indoors and outdoors. And the tele-zoom from the 210 IS isn’t really necessary for him. So based on the price difference and the seemingly superb low light shots I’m leaning towards the Ixus 300 HS.

If any of you have experience with this new compact Canon camera, please let me know what you think in the comments below. I’m particularly interested in your experience with indoor low light photography (they have another baby on the way, so not having to use flash would be a great plus).

It’s only for US residents (unfortunately for me). Make sure you read the details, looks like you’ll need to fill out some offers before you can go shop crazy.

Canon SX10 Powershot review of specifications:

- Width: 4.9″
- Height: 3.4″
- Weight: 23.4 oz or 663g
- Depth: 3.5″
- LCD Display: 2.5″
- Lens: 20x zoom (28-560mm eq.)
- Resolution: 10 mega pixel
- Shutter: 15-1/3200
- Aperture: 2.8
- ISO: 80-3200

The tele zoom on the Canon SX10 Powershot, which reaches 560mm, is one of the main features that sets this digicam apart from the competition. Along with its light weight, it makes the camera very portable and ideal for both candid snapshots and sporting photography.

Anyone owning an SLR will be enthralled by the ability to shoot video with the SX10. It’s one of the functions I miss most on my D350.

Naturally, you can manually set features like aperture, shutter and exposure. Or you can set them to automatic if you’re just getting started with photography. There’s also a variety of shooting scenes available, to make the most of your pictures depending on the situation.

Navigating through all the features and setting is easy. Use the thumb wheel and/or scroll through the menu on the display screen.

The flash, which can flip out automatically, gives enough extra light for most photography conditions. And it also works with the video function.

Read more about the Canon SX10 Powershot and where to buy it cheap.

Anyone who’s a bit more serious about photography should check out the short video below.

Read a full Canon SX10 Powershot review here.

Ready? Then let’s start. First the Pro, in favor of/in support of:

The number one point in support for the Powershot sd1200 IS will be it’s small size..

A second point in favor can be the high picture quality.

The 3rd supporting point shall be the fact that it’s quite fast for such a small point and shoot camera..

A 4th support point in favor will be the optical viewfinder. This will save your batteries and you can still use the camera should the display not work..

And last (but not necessarily least) we have the 5th point in support of the Powershot SD1200 IS. Namely, the ease of use. No need to read the entire manual before you can start taking great pictures..

And on the other hand, to help keep this balanced, there’s Con; Against:

Firstly, the point against will be it’s problems with low light conditions..

The 2nd point against will be the fact that some of the cameras seem to take more blurry pictures than other cameras..

The third point in contra is going to be it’s build. It feels a bit cheap compared to other Powershot cameras..

4th point in contra will be You will need to test different settings and read the manual if you want to be able to take good pictures in bad lighting situations..

And 5th and last, but not necessarily the least, consideration against is choosing the color you like. Choosing between black and black is easy, but the Powershot SD1200 IS comes in several fun colors, making your decision a lot harder..

Now both sides have been heard from and the Pros and Cons are stacked up, in favor and against.

So, within a final analysis is the powershot sd1200 IS a good camera or a bad camera?

Both questions appear to have a “yes” answer! The Powershot sd1200 IS is a mix of of good and bad… You , the reader will have to determine which side, the good or the bad, outweighs the other…

Read the full Powershot SD1200 IS review here.

Does that mean you’ll need to get rid of your trustworthy Canon Powershot SD1200 IS if you want to get wet? Absolutely not!

There are plenty of Canon Powershot SD1200 accessories that can help you investigate the deep blue sea.

Depending on how serious you are about swimming/diving, you have two options; a flexible case or a hard plastic case.

Less Than 16ft/5m Deep
For snorkling and swimming pool fun the flexible Canon Powershot SD1200 IS waterproof case will do the trick. The case looks a bit like a Ziploc bag, but don’t let that fool you.

It has a special UV coated polycarbonate lens to ensure your pictures are extra clear.

The waterproof case floats, so you won’t have to keep a death grip on your camera out of fear that it’ll end up at the bottom of the ocean.

More Than 16ft/5m Deep

Underwater mode and built-in flash

You can even add an external water-resistant power pack.

Not only is the difference in price significant, there’s a size difference as well. You’ll want to take this into consideration as well as the Canon WP-DC29 waterproof case will take up quite a bit of space in your luggage.

Read more Powershot SD 1200 waterproof case reviews here.

It’s important to realize that just about any point and shoot camera will take blurry pictures from time to time. Heck I even manage to get blurry pictures with my Canon D350 when I’m not paying enough attention to what I’m doing.

There are a few things you can try to improve the crispness of your pictures though.

First of all, stop zooming in all the time. Most pictures that end up out of focus are taken when zoomed in all the way. If you can, get closer to the subject. In most cases where you use a point and shoot camera that won’t be a problem.

Secondly, use a tripod. For most people it’s hard to keep a camera absolutely still. And the image stabilizer can only do so much. Using a tripod like the Joby GP1-D1EN Gorillapod Flexible Tripod or anything else to steady the camera will greatly improve the crispness of your pictures. Especially when using the zoom feature.

And third, try different settings. Low light conditions will benefit from higher ISO. And using the flash will “freeze” the subject. If you don’t like the way your pictures turn out with flash, you can adjust them on your computer to make the colors look more natural.

These are just a few quick and easy tips to get the most out of your Powershot SD1200.

Read more about it here.

Here it goes:
“Overall, I think this is a great compact camera and is invaluable for the spontaneous people shots that capture those special moments in life. It won’t take pictures worthy of National Geographic (meaning it won’t replace a dSLR), but it fills in well when a large camera is just too much equipment to be carrying around. “

In other words, it does exactly what Canon wanted it to do. And if you happen to stumble across bigfoot on one of your vacations, even a snapshot taken with a click and shoot camera like the sd1200 will end up on the cover of National Geographic

“Mostly, the camera suffers from its diminutive size. It doesn’t offer much in terms of artistic controls, but does a very good job of making those decisions most of the time. This makes it ideal for the weekend snapshot photographer who wants to take good photos without much more than hitting a shutter button! Great all purpose camera, everyday camera.”

You really can’t expect such a small and inexpensive camera to have more controls. However, if you would go to the trouble of reading the full manual that’s on the cd, you’ll discover this little digicam has more features than most users realize. For example, when you set it to program mode, you can adjust the exposure and ISO values. I also found that the quality of my photos got even better once I started using p mode with -1/3 exp and 1 click up on the contrast and saturation under custom colors.

Play with the settings at home, so you know which ones to use when you go on a holiday or to a once in a lifetime party.

Read more Powershot SD1200 reviews at Amazon.

Anyway, I found another good Powershot SD1200 review video. It’s a lot longer than the short SD1200 IS first look video they did on cnet. Just under 9 minutes long, it gives you more details. And you get to see the menus, which is always fun to see before buying a digital camera online for example.

Let me know what you think in the comments:

Pretty user friendly huh? Sometimes I think it’s a shame they don’t put the full manual in the box. Then again, 90% of the people who buy this camera would never read it anyway, so I guess from an ecological point of view it’s better not to have it in print. That’s one extra tree we can photograph with our SD1200

Click here for the best online deals.

I mean, do those manufacturers really think people like Carrie from Sex and the City would want to be seen with a dull black camera that clashes with their outfit? Of course not, she would prefer a pink digital camera for example. Or a lime green one. Or perhaps even a blue one…

Looks like some of those manufacturers have listened to us. Or maybe they’re simply following in the footsteps of Apple and their immensely popular iPod (which is available in lots of fun colors).

Hey, maybe you could get the same color camera as your iPod

Panasonic, Samsung, Sony and Canon have all come up with their own version of a pink digital camera. Most types of digital cameras that are available in pink are also available in other fun colors like lime green, blue or even bright red (how’s that for a fashion statement?).

Obviously each pink digital camera will have a few different features. But the pink color itself also varies from one type to the next.

Here’s an example of what Sony thinks a pink digital camera should look like:

If you prefer hot pink, the Canon SD1200 IS will be right up your alley:

As you may have noticed in my previous posts, I’m biased towards the Canon Powershot SD1200 IS. And I’m not the only one. You can find out exactly what other fashionista’s think of this digicam by clicking here.