Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 3Mb.

The Canon PowerShot SX230 HS produces images of very good quality. It recorded noise-free images at ISO 100, 200 and 400, with some noise and slight colour desaturation at ISO 800. ISO 1600 shows more obvious noise and loss of colour but still remains perfectly usable, and even the fastest setting of ISO 3200 doesn't suffer too badly.

The Canon PowerShot SX230 HS handled chromatic aberrations well, with limited purple fringing effects appearing only in high contrast situations and generally at the edges of the frame. The built-in flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and good overall exposure. The night photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 15 seconds being long enough for most after-dark shots.

Anti-shake works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the zoom range. Macro performance is good, allowing you to focus as close as 5cms away from the subject. The images were a little soft straight out of the Canon PowerShot SX230 HS at the default sharpening setting and ideally require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you can change the in-camera setting.

Noise

There are 6 ISO settings available on the Canon Powershot SX230 HS. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:

ISO 100 (100% Crop)	ISO 200 (100% Crop)
ISO 400 (100% Crop)	ISO 800 (100% Crop)
ISO 1600 (100% Crop)	ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little soft at the default setting ideally and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can also change the in-camera sharpening level to suit your tastes via the My Colors menu option.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

Focal Range

The Canon Powershot SX230 HS' 14x zoom lens provides a versatile focal length of 28-392mm in 35mm terms, as demonstrated below.

28mm	392mm

File Quality

The Canon Powershot SX230 HS has 2 different image quality settings available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

12M Fine (2.76Mb) (100% Crop)	12M Normal (1.24Mb) (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations

The Canon Powershot SX230 HS handled chromatic aberrations excellently during the review, with limited purple fringing present around the edges of objects in certain high-contrast situations, as shown in the example below.

Example 1 (100% Crop)

Macro

The Canon Powershot SX230 HS offers a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 5cms away from the camera when the lens is set to wide-angle. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

Macro Shot	100% Crop

Flash

The flash settings on the Canon Powershot SX230 HS are Auto, Flash On, Slow Synchro, and Flash Off, with Red-eye Correction and Red-Eye Lamp settings available via the Flash Settings main menu option. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (28mm)	Auto Flash - Wide Angle (28mm)
Flash Off - Telephoto (392mm)	Auto Flash - Telephoto (392mm)

And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Flash On setting or the Red-Eye Correction option caused any red-eye.

Flash On	Flash On (100% Crop)
Red-eye Correction	Red-eye Correction (100% Crop)

Night Shot

The Canon Powershot SX230 HS's maximum shutter speed is 15 seconds in the Long Shutter mode, which is good news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 15 seconds at ISO 100. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like. The camera takes the same amount of time again to apply noise reduction, so for example at the 15 second setting the actual exposure takes 30 seconds.

Night Shot	Night Shot (100% Crop)

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Canon PowerShot SX230 HS camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movie & Video

Product Images

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera / Turned On

Isometric View

Isometric View

Isometric View

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera / Turned On

Rear of the Camera / Main Menu

Rear of the Camera / Function Menu

Rear of the Camera / Effects Menu

Top of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Canon PowerShot SX230 HS improves on the previous SX210 model primarily by offering more features at a cheaper price. In particular the addition of full 1080p HD movies makes the new SX230 a more than competent all-in-one camera for both photos and video, while the effective built-in GPS system differentiates it from the slightly cheaper but otherwise identical SX220 HS model. Coming in at a full £60 cheaper than the SX210 on launch, and £30 more than its little brother, the SX230 HS, this model definitely strikes a good balance in terms of price versus performance.

The SX230 HS may be larger than most compacts, but once you've become used to a camera with such a broad focal range that it's possible to frame up subjects near or far in pretty much an instant, it's a real drag to go back to your common-or-garden 3x zoom snapper, the usual 'family friendly' tool of choice. The larger physical size (over, say, a slimline IXUS) also means that children and the elderly should find this offering easier to grip and operate than the latest credit card sized camera alternative. And even with bigger than average dimensions it's still a more portable option than any DSLR or Micro Four Thirds or rival system hybrid for those looking for an able travel companion.

Image quality is slightly improved on the previous SX210, that is to say excellent. The employment of a back-illuminated sensor helps the SX230 to perfrom well in low light, with a usable ISO range of 100-800 and even the higher settings proving adequate for web use and smaller prints. The inclusion of full manual controls makes SX230 HS as well suited to more experienced users looking for a compact alternative to their DSLR as it is the beginner, although as you'd perhaps expect there is no raw format support to sweeten the deal further.

The new Canon PowerShot SX230 HS is a more sensibly priced and better-specced challenger to the market-leading Panasonic TZ-series, going head to head with the TZ20, which it actually betters on paper in quite a few aspects. Judged on its own merits, the Canon PowerShot SX230 HS is an easy recommendation as a travel zoom camera that does it all with the minimum of fuss.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	5
Ease-of-use	4
Image quality	4.5
Value for money	4

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Canon PowerShot SX230 HS from around the web.

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