Canon Powershot A1200 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (Black)

Like it's Powershot siblings, the Canon A1200 is a heck of a nice piece of equipment for shooting nature close-ups. I've taken this camera out twice now, and so far it has taken wonderful photos. I've posted some samples from a single hike. Although the A1200 can't squeeze in on a subject as closely as the A480 (one of my all-time favorite cameras), this new Canon camera is capable of focusing just an inch and a half away from the subject in "Macro" mode. I usually carry one or two Pentax DLSR cameras as I hike through miles of woodland trails every weekend, and although they're great cameras, they simply can't beat Canon Powershots for capturing the tiniest nature subjects, in my opinion. If a subject is smaller than a quarter, out come the Powershots. This camera takes photos that easily match or beat the quality of images you'll find in typical nature guides by Peterson or Simon & Schuster. Spend a year on the trail with it, and you could easily have a full set of quality publishable photos. Unlike more expensive point-and-shoots or DSLRs, this Powershot doesn't have camera raw or enough pixels to fill a wall, but the image quality and output is suitable for small posters, so who cares? Frankly, counting pixels and foaming over camera raw are not admirable traits, and neither of those things produces good pictures. Image noise seems to be a bit improved since the A480s and A490s came out, especially when shooting in lower light. This camera has 12 versus 10 megapixels of its predecessors, so in theory you can get a larger photo now and still retain sharpness and detail. The controls will be familiar to anyone who has used a Canon point-and-shoot. I like the general layout of buttons compared to other brands, but that may be just because I'm more familiar with Canon. The A1200 has a viewfinder, which I'll never use because the thing is usually shooting photos right on the ground, and although I like the outdoors, I'm not sticking my face in the dirt and squinting through a viewfinder when I don't have to. The LCD screen is good enough. I've banged and tortured the daylights out of one A480 and killed another one after multiple assaults due to clumsiness. So far, this camera has taken a little knocking around without a complaint. The A1200 shoots HD video, which isn't nearly as good as even an inexpensive video camera, but nonetheless I was surprised that the movies looked as good as they did. When shooting video, you'll get the best results if you stabilize the camera on a tripod, the back of a chair, a railing, or tree branch, depending on where you are. Video compression is a little cleaner that way, and you can avoid making people sick from zinging the camera around like a roller coaster. Here are some tips for taking good close-up nature photos with this camera. I usually shoot with the dial in "P" mode. Most importantly, always remember to set the camera on "Macro" (the flower icon button). That allows it to focus as close as 1.5 inches away. Since the camera resets when you turn it off, Arggh!, you have to turn "Macro" on each time you restart it. On this camera, macro focus becomes dysfunctional if you zoom in, so keep it zoomed all the way out. Next, go into the menu and change the general settings. AF Frame should be "Center" so you can pick the point to focus on, AF Frame Size should be "Small" so it doesn't get confused as to where it should focus, and the Digital Zoom is garbage and should be banished forever. Unlike the "Macro" setting, these settings will NOT go away when you turn the camera off, fortunately. Since this is not an image-stabilized camera model, find some way to keep it still when shooting. When you're focused on a close-up subject, even a tiny movement is enough to blur your photo. To keep my camera still, I swear by a monopod with an adjustable pivoting head. Basically it's a one-legged tripod. A monopod can remove the worst of your hand jitters, and it doesn't even need to be extended to the ground -- just having your camera mounted to a stick helps stabilize your shot. Practice photographing coins or small subjects in your yard to get a feeling for macro photography. You'll notice that the area of sharpest focus is not as deep as it is when subjects are father away. You have to make deliberate choices on the point of sharpest focus. Check the photos on a computer if possible, so you can really see how well you're doing. And finally, shoot a million pictures. This is the digital age. You don't have to pay for dud prints any more. Be vicious when culling out the duds, because believe me, nobody wants to see 75 views of the same buttercup flower.

I received this camera and it had the Canon CCD disease. Nice cheap camera, but would have been nice if it had worked. Unfortunately I purchased my camera from newegg.com and it appears I will have to pay to ship it back to them! This will be my last purchase from newegg.com. If you're smart you won't shop at newegg...order from Amazon and sleep well. EDIT: 06/05/12 Ok, I've upped my review from 1-star to 4-star. Newegg came through and handled the situation nicely. Credited me back, picked up the tab for shipping back, apologized, etc.,. I did have to purchase the camera elsewhere as they were out of stock on the silver camera. I got the camera to primarily take pictures of honey bees. I didn't want an expensive camera as I new it would be in some sticky situations. :) The camera has done great and I'm still learning it. It has some features that are good for close-ups. Close-ups are very good, regular shots are good, and HD video is good. With a 12mp resolution you can crop heavily. I can't say it's excellent but it's doggone good for an $80 camera! I'm pleased with it. Two features that are very nice and that most other cameras in this price range don't have is that it actually has an optical viewfinder and that it uses two AA batteries. The viewfinder is *very* helpful in bright situations when the lcd screen washed out. If your batteries go out while on the road you can stop and pick up some regular batteries and keep going. I use four Eneloop rechargeable batteries and they work great and maintain a charge for a long time...actually better than Duracell alkalines! In a pinch, though, I'll stick some alkalines in. ;) Anyhow, it's a good camera at a good price.

This is my second Canon camera and my third point and shoot. What caught my eye with this camera was the price and the megapixels. We took it skiing this past month to Copper Mountain and took bunches of pictures and several movies. Let me digress. My first camera was a Canon S100, a 3 megapixel that took great pictures and I still have it since is it smaller and lighter. The only problem is that the early cameras used NiCad batteries that often lost its charge when you needed it the worse. My second camera was a Nikon. It uses AA batteries. My only issue with the Nikon is that the camera was difficult to use and the picture quality was not good. The Canon A1200, while a little thicker than the Nikon, is by far the better camera in both quality of the picture and the ease of use. Megapixels are not the only selling point for a camera. The quality of the camera is a combination of lens quality, megapixels, the quality of the megapixels and the speed of the lens itself, meaning how well it functions at low light and how well and fast it focuses when your shooting a moving object. The movie capabilities were exceptional. I used it several times taking pictures of my wife skiing down the hill. The camera didn't shake and the colors and pictures were excellent even when I was using it with my gloves on. It is almost HD quality. With the enclosed software or iMovie on your Apple, you can cut, transfer and mail your movies quickly. You download your movie with the enclosed mini-USB to your computer or by using your SD card. You will need to purchase a SD card when you purchase your camera. It also takes AA batteries and they seem to last longer than did the Nikon AA's. Using AA batteries in a point and shoot will make your camera larger but the A1200 will still fit in your pocket. It used to be that Nikon was king of the hill when the world revolved around SLR camera's. Now that point and shoot camera's are the norm, next to cell phone camera's, Canon is by and far the better point and shoot camera out there. As battery technology gets better, the point and shoot will become smaller and better.

The camera is just as described, it is even better than i thought. i went to a trip with it and took picture during the bus ride yet it came out amazing. even my family think this camera is amazing consider how much this camera cost. i'm soo glade i got this camera instead of the other gimmicky camera. This camera worth every buck!

ちょっとした旅行で使いたいと思い購入。 専用バッテリーではなく単三が使えるので非常に便利。 一つ気になるのは電池の蓋のロックが弱そうなのが少し心配。

Ideal little point and shoot camera! Has different settings so that a toddler can use it, or someone who knows camera options to your own personal settings. Haven't used all the functions yet. I love the big screen and also having a viewfinder. Pictures so far are very clear. Great price for great snaps!

コンパクトカメラでファインダーが付いた最後の商品かもしれません。山などの炎天下の屋外で使うので、液晶パネルが見えないことが多いのでファインダー付きを探して購入しました。昔から故障の少ないキャノンさんに期待して購入しました。並行逆輸入品なので修理も出来内容ですが、壊れないことに期待して使っています。

He loves it, especially the video option. Took it on his first trip to Europe He was very pleased with it.