Canon PowerShot SD1200IS 10 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Dark Gray)

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.5 x 0.9 x 2.2 inches ; 4.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001SER492
• Item model number: SD1200IS Dark Gray
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (252 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #15 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)

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  Camera & Photo > Point & Shoot Digital Cameras

• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 17, 2009

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

When a camera puts a smile on your face the moment you hold it, imagine how great you’ll feel when you see your first pictures! The PowerShot SD1200 IS Digital ELPH has everything going for it--exuberant color, the sculptured style of Canon’s famed ELPH series--and the innovative know-how that takes you to a whole new level of picture-taking accomplishment. Fun, smart and a style that follows you everywhere.

PowerShot SD1200 IS Highlights

10.0-megapixel resolution makes it a breeze to print large size images
With the PowerShot SD1200 IS Digital ELPH, dramatic, personal pictures have never been easier to shoot and share. This 10.0-megapixel camera lets you create impressive, large photos of family and friends you’ll be proud display. The high-resolution images taken by the SD1200 IS Digital ELPH can be enlarged up to 13 x 19 inches.

The PowerShot SD1200 IS Digital ELPH is equipped with Canon’s acclaimed Optical Image Stabilizer Technology that automatically detects and corrects camera shake--one of the leading causes of fuzzy or blurred shots. Even when zoomed in, you can get the steady, crisp, brilliant images you’ll be proud to shoot and share. And Canon’s Optical Image Stabilizer Technology is so convenient to use. It functions perfectly with or without a flash.

Large, crisp 2.5-inch PureColor LCD II and wide viewing angle
The PowerShot SD1200 IS Digital ELPH gives you a large 2.5-inch LCD screen for excellent control when framing your shots. Canon’s PureColor LCD II offers spectacular color, resolution and contrast even when viewed at an angle. The screen is highly durable and easy to see in any light with a scratch-resistant, anti-reflective coating. It also features Night Display for easy viewing in low light--a perfect feature for gathering friends and family around to see your images.

Smart AUTO intelligently selects the proper settings
Just set the Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS Digital ELPH to Smart AUTO and you’re ready for maximum enjoyment from your picture taking every time. It’s a relaxing and satisfying way to shoot because you can completely concentrate on your subject knowing that the camera has the technical details covered. Advanced Canon technology intelligently analyzes your situation and shooting conditions. Then it automatically selects an appropriate setting from 18 specially defined settings. So whether you’re photographing flowers, a captivating sunset, or your friends at the park, you can be confident that you’re getting dramatic, memorable images.

Shooting Modes
Advanced presets for the best possible photos under certain conditions. With 17 Shooting Modes, you’re ready for whatever shot comes your way.

A World of Advantages with Canon’s Technology

The DIGIC 4 Image Processor has evolved Face Detection Technology that tracks the faces of moving subjects and lets the shooter enter the frame seamlessly with the Face Detection Self-Timer.

DIGIC 4 Image Processor
Canon’s most advanced image processor, DIGIC 4, delivers evolved Face Detection Technology that keeps every face in every photo looking its very best. The technology finds and tracks the faces of moving subjects until you’re ready to shoot, then delivers perfect focus. In addition, exposure, flash and white balance are compensated, so that faces exhibit natural skin tones and backgrounds are properly exposed.

iSAPS Technology is an entirely original scene-recognition technology developed for digital cameras by Canon. Using an internal database of thousands of different photos, iSAPS works with the advanced DIGIC 4 Image Processor to improve focus speed and accuracy, as well as exposure and white balance.

A Face Detection Self-Timer automatically detects an increase in the number of faces and makes the appropriate adjustments. For instance, to include the photographer’s face in a group shot, there’s no need to rush in. Just put the camera on a stand or tripod, specify Face Detection Self-Timer, and the camera will wait for the photographer’s face to get on-camera before it takes the shot. Motion Detection tracks moving subjects in a much larger range--allowing you to wait for the perfect shot without refocusing.

Intelligent Contrast Correction
DIGIC 4 also makes possible the i-Contrast (Intelligent Contrast Correction) system, which controls the compensation level in pixel units to brighten dark areas while leaving bright areas unchanged for better images where the main subject is dark, and more natural transition. The PowerShot SD1200 IS Digital ELPH can even use i-Contrast in playback mode to adjust images that were shot without the setting activated.

Red-eye Correction provides three options for removing red-eye from subjects in flash pictures. 1) Red-eye Correction during shooting actually identifies and corrects red-eye in human subjects as pictures are taken. 2) The PowerShot SD1200 IS Digital ELPH can be set to automatically detect and correct red-eye during image playback. 3) You can manually locate any red eyes in a scene during image playback on the LCD screen, and command the camera to remove them.

Life doesn’t give you second chances to capture special times. That’s why the PowerShot SD1200 IS Digital ELPH features an ISO 1600 setting that reduces the effects of camera shake and sharpens subjects in low-light situations, giving you greater shooting flexibility. ISO can be expanded to 3200 when you select ISO 3200 Special Scene mode.

What's in the Box

• PowerShot SD1200 IS Digital ELPH body
• Lithium-ion battery pack (NB-6L)
• Battery charger (CB-2LY)
• Wrist strap (WS-DC7)
• Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM
• USB interface cable (IFC-400PCU)
• AV cable (AVC-DC400)

Product Description

When a camera puts a smile on your face the moment you hold it, imagine how great you'll feel when you see your first pictures! The PowerShot SD1200 IS Digital ELPH has everything going for it - exuberant color, the sculptured style of Canon's famed ELPH series - and the innovative know - how that takes you to a whole new level of picture-taking accomplishment. Fun, smart and a style follow you everywhere.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

888 of 904 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great little cam, some improvements from earlier powershots, some quirks, April 22, 2009

By	Omar Siddique (Ellicott City, MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

The SD1200 has some big changes over its predecessor SD1100, and is the smallest, best designed Elph I've used thus far.

I've owned many models of Elph, this is my 6th or 7th, so my review is aimed especially at other serial Canon owners. I mostly compare the SD1200 to the SD1100.

* The big changes: Digic4 and a larger CCD sensor. The slight increase in CCD size (1/2.3" vs 1/2.5") should make for "cleaner" photos. And Digic4 promises faster/cleaner shots also.

* You get 10MP vs 8MP on the SD1100, and "medium" (M1) size is now 6MP. JPG quality is down to 2 setting: Fine or Normal.

* SD1200 is only slightly smaller than the SD1100, but feels notably smaller by virtue of curved edges and the LCD being flush with the body (no bump-out).

* The 1200 now feels as small as this design can shrink. Good news: my average-sized male hands can still comfortably hold it, barely not covering lens, flash, or resting on the LCD. But the round power-button is now almost too small to press if you had big fingers and no fingernails.

* 1200's new battery is a higher capacity 1000mAh (vs ~760mAh for SD1100). There's also a new charger (not compatible with the old batteries), a glossy white-colored model to blend into your wall.

* The buttons and menus are streamlined. There's now a button for review mode, pressing it a 2nd time takes you back to the previous state. Handy. The slider has dedicated AUTO and Manual settings, no longer need to use menus for that switch.

* Continuous mode and ISO now are in the Function Menu (on the SD1100, they had dedicated buttons).

* A SD card is no longer included. This makes sense to me, a 32MB card is barely useful, and with the downward pressure on electronics prices, I can't imagine Canon wanting to bundle a more expensive/bigger card. Some people will find this lack annoying.

* The A/V output is gone, and the USB connector now serves both purposes (both kinds of included cables now have a USB-end)

* A new version of Canon software is required for this model, Zoombrowser 6.3. Canon typically requires a new release for each new family/season of cameras. Unfortunately, the CameraWindow software has been intentionally dumbed-down in the 6.x software and no longer offers the options to delete your photos (have to go through the OS), nor to chose custom naming for the downloads. I say intentionally, since I asked Canon customer-support about it and they stated the changes were not bugs. The last Canon software to still have that functionality was 5.x, corresponding to the SD1000 and other cameras released that season.

* In casual indoor tests, the 1200 seemed more ready to go to ISO400 (often too "noisy" to be useful) when the SD1100 would have chosen ISO200.

* The SD1200 and SD1100 have identical specs on their optics. However, I noticed a more pronounced barrel-distortion on the 1200 at extreme wide-angle. (still only noticable in close-up shots of straight-edged items at wide-angle)

* In a casual speed test, the SD1200 took/stored photos notably faster the SD1100 (same scene, continuous-mode, same brand SD card), despite the 1200's image size being larger.

* Canon's paper manuals have been shrinking steadily. With this model, the only manual included is a quick-start guide, the rest is on CD-ROM.

* The packaging is even more efficient than before, about half the size of the SD1100's box.

* Sadly, there is no HD video mode, although all of the other Elphs released this spring had HD. SD1200 owners are stuck with 640x480 video.

Canon has several sub-series within the compact Elph line, varying mostly by asthetics and optics. The SD1200 is successor to the series that included the SD1100, SD1000, and SD600. These all favor a classic, slim design. If you're unfamiliar with Canon's Powershot cameras, there's lots of good material out there on camera sites such as dpreview.

In general, the small sensors and optics in all ultra-compact digital cameras lead to some optical quirks (such as barrelling), chromatic aberrations, over/under-exposure in bright sunlight/shade, and underpowered flashes. That's intrinsic to the size of camera, and vendors try to correct these effects in their on-board processing. My opinion is that Canon does a good job of correcting for these issues and the Elphs including the SD1200 take very good photos for their size.

It's questionable that a SD1100 owner would specifically find this a compelling upgrade other than the Digic4, but this is an excellent compact camera in all ways. Apart from the noteworthy quirks: the lack of HD and the limited features in the download software, this camera is Highly Recommended.

316 of 338 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars As compared to the SD110, May 17, 2009

By	Sidney G. Mcdaniel (Brandon, MS) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought the SD110 (3.2MP) back in 2004 and decided it was time to upgrade this year as it was showing some age. The latest version of that same line is the SD1200. I have had it for a few weeks now and have a few observations. The SD1200 is much faster from the time you turn it on until it is ready to shoot as compared to the SD110. Next, the screen is far better than the one on the SD110. Very bright and readable even in sunlight. The camera itself is smaller than the SD110 as you might expect but does feel a little cheaper. So far I have taken the SD1200 to three main events. A birthday party, K-4 graduation, backyard play time. The birthday part pictures did not turn out well in automatic mode. We were indoors (Pump-it-up) and the lighting was probably not the best. The images were blurry for the most part. I had the same issue at the second event (K-4 graduation) but this time I switched to manual mode and used the "indoor" setting. This greatly improved the picture. Finally, the outdoor shots turned out looking wonderful in automatic mode. With the SD110 the automatic mode was always better than any of the manual settings. It seems with the SD1200 that is not the case. I will continue to explore the settings/features of the camera. I was expecting the SD1200 to be far superior to my 5 year old SD110 but so far the pictures themselves have not turned out markedly better.

85 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Professional photographers review, July 13, 2009

By	S. Craig "Workout-aholic" (Bellevue, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm a professional photographer. I got tired of dragging my D3,D200 or other large cameras around, and worrying about it getting damaged. I decided to buy a camera just for fun that could fit in my purse and I wouldn't have a heart attack if it broke. Well I didn't hold that high of expectations of the camera, but after getting it, I've had a lot of fun with it. Not the most amazing pictures come from it (I am used to very high quality pictures), but they are good enough shots of my family. It's easy to use, really easy to set, FAST, and good low light. You don't always need the flash. It's very small, and can fit easily in my purse (that are all quiet small purses actually). This is a perfect camera if you just want some fun shots that are clear, and you want an easy to use fast camera. This is NOT good for "professional" type shots (why do people write reviews of these cameras and get all down on them for not being professional grade cameras? They never claim to be!).