Show us your best with an SX220/230

Thanks some good pictures here, im really tempted with this over the s95 !

Thanks.

I haven't used the S95 but from what I've seen it's a better camera picture-quality wise, but a) it doesn't have anything like the reach, and b) it's a little more expensive (over here in the UK, anyway). My opinion is that if picture quality is what you're after then the S95 probably ranks amongst the best, but if, like me, you feel that 'subject is king' then the SX220 is probably the best travel zoom compact around, for the moment at least.

Yes, it is definitely an interesting travel camera. I was wondering whether your candle shot above was taken hand held? I see your EXIF on Flickr was ISO 1000, f/5.6, and 1/20 sec. If you used a tripod, monopod, or something to sit the camera on, could you have set it up manually to use base ISO, longer shutter, and maybe f/4.0 or f/4.5?

The ISO 1000 has to definitely soften the result, and you can't fall back to RAW for PP.

Dennis

It was hand held, and fully zoomed, too. I was in Av mode so the camera auto-selected ISO 1000. I would have had to take a full-sized tripod with me as the candles were at the front of a large church and the nearest flat surface was a long way away. But, yes, I could have set it up for f/4 or f/4.5 but I would have to be nearer as the minimum aperture at 393mm efl (70mm on the camera) is f/5.9. As a result, I would have had a sharper background and, IMO, a less pleasing picture as a result.

On a tripod, I could have played with the settings more, but the playoff is always between the defocused background, the ISO/noise relationship, and blur due to the subject movement. I was happy with the shot and the noise isn't too bad. And doing it this way, it took a matter of seconds to find my position, zoom in, check the camera settings, and take the picture.

Garry I truly appreciate your posts You take care of business well, preventing camera shake.

I am looking for a replacement for my Pany ZS3 that suffered when I fell recently. Considering sx230is, s9100, and Sony Hx9v.

dpreview has published an interesting comparison test.

DaveL

Garry, your photos in your link are incredible. Thanks!
DaveL

You're very welcome. There's one thing I do want to point out to people considering the SX220/230 HS and that is that if you want a compact for doing street photography, then this camera might not be the one you want. Even if you keep it switched on all the time it can take a while getting focus. I've missed a few shots because of this, so I'm working on changing my style and not going so much for the off-the-cuff instant grab shot but finding a good background and waiting with the camera pre-focused.

Note that I didn't say that this camera is no good for street photography, just that you might want to consider another one with faster focusing.

One more link to show how good the 1080p stereo video capabilities of this camera are. I suggest that you select 1080p from the drop-down under the video, then hit the pause button until it's all downloaded. Then hit play or, better still, go fullscreen first. It's a video of a flashmob that I was privileged to see at Trafalgar Square in London. After I uploaded my video the charity that staged the flashmob asked me to delete it as it was "too good quality" (I just made it private, rather than delete it). They then asked my permission to use some of it in their official video, which you can see at the second link.

My Love146 flashmob video: http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=RdIZl-wAFcw
The official video: http://www.youtube.com …ZiJPXY&list=UUF​GxmTFbvoSM

While we're (briefly) back on the subject of this camera, here's one I took last weekend:

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …5997944237/in/p​hotostream

Garry is there a "landscape" setting you could use? Almost a "hyperfocal" distance?

There's a Landscape setting on the main dial. I haven't tried it out yet, though I just took the camera into my (small) fluorescent-lit kitchen and took a shot in Landscape mode to see what settings it used: 1/40 second @ f/3.1, ISO 400. Which doesn't really tell us anything.

I'll be taking the camera out over the next few days. I'll try and remember to get a landscape shot if I'm in a suitable setting, then I'll post it here together with the settings. Since the narrowest aperture is f/8 I'm guessing that the camera mostly just augments the greens and blues in the picture.

We shall see...

Any questions people have might be answered by a quick look at the manual. You can download it by clicking the link below the 2nd paragraph here.

Garry, I wonder if the landscape setting would focus fast, effectively focusing at infinity?

That is how I used to trick my Pany zs3 when taking photos of aircraft overhead. I live in a flightpath and it is a good thing I like planes!

DaveL

It's possible. As I said, I haven't used it. I almost always shoot in Av. But I'll have a play with it in the days to come.

2mnycars wrote in post #12865293
Garry, I wonder if the landscape setting would focus fast, effectively focusing at infinity?

That is how I used to trick my Pany zs3 when taking photos of aircraft overhead. I live in a flightpath and it is a good thing I like planes!

DaveL

'Tis a thought - I just got an SX230 (uses same battery as my SD990 and I am a firm believer in geotagging) as my daily carry camera. Not much done with it as yet, but I'll give that a whirl next time I see something overhead and in range. I suspect the SD990 will be traveling with my DSLRs though, since I use an external GPS then.

thanks Jon.
I looked at a s9100 Nikon and ruled it out. I have found the Pany ZS3 a little bland.

I have not decided whether to replace my LX5 or my ZS3. The '3 suffered a fall. The '230 is certainly a contender.

DaveL