I would say I'm a fairly decent photographer snapping photos, home and abroad for about the last 40 years.
I purchased the Powershot SX150 in May for a 10 day cruise in Alaska. I've also used it for a few other weekenders and day hikes since then. So this camera has got some good usage under different but average conditions in the last 3 months. I'm satisfied with the quality of the photos.
Battery life is fine. I'm not sure what people are complaining about. I just bought several pairs of rechargeable batteries. Even with all the photos I was snapping of my family on the cruise I never noticed myself having to constantly change batteries. Battery usage was not an issue. Double AA batteries was an actually a feature I wanted in a camera since I know I can easily bring along several pairs of rechargeable batteries which can be shared with my other electronics, such as my GPS.
Size of camera is a little larger than your average point and shoot, but this was never an issue. On my trips and hikes I had the camera in a belt pouch and it never felt overly bulky or in the way.
Interfacing with the camera is easy and logical. Most used features/options are usually one or two button clicks away.
I also wanted a camera with features similar to a SLR camera, such as shutter and aperture priority which most point and shoots do not offer.
The large 3" viewing screen is a nice feature to review/show photos and easily read the different options.
Value is excellent. There are more than enough features that you'll ever need. The best and most used feature is the powerful zoom. One can get some great effects with the zoom. I noticed no drop off in quality. However at the higher magnifications you'll need to anchor the camera on a sturdy base.
I only noticed two minor drawbacks. The first is the flash recycle time. Like other people have commented, the flash does seem to take an extra second or two to recharge compared to other point and shoots. The second is when taking macro shots with a flash, the lens barrel projects a shadow in the photo - this is minor unless you do this type of photography all the time.
This is a great camera for the value. The Powershot SX150 is a versatile camera, perfect for the photographer who wants to use it for every day conditions and/or on trips with some advance features of an SLR.
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PowerShot SX150 is 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide-Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) (Old Model) (Renewed) $200.00 & FREE Shipping
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This Item  Canon PowerShot SX150 IS 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide-Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) (OLD MODEL) |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $315.00 | -10% $179.99 List: $199.99 | -17% $149.00 List: $179.99 | -10% $89.99 List: $99.99 | -11% $222.97 List: $249.99 | $399.99 |
| Delivery | Get it May 22 - 29 | Get it as soon as Monday, May 20 | Get it as soon as Monday, May 20 | — | Get it as soon as Monday, May 20 | Get it May 21 - 23 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Picture quality | ||||||
| Zoom | ||||||
| Image stabilization | ||||||
| Easy to use | ||||||
| Sold By | Acute Tek (We Record SN) | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Willoughby's Established 1898 |
| display type | LCD | LCD | LCD | LCD | LCD | — |
| display size | 3 inches | 3 inches | 3 inches | — | 3 inches | 2.7 inches |
| lens type | fixed | Telephoto | Wide Angle | Wide Angle | Telephoto | zoom |
| zoom type | Optical | Optical Zoom | Optical Zoom | Optical Zoom | Optical Zoom | Optical |
| shooting modes | Scene | Panorama, Automatic, Easy | — | Easy | Automatic, Movie, Panorama, Portrait, Macro | Scene, Automatic |
| connectivity tech | USB | wired, wireless | USB | USB | Wi-Fi, USB | HDMI, USB |
| video resolution | HD 720p | 1080p | 1080p | 1080p | 1080p | HD 720p |
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Good step-up camera between ultra-compact and DSLR
First, let me say that while I am not a professinal photographer, I do earn some money from photographing weddings and other events for friends and acquaintences, and consider myself to be an advanced user and photography enthusiast. I shoot primarily with Canon DSLRs and was looking for a compact camera to supplement my current photography equipment. The Canon PowerShot XS150 IS is a very nice compliment to my gear and overall, I am pleased with it.Canon has produced a very good alternative for the compact camera market in its PowerShot XS150 IS platform. The camera boasts a 14MP picture size with 12x optical zoom capability and the camera delivers. The XS150 IS is a little larger and heavier than most compact cameras but is of quality construction and durable. The case is molded plastic and has a very ergonomic design with specific places to rest your fingers and thumb for one-hand operation. All the controls can be operated with the right hand while holding the camera.The picture quality is very good. Canon's processor provides vivid colors and impressive clarity for a compact design. The large viewing screen is impressive and easy to see, even in bright sunlight. The controls are easy to use and placed such that they won't be accidentally changed. The controls in the on-screen menu are easy to use and, if you're familiar with Canon's menu system, you'll be able to start shooting right away. Those that aren't familiar with Canon should read the manual, but even then, the menu selections and control layout are very intuitive and easy to use.The camera provides a lot of special shooting features that can be used not only for still photography, but also for the video recording. There's an "easy shooting" mode for those that want to pick up the camera and start shooting right away, allowing the camera to make all the decisions about ISO, white balance, focus, etc. There are scene and filter shooting modes that allow the photographer to select a style for their photos (monochrome, color accent, color replacement, miniature mode, macro, smile and face detection, beach and snow scenes, fireworks, etc.). For those that want more control over their photography, the camera does offer shooting modes in Manual, Program, Aperture and Shutter Priority.The movie feature works well and provides decent HD video that can be copied directly from the SD card to your computer. The movie feature is a nice function, but keep in mind that this camera is not a movie camera, so don't expect Hollywood quality from it, but it's nice enough to document short events for display on HD TVs and the web. The stereo sound for the movie function is quite good as well, but the microphones will pick up the sound of the zoom lens motor whirring if you use the zoom feature while shooting video. The lens motor sound can probably be minimized or eliminated in some video or sound editing programs such as Adobe Premier, DVD Studio Pro, or Soundbooth, etc.The flash is a little different for this camera. It's centered over the telescoping lens but is manually activated (you have to lift the flash open with your finger) to turn on the auto-flash feature. While this may seem like an annoyance at first, it's actually not a bad feature, just different; and it prevents that annoying "pop-up" of the flash when you really don't want flash but the camera's sensors require it.The XS150 IS is a little larger and heavier than most other compact cameras but is still very portable. The weight and size are detemined mostly by the fact that the camera uses two AA batteries, and the size of the lens for this camera. Still it's a small camera for what it can do and will easily fit into a cargo pocket or purse, or in a case that can be worn on a belt or attached to a backpack.The only real complaint I have about the camera is the battery life with alkaline AA batteries (this is why I rated it 4 stars instead of 5). While it's nice to have a camera that accepts a common battery type (AA) that can be purchased almost anywhere in the world, I would recommend getting the rechargeable NiMH AA batteries because the battery life for alkiline AA batteries seems to be a little short, especially if you're going to shoot video.Overall, this is a great compact camera and it will meet most user's needs especially if they are looking for a camera that provides a lot of shooting features in a small package with HD video and is easy to learn to use. I highly recommend it.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2012
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2011
I got this camera at an amazing price on Black Friday and I couldn't be happier. Before this camera I had another canon camera, the Powershot A610, which was a great camera but after so many years with it, I wanted a little more without having to spend more than 200 dollars.
The tryout: I have been trying the SX150is under different conditions: Under lots of sunlight, at night, taking pictures from my car, with my dogs, cloudy days and so far the pictures have been amazing. I haven't had any problems using the 3 inch screen under very sunny days. The zoom of this camera is lots of fun, especially on video mode, I was in a race track the other day and it was cool to use it to not miss any part of the action, even when the cars were far away on the other side of the track. Yes, it's true that it is a little bulky, you might not be able to slide it inside your jeans pockets but, just like somebody wrote, that's where your cellphone should go, not your camera. It's easy to use with just one hand while your other hand has a soda or a beer, so no need to worry that you will miss enjoying the food and drinks at the BBQ because you decided to take pictures.
The Flash: Before getting the camera I was kinda worried about it, since you gotta be pulling it up if you want to use it. The truth is that once I got my camera and started taking pictures I didn't feel that was a problem, the camera lets you know if you need flash, although there are sooo many ways to take great pictures with this camera without even thinking of using the flash. Taking pictures at night is awesome, I haven't seen cameras on this price range taking pictures in low light with the quality that this camera gives you. The flash does take a little bit to load, but it is not a big problem for me, it's not like you have to sit or make people hold a smile for 30 seconds so that you can take a picture with flash.
I have read some complaints about battery issues but, that shouldn't be a problem if you buy good rechargeable batteries. I got for this camera four (4) 3100 mAh rechargeable batteries and it's a whole big difference when you compare them with what alkaline batteries or lithium batteries can give you. The fun part is that, in case your rechargeable batteries run dry, you can always get some AA anywhere you are and keep having fun with your camera until you can recharge them again, so my advice is that if you have this camera and you don't want to be one of those people giving crappy scores to this camera just because they are too hard headed to keep feeding this camera with normal batteries, spend a little over 10 dollars in batteries as the ones I got, I spent a whole afternoon taking pictures and videos with these batteries without having to recharge them.
To make this short, if you want the best camera that money can buy for less than 200 dollars, this is it. No other camera will give you the quality or the features that this one has. I'm very happy with what this camera offers, it has been way more than what I expected. You won't regret it and remember: BUY GOOD RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES!! It's just silly to keep seeing people writing complaints about using this camera with normal batteries of little capacity.
The tryout: I have been trying the SX150is under different conditions: Under lots of sunlight, at night, taking pictures from my car, with my dogs, cloudy days and so far the pictures have been amazing. I haven't had any problems using the 3 inch screen under very sunny days. The zoom of this camera is lots of fun, especially on video mode, I was in a race track the other day and it was cool to use it to not miss any part of the action, even when the cars were far away on the other side of the track. Yes, it's true that it is a little bulky, you might not be able to slide it inside your jeans pockets but, just like somebody wrote, that's where your cellphone should go, not your camera. It's easy to use with just one hand while your other hand has a soda or a beer, so no need to worry that you will miss enjoying the food and drinks at the BBQ because you decided to take pictures.
The Flash: Before getting the camera I was kinda worried about it, since you gotta be pulling it up if you want to use it. The truth is that once I got my camera and started taking pictures I didn't feel that was a problem, the camera lets you know if you need flash, although there are sooo many ways to take great pictures with this camera without even thinking of using the flash. Taking pictures at night is awesome, I haven't seen cameras on this price range taking pictures in low light with the quality that this camera gives you. The flash does take a little bit to load, but it is not a big problem for me, it's not like you have to sit or make people hold a smile for 30 seconds so that you can take a picture with flash.
I have read some complaints about battery issues but, that shouldn't be a problem if you buy good rechargeable batteries. I got for this camera four (4) 3100 mAh rechargeable batteries and it's a whole big difference when you compare them with what alkaline batteries or lithium batteries can give you. The fun part is that, in case your rechargeable batteries run dry, you can always get some AA anywhere you are and keep having fun with your camera until you can recharge them again, so my advice is that if you have this camera and you don't want to be one of those people giving crappy scores to this camera just because they are too hard headed to keep feeding this camera with normal batteries, spend a little over 10 dollars in batteries as the ones I got, I spent a whole afternoon taking pictures and videos with these batteries without having to recharge them.
To make this short, if you want the best camera that money can buy for less than 200 dollars, this is it. No other camera will give you the quality or the features that this one has. I'm very happy with what this camera offers, it has been way more than what I expected. You won't regret it and remember: BUY GOOD RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES!! It's just silly to keep seeing people writing complaints about using this camera with normal batteries of little capacity.
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