-Hey.
I'm Josh Goldman, Senior Editor with CNET, and this is a look at the Canon PowerShot A1200.
Normally, it would be tough to get excited about a low-end camera such as the A1200, but Canon really did its best to offer something nice here.
For starters, you get an optical view finder (something that's pretty much been dropped from entry-level compacts); it's also powered by double A batteries (a win for those that like to have a camera that's ready to go without worrying about charging a
battery); and you also get an f2.8 28 mm wide-angle lens with a 4x zoom; and a 2.7-inch LCD that can easily be shut off to save battery life when you're using the view finder.
And while there are no controls for aperture and shutter speed, shooting options do include the new Live View Control mode for playing with brightness, color, and tone, and creative filters like Toy Camera and Super Vivid, as well as 720p HD movie capture.
Plus, its photo
quality is excellent for its class, only noticeably dropping off in low light.
Shooting performance is really the only issue with the camera and that's pretty much par for the course with entry-level compacts.
I was able to shoot pictures of my kids, for example, but it was pretty much just luck if I got something.
On the other hand, as long as you're not in a hurry and your subject is stationary, this is an excellent little camera for the money.
I'm Josh Goldman and that's the Canon A1200.
