In the compact digital camera marketplace, a debate has been raging for some time about which is more important - pushing the numbers game or concentrating on improving quality - with the ultimate goal of achieving both objectives without adversely affecting either aspect. It's this Holy Grail that Canon is pursuing with its latest PowerShot, the SX210 IS.

This successor to the PowerShot SX200 IS has seen the megapixel count boosted from 12.1 to 14.1 and the already impressive 12x zoom to an even more seductive 14x zoom. While the width and height haven't changed much (105.8 x 59.3mm), the depth has contracted from 37.6 to 31.9 mm, despite the larger zoom. It's also marginally lighter than its predecessor (including battery and memory card it weighs 215g). The three previous colours of black, blue and red have been replaced by the more striking metallic gold, black and purple.

While the 28-392mm wide-angle lens remains the same on the SX210 IS, the control layout and body shape is unrecognisable from the SX200 IS. The slightly concave front has now been straightened and the silver edging that runs around the sides and top now has a smooth channel that continues across the flash unit. The fact that the flash automatically pops up when you switch on is annoying enough, but to make matters worse the edges are sharp, and positioning your left finger comfortably is almost impossible.

The mode dial has moved from the top to the back, making the control area more crowded, as most of the area is taken up with the 3-inch 16:9 LCD. A welcome addition is the dedicated movie button for instant switching to shooting 1280 x 720 HD videos at 30fps, as well as the stereo microphones perched in the middle of the top strip. However, the big downer is the zoom rocker switch which, like the flash, has sharp edges and is anything but smooth to operate: that's not good if your biggest selling point is the 14x zoom.

The irony is that these physical drawbacks are detracting from an impressive array of photo enhancing systems, including a Smart Auto mode (which chooses your optimum setting), Easy mode (total point ‘n' click simplicity), i-Contrast, Face Detection (which can identify up to 35 faces in a frame), Smart Flash Exposure and Smart Shutter, as well as a large array of funky shooting modes including Fish-eye and Miniature. Smart Auto even works in video mode and auto-focus comes into play while you're zooming in on the action.

Photo quality is sharp and colours vivid (saturation and hues can be further varied through the My Colors contrast range) aided by the 4-stop optical Image Stabilizer. Wisely, Canon has not expanded the ISO range beyond 1600, thus reducing the amount of noise in low light conditions, and there are plenty of manual and priority settings for those wanting to wrest more control back from the machine.

Verdict
With the SX210 IS Canon has succeeded in extending the zoom range beyond others in its class whilst also providing a host of shooting options and 720p HD movies. It's a shame that the zoom control and flash make achieving good results uncomfortable.

Company: Canon

Contact: 01737 220000

Tags: digital camera liquid crystal display image stabilization face detection holy grail canon powershot mode dial secure digital