Canon PowerShot SX230 HS

The Canon PowerShot SX230 HS is the latest incarnation of Canon's highly popular pocket super-zoom. Announced in February 2011 to replace the year-old PowerShot SX210 IS, it's the first SX model to carry the HS suffix. A step-down in resolution from the 14 Megapixel SX210, the SX230's 12.1 Megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor and Digic 4 processor provide excellent low light performance combined with 1080p HD video recording
The SX230 HS sticks with the 14x optical zoom of its predecessor and the 3in screen, though the display resolution has been increased to 460k dots. Crucially, it adds a GPS receiver, the lack of which put its predecessor at a disadvantage compared with the earlier Sony Cyber-shot HX5 and Panasonic Lumix TZ10 / ZS7. Note: the PowerShot SX220 HS, released alongside the SX230 HS (in Europe only) lacks the GPS but is otherwise identical.
The competition has moved on too, though, and the PowerShot SX230 HS is now up against new models from Sony, Nikon and, of course, Panasonic with the Cyber-shot HX9V, the COOLPIX S9100 and the market-leading Lumix TZ20 / ZS10 respectively. Read our full review to find out how it measures up.

Canon PowerShot SX230 HS Design and controls
The PowerShot SX230 HS looks similar to to its predecessor and is almost exactly the same size and weight. It's available in pink, blue or black and the soap bar shape with a cupped silver edge both looks stylish and provides a secure and stable grip. The tell-tale difference between the SX230 HS and its predecessor is the bulge on the top edge just to the left of the shutter release labelled GPS. There's one other important difference: the earlier SX210's zoom 'nipple' experiment has been abandoned with the return of a conventional zoom collar surround on the shutter release.