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With a 20X-optical-zoom (25mm to 500mm) lens and a pocketable body,the 12-megapixel Canon PowerShot SX260 HS is already a versatilecamera in terms of hardware. When you consider its diverse range ofshooting modes, the camera becomes the photographic equivalent of aSwiss Army knife. In addition to traditional manual controls for focus, aperture(F3.5 wide-angle to F6.8 telephoto maximum aperture), shutter speed(1/3200 of a second to 15 seconds), and ISO levels (ISO 100 to3200), the SX260 HS has a number of creative shooting options torival any competing pocket megazoom. It's a solid performer at bothends of its zoom range, with macro capabilities that let you getwithin 2 inches of your subject, and excellent opticalstabilization when you're zoomed all the way. At full telephoto,the camera's stabilization system "floats" a bit, making it easierto keep faraway subjects in frame. In my hands-on tests, handheldshots that I took at full telephoto came out impressively sharp. Along with the usual array of scene modes (Portrait, Smooth Skin,Sunset, Snow, Panorama Assist, Fireworks), the camera's scene menuhas a few unique options. Smart Shutter, for instance,automatically snaps three photos when it senses that someone infront of the lens is smiling, making it an alternative forself-timer shots. And the SX260 HS's High-Speed Burst HQ modeshoots ten full-resolution shots per second, with focus andexposure settings locked at the first image in the sequence. For low-light shooting without a flash, the camera has twodedicated scene modes that each go about their businessdifferently. The Handheld NightScene mode uses burst shooting withexposure bracketing to create an HDR-like image in darkenvironments. The Low Light mode shoots a single 3-megapixel image,as the camera combines adjacent pixels on the sensor to increaselight sensitivity. In my tests, the Handheld NightScene modeproduced noticeably sharper, more-detailed images in dark settings,but both did a good job in low-light situations. You can see sampleshots taken with each mode, in the same scenario, to the left. The camera also has a separate mode-dial entry for its digitalcreative effects, which include a fish-eye simulator, a miniaturemode that lets you manually adjust the vertical and horizontalplane of focus, black-and-white and vibrant-color effects, and avignette filter that simulates a toy camera. Included as well areCanon's Color Accent and Color Swap modes, which remain the bestimplementations of single-color highlight features I've seen in anypoint-and-shoot camera. With these modes, you can isolate a singlecolor in a black-and-white shot or replace all instances of onecolor with another in your photo, as you're shooting it. The creative options extend to the SX260 HS's movie-capture modes,which max out at 1080p capture at 24 frames per second. In thecamera's Super Slow Motion movie mode, you can shoot640-by-480-pixel video at 120 fps and 320-by-240-pixel video at 240fps. Miniature Mode is also applicable while you're shooting video,but the camera records at 6 fps and plays the video back at 30 fpsto simulate an old-timey, fast-motion movie. Other notable options on the SX260 HS's mode dial include a "Quiet"mode, which completely silences the shutter and disables the flashto help you capture that stealthy photo of a sleeping baby or awedding ceremony, and a "Live" mode that helps novice shootersadjust the brightness, color saturation, and color temperature viaon-screen sliders rather than delving into manual controls. Hardware and design The PowerShot SX260 HS feels sturdily built, and it looks a bitmore streamlined than most high-zoom pocket cameras thanks to itsminimalist handgrip. A slender, raised bar on the front of thecamera works well as a handgrip when you hold it with your middlefinger, and a slight groove around the top edge of the cameraprovides a comfortable resting spot for your index finger whenyou're shooting one-handed. The top of the camera hosts the pop-up flash, the shutter buttonringed by the zoom control, the power button, and the camera'sbuilt-in stereo microphones. The back of the camera hosts a modedial, which lies relatively flat on the surface and locks intoplace firmly with each mode selection. Accompanying the mode dial and the 3-inch LCD screen are five morecontrols that handle most of the commonly used settings: adedicated video-record button, a playback button, a four-waydirectional pad/scrollwheel (for quick access to exposurecompensation, flash settings, macro/manual focus, and the selftimer), a display-settings button, and a menu button. As for ports,the SX260 HS has a rubberized cover for a Mini-USB connector and aMini HDMI connector on the side, as well as a metal-backed plasticdoor that covers the battery and SD/SDHC/SDXC slot on the bottom,next to the tripod mount. GPS features The Canon PowerShot SX260 HS's GPS features are as basic as theycome, but they work well when you're adding geotagged images tophoto-sharing services that support mapping. The SX260 HS doesn'thave any in-camera maps like the ones found in pocket-zoomcompetitors such as the Samsung WB850F , but it does add information to each photo's EXIF data that youcan use with various mapping services. The camera requires a clear view of the sky and depending on yourimmediate environment, it can take a minute or so to establish yourGPS connection. I tested the PowerShot SX260 HS's GPS functions inNew York; at street level with a lot of tall buildings around, theinitial GPS connection needed about 2 to 3 minutes, and the camerahad trouble maintaining the connection. Once I went up to the roofof a building with a clear view of the sky, the satellite link-uptook less than a minute and was less problematic. After you create that connection, you have the option of turning onthe camera's GPS Logger feature to refresh your location dataperiodically, even when the camera is turned off. As you mightguess, leaving the GPS Logger feature on all the time will have asignificant impact on battery life, so it's a good idea to use thefeature sparingly if you don't carry an extra battery. I didn't find much to look at on the camera in terms ofgeodata--pressing the Display button during playback showed rawlongitude and latitude data for each geotagged shot but once Ioffloaded a tagged photo to a computer, the info integratedseamlessly with the mapping functions in Flickr, Picasa, andSmugMug. As with the majority of GPS-enabled cameras, the SX260 HS's GPSfunctions are a "nice to have" feature for frequent travelers andanyone who likes to geotag images. If you want in-camera mapping,you'd be better served by the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20 or the Samsung WB850F. Outside of its GPS features, however, thePowerShot SX260 HS is simply one of the best pocket-megazoomcameras we've tested, and its geotagging works well with popularphoto-sharing services. Macworld's buying advice You're probably familiar with the saying "Jack of all trades,master of none." The PowerShot SX260 HS blows that idea out of thewater. This is a pocket megazoom that does a lot of things andmasters quite a few of them, providing excellent overall image andvideo quality, easy-to-use controls for both experiencedphotographers and novices, and shooting modes that cover a wholelot of bases. It's hard to recommend a single camera for everybody,but in the realm of long-zoom point-and-shoots, this one offers asmuch universal appeal as I've seen. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Nicna Fader ND Filter , FOTGA DP500 Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Nicna Filter today!
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