Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon PowerShot SD1200IS 10 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Green)

A very capable camera for the price, and wonderful for on-the-go pictures. I previously owned the Canon SD 1000 and while I enjoyed the features it had, wished it included the image stabilization "IS" feature. The 1200 has IS, and it has made noticeable improvements on those quick shots. The camera takes wonderful pictures in a variety of light settings, and is incredibly easy to use. All in all, for the price, great camera and highly recommended.

After using this camera for the last three weeks.I have to said this is great camera.After using a Canon sd 200 for the last five years (Great Camera)this is a more improved version.Its a very quick camera,the auto feature works very well as the red eye correction,picture quality is excellent and the image estabilization work great.
I will recomend this camera to everyone looking for a great camera.I bought it in Amazon at a good price thr delivery was very good as the over all service.

I needed a simple, easy to use camera for my wife. She previously used a Canon PS 50 which she found to be too bulky, heavy, and confusing. The SD 1200 IS fits the bill perfectly. First, its focusing is incredible. If you are taking portraits it focuses on the face or faces of the subject automatically. If you want to take a macro shot it also focuses automatically. I was surprised that the picture quality of macro subjects was better than what I can get on my Rebel XTi. I also like the fact that it has a viewfinder for those sunny days when the LCD display is difficult to use. In brief, this is the perfect point and shoot camera for the individual who wants a simple, easy to use camera, that is light and requires no photography knowledge. The only complaint I have is that it does not come with a memory card and when we bought it there was nothing on the description (or on the Canon site) saying you need to purchase one separately.

I purchased this camera from [...] after extensive research and following recommendations from Consumer Reports. The pictures were almost always blurry and out of focus, and darker than the natural brightness. Even beach shots in bright light on clear days looked like they were taken on an overcast day. This was surprising given the overwhelming number of positive reviews on Amazon and elsewhere. Perhaps I received a defective item? I returned it. The videos however, were some of the best I have ever recorded in terms of color and sound clarity.

I am typically the BIGGEST fan of these Canon ELPH cameras. I owned the SD450 and still do have the SD1000. The SD450 was a victim of being tossed around in luggage, so when that broke, I went with the SD1000 and was very happy. I wasn't the biggest fan of the square nature of the SD1000, but loved the camera otherwise and soon forgot about its boxy frame. I have an 11 month old daughter and decided to get a second camera that way my husband could take the SD1000 and I would have the SD1200IS (in orange, of course) at my side all of the time to snap pictures of the baby. I could not have been more excited to receive my camera and was instantly disappointed. The sturdy feel that was found with the SD1000 had disappeared to a cheap, plastic feel. The battery cover door is flimsy and feels like it could pop open at anytime. However, I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt and promptly popped the battery in to snap a few pictures to test it out. Indoor pictures are terrible. The AUTO position on the camera is a complete joke. I think it's safe to say that 75% of those pictures were unusable and the remaining 25% were definitely not GOOD. After messing around with the settings a little (I'm not a camera pro, but I do know a few things about the ISO settings and such), I was able to improve the percentage of good to horrible pictures to probably 50%/50%. However, I still was lacking crisp, clear photos. After checking the photos and completely missing out on some AWESOME pictures that actually had my daughter looking at the camera because they were completely fuzzy, I have decided to pack it up and send it back. The video is not HD, but neither was the SD450 or SD1000, and I think that the SD1200's is inferior. I cannot express how disappointed I am that Canon has released such a subpar offering. I paid just under $170 for this camera and am wondering if I would have a different response with the SD780 or SD940, but then will have to shell out at least another $100 for it. We paid $150 for the SD1000 and I almost got 2 of that model. I now wish that I had. The SD1000 is a 7.1 MP and the 1200IS is 10 MP. Honestly, I feel like I got pictures with my 2MP Fuji Finepix that I had 8 years ago.

I'm sorry to do this to you, Canon - I've been such a supporter and have recommended your cameras to more than a handful of friends/family members. I'm going to have to rethink my camera situation. I was blown away from the good reviews - but whenever something negative was said about this model - it did say there were a lot of blurry pictures. Perhaps if I haven't been so wow'ed in the past by other SD ELPH models, I may not have not had such a horrible review. I do think that the SD1000 was a significant upgrade from my previous SD450; however, I think the SD450 did a better job than this SD1200 that supposedly has the "Image Stabilizer"