Canon's first advanced pocket superzoom — 12.1MP CCD, 12x 28-336mm IS zoom, 720p HD video, 3.0in LCD.
The PowerShot SX200 IS launched in March 2009 as the first of Canon's SX200 line of advanced pocketable superzooms, bringing HD video to the travel-zoom class. The series continued through the SX210 IS and the HS models up to the SX280, and was ultimately succeeded by the SX700 family.
It packed a 12.1-megapixel 1/2.3-inch CCD and a stabilised 12x zoom covering 28-336mm equivalent at f/3.4-5.3 into a 220g body. Canon's DIGIC 4 processor enabled 720p 30fps HD movie recording, a first for this class from Canon, with a 3.0-inch 230,000-dot fixed LCD for composition and SD, SDHC and MMC-family cards for storage.
It remains a sensible pick for travel-zoom duty on a budget: genuinely pocketable, wide 28mm end for scenery, useful 336mm reach for detail shots, and manual control typical of Canon's advanced compacts. A quirk of this model is the pop-up flash that rises whenever the camera powers on; the small sensor also limits low-light quality.
The 2009 vintage keeps ownership easy, with SDHC cards standard and third-party batteries and chargers still produced, though confirm a charger is in the sale. Test that the pop-up flash rises and seats without sticking since its mechanism is a known wear point, and cycle the stabilised zoom to the long end checking for hesitation.