Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS

51

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS

Aperture
Wide aperture
f/2.8
Size
Really small
Super compact 86x55x22 mm
Thickness
Thin
0.9"
Weight
Light-weight
120 g
Viewfinder
Great viewfinder
Tunnel
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3

48

Reasons to buy the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3

Screen size
Large screen
3.0"
Longest exposure
Long exposures
60 seconds

differences

Advantages of the Canon SD1200 IS

Size Much smaller 86x55x22 mm vs 103x60x33 mm
Help
Around 50% smaller
Aperture Wider aperture f/2.8 vs f/3.3
Help
At its widest zoom, the SD1200 IS's lens captures marginally more light (0.5 f-stops)
Viewfinder Has a viewfinder Tunnel vs None
Help
A viewfinder can help save battery life by keeping the screen turned off
Weight Much lighter 120 g vs 229 g
Help
Around 50% lighter
Thickness Much thinner 0.9" vs 1.3"
Help
More than 30% thinner
True resolution Slightly higher true resolution 9.8 MP vs 9.8 MP
Help
Almost the same
Sensor size Slightly larger sensor 1/2.3" 6.2x4.6mm vs 1/2.3" 6.1x4.6mm
Help
Almost the same
Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS Learn more about
the Canon SD1200 IS

Advantages of the Panasonic DMC-ZS3

Wide angle Much better wide angle 25 mm vs 35 mm
Help
Around 30% better wide angle
Screen size Much larger screen 3.0" vs 2.5"
Help
More than 20% larger screen
Zoom Significantly more zoom 12x vs 3x
Help
16x more zoom
Movie format Higher resolution movies 720p @ 30fps vs 480p @ 30fps
Help
Shoots high resolution HD (720p) video
Screen resolution Higher resolution screen 460k dots vs 230k dots
Help
2x higher resolution screen
Light sensitivity (boost) Has boost ISO 6,400 ISO vs None
Help
Allows taking photos in darker situations, often at the cost of additional noise in the image
Longest exposure Much longer exposures 60s vs 15s
Help
4x longer exposures
Fastest shutter speed Significantly faster max shutter speed 1/2000s vs 1/1500s
Help
More than 20% faster max shutter speed
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 Learn more about
the Panasonic DMC-ZS3
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent compacts, and ignoring price

Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS
51 vs 48
Explain scores
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS. This recommendation, however, should be taken with a grain of salt since it doesn't always make sense to compare a compact with a travel zoom.

advice

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similarities

Compared to recent compacts

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Image stabilization Good image stabilization Help
Lens
Macro focus Good macro capabilities Help
3 cm
Panorama Neither camera stitches together panoramas Help
You could stitch photos in post
Sensor type Lower-end sensor types Help
CCD
HDR Neither has in-camera HDR Help
You could do HDR manually
Light sensitivity Poor maximum light sensitivity Help
1,600 ISO
Touch screen No touchscreens Help
More buttons
Movie format Poor movies Help
SD1200 IS:480p @ 30fps
DMC-ZS3:720p @ 30fps

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10

Travel zoom

$328

Zoom Has significantly more zoom
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is much heavier
Canon ELPH 300 HS

Canon ELPH 300 HS

Compact

$148 - $179

Movie format Records higher quality movies
High-speed framerate Records high-speed movies
Weight Is slightly heavier
Canon Powershot S100

Canon Powershot S100

Pro digicam

$356 - $430

Aperture Has a significantly wider aperture
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is much heavier
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3

Mirrorless interchangeable-lens

$433 body only

Movie format Records higher quality movies
True resolution Takes much higher resolution photos
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is much heavier

Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Canon ELPH 100 HS

Canon ELPH 100 HS

Compact

$103 - $189

Wide angle Much better wide angle
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Viewfinder No viewfinder
Weight Heavier
Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS

Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS

Compact

$178

Wide angle Much better wide angle
Screen size Larger screen
Viewfinder No viewfinder
Size Slightly larger
Canon PowerShot A3300 IS

Canon PowerShot A3300 IS

Compact

$129

Wide angle Much better wide angle
Screen size Much larger screen
Viewfinder No viewfinder
Size Larger
Canon ELPH 310 HS

Canon ELPH 310 HS

Travel zoom

$195 - $196

Wide angle Much better wide angle
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Viewfinder No viewfinder
Aperture Narrower aperture
Canon PowerShot SD780 IS

Canon PowerShot SD780 IS

Ultra compact

Movie format Higher resolution movies
Wide angle Better wide angle
Aperture Narrower aperture
Weight Heavier

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20

Panasonic Lumix ZS20

Travel zoom

$290 - $350

Zoom Much more zoom
Movie format Higher resolution movies
True resolution Lower true resolution
Longest exposure Much shorter max exposures
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5

Travel zoom

$298

Size Slightly smaller
Weight Lighter
Screen size Significantly smaller screen
Screen resolution Lower resolution screen
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7

Travel zoom

$361

GPS Has a GPS
Weight Lighter
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8

Travel zoom

$159 - $271

Zoom More zoom
Wide angle Better wide angle
Screen resolution Lower resolution screen
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1

Travel zoom

Screen size Significantly smaller screen
True resolution Much lower true resolution

appearance

Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3
Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3
Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3

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