Canon PowerShot SX210 IS with 14x zoom unveiled

Canon adds a new compact, high-zoom camera to its PowerShot lineup today with the Canon PowerShot SX210 IS. It follows on the sucess of the PowerShot SX200 by extending up to a 14x optical zoom range.

It features a 14 megapixel sensor. An f/3.1-5.9 lens starts at a wide 28mm angle and offers 14x optical zoom. A 3.0 inch wide-aspect display occupies the back panel. Like the SX200 before it, the SX210 will record 720p HD video, but this time it's available through a dedicated video record button. Much of the control layout remains the same from the previous generation, though the mode dial has been moved to the back panel.

Canon offers the SX210 in gold, black, and purple. Like the SX200, it appeals to an enthusiast sensibility with manual exposure controls and a long zoom range. We liked the PowerShot SX200 for its flexible wide-to-telephoto range, its HD movie capture capability, and its svelte form. However, we saw noise creeping into images above ISO 400. We hope that the addition of 2 million more pixels doesn't contribute to the noise problem. There's plenty of promise in the SX210 IS though, so we're eager to put it to the test in a full review.

Pricing and availability
The Canon PowerShot SX210 IS debuts with an MSRP of $349.