Canon officially announces the Canon PowerShot ZOOM

David_E said:

usa.canon.com: "Macro functionality not provided." That kills it for me.

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I gave up long ago trying to use a point and shoot for macro, at least my kind (copy stand based) because it was impossible to get any kind of preciseness of zoom with the stupid rocker switch. You press on it to try to adjust and it either does nothing or overshoots without fail. That actually led to getting an interchangeable lens system and so on, so here I am today.

SteveC said:

I gave up long ago trying to use a point and shoot for macro, at least my kind (copy stand based) because it was impossible to get any kind of preciseness of zoom with the stupid rocker switch. You press on it to try to adjust and it either does nothing or overshoots without fail. That actually led to getting an interchangeable lens system and so on, so here I am today.

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Upvote on that. I also got interested in ILC because I was frustrated with the limited options for precise manual adjustments of any kind in my Powershot SX230 HS.

I don't think this device makes sense for macro anyway. The gimmick here seems to be that you can basically use it as a telescope for viewing. To do that with something close, you can simply move closer and inspect it with your own eyes.

Joules said:

Upvote on that. I also got interested in ILC because I was frustrated with the limited options for precise manual adjustments of any kind in my Powershot SX230 HS.

I don't think this device makes sense for macro anyway. The gimmick here seems to be that you can basically use it as a telescope for viewing. To do that with something close, you can simply move closer and inspect it with your own eyes.

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Granted I was using an Olympus not a Canon for this, but in hindsight I doubt any Canon at the time would have been significantly better. (I still have never owned a Canon point and shoot, however, so I could be totally wrong.)

Joules said:

I don't think this device makes sense for macro anyway.

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Well, since Canon explicitly states that it does not have macro capability...

Yes, its telephoto only. At 400mm, min focus is like a Canon Supertele, almost 15 ft.

David_E said:

Well, since Canon explicitly states that it does not have macro capability...

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Well, but maybe it wouldn't, even if it did have macro capability.

SteveC said:

Granted I was using an Olympus not a Canon for this, but in hindsight I doubt any Canon at the time would have been significantly better. (I still have never owned a Canon point and shoot, however, so I could be totally wrong.)

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I use a Canon G5X II for travel. It replaced my G7X II. I used a couple of the S series before that. They are relatively sophisticated cameras, giving you Raw files and allowing all sorts of controls. "Point and shoot" seems to underestimate them. But the little zoom rocker lever doesn't give you much fine control. That may be the least sophisticated part of the camera. I find it adequate for my travel pictures, though. You can use the ring around the lens for zooming if you set it up that way. On some models that gives you more control than others. Normally it will click to certain focal length equivalents. Zooming while shooting video needs more skill than I am likely to develop adequately.

The little lens does let you focus very close to things. I haven't needed to use its "macro" mode enough to see what if any benefit it gives over just zooming in or moving in close.