Canon will release another model in its super zoom SX series in April, combining a huge zoom, wide-angle lens and HD movie recording in a compact body.

The Canon PowerShot SX200 IS - scheduled to be released locally in April - features a 28mm wide-angle, 12x optical zoom lens and 12.1-megapixel resolution, which Canon expects to prove popular with a range of compact digital camera users, including travellers.

The lens allows you to capture detail from a distance as well as panoramic landscapes. The quality of your shots will also be improved by the inclusion of optical image stabilisation. Movie recording is in high-definition 1280×720 format.

The PowerShot SX200 IS also includes Intelligent Auto, a new technology from Canon. Intelligent Auto combines scene detection, face detection, motion detection and noise reduction into one automatic mode.

Also new is Blink Detection, which flashes a warning for three seconds after the user captures a photo in which one of the subjects was blinking.

Pricing will be released closer to April, but given that the camera is positioned between the SX10 IS and SX110 IS models in the PowerShot range, it is expected to fall somewhere between $400 and $650.

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By Caroline Warnes