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Great promise, but poor execution
- Reviewd on:
2009-01-06
By: V. Madan
I was looking for a replacement to my SD600 that went down for the count with the famed 'lens error'. Not wanting a full-blown DSLR I figured this somewhat pocketable superzoom might do the trick but no luck.
First off, this has a manual flash. A manual flash...in 2009? Why?
Second, this is bulkier to carry around than four SD600's, that's right, four of them!
Third, the LCD is set waaay too bright, even on the dimmest setting. Goodbye battery life...
...and fourth, since I'm on the batteries, it conveniently runs off 2 AA's but the flash recharge time (time between shots) is the slowest of any camera I've used in over 20 years - film or digital! While the flash is recharging, you can't even take other non-flash pictures. Sigh, why Canon, why?
As a result of the flash recharge and screen brightness defects I returned the camera after just one day. For what it's worth, the few pictures I took were reasonably clear but even with the image stabilization they were no better than those taken with my old SD600. Back to the drawing board for me. If you can live with it's shortcomings, the superzoom is nice, but I found the deficiencies too much to bear.
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Nice camera overall, good features for the price
- Reviewd on:
2009-01-05
By: Ryan Karolak
This camera is good overall, giving more features than the average point-and-shoot camera.
Pros:
+10x Optical Zoom
+Great Macro quality
+Good Flash
+Large LCD Screen
+Features such as aperture priority and manual focus
+Good build quality
+Image Stabilizer (definitely helps when using the optical zoom)
+Standard Mini-USB port
+Backup battery for clock and settings (so you don't have to reset the clock when replacing the batteries or the SD Card which is located next to the batteries)
+ SD/SDHC card slot
+Face recognition (which is easy to quickly turn on or off with the press of one button)
+Runs off two AAs (Both a good and a bad thing)
+Direct-Print to printer with a USB cable (I've never used this, but could be useful and convenient for some)
Cons:
-Mediocre battery life, particularly when using the flash a lot. Setting the LCD brightness down can help. High-capacity AAs are highly recommended.
-No optical viewfinder
-Optical zoom can't be used with recording video
-Grainy at high ISO speeds (although this is typical of P&S cameras)
-Not very compact and a little heavy. While this is fine for me (I like the form factor) this camera may not be for someone who wants a thin light-weight camera.
While I'm just an amateur photographer, this camera is definitely is worth its money for its impressive picture quality, optical zoom, and features. While the graininess at higher ISO settings is sometimes noticeable, this is common for point-and-shoot cameras. Some may ask why bother with this camera if you can get a 10+ or so Megapixel camera for about the same price or cheaper, it's simple... the SX110 IS takes great pictures, has 10x optical (which is very important in comparison to digital) zoom, and provides many features not found in most point-and-shoot cameras. Megapixels are not benchmark of the quality of the pictures, but rather the size (resolution.) If you wish to have a small compact and simple to use, then you may want to consider something else. If you want an advanced nice P&S with extra features, but don't want to buy an SLR, this is what where you should look.
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The perfect point and shoot? Almost!
- Reviewd on:
2009-01-04
By: Sudeep Popat
Here are my first impressions on SX110 IS:
- Auto mode photos are decent; nothing short of or better than other point and shoots.
- The zoom clearly works. I've always had cams with less than 4x optical zoom before, so this one does show the stark difference. I have been able to click good photos of mountains that are anywhere between 10-30 miles from the point of clicking, while zooming on objects close by shows amazing details of the objects which I have not been able to capture with other lower optical zoom cams.
- Focusing is good. With my previous cameras, I've had a 30% rate of good photos vs. bad ones. With this one I think the number must be above 75%.
- Other shooting modes are excellent. For example, none of the photos I've taken in sepia mode are below average. Surprisingly though the camera lacks the color accent and color swap modes seen on other Powershots.
- Battery life is average. But with spare rechargeable batteries (i.e. a total of 2+2=4), clicking up to 300 photos should be possible.
- Flash is where the only problem I've found yet it. It feels very slow to recharge, and thus taking multiple pics in succession in a short time is difficult.
I'm yet to explore more, and maybe I'll update this once I have done so.
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grrrreat camera!
- Reviewd on:
2009-01-03
By: J. Cutler
I bought this camera for my daughter and when she saw it she was amazed. She recently had a kodak that broke when she dropped it, so she is really excited to have a durable camera that takes great pictures. There are so many different options and buttons, this camera was a great find!
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Others better for price
- Reviewd on:
2009-01-02
By: L. Kehrt
I received this camera for Christmas. My mother-in-law had a Kodak EasyShare which is GREAT! It takes the most remarkably clear pictures for a point and shoot. She could not find that camera for me, so the Canon SX110 IS was recommended. It takes very fuzzy pictures in low light and the stability is not good. There was a world of difference between her pictures and those taken with the Canon (taken at the same place, same light, etc.). After research, I have opted to go with the Panasonic DMC-FZ28K which has remarkable reviews. After I receive it, I will let you know.
In the meantime, if you are going to spend $200+ on a camera, there are certainly ones better than this. I would take a little time and do some research - but the Kodak EasyShare is definitely a better buy.
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