Canon Powershot SX100 IS Review

Review Date: November 15th 2007
Author: Gavin Stoker

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Page 1
Introduction / Ease of Use
Page 2
Image Quality
Page 3
Sample Images
Page 4
Design
Page 5
Specifications
Page 6
Conclusion

Specifications

IMAGE SENSOR
Type 1/2.5” CCD
Effective Pixels Approx 8.0M
Colour Filter Type Primary Colour
IMAGE PROCESSOR
Type DIGIC III with iSAPS technology
LENS
Focal Length 6.0 - 60.0 mm (35mm equivalent: 36-360mm)
Zoom Optical 10x. Digital approx. 4x (with Digital Tele-Converter approx. 1.6x or 2.0x and Safety Zoom¹)². Combined approx. 40x
Maximum f/number f/2.8 - f/4.3
Construction 10 elements in 9 groups (1 aspherical element)
Image Stabilisation Yes (shift-type)
FOCUSING
Type TTL
AF System / Points Face Detection, 1-point AF (fixed to centre or Face Select and Track)
AF Modes Single, Continuous
AF Point Selection Size (Normal, Small)
AF Lock On/Off Selectable
AF Assist Beam Yes
Manual Focus Yes
Closest Focusing Distance 1cm
EXPOSURE CONTROL
Metering Modes Evaluative (linked to Face Detection AF frame), Centre-weighted average, Spot (Centre)
AE Lock On/Off Selectable
Exposure Compensation +/- 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments
ISO Sensitivity* AUTO, High ISO Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
SHUTTER
Speed 15 – 1/2,500 sec
(Available shutter speeds vary depending on the shooting mode)
WHITE BALANCE
Type TTL
Settings Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom
LCD MONITOR
Monitor 2.5” P-Si TFT, approx. 172,000 pixels
Coverage 100%
Brightness Adjustable to one of fifteen levels
FLASH
Modes Auto, Manual Flash On / Off
Slow Sync Speed Yes
Red-eye Reduction Yes
Flash Exposure Compensation +/- 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments. Face Detection FE. Safety FE.
Flash Exposure Lock Yes
Manual Power Adjustment 3 levels
Built-in Flash Range 50cm-3.0m (W) / 50cm-2.0m (T) (at ISO AUTO equivalent)
External Flash Canon's High Power Flash HF-DC1
SHOOTING
Modes Auto, Program AE, Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual, Portrait, Landscape, Night Snapshot, Kids & Pets, Stitch Assist, Movie, Special Scene (Night Scene, Indoor, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium)
Photo Effects My Colors (My Colors Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Custom Color(Limited))
Drive Modes Single, Continuous, Self-Timer
Continuous Shooting Approx. 1.3fps¹ AF/LV: Approx. 0.8fps¹ (until memory card becomes full)²
RECORDING PIXELS / COMPRESSION
Image Size (L) 3264 x 2448, (M1) 2592 x 1944, (M2) 2048 x 1536, (M3, Postcard Date Imprint) 1600 x 1200, (S) 640 x 480, (W) 3264 x 1832. Resize in playback (M3, S, 320 x 240)
Compression Superfine, Fine, Normal
Movies (L)640 x 480, 30fps, (LP)640 x 480, 30fps, (M)320 x 240, 30fps (S)160x120, 15fps
Movie Length Up to 4GB or 1 hour (L, LP, M)¹
Up to 3 mins (S)¹
FILE TYPES
Still Image Type JPEG compression, (Exif 2.2 [Exif Print] compliant) / Design rule for Camera File system, Digital Print Order Format [DPOF] Version 1.1 compliant
Movies AVI [Motion JPEG compression + WAVE (monaural)]
Sound Files WAVE (monaural)
DIRECT PRINT
Canon Printers Canon SELPHY Compact Photo Printers and Canon Inkjet Printers supporting PictBridge (ID Photo Print, Fixed Size Print and Movie Print supported on SELPHY CP & ES printers only)
PictBridge Yes
OTHER FEATURES
Red-Eye Correction Yes, in playback
My Camera Start-up image and camera sounds customisation (Pre-Installed items only)
Sound Memo Up to 60 sec per image
Intelligent Orientation Sensor Yes
Histogram Yes
Playback Zoom Approx. 2x – 10x
Self Timer Approx. 2 or 10 sec. or Custom
Menu Languages English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Chinese (traditional), Japanese, Russian, Portuguese, Korean, Greek, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Thai, Arabic, Ukrainian, Romanian
INTERFACE
Computer USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (Mini-B, PTP)
Other A/V output (PAL/NTSC)
MEMORY CARD
Type SD, SDHC, MMC, MMCplus, HC MMCplus. 32MB memory card supplied
SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEM
PC Macintosh Windows 2000 SP4 / XP SP2 / Vista
Mac OS X v10.3 - 10.4
SOFTWARE
Browsing & Printing ZoomBrowser EX / ImageBrowser
Other PhotoStitch
Drivers TWAIN (2000)
POWER SOURCE
Batteries 2x Size-AA Alkaline or NiMH Batteries (NB4-300) (Alkalines supplied)
Battery Life Approx. 140 shots (with supplied batteries)¹
Approx. 400 shots (with optional Canon NB4-300 batteries)¹
Approx. 420 min. playback (with supplied batteries)
Approx. 600 min. playback (with Canon NB4-300 batteries)
AC Power Supply Optional, AC Adapter Kit ACK800
ACCESSORIES
Case Soft Case DCC-700
Flash High Power Flash HF-DC1
Power Supply & Battery Chargers AC Adapter Kit ACK800, Battery Charger Kit CBK4-300, Ni-MH Batteries NB4-300
PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Operating Environment 0 – 40 °C, 10 – 90% humidity
Dimensions 108.7 x 71.4 x 46.7 mm (excluding protrusions)
Weight (body only) Approx 266g
   
Zoom ¹ Depending on the image size selected
² Digital zoom available for still image and standard movie modes only. Optical zoom may not be available during movie recording
Continuous Shooting ¹ Large/Fine with LCD monitor off
² Depending on memory card speed / capacity
Movie Length ¹ Depending on memory card speed / capacity
Battery Life ¹ Based on the CIPA Standard and using the batteries and memory card format supplied with the camera, except where indicated
   
Page 1
Introduction / Ease of Use
Page 2
Image Quality
Page 3
Sample Images
Page 4
Design
Page 5
Specifications
Page 6
Conclusion

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