Canon PowerShot A1100IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Blue)
by Canon
Our Price: $189.99
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Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: CanonModel: A1100IS Blue
Color: Blue
Product features:
- 12.1-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality poster-size prints
- 4x optical zoom and Optical Image Stabilizer; 2.5-inch LCD screen
- DIGIC 4 Image Processor with evolved Face Detection Technology; Face Detection Self-timer
- Uses 2 AA-size batteries
- Compatible with SD/SDHC, MMC/MMC Plus/HC MMC Plus (not included)
- Canon ACK-800 AC Adapter for A Series, E1, SX100IS, & SX110IS Digital Cameras
- Canon HF-DC1 High Power Flash for Canon Powershot Digital Cameras
- Joby GP1-A1EN Gorillapod Flexible Tripod (Grey and Black)
- Canon PSC-500 Deluxe Soft Case
- Canon CBK4-300 Rechargeable Battery and Charger Kit for PowerShot Cameras (Retail Package)
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon PowerShot A1100IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Blue)
Customer Review: this is 6 stars by the standards it should be measured on!
Summary: 5 Stars
the Canon A1100IS is one of those cameras that invite one of those philosophical, paradigm-shift discussions about the changing nature of photography. but that seems a distraction and for the sake of a review we should talk about the camera itself. just to tell you where i come from - i compare the results i obtain with the A1100 with the 2 other cameras i have come to use the most: a Canon G9 i know isnide out, and a canon s90.
i wanted a very capable, cheap and reasonably compact point and shoot. i have enough cameras that are large, and far more complicated, and cater to my needs as a more ambitioned creative hobby photographer (which means i mainly screw around with aperture settings, demand quick optics and electronics, and use something like Photoshop Elements 8.0 -adjust version a month from now :D- for occcasional post-processing, really, if we are honest). nevertheless, let's get to the point, and make the review stand out a tad by being somewhat controversial with a guess-timate: i would venture that 90% of people buy far more camera capabilities than they'll ever need or train themselves to exploit; and as far as camera enthusiasts go, they'll just need the ambitious setting capabilities for 10% of the pictures they take. the digital revolution makes us appreciate convenience, and makes us take *most* pictures either in full or semi-auto mode. really, there is nothing to be ashamed about, we all do it. but enough about philosophy and paradigm shifts, and on to the A1100.
what i have to say is, wow, this camera takes awesome panoramic or group/people/porttrait pictures in full auto mode outside or good indoors lighting, which means traditionally low ISO settings and a distance ~8ft or so. i mean, amazingly sharp. i'll go further - go challenge your friend with an EOS 5D in such "unchallenging", good-lighting and typical subect settings. the A1100 produces great pictures by *any* price standard in very standard environments. which is what the vast majority of people will need. and, honestly - if you don't somewhat thoroughly experiment with your camera regularly, and if you haven't ready the manual cover to cover at least twice, the fact is you do fall into this category of users.
then there are the more challening environments: typically indoors, and the amount of objects, less light and artificial lighting sources and intensity and wavelengths thereof that challenge cameras. sure, like every other full auto, the Canon A1100 applies the considerable and able capabilities of the high end, latest gen Digic chip to get the job done. and it performs admirably, albeit with the typical temperamental and inconsistent nature of smart digital cameras (but it takes more good pictures in the process than anything i have experienced before, mind you). the thing is, in such settings, do yourself a favor and go for "semi auto mode". by that i mean the "P" setting along with what the A1100 calls "center based AF frame", which gives you quick control: a half-click gets the camera to evaluate your main subject in the middle, and then you can go compose and eventually go through with the shot. focus lock is your friend, and make sure to tell the camera to keep the ISO as low as you can (i limit it to 200). do that, and then... darn, does the A1100 take great shots inside too or what? pretty awesome. do *not* challenge your friend with the EOS in more contrast rich, low lighting settings, though. :-) don't get me wrong, the full auto mode seems to work pretty well inside too: this is the perfect camera to turn into full auto, hand over to someone else, and tell them to just click away. it will be hard for them to totally screw up pictures, no matter how hard they try (amazing how many people still simply pull all the way through, which may explain some of the picture quality complaints in here). i've had a 90 year old take a picture of me with this camera, and it made her day to feel like a pro photographer after she saw the results. but if you own the camera, you owe it to yourself to experiment with the semi and creative modes. and then you will really need a compelling reason to buy more camera. amazing.
the summary is: the A1100 is a very capable camera by any price standard, and a *superb* and *stellar* camera considering its value. i mean, i can take amazing pictures i can blow up to poster size, and yet given its price tag i don't have to be overly afraid to lose or subject it to some hardship given it's not asking me to burn a lot of $ to acquire it! the optics are fast enough, the electronics seem extremely capable, the camera is a perfect auto point and shooter and yet allows ambitioned users to beat those results by using semi auto modes smartly (if they bother to learn).
so, as so often, you have to know what and why you are buying it. and be honest with what you really and truly need. there is no way those who really use it well will have complaints about picture quality - it is amazing considering what you pay. if i am to mention complaints, i'd say battery life. in indoor use you'll be lucky to get ~100 shots with NiMH rechargables, but i have gone an dbought the SONY batteries recommended elsewhere. the battery door takes getting used to. other than that - very nice, simple, and reasonably compact camera considering you can just pop in AAs.
cameras like the A1100 convince me that, a few years from now, photography will not necessarily be about knowing technicalities like apertures or f-stops or the like - it will be about creativity and an eye for the right scene. hate it or love it, the digital revolution will create and egalitarian creative environment and eliminate technicalities.
and we are more than halfway there with a camera like the a1100.
i follow a dual camera strategy these days, and the A1100 is the perfect companion to anything else i own for more ambitioned stuff.
More Canon PowerShot A1100IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Blue) reviews:
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