Canon PowerShot D10 12.1 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-Inch LCD
by Canon
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon PowerShot D10 12.1 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-Inch LCD
Customer Review: Making my friends and family jealous!
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this camera for Christmas after drooling over it for a year or so. The last time I had a point and shoot I was 16 and it had film in it. I needed something to take where I didn't dare take my SLR but I wasn't willing to suffer in the picture quality department. I've taken this camera everywhere. I can give it to my students to take pictures with and not worry about them dropping it or spilling something on it (though I make sure they wear the wrist strap). If I'd written this review just after Christmas it would have been positive but having used it extensively on vacation, in tide pools, on hikes and in the pool I'd very highly recommend it. At first I was irritated by some of the auto settings (it tries to make each scene medium gray, as far as density/exposure). However, when I played around with the Program mode I was able to adjust all of the little things that I was used to having control over in my SLR, not as precisely but sufficiently for a point and shoot. Figuring that out, I realized I could also use some of those things (exposure and white balance and manual focus among others) when shooting video. I've had a great time shooting underwater video of minnows, trout, salamanders and friends. The Macro feature is good but sometimes it rebels when the flowers wiggle in the breeze, I found placing my steady hand next to the flower and focusing on that works for a quick shot. Otherwise I use the Manual Focus which lets you get pretty close, 2in away... The pictures are of lovely quality, the auto white balance is good enough on most occasions. However, as with any other camera I find it's best to choose a light situation for the camera otherwise it tries to make yellow sandstone white as if there were Tungsten light and that looks gross. The underwater settings are great. I've used them to create vivid color when the color isn't working in other situations too. I was a color corrector at a big photography lab for years and I know that color can make or break a shot. I also know it's better to not have to make too many changes after the fact. I've been pleased with the accuracy of color and density and can often send pictures to print with no color correction requested. Something I don't dare to do with my SLR. On the other hand, I was recently taking a picture of a purple delphinium and everything was a fine color except the flower which the camera insisted on making a weird sapphire blue that it invented. The camera is a little heavy for a cocktail purse or most ladies clothing pockets but otherwise it's fine. The zoom is good but definitely only in comparison to point and shoot cameras. I wouldn't take this on a bird watching trip as a substitute for an SLR camera though it does do better than other point and shoots in this department. It takes a nice landscape though not as wide angle as I'm used to with my SLR. It also takes lovely arm-out self-portraits. The self-timer is fun to play with, you can set the custom timer for a 1-30 second delay and have it take 1-10 shots. It's perfect for a silly picture series, family portrait, you riding your horse over a jump... all sorts of things. It also takes good pretty dark shots, if you hold steady it can usually do a good job for you. The 3200 setting helps, but it isn't usually necessary. It's a great tool and the more I play with it the more I discover. The pictures I've taken impress my family and friends because it's an awesome camera I've learned to use well. They're all jealous I can drop, submerge, nearly freeze my camera, hand it to cookie dough covered second graders and then wash it off with a little soap and water. Good to go again. A couple of friends who are in the market for a new camera are seriously considering it. You're going to like this camera and you won't regret having bought it.Customer Review: Best underwater camera on the market.
Summary: 5 Stars
I hope this review helps you decide which underwater camera is the best one to buy. After doing hours of research on all the different underwater cameras on the market in 2010, I had narrowed it down to the Canon D10 and the Panasonic Lumix TS1. I bought both of these cameras to take on a 2 week vacation to Maui. I wanted to have 2 underwater cameras so that my girlfriend and I would both be able to take snorkeling pictures without having to pass a camera back and forth. Also, I wanted to field test both cameras side by side to find out for myself which camera would be the keeper.
The Canon D10 wins out for a few reasons.
Main reason -
I bought these cameras mainly to take underwater snorkel pictures. When I started using the cameras for regular shots after spending time in the water, intermittent fogging effected both cameras. Here's the difference: The fogging on the D10 only took place on the LCD screen which did not effect the images. I could still see the shots and it was only a minor issue.
The fogging on the Lumix took place on the inside of the lens, ruining my ability to use the camera (take clear shots) until the moisture inside the camera evaporated. Weak! When I'm on vacation, I want to be able to take shots when the opportunity presents itself, without having to wait for the camera to comply. Lumix lost major points on this issue.
Picture quality -
Once you familiarize yourself with the different picture settings, the D10 takes AMAZING pictures. The auto function does a pretty good job choosing the appropriate setting, but you should be comfortable navigating through the menu to tweak it for the environment you find yourself in. Very easy.
The most surprising aspect of the D10 is the power of the macro setting. Believe it or not, the macro setting produces shots that rival my girlfriend's Canon Rebel TSI with telescopic lens. Granted, you have to be much closer to the object since you can't use a telescopic lens, but when I show people the pictures I took with the D10 on macro, they simply do not believe I used a camera that cost under $300.
The Lumix does take excellent pictures, but they just weren't as striking as the shots taken by the D10.
Video quality -
Although the Lumix takes high def video (if you have an SD card with a write speed of 10MB/sec or greater), the video quality of the D10 should be fine for the needs of your average consumer. The difference between the video quality was not enough for me to want to keep the Lumix rather than the D10. What good does high def do me if the lens is fogged up?
I did buy the accessory kit for the D10. It's over-priced and not necessary unless you plan on doing an extreme sport that requires using both hands (rock climbing) and need to clip it to your body instead of your wrist. Spend your money on a high quality SD card and extra batteries instead. I do recommend the Maximal Power DB CAN NB-6L sold by amazon. It doesn't last quite as long as the factory battery, but it is well worth $6.
Durability -
The D10 is extremely durable. It worked perfectly 10,000ft up on Haleakala and 30ft deep in the Pacific. I used the D10 underwater at least 15 separate times within 2 weeks without any issues. I didn't worry about it at all in my pocket or backpack as I went from adventure to adventure on Maui. It is not perfectly rectangular like the Lumix, but it still easily fits in the pocket of cargo shorts. The lens on the D10 is set further back in the housing design, protecting it from accidental scratching more so than the design of the Lumix.
Don't hesitate in picking up the D10, it has given me pictures that I will cherish for many years.
Customer Review: Fantastic waterproof camera for vacation and shoots good photos out of water, too!
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this camera just a few days before our trip to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, so I didn't have much time to test it out before we left. It took good pictures around town while in Sydney plus it was easy to carry and portable. I used it constantly for the 3 1/2 weeks of our trip and love the camera so far.
I originally looked into getting a waterproof housing for my Canon Powershot, but couldn't find one exactly right and they were very expensive. We were just going to do some snorkeling, not diving, so didn't need something for deep underwater. I liked the D10 because it was rated for 10 meters instead of 3 so you could feel safe swimming down to things well below the surface without worry if you are too deep.
Once we got to the reef, just jumped in and started taking pictures. The screen was bright and easy to see under the water. I was careful to turn it off between shots if I wasn't constantly snapping away, so we never had any problems with the battery life. (I saw this on a few reviews before my purchase, so I was careful.) It has such a quick start time that I never felt that I was going to miss something. I also turned off the picture review to save the battery. This also allowed me to take my next photo much quicker since you didn't have to wait for the review before the camera went back to "live". The pictures were fantastic, I uploaded a few to the customer picture gallery. I couldn't have been happier with the photos and beats those disposable cameras, hands down!
Once you get out of the ocean, very important to soak or thoroughly rinse the camera to remove the salt. Our boat had a fresh water bin to soak/rinse the cameras as you got out of the ocean. Also be sure to let completely dry (and may want to use a puff blower over the battery cover as water likes to stay in some small spots there) before you open the battery cover or usb cover. I also took the extra precaution to blow off (with the puff blower like you use for your digital SLR) the edges of the seals of each compartment before closing them to ensure no dust or sand might be hiding there. No sense in taking a risk like that.
Changing between the scene modes was very easy, but usually not necessary. When shooting sunset or evening photos, the camera would automatically change to sunset mode for you and enrich those great colors. I also used the aquarium mode, which was a nice option since it changed the light balance and ensured no flash to ruin your photos. Mostly I left it on Auto and let the camera do all of the work. You don't need to think about anything, just shoot away and let it take great photos for you.
I accidentally tested the shockproof feature of the camera one day. I hadn't put the strap on my wrist and was carrying some other things in my hand. I dropped the camera from about shoulder height to the cement with no damage and only a small scratch!
One small drawback is the small optical zoom. I understand it, especially since the lens can't extend but it would have been nice at times to have a more closeup shot. With 12MP, I feel I can crop the photos a bit when necessary without too much worry since I mostly post them to the web. There is still plenty of resolution left. (My Nikon D70 SLR is only 6MP.)
Overall, I'm very impressed with this camera. It was very easy to use, feels sturdy (and survived a 4 foot drop), and takes great photos both underwater and otherwise (especially love many of the sunset photos).
Customer Review: More Great Canon Quality
Summary: 5 Stars
March 15th 2009:
I am going to start out with my initial thoughts then will add my comments as time goes by. I just got the D10 today, I had it shipped to my work so that I could get it earlier in the day! I had all ready purchased an Maximal Power DB CAN NB-6L Replacement Battery and a car charger so I would have a fully charged battery to play with. Turns out that the Canon battery has some charge all ready on it so I didn't need the other battery right away.
Taking it out of the package I was very impressed with how well put together it is and how solid it feels. I have had many of the Canon Powershot cameras starting with the S210 way back in 2003. This is the 4th camera in the Powershot series that I have owned. From my initial take this is really a good camera. Due to the waterproofing it feels very solid and seems to be well made. Since the camera is more rounded they were able to place buttons in areas that are easier to reach such as the zoom and zoom out buttons are now on the screen side of the camera and are easier to manipulate then on my SD750. It also seems that they beefed up the brightness of the screen due to the fact that this camera is meant to be used outdoors more then most cameras. I was only able to take a few test shots so I can comment too much on the most important feature of the camera but from the few random test shots in bright sunlight it seemed to do very well.
March 16th 2009:
Well we got the camera to the pool to put it through it's paces. The pool has large indoor kids play area with water slides and stuff to play on. We got a fair amount of light in from the windows so we could take some shots without the flash if we were on that side of the pool. Before going in the water I opened both doors and visualy inspected the seals for any foreign substances that might make the seal not work properly. I plan to do this everytime we use it in the water to be 100% sure that we don't have any leakage issues. I would venture a guess that most people that have had their camera leak ended up with a small hair or other foreign material on the seal. I was really happy at how well the flash worked on the D10. I do have a SD450 that I bought a waterprrof enclosure for but I could never get the flash to work like it should. Since this camera is not that bulky the flash worked very well.
I was also impressed with the scene modes. I had a few issues with non flash indoor shots until I switched it to the indoor scene mode, at that point my pictures looked much better without the flash. Controls are easy to use, I like where the zoom keys are it is just taking me a while to get oriented to which button does the zooming. My wife was a litte bit skeptical that we needed another camera but she is a big believer now that we have it.
Monday March 22:
Wow the 3200 ISO Scene mode is really amazing! I took some low light shots of my sons while there were napping that were really amazing given the low amount of light in their room. I also used the fireworks mode to take a few shot of a cars on the highway. These turned out really nice and show how well this camera adapts to what you want to do with it. Yes it is an undewater camera but it can do so much more then just get wet.
Customer Review: If you can only have one digital camera, this is the one.
Summary: 5 Stars
We bought this camera specifically to take snorkeling on a vacation in the Bahamas. After some research this clearly was the front runner. Now I know why. It works very well, is very easy to use, and lives up to it's billing.
We took a number of pictures underwater, mostly snorkeling on the surface. In pretty bright sunlight we were able to get good pictures of barracuda that were at 10 feet below us. Color was at least as good as what you are actually seeing, especially if you use the Underwater color setting. The controls are very easy to use and make reasonably intuitive sense. Colors on reef fish and sponges are representative of real life. At one point we went scuba diving in a cave and got it down to about 20 feet. Pictures came out blurry but that wasn't the camera's fault. We were trying to take pictures of a moving small shrimp. One thing to keep in mind is that when you are snorkeling/swimming you are not being completely still while you are taking the pictures.
Also, the camera takes great pictures out of the water. I was very happy with the regular quality. It has a good combination of automatic and manual modes that allow you to over/underexpose picutres, change the light settings, and it also has manual focus capability.
One thing I like is that the connector for the strap is actually a button that can be locked onto anyone of the four corners of the camera. This allows you to move it around to fit the situation. I would highly recommend a floating strap. We got the one from Olympus and it will float the camera. It also makes it easier to find and gives you a sense of comfort that you won't lose it.
Good:
1. The camera actually is waterproof, at least down to 30 feet.
2. Picture quality is very good, both in and out of water.
3. Good combination of manual and automatic modes.
4. Battery life appears good. I was able to get at least two full days of picture taking out of one charge. I never ran the battery all the way down so I don't know what total life is.
Could be better:
1. I agree with the reviewer that threads for filters would be useful. There are some filters designed for underwater photography to bring out color that would be nice to use.
2. Uses a propretary battery and charger. Although the battery seems to last a long time you have to make sure you have the correct charger with you. Not a huge deal unless you leave it. Also means you can't run into the drug store for more batteries if you get low.
3. Screen sometimes difficult to see underwater. This can be an issue if you are trying to get a picture of a specific moving fish. If they are not really bright and easy to see you may have trouble getting them centered the way you like.
4. Because of the design of the housing (which is a little bulky) you may have to work to find a case that fits.
Bad:
1. Nothing.
All in all I am very happy with this camera and recommend it highly. Even the things I would like to change are not really that big a deal.