Canon PowerShot SD1000 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Silver)
by Canon
|
Our Price: $649.88 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $65.00 (click here) Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon PowerShot SD1000 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Silver)
Customer Review: The New Elph
Summary: 5 Stars
This camera is replacing my SD110 Digital Elph from close to 4 years ago. The basic operating controls are simpler than the older camera, as there are fewer of them. The Print share button is now programmible in the shooting mode, and should be set to Exposure Compensation. This gives the photographer very good manual control of the camera without having to delve into the Main or Set Menu, if not in the classical sense.
The body is quite small, about 1/4 inch thinner than the SD110, but still quite solid in feel. The rubber cap allowing access to the USB and AV connections has been replaced by a hinged, close fitting matching plastic door. The build quality is equal to or better than the older camera, but Canon should have kept the turned metallic surrounding lens treatment of the SD110, and perhaps reversed the black treatment of the black model.
Battery and memory access is equally good in both cameras. Battery life is very good in the SD1000, but warning of the need to be charged is short. In fact, it's non existant. You get warned, you might get one more shot (or not). Buy an extra battery, keep it charged, and keep it with you. Overall, the camera is worth the effort.
If you've been using almost any small digital more than about 2 years old, with an optical viewfinder (or even a larger camera, like my D70 or my daughter's Digital Rebel), you will love the LCD screen on the SD1000. The optical viewfinder on the new Elph, by my reconing, shows about 2/3 to 3/4 of what the camera actually picks up, at all zoom settings. I think that optical viewfinders belong on any camera that represents itself as a serious camera, and the accuracy should be closer to 90% at distances of over 3 feet.
All in all, if you also own a DSLR, this is a very nice little "daily driver".
It's a small, solid and (if you carry a charged extra battery) very reliable companion. If this will be your only digital camera, start at the top and look at the Canon G7, and work your way down in price through the A700 series to the A500 series. Here you will find pretty full (almost classic?) manual control, optical viewfinders, easy program modes, and still pretty portable cameras.
.....Tom
Customer Review: Love this camera!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this camera for my daughter and myself and also bought a Kodak Easy Share camera for my parents at the same time. Both are 7.1 MP, similar sizes and when I first got the cameras I actually preferred the Kodak even though it was the less expensive. The one thing I didn't care for with the Canon was that when you zoom in on something it doesn't always come in clear on the screen, but the pictures are very sharp and clear when taken. The Kodak is extremely easy to use, the reason I had bought it for my parents. However, after having the Canon for a few months now I am SO happy I kept it! Not only is the size of the camera fantastic, easy enough to slip into a pocket to take anywhere, but the photos we are getting are outstanding! I recently attended an outdoor wedding and took some great shots one handed, zooming in with only one hand as well. Everyone was impressed with the photos and couldn't believe how nice the camera zoomed in and yet the pictures were clear and sharp. We've taken many indoor pictures as well and find the red eye isn't bad at all, nothing like an Olympus I used to use that had a red eye reduction feature but didn't seem to do much even when used.
The Canon Sure Shot has many features that I'm sure we will never use but it is nice to have the capability there if we choose to do so. It has more settings to use for your photos than any camera I've ever used, including one for taking shots of aquariums that I used and I couldn't believe how it brought the fish and plants into an almost 3d look on the picture. We'll be going on vacation in only a couple weeks to Las Vegas and Utah's Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon and I'm excited to have this camera to use there as I think we will get some outstanding pictures. Incidentally, my 11 year old daughter uses the camera quite a lot and has taken pictures you would never believe an 11 year old had taken they were so good. I highly recommend this camera, it took just a little getting used to in the beginning but I am very happy with it now.
Customer Review: Fantastic Little Camera!
Summary: 5 Stars
I won this camera at a "Project Graduation" event my senior year of high school. Since then I have taken over 4,000 shots and have put it through nearly three years of regular use. Here are my observations:
Build Quality
With bead-blasted aluminum front and back plates, this camera has a solid, mini brick-like feel in your hand. The LCD proved resilient to scratching (although I babied mine and always kept it in a soft case) but the aluminum finish picks up fingerprints and smears very easily. Buttons are high quality but the mode switch has a little play in it. The lens barrel is tight with no shifting and the zoom motor is very quiet.
Image Quality
Outdoors with good light I always set the ISO to 80 and this little camera delivers crisp detailed pictures with great color and contrast. However, venture above ISO 200 and your pictures will become grainy and lose detail. This is a consequence of pixel-packed sensors (many modern cameras with 14+ MP sensors are far worse!). The lens provides a useful range, but 35mm on the wide end isn't terrific. Canon makes PowerShots today with 28mm and even 24mm settings. The aperture is a generous-for-the-size 2.8-4.9 variable across the zoom range.
Features
I love the interface. It's simple with no clutter and everything is where you want it. The dedicated ISO button is a boon. The LCD is bright and sharp with a good viewing angle. One nice hidden feature is the ability to shoot up to fifteen second exposures. I've produced some very nice night shots with this setting (although a tripod is needed).
Closing Statements
I used the SD1000 as a daylight companion to my EOS 30D DSLR and it delivered at low ISOs. I've recently sold it and traded up to the new PowerShot S90 which delivers superb, almost DSLR-like high ISO results. That said, the SD1000 churned out consistent, beautiful images and never gave me any headaches. In today's complicated world, this is a blessing.
Customer Review: Didn't realize how good this is, till now!
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently thought about buying a 2nd digital camera for my household, so that i can take more artistic shots at a higher resolution, and not be worried about images being erased before i've downloaded them. So, this search for a "better", more "expensive" model, has lead me to researching many sites and models. Not one to actually read a manual for cameras that are intuitive, I barely glanced at this one when we first got it about a year ago. But boy, the things it can do! Now that I see features being offered in cameras in the $250-$350 range, that this Elph has, it's making me wonder if i really do need to spend more for something I already have.
The other models i'm currently looking at are (in no particular order):
Canon PowerShot G9 12.1MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom $439.77
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18S 8.1MP Digital Camera with 18x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)$299.98
Canon PowerShot A590IS 8MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom around $150
Canon PowerShot Pro Series S5 IS 8.0MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom $314
I'd like something that isn't going to be super bulky/heavy that it's a pain to carry, decent auto/manual offerings, and high enough resolution to blow up images to poster size, 16" x 20" or so. Even though this camera has so far taken amazing shots, I thought it was on a very high quality setting. So when i saw pixels on magnification, i thought I need a better one. Turns out it was only on the lowest of the medium settings!! Glad i saw the manual now.
There is the typical lag time waiting between shots, but I have yet to try it's Continuous Shots feature, which works on a lower level setting. Other features worth noting are the facial recognition, panoramic stitching of shots, color choosing, and a beautiful LCD viewer.
If this has everything you're looking for, buy it. You won't regret it!
Customer Review: Time to pull the trigger?
Summary: 5 Stars
Amazon's current prices make this camera, a replacement for the popular SD600, quite tempting. In this day of the devalued dollar, the going price is still almost as small as the dimensions of the SD1000. If it's your first camera, or your first in 4-5 years, give this one, along with the slightly higher-priced but more user-friendly, larger-screened SD750, a good look. But if you already have an SD600, no need to make a switch yet. DigiImageProcessor3 offers an additional bell or whistle or two but not necessarily higher resolution photos. (Take a look at the resolutions rendered by various cameras at a site like Steve's Digicams.) Also, with each improvement there are trade-offs (Cnet's specs even give the advantage to the SD600 in the category of continuous shooting speed).
The auto facial-heightening feature of the SD1000 is, on the whole, an impressive addition, but not foolproof. If that's a primary consideration, the consumer may as well go to the new Sony DSC200, programmed to shoot only when the lens sees a smiling face. (Next, look for both Canon and Sony to come out with bright pink and orange models with built-in audio speakers delivering jokes to insure the subject's mouth forms an upward crescent sufficiently curved to trigger the auto smile-sensoring shutter.)
Once a musician has a good instrument, he's foolish to think that next year's model will make him a better player. If you're satisfied with your present camera, Canon or otherwise, devote your time to learning the camera and how to take better pictures with it. It's merely an instrument: it doesn't play itself. The photographer takes the pictures, not the camera. The same is as true of the SD1000 as of earlier Canon models. The best reason, eventually, to make a switch will be the realization that nothing less than an SLR model like the Canon Rebel series will accomplish the creative compositions and striking representations you now wish to create with a camera.