|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
|
Beautifully designed, fatastic lens |
|
Reviewed on 21st July 2009:
|
I currently own one 9 year old Olympus 3.75 MB digital camera (with an iffy macro), a Canon A620, but am now back to just the Canon S3 IS as my daily digital. However, I had a good experience with the S5 IS and so, when it came time to buy my wife her first camera (for her birthday) - even with 20 years' experience with Olympus SLRs and Zuiko lenses - I chose the Canon PowerShot SD1100IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Gold), what I'm still calling an Elph. It's just easier.
In showing her how to use it (the manual is twice the size of the one that came with my last computer), I fell in love with this little gem. It feels good. The LCD is big enough, but more important, the viewfinder is spot on. (It is not adjustable as is the S3 IS, but my wife doesn't need glasses.) 8MP is sufficient for casual photographers unless you're planning on printing billboard-size photos ... but then you wouldn't be a casual photographer.
My wife wanted a camera to take picture of the grandkids and other family members (not that "other family members" become a secondary category once grandchildren arrive even though they do), but after taking a few picture of the dog, we went to San Francisco's Botanical Gardens. She took more than 200 pictures (ah, the difference between digital film) and, with no experience, came out with more than 40 fantastic shots including some macros that will certainly go into an album that she's now planning.
I took another 100 photos around the local park and have posted them on my own "amateur" site ([...]) where you can compare the four digital cameras I've now used for nature photography.
The only feature that I would change IF it could be changed is to make the optical zoom 20x which, of course, is laughable in a tiny package such as this. The other features from macro to image stabilization are fantastic.
There are many features which I'm sure my wife will never use, and there are some features the importance or value of which I've yet to figure out. Face detection is one, the print-share button (which gets you to buy a Canon printer, but also enables emailing photos), and to be honest, the LCD. Yes, when I got my Olympus in 2000, I loved the LCD. But within a month I found that, no matter how you set the display, about half the time you can't see the LCD clearly because of sunlight. But that's me. Most people I see using digital cameras use the LCD.
All and all, this is just a great little camera with huge capabilities. If I wasn't afraid of missing a shot of a bird on my walks, I'd take my wife's camera instead of my S3.
As I've said in all of my reviews of cameras, if you cannot focus, this camera will do that for you. If you cannot center a photo and come out with pictures of people without heads or other appendages, no camera will do that for you. Perhaps some people are born with composition and technique in their blood, and other just have a composition disability. If you fall into the latter category, read other reviews: maybe somebody has found the solution. |
| Was this review helpful to you? |
  |
Thanks for the valuable feedback you have provided to our readers and reviewers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nice camera - Annoying Flash |
|
Reviewed on 16th July 2009:
|
I bought this camera for my trip to India. I spend a lot of time doing research in rural villages, so I needed something robust enough to handle multiple lighting conditions, something rugged enough to handle the heat and humidity, and something small enough so I can take photos without attracting people's attention. So far it has held up well.
When there is good ambient light, the pictures come out crisp and clear. However, it tends to get grainy and washed-out in lower light. The start-up time is great, taking me just about a second between removing it from my pocket to actually taking a photo.
I got an 8gb Kingston (class 6) memory card, and the Digipower BP-CN4L Replacement battery to use as a backup. The camera is very intuitive to use, and I like the color-swap manipulation and time-lapse video features.
What I particularly DISLIKE is the flash. The default is for it to always switch to 'Auto' whenever the camera is turned on. In my work, the flash attracts too much attention, and so I constantly have to manually switch it off every time I turn the camera on, which could be up to 80+ times a day. Very annoying. Another con is the flimsyness of the battery/memory cover. Even a vague attempt to make it seem sealed from moisture would go a long way.
If these are not deal-breakers for you, then I'd say go for it. |
| Was this review helpful to you? |
|
Thanks for the valuable feedback you have provided to our readers and reviewers.
|
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help others to make an informed choice and Write Your Own Review »
|
