Canon PowerShot A1100 IS

Opinion: I have owned this camera for a couple of years now and have been very pleased with it, despite its not having much of anything in the way of manual controls. It's the first compact digital I've owned, and I appreciate its small size and weight.
Like its review shows, the A1100IS produces excellent color images. To get as close to manual settings as I can, I shoot with it in the P (Program) mode, which allows me to bracket exposures two stops either way. In bright sun, it allows me to reduce exposure to avoid blown-out highlights and reduced color saturation. On very overcast days, as well as during twilight and dawn, it allows me to brighten scenes and bring out more detail and contrast. Like many compacts, its macro performance is amazing. For example, I have used it quite successfully shooting historic courthouse documents in macro mode, handheld under existing light!
In general, I'd call its overall low-light performance as not excellent, but not bad, either.

Opinion: I bought the a1100 to replace an a570, which died (failed to power up) after two years rough outdoors use and almost 5000 pictures.

The a570 was a fabulous camera with an Optical View Finder (OVF) and the a1100 (after about 500 pictures) appears to be be not far behind, in a noticeably smaller, more pocketable package. It appears to be the last of a dying breed of P/S cameras with OVF. The images are sharp, the focus is reliable, the automatic white balance is excellent and the colors are natural, but there is no real gain by the 12 Mpixel CCD with the Dicic IV processor over the 7 Mpixel a570 CCD with the Digic III processor. At iso1600 the noise is very fine grained and cleans up well with NoiseWare. Unlike the a570, which had full manual aperture and exposure control using a real iris (which gives control for four stops), the a1100 (and many similar cameras) now use a Neutral density filter to decrease the light on the CCD by 3 EV stops. It is shown as f/2.7 and f/8, but it is f/2.7 and f/2.7 + ND!

I tested the lens using the USAF 1951 resolution target and it is a little better at the center than my Nikon D40 with the kit lens (at f/3.5), a little worse in the corners, but it is also almost one stop faster.
I installed an experimental version (pre-beta) of CHDK, which allows automatic bracketing and life histograms.

I have no complaints about the battery, like another reviewer. A fresh pair of Eneloop 2000 mA batteries last for about 300+ pictures, maybe 10% less than the same batteries in the a570.

hha

Opinion: Bought this for a friend, played with it for a week, Really liked this little camera.
I used Sanyo eneloop batteries, close to 300 shots, batteries were not low, using flash on some. Comparing it to my A720, quite a bit smaller, much faster operation.
It out resolved my A720 in the center, not in the corners,
where it was quite a bit softer. Printed a few 8x12's of some flowers, Amazing detail, printed the equivalent of 20x25, still very good detail (center).
In Auto mode, it automatically goes into the close-up mode, and the close-up does work well, better than the A590. Flash is slow to recycle, as camera's using 2 AA's will, if your close it's not too bad. Does ok indoors, flash does not go off very often, and outdoors with the kids face in the shadows, it did, and filled in nicely. The flash does a better job, and does not over expose like earlier models. Printed 4x6 of ISO 1600, and ISO 3200,
you lost some color and detail, but still, not too bad.
Great camera for $130, My recommendation for a little Auto point and shoot, that's not too small.

Opinion: I bought this camera as a replacement for our now defective Canons A70 & A85. As a current comparison, I also have a Canon S3IS.
We've taken a good number of photos and videos with the A1100, and I'm very impressed with the results. With a good set of NMIH batteries, the battery life is respectable. Picture quality is not quite as good as my S3, but is very good none the less.

The A1100 has a fast focus, even indoors, which I think is actually better than my S3 for indoor shots. We take a lot of indoor pictures and haven'thad any issues with camera focus speed. The flash recycle is slow,but not too bad for a 2 AA battery camera I guess.

Outdoor shots are excellent, and very quick as well. No complaints here.The video quality is good, and you can zoom while taking the video.The only drawback is the sound in mono, whereas my S3 is in stereo.

Another item I find 'very' important is the use of AA cells. Most small P & S cameras these days require special (I.E. Expensive!) batteries. I don't like being locked into some high priced 'custom' battery that costs 1/2 as much as the camera did!

A lot of newcomers to digital cameras don't consider this. Just wait until your custom battery goes dead, and you don't have a spare!

Complaints:
Only two AA batteries: I wish the A1100 used four AA batteries instead of only two, but I don't think any small P&S uses more than two these days. My S3 uses four, and it seems like I never have to change them out.

No optical viewfinder:
I prefer some kind of optical viewfinder, even a poor one, but that's just me.

Another small complaint is a lack of rubber material on the hand grip. This camera is a slippery one. It can be a little awkward to hold.

Overall, I don't believe you can find a better low cost P&S camera than the A100IS. It is fast,(except for flash recycle), takes great pictures, and videos, and even has some custom settings if you want to operate with a little more manual control.

Opinion: Awesome value for $130.

I needed a small-as-possible P&S that takes regular AA batteries. I read all the reviews I could find and since they were generally favorable I decided to go with the new A1100IS. (I bought through a dealer with a good return policy just in case).

It comes in gray, pink, blue and green. I chose green because it's the color of money and besides, chicks dig it.

Construction - its mostly plastic, what a surprise. Yes, the battery door MAY break off one of these days.....but its only a $130 camera. Since I know that, I'lll be careful.

Features....no Manual mode....but WOW!!
18 possible presets/scenes and the Auto function selects among all those based upon conditions....I guarantee you this camera has more functions available than most of us would use in a month. You should plan to read the manual and practice. When you do, you will be surprised at what this little gem is capable of!

Image Quality. This was an occasional complaint with some reviewers. Some may have actually had bad cameras. I obviously do not. I had a list of test-shots/conditions ready to go as soon as it arrived so I could send it back if it disappointed. It didn't. My shots have ALL had excellent image quality.

(Well, I was unable to get sharp photos of a basketball player's face from a distance of 65 feet in a dimly lit gymnasium. So it does NOT rival my T1i DSLR for that. )

But it DOES rival my old Canon S3 and due to the higher megapixels is actually sharper in several settings. The resolution of the LCD isn't always great - but the photos themselves look very good.

Ease of use - between the Easy mode (idiot proofs your camera by disabling the various buttons) and the Auto model my young kids are consistently taking GREAT photos! This is going to help them learn to love photography.

Batteries. Yes it only takes 2 AAs - so it is going to go through them quickly. But I got 112 shots with the cheapo batteries that were included with the camera - so I was pleasantly surprised with that. A good set of rechargeable AAs is a worthwhile investment. I sometimes start with those and then if the camera goes dead I can throw in a backup set of either Lithium or Alkalines.

By the way, let me suggest to anyone who has a AA-powered camera, try the new Lithiums. They last much longer than regular high-quality alkaline AAs. And bought in bulk, the price difference is really worth it.

This camera does not have a Manual control setting - but it has 18 preset modes and either through the Smart Auto or by directly selecting the preset/scene I have been able to accomplish the type of shot I want. Except for that basketball thing.

I have to say that for $130 I cannot complain. Sure, I wish it had more zoom but as my wife says "its not your focal length of your lens that matters - its what you do with it" (or something to that effect....) So this is not The One Perfect Camera That Can Do Everything - but for me it IS the perfect combination of high quality pictures in a small affordable package.

Expectations exceeded for the money.

Opinion: Disappointing Camera:

First off, this camera is a major battery hog. 2 AAs just dont cut it. It sucks power like a sponge. 2500 mAh batteries are expensive and not that easy to come by for the average person.

Secondly, it performs very poorly in overcast situations: Purple fringing is very bad. Auto Focussing is slow. The lack of a sports mode is a detriment if you're trying to film anything moving, where it be a torch relay or people walking by.

The controls and settings can be a bit of a pain to use. I have the A80 and it's controls are much easier to work with, everthing from adjusting the picture settings to displaying the EXIF data on the display viewer.

The good points are few. Movie mode is of very good quality, the camera is light for travel and it has a good digital zoom.

The battery cover/compartment is of very poor quality. It will likely break very easily.

I dont recommend this camera at all.

Opinion: pros:
- i am not overly afraid to rough it up or lose it
- very good picture quality ...
- under good lighting, great pic quality by any standard
- indoors, use semi-manual P mode and focus lock at lower ISO
- highly replaceable AA batteries
- good optics and useful range
- total ease of use
- for those interested in macro plant shots, for some reason this little camera delivers stunning results. really.

cons:
- tad clunkier than others given AA battery compartment
- plasticky feel, albeit solid
- need to buy high end NiMH rechargeables for good battery life

excellent littel camera. i have other options, but i truly enjoy the concenience and ease and lack of paranoia when using this one.

Opinion: Decent image quality for the price. Very poor battery life. Low battery warning starts to flash around 20 shots - annoying

Opinion: Fast, small, and easy to use. 2500 mah NIMH batteries are a must.