Canon PowerShot SX100 IS Full Review
Review based on a production Canon SX100 IS
The PowerShot SX100 IS is the first model in Canon's new SX series of budget super zoom compact cameras, and in the Powershot line-up slots in somewhere between the tried and tested A-Series and the more upmarket S5 IS. Canon's engineers combined the materials and build quality of the former with the long lens, some features and design of the latter to merge them into a brand new camera that goes head to head with Panasonic's popular TZ series (and the new Sony H3). The SX100 IS comes with a 8.0MP sensor, a 10x zoom, optical image stabilization and a comprehensive range of manual photographic controls, all nicely wrapped up in a compact silver or black plastic body. Canon says the SX series offers exceptional performance in the hands of any member of the family, so let's find out how it performed in our capable hands, starting, as ever, with the headline features.
- 8.0 Megapixels
- 10x optical zoom with optical Image Stabilizer (36-360mm equiv.)
- Comprehensive range of photographic controls with P, Av, Tv and M modes
- DIGIC III imaging processor
- Face Detection
- Digital Tele-Converter and Safety Zoom
- 2.5” LCD with 100% coverage
- 19 shooting modes
PowerShot SX100 IS specifications
| Street price | • US: $300 • UK: £200 |
|---|---|
| Body Material | Plastic |
| Sensor | • 1/2.5 " Type CCD • 8.0 million effective pixels |
| Image processor | DIGIC III |
| Image sizes | • 3264 x 2448 |
| Movie clips | • 640 x 480 @ 30fps |
| Lens | • 36-360mm (35mm equiv) |
| Optical Stabilization | Yes (lens-shift) |
| Focus | TTL autofocus |
| Metering | • Evaluative • Center-weighted average • Spot |
| Shooting modes | • Auto |
| Scenes modes | • Portrait • Landscape • Night Snapshot • Kids & Pets • Night Scene • Indoor • Foliage • Snow • Beach • Fireworks • Aquarium |
| Shutter speeds | 15-1/2500 sec |
| Apertures | F2.8-4.3 |
| Exposure compensation | +/-2EV in 1/3EV stop increments |
| ISO Sensitivity | • Auto • High ISO Auto • ISO 80 • ISO 100 • ISO 200 • ISO 400 • ISO 800 • ISO 1600 |
| White Balance | • Auto • Daylight • Cloudy • Tungsten • Fluorescent • Fluorescent H • Custom |
| Image parameters | My Colors (My Colors Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Custom Color) |
| Continuous | • Approx 0.8fps until card is full (AF / LiveView) • Approx 1.3fps until card is full (LCD monitor off) |
| Flash | • Auto, Flash On, Flash Off, Slow Sync, Red-eye reduction • +/- 2EV in 1/3 stop increments • Face Detection FE compensation • Safety FE • Flash exposure lock • Manual Power Adjustment (3 levels) • Range (Auto ISO): 50cm - 3.0m (wide) / 2.0m (tele) |
| Storage | • SD, SDHC, MMC, MMCplus , HC MMCplus compatible • 16 MB card supplied |
| Viewfinder | No |
| LCD monitor | • 2.5-inch P-Si TFT • 172,000 pixels • 100% coverage • 15 levels of brightness adjustment |
| Connectivity | • USB 2.0 Hi-Speed • AV out (PAL / NTSC switchable) |
| Power | • 2x AA Alkaline or NiMH batteries • Optional AC adapter ACK800 |
| In the box* | • PowerShot SX100 IS Body |
| Other features | • Histogram |
| Weight (no batts) | 266g (9.4 oz) |
| Dimensions | 108.7 x 71.4 x 46.7 mm (4.3 x 2.8 x 1.8 in) |
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital
Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help
you understand some of the terms used).
Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C. |
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