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.
| 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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This article is Copyright 2007 dpreview.com and the review in part or in whole may NOT be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author. For information on reproducing any part of this review (or any images) please contact: Phil Askey
Canon PowerShot SX100IS 8MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) | $572.39 |
Canon PowerShot SX100IS 8MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver) | $115.95 |
Canon PowerShot SX100IS 8MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) | $572.39 |
Canon PowerShot SX170 IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 16x Optical Zoom and 720p HD Video (Red) | $179.00 |
Canon PowerShot SX160 IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 16x Wide-Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 3.0-Inch LCD (Red) | $139.00 |
Canon PowerShot SX260 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 20x Image Stabilized Zoom 25mm Wide-Angle Lens and 1080p Full-HD Video (Black) | $229.95 |
Canon PowerShot SX120IS 10MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Images Stabilized Zoom and 3-inch LCD | $229.50 |
Canon Powershot SX110IS 9MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) | $629.99 |
Canon Powershot SX10IS 10MP Digital Camera with 20x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom | $535.00 |
Canon PowerShot SX20IS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 20x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-Inch Articulating LCD | $120.00 |
Canon PowerShot SX100IS 8MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver) | $115.95 |
Canon PowerShot SX1IS 10 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 20x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.8-inch LCD | $849.95 |
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