Canon Powershot SX10IS 10MP Digital Camera with 20x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom - 2665B001

Great starter camera

12/1/2009

My son and i went on a 12 day hike in the northern New Mexico mountains and i wanted a good camera to take pictures. This model performed flawlessly. It's a bit more in weight than an avid ultralight backpacker may want but the features you get make up for the additional weight. Also, if paired up with Eneloop rechargeable batteries, you can leave the extra batteries behind. I took >650 pics and some video and still had plenty of battery life. The zoom on the camera is exceptional and very easy to operate. This is basically a digital SLR without the detachable lens. All the features of an SLR (assuming you know how to use them) and the ease of use make this one great camera. Highly recommended.

Good camera, fair software, horrible manual

11/20/2009

This is a good camera. I am a forensic scientist and have to take photos for a lot of my work. Overall I am pleased. It has a little trouble capturing the focus under lower light conditions. The software is not great, but if you learn its quirks, it get the job done (some menus are "concealed"- only accessible by pressing an obscure series of buttons- it you do not have the secret sequence you won't find the menus). The manual is really really bad- Example: Hmmm, how do I operate the self timer? OK, thats in the index- go to the page- it tells you it can be operated in several fashions -BUT DOES NOT TELL YOU HOW TO ACTUALLY DO IT! Frustrating on an otherwise good camera

Happy with my decision: aware of the drawbacks

11/20/2009

I purchased a SX10IS through Amazon - process and delivery was perfect. Wanting an advanced Point-and-Shoot for wildlife and wanting to avoid interchangeable lenses, I researched this camera thoroughly. It looks as though Canon has tried to overcome the shortcomings of the SX10 with changes in the SX20 and SX1 but went backwards in image quality and viewfinder definition. I needed wins in both these areas so I went with the older SX10. There must be a reason that they keep it in the lineup even after its replacements have been brought to market. Being my first serious digital camera, and coming from a film SLR background, I find I use the viewfinder as much as the LCD. I will grow into the LCD use I am sure. I was concerned by the reports that this camera does not take good pictures. I find it is very sharp right out of the box. It can not stretch the envelope with low light, way out zoom, ultra slow shutter speeds, but within these limitations I have been producing some very credible pictures after only a few days. They will only get better as I learn about this tool and get a tripod. I have not tried the video feature yet. Rigth out of the box, I set this SX10 up with a Lensmate filter converter, a 58mm protective filter, Eneloop recharge AA batts, 8 gig SD card and a LCD screen protective sheet. All set for a walk in the woods or shots into my backyard. I am very satisfied with my decision.

great picture quality, slow frames per second feature

11/18/2009

This is a great camera for taking high quality, better than your pocket digital camera pictures. Good value. My only complaint is that the frames per second feature is slow. I have kids in sports and would like to be able to shoot images more quickly.

Finally in love with a camera

11/14/2009

I tried out way too many cameras before I finally found this one, and it is definitely The One. The picture quality is amazing, and crisp, the colors are very vivid. I love the display screen that I can turn around to keep closed when my camera is in my bag to avoid getting scratches on it, and the way the screen flips over has been really useful in taking pictures of yourself grouped up with friends when no one else is there to do so, instead of just guessing if your all in the frame you can actually see it.

The self timer and face self timer function lets you take up to 10 pictures and instantly recognizes your face and has let me take incredible pictures on top of mountains and in remote areas on my travels in Turkey and Europe. You can just set up the camera and when you get into range look straight at it and it begins taking pictures clicking away 10 times,or less depending on your setting. You can keep the volume up so you can hear when its taking a picture or keep it low if you are indoors and don't want the sound to be heard. This is an incredibly useful function.

The panoramic assist function and the zoom browser stitch software have let me put together incredibly stunning views of entire cities on my journey that I have been able to take from high locations by hand without they use of a tripod.

The zoom on this thing is incredible. If you are thinking, do I really need 20x zoom? I was thinking the same thing, but traveling around when I am inside a building with huge domes and high ceilings the zoom lets me stand in one place and get close up to all the incredible details and capture them perfectly, the zoom is incredible, and allows you to shoot wide shots or get very close up to the tiny details you wouldn't even be able to see otherwise. I was able to take pictures of the moon with the super zoom and without a tripod, and of sunrises and scenes as well as indoor shots of details inside of high domes and all have come out stunning with little effort from me.


The video function on this camera is also very good and has allowed me to get some great videos of interiors of buildings and outdoors too. The wide angle lens is incredible for capturing ALOT of detail a big scene or the large facade of a building. This camera has great features and great picture quality and is incredibly easy to use, even for the beginner and has enough flexibility that you can work with the manual controls if you want to be more creative.

criticisms:

The lowlight pictures could be better, they do tend to get grainy in extreme lowlight so you have to watch the iso, I guess this is what the manual settings are for so if you are good with that sort of thing you can probably change it around to get much better results. I haven't been able to master the settings yet but I havent had to I have been getting great pics on the go throughout.

My other criticism would be that sometimes you have to watch what batteries you buy because even if your batteries are fully charged they wont be recognized by the camera. I had some trouble because the camera would not recognize my rechargeable energizer batteries which I bought with a charger for my travels so the whole thing went to waste and I had to keep buying duracell batteries wherever I went. It does recognize duracell and a few other types though, you can google it to see the best type. As long as you have the right kind of battery on had it lasts for awhile without giving you trouble but just beware of investing too much in a battery and charger that wont work for this camera.

neither of these are fatal flaws though. This camera fits great in my hands and the pictures are pure magic. Take a look at the ones I uploaded and judge for yourself. I would highly recommend this camera and completely love it, I've finally found what I've been looking for.