mpm
02-16-2007, 08:19 PM
I got this camera a couple years ago after reading a review on DPR, and have been very please with the quality of the pictures, if not the operations. I had previously had an earlier PowerShot version, and loved the pics I got from that. I made a conscious choice to prioritize image quality within the price range over operability. It's an older, discontinued model now, but someone just getting into digital pics should be able to pick up a used one for a song.
+ Images are great. At 4mp, it has better resolution than anything I can print on my home equipment, even when I crop the image drastically. There are very few compression artifacts from its native jpeg routine.
- Getting RAW images is a problem, you have to use Canon's ZoomBrowser program to "process" the jpeg to RAW.
+ The camera has a wide range of user settings and the presets work as they should.
- Forget about framerate. It takes what seems like hours between shots. Low-light autofocus takes eons.
+ Only two batteries, and my NiMH rechargables seem to last forever, even with heavy flash use.
+ It's very durable. I'm clumsy, my wife is negligent, and my three-year-old is a wrecking ball. Despite numerous drops, drownings, knocks, and dents, operation is great. My camera looks like it's been through a war zone, never had a malfunction.
- The auto white balance isn't so good for indoor tungsten light, but all other lighting conditions seem pretty good.. I always use manual wb indoors.
- The digital zoom is worthless, but what digital zoom isn't?
Overall, this is a great photographer's camera at a fantastic price, but its user interface is lacking and it takes too long between shots.
+ Oh, I forgot, I'm in love with its panorama setting. Almost flawless stitches with Canon's software.
+ Images are great. At 4mp, it has better resolution than anything I can print on my home equipment, even when I crop the image drastically. There are very few compression artifacts from its native jpeg routine.
- Getting RAW images is a problem, you have to use Canon's ZoomBrowser program to "process" the jpeg to RAW.
+ The camera has a wide range of user settings and the presets work as they should.
- Forget about framerate. It takes what seems like hours between shots. Low-light autofocus takes eons.
+ Only two batteries, and my NiMH rechargables seem to last forever, even with heavy flash use.
+ It's very durable. I'm clumsy, my wife is negligent, and my three-year-old is a wrecking ball. Despite numerous drops, drownings, knocks, and dents, operation is great. My camera looks like it's been through a war zone, never had a malfunction.
- The auto white balance isn't so good for indoor tungsten light, but all other lighting conditions seem pretty good.. I always use manual wb indoors.
- The digital zoom is worthless, but what digital zoom isn't?
Overall, this is a great photographer's camera at a fantastic price, but its user interface is lacking and it takes too long between shots.
+ Oh, I forgot, I'm in love with its panorama setting. Almost flawless stitches with Canon's software.