Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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114 of 115 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding and excellent value, 4 Nov 2008
I purchased this for my wife to replace her classic Nikon Coolpix 5400 which has been a wonderful camera over the years with a great 28-116mm zoom. I wanted a camera with a 28mm at the wide end and with more at the telephoto and having recently converted to a Canon SLR (40d) myself considered a Powershot as the Nikon equivalent does not have a real Nikon lense and the reviews have been patchy. We have taken a few shots with the SX10 and it more than meets expectations. The reach of the zoom is incredible. The colours are as accurate as my 40d and they are sharp--even the edges at the wide setting. No visible signs of chromatic aberrations and very little distortion. The camera is BIG compared with a typical point and shoot but this one has an incredibly good 20X zoom, a swivelling 230k pixel screen and the ability to shoot high quality movies. The built in image stabilizer allows you to take sharp pictures even at the 500mm setting which is crucial. I do not care for the Electronic Viewfinder and much prefer the view through a mirror reflex SLR but for the value you are getting for less than the price of a single decent SLR lens the fuzzy electronic viewfinder is no big deal. If you don't like it you can always use live view on the swivelling 230k pixel screen. Build quality is very good--not a tank like my metal 40d but again, value for money is outstanding. I give this camera my highest recommendation.
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143 of 145 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good things come in small packages, 11 Nov 2008
I am not a camera expert, more of an enthusiastic amateur, and I am sure that much more qualified people will, given time, publish reviews for Canon's latest UltraZoom. However, reviews are pretty scarce at the moment, so I will share with you my first thoughts on the SX10.
The camera is neat, and sits comfortably in the hand. It is not as light as some, but exudes the impression of quality with a solid look and feel. For those who are familiar with Canon, the immediate impression is of familiar controls and menu options. For those new to the brand then I don't think that you will feel 'at sea'. I had read some comments that the instructions with the camera are not very good, but I would disagree. The quick start guide is mimimal but adequate, and the accompanying CD does include a manual that runs through all of the features, how to use them, and when you might want to use them. It is not a teach-in to photography, but certainly acts as a useful reminder.
And what a set of features this camera has. It has the very latest DIGIC 4 processor that is only just coming in for Canon's top end cameras, and this gives the SX10 a very comprehensive set of functions. For example, face detection is an absolute gem. If there is a face in your picture then the exposure and focus lock to it. The little focus square just follows the face around the picture. Even better, you can set the autotimer so that the cameras takes the shot when a face, or even an additional face, comes into frame. That is powerful processing.
Of course, all is lost if the optics and sensor are not up to the job. After a bit of experimenting, I am satisfied that Canon are onto a good thing with this camera. At full optical zoom, and heavily into the digital zone, you can take image stabilised shots that are crisp and without a trace of the chromatic aberrations that plague this type of picture. With a 28mm equivalent wide angle capability. this camera offers both ends of the spectrum.
So who wants this camera? I am sure that SLR enthusiasts will continue to state that the optics are compromised compared to interchangeable lenses. The point and shoot brigade will continue to buy tiny pocket cameras. However, for those who want to explore their photography then the SX10 might just be the right camera for you. And remember, it's a Canon so it is never going to be a bad choice.
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45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant versatility, but pictures a bit disappointing., 12 April 2009
I've had this camera for around four months now, and my conclusions are that while it offers fantastic versatility, the pictures are a bit disappointing.
The 20X zoom and very effective image stablisation means that you can take everything from wide-angle interiors to 500mm (equivalent) hand-held shots, all without swapping a lens, which is great. It's quite slow between frames at full resolution though (it really doesn't feel like 1.4fps) which, combined with fairly slow autofocus, means it isn't a great action-capturing camera. The video and sound quality are superb, much better than any £100 solid-state camcorder, so it's like having an extra device thrown in (tip - use a free program such as Any Video Converter to compress the giant .MOV files down to MPEG AVIs).
The SX10 is heavy in a good way - it feels solid and well-made, and the controls (well, most of them) have a quality feel to them. The exception is the thumbwheel, which is terrible (sometimes turning it has an effect, sometimes not). Thumbwheel aside I think it's easy to use for a camera with so many options, but there is a learning curve and the lack of a printed manual is unforgiveable - how are you supposed to consult a PDF when you're miles from home? The hinged LCD screen is brilliant, great for low- and high- level shots or even self-portraits.
Everything has its good and bad points, and so far the SX10 is ahead. So what's the probem?
Basically the pictures it produces are good, but not *that* good. In a review of another camera, the writer says that with the rush to cram ever more megapixels onto sensors, pictures are actually getting worse. I think the SX10 may be an example of this, with the problem compounded by the rush to 20X zoom.
Focus can be a big problem on my SX10, especially in poor light and/or long zooms (and the low-res viewfinder and terrible thumbwheel make manual focus pretty much a non-option unless you do it purely by distance). Colours tend to be a bit flat, and it has a marked tendency to overexpose in bright conditions. Meanwhile low-light performance is average at best, with serious, blotchy noise at ISO 800 and above. Occasionally it can produce really great pictures, but most of the time it doesn't, whether on auto or manual.
My previous camera was an Olympus C3020 bridge from 2001. It was much more limited (3.1Mp, 3X zoom, ISO 400), but within those limits it produced consistently better pictures - sharper, better colours, overall a more natural look. I always felt that the Olympus made me seem a better photographer than I actually was, whereas with the Canon it's the other way round. For versatility though it's excellent value for money.
Additional item: I forgot to mention that the battery life is really excellent. A fully charged set of NiMHs seem to go on forever (certainly into the 300-400 stills range). Video doesn't seem to drain them too much either.
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