Rating: 
Summary: my new toy
Review: i used to own a canon powershot s300 digital elph and i loved it. i gave it to my parents so that they could get into the digital age. so i researched different cameras and i kept coming to the sd10. a lot of the reviews said that the one flaw it had was no viewfinder. i don't really care for it. i never used the viewfinder on my s300. im not a professional photographer. i love the size of this camera. it's the same size as my driver's license! i love the clarity and the quick shot feature. it used to take forever to take a picture because of the shutter. now i don't miss a shot!
Rating:
Summary: state-of-the-art little cam!
Review: i was completely and absolutely dazzled by how powerful and small this camera is.
i've seen smaller cameras in the market, like the infamous casio exilim, but as far as i'm concerned, canon has truly achieved the smallest size a camera could have WITHOUT prejudicing its quality.
i've previously owned a canon powershot s110, which has only about 2MP, and i truly loved it. i was almost completely satisfied with my s110, as its image quality was stupendous: the only problems i had were regarding the shooting speed and the camera's size (which, i know, is considered small. but even so, i wanted an even smaller one).
so my main goal was a camera which could take great-quality pictures, which had a very short shooting-speed and yet was small enough to fit in a pocket.
well, i've come to learn that s10 is well-packed with all the requirements above.
previously to buying this camera, my major concern was its shooting speed, as i didn't see any reviews on that. well, here goes the first one:
this camera has two shooting modes: one is short, and the other one is shorter. amazing!
the "short" one is with the auto-focus function enable. it takes about 1 second to take a picture with perfect focus on the angles selected by the user (it draws little green squares on the screen, showing which areas it is going to focus). and to do that, all you have to do is press the shutter button half-way down, wait for its artificial inteligence to focus on the desired subject, and then press what's left of it.
the "even shorter one" is an "emergency" kind of shot. you just simply press the shutter button all the way down, and BAM: you have an almost instantly picture taken. it's truly unbelievable.
of course the picture quality in the shortest mode isn't as great as it is in the AIAF (artificial intelinge auto focus - you'll hear that a lot) mode, but it's for sure a big helper for situations on which you don't actually have time to wait up for the camera to focus (not even one little second).
other one of the impressive camera features is the possibility of choosing the startup image (the image that is shown on the LCD when the camera is powered on), the startup sound, etc., and, fabulously, the auto-shutter sound - which is great! i, for instance, recorded cartman's voice (from south-park) and set it to play as the auto-shutter goes of. you can have really funny pictures with tricks like that, because the people on subject have no idea of what that sound is and start giggling as the picture is taken. and then, there goes a smiley, happy picture. you can upload to the camera any sound or image on your computer, or use one that is already in the camera.
the time the camera takes to turn on is also something to be noticed. it's about one second (or even less). so if you're on a hurry to take a quick-shot, you're most likely to achieve your goal.
at last but not least, some people say that the only flaw this camera has is that it has no zoom. well, i say that this camera is flawless. my previously camera had 3x optical zoom / 5x digital zoom, and i don't remember using it not even once, because i mainly take short-distance pictures. so, if to reduce the camera's size they needed to cut-off the zooming feature, i can only applaude them. it didn't make any difference to me at all. in fact, this is probably why the camera is also so fast at shot-taking and at powering on and off: it doesn't have to pull-back an enourmous set of lenses.
this camera is what i needed indeed. if you are, in any way, in the needs of what i described above, search no more, because this is the camera for you. i'm 100% satisfied with it.
Rating: 
Summary: stylish, ultracompact 4MP point & shoot, but no optical zoom
Review: if canon's sd100 was still too big for you, the sd10 is an even smaller alternative. but you give up the optical zoom.pros:
- 4MP resolution!
- ultra-compact at 3.6 x 1.9 x 0.7" weighing 3.5oz. this is the smallest canon to date.
- stylish, all-metal body and you it is available in four colors: bronze, white, black, or silver.
- fast startup.
- fast shot to shot times.
- minimal shutter lag at faster shutter speeds.
- impressive overall photo quality for such a small camera.
- 5 point AiAF system.
- Quick Shot feature allows you to take pictures without prefocusing.
- very good macro performance.
- AF assist light is very useful for low-light focusing.
- has a metal tripod mount, which is not present in all the ultra-compact cameras.
- easy to use menu system. cons:
- some redeye.
- above average noise.
- some barrel distortion.
- no optical zoom.
- more manual controls would have been nice (or at least some scene modes).
- no optical viewfinder - this makes it tough when you use this camera in bright sunlight.
- solidly built except for the camera/SD door which feels less robust.
- RAW and TIFF formats not supported.
- expensive for the feature set but you're paying for the ultra-compact package and the panache of this little gem.
- metal body scratches easily.
- 32MB SD card provided is inadequate so add $$ to your budget to buy external memory.
- proprietary battery - again, a few more bucks for a spare. this is another solid effort from canon. i particularly like the photo quality (especially coming in an ultra-compact package), the AiAF system, the AF assist light, and the body color options. not having optical zoom and very few manual controls top my complaints, but i guess some compromises had to made to come up with these features in such a small package. competitors would be the pentax optio s or casio ex-z3 which are slightly bigger and only have 3MP resolution but have 3x optical zoom. for even better image quality (in a slightly bigger package), also consider canon's sd100. if you can live with a bigger camera, take a look at canon's a80, which has a lot more features in the same price range. i hope this helps you with your buying decision. peace.
Rating:
Summary: awsome camera, very tiny!
Review: if you need a new camera, want something to fit in your pocket, this ones for you! 4 megapixels, more than enough, this thing is TINY! id highly recommend this to anybody, if you don't got the money for it, consider getting one for FREE!
it got me mine, check it out, its all the information you need on getting this camera for FREE!
Rating:
Summary: Little Beauty
Review: In addition to all the good things mentioned, this item also has a bonus. Amazon surprised me by throwing in the Deluxe Leather Case PSC SD10, with the color perfectly matching the camera. I was a little concerned before receiving the order, wondering where I could get a case to protect my little beauty. Now problem solved. Thanks Amazon!
Rating:
Summary: great small camera
Review: let me note that if i were rating this camera among all other small cameras, i would be giving it a 5. however, among all cameras in general, including giant ones as big as your arm that cost twice as much, it understandably gets a 4.
this is a great little camera. If you are in the market for a camera that you want to carry around in your pocket, this is it, stop looking. you won't find one that takes better pictures that is even close to this size. It still has a nice screen on it too, which i like. It's easy to use, very few buttons on this one, but it has as many features as any other camera. It comes with a good Li-ion battery that has great life. Cameras that use AA batteries are a complete pain in the neck, so I was happy about the battery. It also comes with a 32 MB memory card, which will store anywhere from 16-72 pictures depending on which size and quality settings you choose. I upgraded to a 128 MB card and i have never had to worry about even coming close to running out of memory. The only thing lacking is zoom quality. It doesn't have optical zoom, only digital, so if you zoom in at all, it makes your pictures grainy. Anyone that says that this doesn't happen is either lying or just stupid, because it's something that anyone who has ever used a digital camera would know. However, i am willing to sacrifice zoom for all of the other great things about this camera. And think about it anyway...if you are just taking a picture of some people, just take a few steps forward if you need to "zoom in." If you are taking pictures of a landscape, you probably wont need to zoom. However if you are someone that needs zoom for whatever you use your camera for, then you probably shouldn't be looking at a camera this small anyway, you will need one with one of those giant lenses. The SD-10 has an awesome macro (close-up) setting, you can get within a half inch of anything and take the most detailed picture you will ever see. I took a picture of a flower and you could see the veins in the petals when i pulled it up on my computer.
Also, not that this really matters, but every time i take this camera out in front of anyone (i got the black one), they all want to see it and compliment how cool it looks. Now, this isnt why you should buy it, but it is a testament to the physical beauty of this camera.
All in all, this is a wonderful camera and it even comes with a small, nice fitting carrying case. Again, if you need a small camera, get this one, you will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: This little guy packs a lotta punch!
Review: Love this camera! It is even smaller than it appears in the pictures. I have no more excuses for not having my camera with me at all times. Also very chic...I got mine in black because it looks like a mini-Hasselblad! I didn't install the software included (not sure about that virus thing) but instead just used the software on my XP. Works fine. Pictures are clear, clean and crisp.
Rating:
Summary: Great pictures & looks great
Review: My wife brought the bronze version for me for Christmas. I'm an adv. amateur and have had a number of Canon cameras. I find it to be a perfect walk around camera to complement my Canon G1 & 1D. It's a great looking camera too. Usually, Canon cameras are set up to slightly underexpose to prevent highlight blowout. But the SD10 pictures come out perfectly exposed right out of the camera. Skin tone, expecially on light skinned people is great. On the other hand, with my G1, I usually had to reduce the magenta, bump up the red, and add a dash of green to get the right color balance for light skinned people. Still, I put all pictures I care about through PhotoShop to get everything perfect. I don't miss the zoom lens at all. In return I get really sharp pictures. The macro mode is fantastic, allowing focus as close as 1-1/2". Just remember to switch out of macro when done because it stays in this mode thru a shut down. The flash is surpringly powerful but it's no 550EX. I get just acceptable shots with group pictures but it works well for 2 people. It does a good job of adjusting the exposure based on subject and distance, but again, its not perfect. Ex: I would not recommend for weddings (black groom/white bride). The camera startup is really fast. The focus speed is also very fast, probably due to the non-zoom lens - much faster than my G1. I was concerned about the level of image noise due to the really small sensor on this camera, but it's fine for 4x6 prints, even at ISO 200. ISO 400 for dark night shots (no flash)is not usable for me. I had no problem focusing in low light, such as in restaurants, because of the bright focus assist light I carry it around all the time and have used it to take snapshots of white board diagrams at work. Its small size really encourages me to take a lot of picture. I bought some extra non-Canon batteries & additional charger on ebay at cheap prices. They works fine.
Rating:
Summary: A camera you'd like to marry!
Review: No, the SD10 is not perfect. For one thing, it could use some optical zoom. There is *always* a situation that arises when you do need to zoom in just a little bit. Digital zoom never does it for me. So Canon, please add optical zoom (even if a paltry 2x) and this will be a 10-out-of-five camera! That said, the SD10 is perfect for the snap-happy. Count yours truly as one. It's a take-anywhere-snap-anywhere-view-anywhere-hide-anywhere kind of camera. The four megapixels are nice, and the picture quality is nothing short of astonishing, at this super compact size or at any size. BTW, the number of pixels usually does not translate directly into picture quality, just as a CPU's megahertz rating doesn't correlate directly with a system's overall speed. But Canon engineers are a bunch of smart monkeys, indeed, and every Canon digital camera out in the last three years has just been totally fabulous in the picture quality department. What makes a digital picture top-quality? The colors have to be natural-looking and balanced, preferably both indoors and outdoors. There shouldn't be any digitized artifacts (like glowing edges of your new kitchen knife or pixelated pimples on your kid's face). The white should be white and the black black. Above all, one look at the picture and you go, "wow, this is one nice shot!" (assuming it's meant to be one nice shot). The SD10, happily, delivers in all these aspects. One could wish for a longer flash range, but, alas, that's why serious photographers like me have to keep an old-style SLR film baby around with a hotshoe on it. If you want serious flash, man, you have to use an external flash. The SD10 does well what it was designed to do. I really don't want to talk to you about the tech specs. They are meaningless in the real world anyway. To sum it up, the SD10 is a camera you'll be happy with and you'll probably fall in love with -- a gadget freak like yourself likes all nice gadgets but we don't fall in love easily, but the SD10 deserves to be loved. If you are anything more than a casual photographer, I recommend you *also* buy a "more serious" model like the Canon S410 or Minolta Xg which has more controls and does come with optical zoom, and use the SD10 as a candid shooter. But, seriously, this is a great camera for all kinds of photographers -- and gadget freaks.
Rating:
Summary: BEST VALUE
Review: Okay, here it is, let me break it down. I was in the market for a small digital camera for months. Price was not the central issue but I was waiting to get the best possible deal on the best possible product. When I saw this camera in a bar, I knew it was right. First, It's tiny, much smaller than the image indicated. Its also the nicest looking camera out there by far. Especially in black. Second: It is so easy to use that you don't even have to read the book if you don't want. Third: It takes great pictures. Sony has come out with a new miniature camera, its 5MP and its also $550. If you read the reviews on CNET its reputed to be a stinker. My decision was between that specific sony and this one. The sony has a zoom. Fourth: What do you really need a zoom for anyway? If you're like me, you want the camera to take snapshots, you don't need a zoom for that, if anything having the zoom there confuses things when you ask a stranger to take a photo. Lastly: Don't go somewhere else to buy this product. I did find it cheaper in other places on the net. However, Amazon has no hassels. Don't like it, send it back for free. Doesn't work, NO PROBLEM they'll send you another. All that for about $20 over the minimum you'll find it on the web. $20 for piece of mind, a good deal I think. So what are you waiting for?
|
