~~ The Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH Camera :: A Non-Techie Perspective ~~

Author's Rating:

Pros: Image stabilizer, face focus, easy to use, intuitive, compact, shoots movies

Cons: None

The Bottom Line: 
I love my Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH camera!  It's portable, user-friendly, and it delivers quality pictures.

Author's Review
I needed to replace my embarrassingly old and bulky Sony Cybershot DSC-P30, which was on its last megapixels of life.  My parents had an older version of the Canon Powershot and I had used it several times and enjoyed its operations, so I decided to replace the Sony Cybershot DSC-P30 with the Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH camera for my digital picture taking needs.

The Product
The Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital Camera is one of the many cameras available from the Canon line.  It is available at stores such as Best Buy and Amazon.com.  I purchased mine from Fry's Electronic in early 2008 for about $250.

Canon States
"Color communicates. It introduces you before you say a word, making the PowerShot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH the ultimate image-maker. Five fashion-forward hues expressed in pure aluminum add a new burst of excitement to Canon's Perpetual Curve design. Of course, a camera that brings out the best in you also delivers Canon's most advanced technology features. Call it style with substance, for a new level of picture-taking pleasure."

Contact and Miscellaneous Information
- Website = www.powershot.com
- Made in Japan

Product information taken from product packaging.

My Experience
My digital picture taking needs are simple.  I just want to capture crisp and clear pictures of everyday events and special occasions.  I just needed a convenient and portable camera that allowed me to take decent pictures.  The Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH has been a fantastic investment.

::Size::
The size of the Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH was a welcomed change, especially after my bulky Sony Cybershot camera.  The Powershot is quite easy to transport due to its compact size with dimensions of 3.4 x 0.9 x 2.2".  The camera can fit easily into my purse or pocket without taking up much room or being too bulky.  And at 4.4 oz, it doesn't weigh much either.  For me, the Canon Powershot SD1100 IS earns high marks for its transportability.

::Style::
Though how the camera looks does not speak much of how it performs, the Canon Powershot does look fairly sleek and sturdy.  My camera is a matte chocolate brown (Bohemian Brown), which always receives a few compliments for its unique color.  I have noticed that more and more digital cameras now on the market are available in fun colors, but this didn't seem to be the case when I purchased the camera in 2008.

::Ease of Use::
The Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH is easy to use.  I'm a bit tech impaired and did not have any problems operating the camera. 

The on/off button is located on the top, along with the zoom feature and the shutter button to snap a photo.  On the backside of the camera is the LCD screen, viewfinder, mode switcher, function buttons, print/share button, and display and menu buttons.  The mode switch allows one to switch between taking pictures, taking videos, and playing pictures/videos.  The feature button allows for selecting different scene modes, turning on flash, changing image quality, etc. 

I was able to use the Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH without going through the user manual.  It was easy to figure out how to delete pictures, turn on/off flash, select scene options, and set timer function on the camera.  It did take me a few snaps of the camera to figure out that in order to get a picture in focus, I have to push down the shutter button halfway for the camera to focus, and then once it is in focus, to push it down all the way for the camera to take the picture.

:: Features ::
One of the neat qualities of the Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH camera is its face detection feature.  This allows the camera to focus in on faces and balance out the brightness and color before taking a picture.  During my baby shower at work, I was especially impressed that it was able to focus in on so many faces.  The group picture that was shot had everyone's face in clear focus. 

The image stabilizer is also a great feature.  With other digital cameras that I have used, the slightest wiggle produces blurred pictures.  This isn't the case with the Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH as I seldom have blurred pictures.

The self-timer on the Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH is not a unique feature, but it comes in handy, especially since I often use the self-timer in conjunction with my portable Gorillapod tripod.  The camera beeps as it counts down towards snapping a photo; the beeps sound closer and closer until the camera finally snaps the photo.  The self-timer can be set at different time intervals to give the user enough time to run and get into the picture.

The 2.5-inch PureColor LCD display offers users with great viewing of the pictures, but it also is a bit taxing on the battery life.  The LCD display is great when indoors, but it is difficult to see images when out in the sun.  I often have to shield the display with my hand to see a picture when I'm viewing it outside.  The display is also a fingerprint magnet; I'm constantly trying to wipe off the oily fingerprint marks from the display.

:: Image Quality ::
The Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH camera takes crisp and clean photos.  I like that one can change the shooting mode for special occasions.  Modes include portrait, foliage, kids and pets, snow, indoor, sunset, beach, fireworks, aquarium, and underwater (when using the waterproof case, which is sold separately).  When we were vacationing in Singapore, my husband I tried out several of the modes, especially the foliage mode while at the botanical gardens.  The foliage mode really does highlight the green foliage in the picture, bringing to life the plants and flowers.  We were very impressed by the different modes.  I also like to use the Macro mode because I like to take close up pictures of some of the foods I eat at restaurants; the Macro mode does a fantastic job capturing the details up close.

:: Movies ::
The Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH has the ability to capture video, which is great.  The camera allows users to shoot movies up to 4 GB in size.  The movies feature also captures audio.  I use the movie feature occasionally, mostly to capture my nephew or niece doing something funny.  But for more advanced movie shooting, we use our Canon Vixia camcorder instead.

:: Battery Life ::
The battery life is said to last for approximately 240 images with the LCD monitor on and 600 images with the LCD monitor off.  For pure playback time, it is said to last for approximately 6 hours.  I have not kept track of the number of images the camera can take with the LCD monitor on, but it is sufficient battery life to last at least a day out on an excursion during vacation without worry that the battery will die. The battery is easy to charge through the compact charger that lights up green to display that the battery is fully charged.

:: Transferring Photos ::
My husband purchased a 4 GB San Disk memory card for the camera.  It is very easy to transfer pictures from the camera to the computer.  We simply pop out the memory card from the button of the camera and then insert it into the card reader on our laptop.  The Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH comes with a 32 MB memory card, but I highly recommend purchasing a larger memory card so that one does not run out of memory space when taking photos.

:: Durability ::
The Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH is a durable and sturdy camera.  I've had it for nearly two years and it continues to chug along and produce good quality images and has a decent battery life.  It's good that the camera comes equipped with a wrist strap, as that has saved the camera from potential drops to the ground.

Overall Thoughts
I love my Canon Powershot SD1100 IS Digital ELPH camera!  It's portable, user-friendly, and it delivers quality pictures.

Thanks for reading.
Pooks
Copyright 2010