Canon A1100 IS
Digital Camera Review
Mar 03, 2009
- By Jeremy Stamas
The A1100 IS is a 12.1 megapixel digital camera from Canon featuring a 4x zoom and a 2.5-inch LCD screen. It doesn't have too many features to set it apart from the crowd, but it is reasonably priced at $199 MSRP. It serves as a minor update to last years A100 IS, which captured a maximum 10-megapixel image. The A1100 IS also has a better body design, offering a rounded grip on the right side of the camera. This design isn't perfect, however, because it still doesn't provide very good handling. The camera has very few manual controls. Instead, it's loaded with scene modes and automatic settings like face detection, self-timer controls, and optical image stabilization.
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Conclusion |
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The Canon A1100 IS ($199) is a simple camera that is designed for people who love using automatic settings and scene modes. Don't go out and purchase it if you're hoping to play around with depth of field or mess with funky shutter speed controls—the A1100 IS doesn't have this capability. It does, however, offer face detection, numerous self-timer features, optical image stabilization, and scene modes for most occasions and settings. The camera also has a tiny optical viewfinder, which is becoming a rarity on compact digital camera's.
The Canon A1100 IS didn't blow us away with any special features, but, other than the lack of manual controls, it really isn't missing anything either. It has enough options and settings to keep most casual photographers happy.
If the 4x optical zoom isn't good enough for you, there's always the step-up model A2100 IS, which offers a 6x optical zoom and a larger LCD screen for an extra $50.
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| Likes |
Dislikes |
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• Sleek shape and design
• Buttons are well-positioned and easy to access
• Auto and Easy mode are good for beginners
• Optical image stabilization
• Lots of scene modes and self-timer settings
• Optical viewfinder is good to have on a sunny day.
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• The right-side grip isn't perfect
• Doesn't use rechargeable battery pack
• 4x zoom doesn't give you much magnification
• Not many manual control options
• Flash often ends up concealed by wary fingers
• Movie mode offers mediocre video quality.
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