Canon PowerShot SD1000 Digital Camera Review

Canon PowerShot SD1000

First Impressions Review

In February 2007, Canon announced the PowerShot SD750 and SD1000 digital cameras to replace the older SD630 and SD600 models. Don’t let the numbers fool you: the SD750 is the fancier camera with its 3-inch LCD screen compared to the SD1000’s 2.5-inch LCD. The Digital Elphs both have 7.1 megapixels and Digic III image processors with face detection technology.
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Canon Powershot SD1000 Digi...
 
Model Design / Appearance
The designs of the two digital cameras are completely different. The Canon PowerShot SD750 has a similar look to the Canon SD700 and many others in the Digital Elph line with the “perpetual curve” design, although the curve is toned down a little on this model. The SD750 has soft edges and goes for a flashier design. The Canon PowerShot SD1000 has sharper edges and is very boxy; it goes for a minimalist look. Both models are constructed from stainless steel and come in silver or black and silver colors. Both cameras had a few scratches in the finish. This is a trade show where lots of people handle the cameras though, so floor models get a year’s worth of use in about 3 days.
 
Size / Portability
The cameras differ in their measurements, but only slightly. The Canon PowerShot SD750 measures 3.61 x 2.24 x 0.77 inches and weighs 4.59 oz (body only). The SD1000 has smaller 3.38 x 2.11 x 0.76-inch dimensions and a weight of 4.41 oz. Both digital cameras have wrist strap eyelets on the right side for better portability, and the weight won’t break wrists either. The weight feels just as it should with those dimensions: the cameras aren’t heavy, nor are they light.
 
Handling Ability
The cameras handle a little differently with the SD750 being the more comfortable of the two. Neither model is truly a joy to handle though. The SD750 has a bent right side that feels better on the hand than the SD1000’s straight edge. The SD750 makes an attempt at decent handling by including some bumps in the upper right corner of the back. These really don’t help much though unless shooting with both hands. The size of this camera makes it a candidate for one-handed shooting though, where the thumb is better employed supporting the bottom of the camera. There aren’t many handling features on the SD750, but there are even less on the boxy Canon SD1000. Its edges are sharp and boxy.
 
Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size
The controls vary on the two cameras, so I’ll start with the SD750. It has a mode switch atop the camera that moves between movie, scene, and still image shooting modes. The power button is up here too; it has an interesting trapezoid shape that is flashy looking. There is also a zoom ring surrounding the shutter release button on the right side of the SD750’s top. The tiny nub on the zoom ring isn’t very comfortable to move.
 
On the back of the PowerShot SD750, the screen takes up most of the available real estate. Thus, the buttons are undersized and crammed together. The multi-selector is centered on the right side and covered in icons signifying the many functions. The center of the control is a Func./Set button that accesses a menu and makes selections. A ring surrounds the dial with loads of icons. From the top and moving clockwise, they are 1) jump and ISO, 2) flash, 3) burst, self-timer, and delete, and 4) macro and landscape. The multi-selector is comfortable and works very well. It has a bowl-shape that cradles the thumb. When it is touched lightly, “touch icons” appear on the LCD screen so users can see what they’re pushing when their thumbs are covering the control. If users rub the multi-selector the right way, they can scroll through shooting modes. This isn’t as seamless as a rotary wheel, but is interesting nonetheless. The other buttons on the back of the SD750 are too tiny.
 
The Canon PowerShot SD1000’s mode switch is located on the back instead of the top and moves between movies, stills, and playback. This setup isn’t as nice because it takes more time to go from the playback mode to a shooting mode when compared to the SD750’s setup. The SD1000 has larger buttons on the back that are properly spaced too. The multi-selector doesn’t have the touch function or the bowl shape, but has all the same icons and functionality. The most important button on the camera, the shutter release, is the same as the one on the SD750. Both travel smoothly and have a distinct stop at the exposure lock before being pushed to capture.
 
Menu
The menus are just about the same, but the ones on the SD1000 are displayed on a smaller screen. They both have the same setup that lists frequently accessed settings in a short menu that can be found by pushing the Func./Set button.
 
Shooting Mode
Auto, Manual, Digital Macro, Color Accent, Color Swap, Stitch Assist (L to R), Stitch Assist (R to L)
Exposure Compensation
+/- 2 in 1/3 increments
White Balance
Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom
My Colors
Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom (Contrast, Sharpness, Saturation, Red, Green, Blue, Skin Tone all with +/- 2 adjustment in full steps)
Metering
Evaluative, Center-weighted Average, Spot
Image Size
L (3072 x 2304), W (3072 x 1728), M1 (2592 x 1944), M2 (2048 x 1536), M3 (1600 x 1200), Postcard (1600 x 1200), VGA (640 x 480)
Compression
SuperFine, Fine, Normal
 
The “shooting mode” portion of this menu varies from where the mode switch is set. It provides a nice live view so users can see the effects of their choices in the menu. The other menu is found with the menu button and does not have live views. It is the same menu that appears on other PowerShot digital cameras with the gray background and colored tabs to organize the menu pages.
 
AiAF
Face Detect, On, Off
Digital Zoom
Standard, Off, 1.5x, 1.9x
Slow Synchro
On, Off
Red-Eye Reduction
On, Off
Custom Self-Timer
1-30 sec, 1-10 shots
Auto ISO Shift
On, Off
AF Assist Beam
On, Off
Review
Off, Hold, 2-10 seconds
Auto Category
On, Off
Disp. Overlay
Off, Grid Lines, 3:2 Guide, Both
Date Stamp
On, Off
Set Print Button
Not Assigned, Exposure Compensation, White Balance, Custom White Balance, Digital Tele-converter, Disp. Overlay, Record Movie, Display Off, Play Sound Effect
 
That recording menu is only the first page of the three-tabbed menu. The second tab is yellow with hammer and wrench icons. It is the setup menu, shown below.
 
Mute
On, Off
Volume
Startup, Operation, Self-timer, Shutter, Playback all with 1-5 volume levels
Touch Icons
On, Off
LCD Brightness
+/- 7
Power Saving
Auto Power Down (On, Off), Disp. Off (10 sec-3 min)
Time Zone
Set Home, World
Date/Time
Set date and time
Clock Display
0 sec-3 min
Format
OK, Cancel
File Numbering
Continuous, Auto Reset
Create Folder
Create New Folder (Yes, No), Auto Create (Off, Daily, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monthly), Time (0-24)
Auto Rotate
On, Off
Lens Retract
0 sec, 1 min
Language
English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Portuguese, Korean, Greek, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Thai, Arabic, Romanian, Ukrainian
Video System
NTSC, PAL
Print Method
Auto, PTP
Reset All
OK, Cancel
 
The menus look much nicer on the 3-inch LCD screen of the SD750 simply because the font is larger and thus more readable. The third menu in the series of tabs has a host of options that allows users to customize the camera’s beep sounds and startup images, among other things.
 
Ease of Use
Like other Canon PowerShot digital cameras, the SD750 and SD1000 are easy to use. The lack of a mode dial and the split menu system may confuse some people but many will appreciate the easy access and live views from the Func./Set menu. There is no in-camera help guide on this model like there is on some other compact models from other manufacturers, but the SD750 and SD1000 are very intuitive anyway.
 
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