Canon PowerShot SX10

Size and Handling
The Canon PowerShot SX10 IS is a substantial camera. Measuring 4.88 x 3.48 x 3.42 inches (124.0 x 88.3 x 86.9mm) this is definitely one of the larger non-SLR cameras you'll find. Still, the all-plastic construction does help hold down the weight a bit at 19.8 ounces (560g); given how bulky the camera is you'd expect it to weigh more. Speaking of expectations, you should expect to be carrying this camera around in a bag or on a shoulder strap.

The Canon PowerShot SX10 IS is large for a point-and-shoot,
but not quite up to SLR dimensions.

When held in the hand the surprisingly light SX10 IS fits comfortably in your right hand. This is aided by the nicely curved hand grip, although we would have liked to see some more texturing or padding on the grip rather than a slick plastic surface. In this position the thumb of your right hand will sit right above the Play, Exposure Compensation and AF Frame Selector buttons. You will need to shift a little to get to the 4-way control further down, especially those with smaller hands.

Menu
As with other Canon cameras the SX10 IS has two menu modes. The Function Set menu can be accessed by pressing the center select button of the 4-way. From here you can make quick adjustments to a familiar array of options including white balance, My Colors, Bracketing, Flash, Video Quality and Photo Size. Interestingly there's no option here for photo quality.

The main menu offers a tabbed interface with
a customizable Favorites tab.

The main menu can be accessed by pressing the Menu button below the 4-way, which brings up a tabbed interface that will also be familiar to Canon users. The plethora of options available here are somewhat alleviated by the customizable fourth tab that allows you to add our own commonly used options.