Canon PowerShot SX10
Digital Camera Review
Sep 23, 2008
- By Alfredo Padilla
The Canon PowerShot SX10 IS is a sophisticated 10-megapixel point-and-shoot with a huge optical zoom range (out to 20x) that would be an arm-breaking burden on a digital SLR or 35mm camera, but in this size is a portable pleasure for grabbing far away close-ups. Combine that telephoto power with extensive manual control options and you have a camera that should appeal to outdoor photographers, paparazzi wannabes and even current SLR owners looking for long-range shooting possibilities without the size and weight of an SLR properly outfitted for the task. The SX10 is scheduled to ship in October for $499.99. Here's our first impression of the camera based on hands-on experience at the Photokina show in Cologne, Germany.
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Auto Mode
In Auto mode the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS does almost all the work. In the Function Set menu all you can change is the image size option, and your only ISO options are Auto and HI. This is even more idiot-proof than the Canon G10, and is indicative of the fact that the SX10 IS is more consumer oriented than that device.
Movie Mode
The Canon PowerShot SX10 IS can capture video at a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 and 30fps. This is run of the mill for a consumer point-and-shoot, and we're a little disappointed that no HD or widescreen options are available given the SX10 is at the high end of Canon's consumer lineup.
During video capture you can change the White Balance and use the My Colors feature (see below) from the Function Set menu . There are no metering mode options available and instead of true Exposure Compensation you get a Brightness setting.
Drive / Burst Mode
Pressing down on the 4-way will bring up your burst mode settings. Your options here are Continuous and Continuous Auto Focus. According to Canon you can get 1.4 fps on the former and 0.7 fps on the latter, neither of which will get anyone's pulse racing.
Playback Mode
Hitting the Play button at the top right of the back will put you into playback mode. From here you can switch to the next or previous image/video by using left/right on the 4-way control. You can also use the rotating dial around the 4-way to quickly scroll through thumbnails of your images, although only three are shown on the screen at a time. If you get to a video hit the center select button on the 4-way to bring up playback options. Pressing the Display button cycles through playback displays with more or less on-screen information.
Custom Image Presets
The image presets can be accessed using the mode dial at the top of the camera. On the dial itself you'll find Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Super Macro, Night Snapshot and Stitch Assist. There's also an option for Special Scene, which gives you access via the menu to several additional scenes that are not as commonly used. These include Foliage, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Fireworks, Aquarium, Night Scene, Indoor, ISO 3200, Color Accent and Color Swap.
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