The Canon PowerShot SX110 IS straddles the line between a compact point-and-shoot and an ultra-zoom, with not quite the full magnification of the latter, nor the diminutive size of the former, but a bit of both. It packs a 10x zoom, shoots at nine-megapixel resolution, and currently sells for $250.

The most striking feature when you look at the camera is its Rubenesque  figure. It's round, a bit bulky and made of light plastic. Controls are primarily handled by an iPod-like control wheel, which makes moving  through menus and browsing stored photos easy and fast. The LCD measures 3" diagonally, with 210,000-pixel resolution, about standard for today's market, though the on-screen preview had trouble keeping up with motion in low light conditions.

One key strength  of the SX110 is its full suite of manual controls, including program, aperture-priority and shutter-priority exposure, manual focus and customizable controls. If you want the camera to make decisions for you,  though, you can choose Auto, which lets the camera control most settings, or Easy, which sets everything to autopilot.

The ISO range is 80 to 1600, with ISO 3200 available at a reduced 2-megapixel resolution. Shutter speeds run from 1/2500 to 15 seconds, which is an impressive range, and will suit most situations. The aperture ranges from f/2.8 to f/8 when zoomed out, and f/4.3 to f/8 at maximum zoom. While this is a pretty fast lens, there is significant light drop off when zoomed in all the way.

The SX110 IS runs on AA batteries, so you don’t have to worry about carrying a charger with you when you travel, though it will also last well on a set high-capacity rechargeables. One battery problem of note, though, is the small panel on the side of the camera. If you pull this out, which isn’t difficult, it removes the internal batter that keeps the camera's clock going.

Performance (read in-depth lab performance at Digitalcamerainfo.com)
In general, the SX110 IS didn't wow us in our extensive laboratory testing. While the results weren’t embarrassing, they generally ranged from average to slightly below average. The camera struggled with white balance, image noise above ISO 800 and noise performance when set to Auto ISO, but otherwise turned in acceptable results. The only areas with standout performance were color accuracy, a traditional strong point of Canon cameras, and video (thanks to that excellent color reproduction).

The SX110 IS was also a bit slow on the draw, taking 2.8 seconds to start up, and 1.3 seconds to process an image. When set on burst mode it took 1.3 frames per second, which is respectable.

Comparisons (read in-depth comparisons at Digitalcamerainfo.com)
For comparison purposes, we looked at how the SX110 IS stacks up against a number of other ultra-zooms we’ve tested: the slightly older Canon PowerShot SX100 IS, the super-fast Casio Exilim EX-FH20, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 and Sony’s Cyber-shot DSC-H7.

These last two are two of our highest scoring cameras of 2007 and 2008, both of which have a form factor much closer to that of an SLR, a higher zoom (18x and 15x) and a price tag over $300. Both showed significant performance advantages over the Canon in terms of dynamic range and image noise, but are considerably more bulky.

The Casio is substantially more expensive than the Canon, at $600, but there’s a good reason for this difference. The Casio combines a 20x zoom lens with astonishing high-speed capabilities, including the ability to shoot 40 photos per second at full resolution, or amazing super-slow-motion videos. If you love shooting fast-action scenes and feel the need for speed, then consider the Casio.

The older Canon is another option to keep in mind if you're keep a close eye on your budget. PowerShot SX100 IS shoots at slightly lower resolution (eight instead of nine), and scored slightly worse on most of our tests (except white balance and low light). That said, it'll only set you back $200.