Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS Digital Camera Review
By Jennifer Nelson
Reviewed.com Editorial Staff
March 19, 2008
Released in March 2008, the Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS is a sleek, sexy point-and-shoot. Many people like to match their personality to their digital camera, and the Canon SD1100 does not disappoint, with interesting color options like Bohemian Brown and Pink Melody. The SD1100 has 8 megapixels, a 3x optical zoom lens, and 2.5-inch LCD with 230,000 pixels. The SD1100 also features Canon’s updated Genuine Face Detection and optical image stabilization, and retails for $249.99.
The SD1100 is very similar to its sibling camera, the PowerShot SD750, with one large exception - the SD1100 shrinks the size of the LCD by half an inch to include a rarity on modern point-and-shoots: an optical viewfinder. It’s super tiny, though, and provides a much less accurate view of the framed shot. Unless you’re trying to squeeze a last few shots out of a dying battery by turning off the LCD, don’t bother with the viewfinder, as the LCD has a 100-percent accurate view, and its smooth 230,000-pixel resolution is great.
The SD1100 features optical image stabilization, which shifts part of the lens to compensate for hand shake. This is considered the best way to lower blur in images due to camera shake, and not a lot of inexpensive point-and-shoots carry the feature – many employ less effective mechanical or digital image stabilization. Optical image stabilization is definitely a plus on the SD1100, and it proved to be very effective in our tests.
We test every camera extensively in our lab for color, resolution, noise, and other factors important to consider when judging the overall quality of a camera. The SD1100 captures excellent and accurate color, with only a slight error in some yellows and blues. This means the colors in the images you capture should look clear and natural. Resolution scores were also impressive for a small point-and-shoot, meaning images will show a good amount of detail. Remember, though, that while these scores are good for a point-and-shoot, a digital SLR performs much better, albeit at a higher price.
We also tested the SD1100 for noise, and found it was fairly consistent with other point-and-shoots in its price category. Noise increases sharply as the ISO increases, so keep the ISO as low as possible to avoid the grainy, speckly bits that can plague an image taken in low light. Noise stays low at the lower ISO settings, like ISO 200 and 400.
The SD1100 has an impressive autofocus system with face detection Canon claims can detect up to 35 faces at a time. An Image Inspection tool in the Playback mode allows users to automatically zoom in on captured faces to check for focus, red eye, or blinks. While it doesn’t have the dozens of Scene modes offered on some Casio point-and-shoots, the SD1100 does offer all the basics, including Foliage, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater, Indoor, and Kids and Pets.
Canon is well known for its My Colors options in the Playback menu, and the SD1100 features many options for post-capture color editing: Vivid, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, and Custom. Color Accent and Color Swap modes, found within the Scene mode menu, allow you to focus on colors the same way custom white balance is set. The Color Accent mode accents your chosen color and dulls the other colors to black and white, and the Color Swap mode replaces one color choice for the other.
The tradeoff for having such a tiny camera comes in handling – the SD1100 won’t be comfortable to use for a long period of time. Buttons are tiny on the back and there’s no mode dial – users access the modes within a Function menu accessed by the buttons on the camera’s back. This might be confusing to users who are used to a mode dial.
The SD1100 captures movies with sound at 640 x 480 and 320 x 240 at 30 frames per second (fps). It won’t be known for its speed – the Burst mode captures a slow 1.3 fps, but the Continuous Shooting mode is steady and reliable. The ISO ranges from ISO 80 to 1600, and the rechargeable lithium-ion battery gets a reported 240 shots per charge.
Overall the Canon PowerShot SD1100 is a good entry-level point-and-shoot. A pocketable 8-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization and a fairly inexpensive price tag is a good find, but make sure to take the majority of your photos in bright light. If you up the ISO, the noise will spike with it, leaving your images less than perfect.
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