PowerShot SD1100IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)

I've owned digital SLRs for many years and I needed a P&S camera to take along for snapshot photos. This camera turned out to be the perfect choice for me. It is so small it can easily be carried anywhere. The photos are not as good as those from my SLRs, of course, but they are excellent, nonetheless. The point is, I can take this camera anywhere for any occasion and get the shot, whereas I can't and won't do that with the pro equipment. There are several features I especially like, including manual controls, widescreen mode, time-lapse movie mode, macro mode and a remarkably useable digital zoom. The camera has enough manual controls to satisfy my need for tweaking, especially since I usually prefer the lowest ISO possible with flash forced 'off.' When I shoot in widescreen mode, I can view the photos on my 16x9 widescreen TV and they look great. As a matter of fact, I'm shooting in 16x9 widescreen format pretty much all the time now because of this capability. Digital zoom has changed--no longer do you get blocky images from the camera's blowing up a portion of the sensor's image. Due to the sensor's high megapixel count, the blown up portion no longer looks pixelated as in previous models. It's like having a telephoto lens inside the camera to get those shots at the rare times when it's needed. Macro mode performs so well that flower photos rival those from my SLRs. The camera also has an excellent movie mode, including a fun time-lapse feature. Previous Canon sensors on P&S cameras were 'use at your own risk' when shooting above ISO 100. This camera's sensor has improved considerably by providing what I would call 'very good' photos at ISO 200, 'good' photos at ISO 400 and 'acceptable' shots at ISO 800. I use noise-reduction software to clean up photos, anyway, but I'm pleased that Canon has improved their sensor and in-camera software. Couple all of these features with IS, which virtually eliminates shaking and blurry pictures, and Canon has another winner on its hands. I predict sales of this little gem will be off the charts.

Pros: - Great Price for quality of the camera - Easy to use - Small size - Good battery life Cons: - Need to remove battery to charge - No internal memory Purchased this for a recent trip to Walt Disney World. Took over 500 pictures over the course of the vacation, the majority of which came out great. It was small enough to fit in a front jeans pocket, easy to use, with a great battery time, although you may want to look into getting a spare if you take lots of pictures. Mine lasted almost two full days on a single charge, which was good, but also that "almost" caused me to miss a few good photo ops since it was dead. After that I charged it every day. You'll need to get a memory card; I purchased a 8GB SD and it was more then enough room for a few thousand photos. I didn't think to bring the instruction booklet on my trip, but the camera was simple enough that I was able to figure out how to change all the functions I was interested in (flash, night type modes etc) within a minute or so. This is a great camera for someone who doesn't want to spend a lot of money, but still wants a good quality camera.

The image stabilization and the face detection work well, and most images come out wonderfully. There is a noticeable issue with noise and fast moving subjects are still an issue for me. One is common in ultra compacts and one may simply require another round with the manual so take that for what it's worth. I found the menu and settings to be usable, but the settings I want are sometimes buried on a third level. Sometimes menu response has lagged a bit, which can be frustrating when your subject is moving faster than you are. I moved from a Canon SD20 so having an optical zoom is wonderful. Plus, this camera is not that much larger than the SD20 so I still feel like I will take it out with me without worrying about bulk. Battery life seems fine so far...much better than the SD which only holds a few minutes charge these days, despite having replaced the battery. The SD1100 seems to do a decent job overall and overcomes the photographic failures of it's operator (what do I know). If you want a simple point and shoot, you could do much worse. If you want more manual control over your pics, really good low light performance or something to document your next roller derby match, this may not be ideal.

This camera worked well after six months, but in the past week, after the camera opened, it stayed open and beeped, saying "Lens error, restart camera." Google this term and the Canon 1100IS and you'll see many people with the same problem. A shame since I've bought numerous Canon cameras over the years and have found them to work flawlessly. There's even a class-action suit over this to get them to acknowledge the problem with the 1100IS. Google that and you'll find info on that too. UPDATE: I've read accounts of owners who send Canon the camera in for servicing within the warranty period and for their troubles are told that it's their fault instead of a production flaw. I sent in mine prepared for the worst, but they ended up fixing it! So in my case, they honored the warranty. I'd give the product 3 stars now, but Amazon doesn't let you change the original rating.

Canon PowerShot SD1100IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom. This is a very good point and shoot Camera. I had a Kodak point and shoot (a $200 camera five years ago) stolen from me in June and this was the replacement. I'm not compairing the two but there is a pro and con here. The Kodak was my very first digital camera and I thought it was the greatest. It was only a 3 MP with a 3x zoom. I used the crap out of that camera and it never failed me. I probably have taken 15,000+ pictures with it. I researched many point and shoots to replace it. The best one I found for the price is the Canon SD1100. I went to a Best Buy and spent an hour playing with all the cameras. I wanted one that would power-up real fast and be very quick between pix. This was the one. The clearity of the pictures are awesome. Color is great, operation is easy, fun to use. I have taken about 500 pictures and they have turned out very good. My favorite aspect of this camera is the Macro. It is so tight. When I look at the final pic, it is crazy tight. I really am pleased with it. My only issue I have with the camera is I can't do a fill flash. I do a lot of car shows and need a flash for interior shots. (The Kodak was flawless on the fill flash) Overall I really do like this camera and would definitely recommend it. Absolutely the camera to go in the shirt pocket for the quick don't miss "that picture". Money very well spent.

This is the best little camera I have ever had. It relies on hard drive storage which can tend to fill up pretty quickly. You will need to consider "old school" processes such as downloading your photos to a hard drive hence cleaning the camera clean, etc. You also have the option of deleting photos individually or selecting several as a group for deletion through the camera itself.....that way if you are travelling you can filter through the photos and delete those not to your liking. So often we have duplicate, triplicate, etc. photos and really with this camera, you can narrow down the what you think are the best of the bunch. A bit expensive at the time of purchase but I'm certain pricing coincides with market conditions, etc so I did not mind paying the price. Overall it was a good buy which I have used taking photos around the world.

I had a Panasonic 6MP 6X zoom with no viewfinder. No viewfinder was a pain outdoors. The LCD went through batteries. I think that the 6MP exceeded the resolution of the lens optics. The lens had some dirt in it which showed up in bright pictures when the iris stopped down some. I was not so sorrowful that the wrist strap was not really around my wrist when I reached out to shoot down the cliff. I recovered what was important: 2GB SD card, so I lost no photos except those I was unable to take later for the lack of a camera. This Canon is only 3X optical zoom, though I think digital zoom (12X total) provides better quality than using Photoshop to do an equivalent digital zoom of a 3X optical shot. The Canon integrates the optical and digital zooms nicely. The Canon is engineered by a camera company. I trust Canon more for that than Panasonic, especially optics. The Canon is really small. I carry it in my pocket all the time. It takes far more pictures on a single charge than the Panasonic ever did on a fresh set of alkyline AAs. The Canon has fewer special modes; e.g., "baby" mode, which is miss a bit. (I'm a relatively new grandfather.) It has a few modes the Panaconic didn't have. These modes are a bit gimicky, but there are times they might be useful. Offline, the Canon has a red-eye reduction function. Being on a camera, it is a bit awkward to use, but it does a very nice job. I prefer the job it does to Photoshop Elements. The camera knows which way is up. This is nice until I purposefully take a picture upside down. I try turning the camera over to view it, but the camera flips it so it is still upside down. However, when I pull the pictures into my PC I can do anything I want with which way is up. The ZoomEX Browser software for pulling pictures from the camera is easy to use. With the Panasonic, I always used WIndows Explorer. With this I prefer Canon's software. One glitch: a process is left running that keeps me from releasing the SD card from my PC. I use Task Manager to murder the process tree, then I can "Safely Remove Hardware". I am probably not exiting the ZoomEX Browser correctly or something. I haven't check the web for solutions to this problem yet. Picture quality is excellent. Exposure is good. Disabling the flash in automatic mode is easy. Price was very good. Turn on/off speed is good. Movie mode is excellent. Sure beats the old VHS camcorder I had years ago. Twice the linear resolution makes for crisp, clear pictures on a standard TV. I am disapointed that zoom is disabled while recording. It doesn't use standard batteries, but a single charge goes a long ways. I bought a second battery (pricey, but cheaper than buying batteries in the long run) so I won't get caught without backup. Macro mode works very well.

Now that Canon and its rivals are offering numerous compact and ultracompact point-and-shoot cameras in the 10-12 megapixel range, the price on this 8 megapixel unit has dropped dramatically. But don't be fooled by the notion that more megapixels is better -- in this class of camera, it's not necessarily true. Unless the sensor is larger, which it generally isn't, you will often not see any difference in the 10 and 12 MP cameras. In fact, you might get more noise. You are also likely to get a longer delay between shots. So if you are buying a high end digital SLR, sure, go for 12, 14, or now even 16 megapixels. But for a point-and-shoot compact, 7 or 8 MP is more than adequate. This model offers 8 MP, face detection, and a variety of shooting modes that can be easily selected from a menu. It provides excellent results for everyday photography. It is also extremely compact and easily fits in a pocket or purse. If you want a camera to take along wherever you go, this is a must-have. It's also an incredible value, now available for as little as $160-$180. If you buy this camera, note that it only includes a 32 MB memory card, which holds roughly 10-12 photos. You will certainly want to purchase a good, fast card. The SanDisk Extreme 4 GB works great and will hold over 1000 photos at the highest resolution (1800-2500 at lower image settings). You can now get one for $30-$45. Also, you may want to get an extra battery. Lenmar makes a good Canon equivalent that you can get for about $10. (Beware of no-name knockoffs that cost $2 or $3!) Overall, excellent ultracompact point-and-shoot camera. Get this item to have with you all the time. (And save up $1000-$3000+ for a high-end digital SLR if you have serious, semi-pro photography needs).