Canon SX10 IS – An Excellent SuperZoom Digital Camera

I have always been a great fan of Canon point and shoot cameras. We have owned a Canon A75, Canon SD450, Canon SD1100 IS.

Although I had secretly harbored an interest in learning the art of photography, it hasn’t come to fruition until now. My wife got me this little beauty of a digital camera – Canon PowerShot SX10 IS for Christmas. It has now rekindled this desire in me to grow my photography skills.

Even though it is technically a point & shoot camera, it falls under the superzoom cameras as it has a whopping 20x optical zoom!

Let’s look at a few features of this camera:

Canon SX10 IS Features

• 10 Megapixel resolution with 20x Optical zoom
• Wide-angle to telephoto lens & Optical Image Stabilization
• A superzoom lens with a focal length of 5.0-100mm (35mm film equivalent: 28-560mm)
• Latest Canon DIGIC 4 processor with improved face detection
• A flip-out vari-angle 2.5 inch LCD for flexible viewing
• Electronic view finder for those sunny days when you can’t see the LCD image
• Face Self-Timer – automatically detects increase in number of faces and makes adjustments
• MovieSnap – lets you capture high-res images while shooting videos
• Takes SD/SDHC cards and AA batteries

Features I Like

The above features are the ones you’ll see on any product listing page for this camera. But, what is a blog post without personal likes & dislikes, right?

Coming from compact point & shoots, it is going to take a bit for me to get used to the heft. But, if you have used or handled any DSLR’s, this weighs less than those models and it is even very convenient to shoot one handed.

Although the 2.5″ LCD is smaller compared to the 3″ in many models, the flip out screen is sure to come in handy at times you have shoot over people or with the ground.

Now, the superzoom lens that provides from a wide-angle 28mm to a telephoto 560mm is just incredible with this camera. It provides for a lot of new options for me when capturing pictures and I am very excited to put it to some good use in our upcoming trip to St Louis.

I had wanted to buy a DSLR like the Canon Digital Rebel XSi (kit with a 18mm-56mm lens sells for around $634) to kickstart this long desired hobby of mine but it might have been an overkill at this point. [Update: I did buy the Canon EOS Rebel T1i at an awesome price. Read more about it here]

As you might know, buying a DSLR involves buying the camera body plus the different lenses for different kinds of shooting and some of those lenses even run as much as the camera body itself.

Canon PowerShot SX10 IS lets me learn the fundamentals of photography and test out my creative skills with my newly acquired photographic wisdom with all kinds of manual controls you would come to use in a DSLR, without breaking the bank. Also, I can take this out with me in any occasion without having to lug around a typical DSLR gear.

Canon absolutely has impressed me with its imaging abilities in the past and Canon SX10 IS is no different. In fact, it has gotten me excited like a kid in a candy store.

And all this at an affordable price of $339.88 at Amazon.com (at the time of writing).

If you’d like more in depth reviews of Canon SX10 IS. here are a few links I poured over every line before and after making the purchase.

• Cameralabs Review – the most extensive review on all aspects of this camera
• Digital Photography blog review – a brief but good review
• Amazon.com customer reviews – the best of the lot as you can hear straight from the horse’s mouth. From real people who are using the camera.
• Digital Camera Resource review – another extensive review with lots of pictures

My $0.02

If you are like me with an interest in becoming an advanced amateur photographer, Canon SX10 IS could be your ticket to that dream. It is even favored by professional photographers (Canon SX10 IS Flickr group) when they can’t lug around their DSLR gear. I look forward to growing as a photographer with this excellent toy of mine. I am already starting in shoot in Aperture Priority mode and learning all about it.

Don’t worry if you don’t know what that is or afraid if your wife/husband won’t understand it. SX10 also features the usual Auto mode and advanced Scene modes that’s suitable for different situations.

Here is a picture I took indoors with this camera.

I do have a bias for Canon but I hear the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28S is also a worthy alternative in the superzoom category offering a 18x optical zoom. In fact one of the reviews above compares the Canon with this camera in great detail and they almost come out even.

Hope you enjoyed this exuberant post of mine about my early Christmas gift. I figured it could help you out if you were looking to buy a digital camera for a Christmas gift.

There are plenty of Canon digital SLR cameras and Canon digital cameras online.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!!!

[Source: Canon SX10 IS review]