Get a little closer—the 8-megapixel SX100 IS also has 10x optical zoom.
Just when you think digicam manufacturers have equipped their products with every new feature there is, along comes a camera that offers consumers even more—a bigger LCD, built-in image stabilization, or more shooting modes. With the PowerShot SX100 IS, however, Canon took a surprising tack by taking something away—the optical viewfinder. Yet, what this digicam does offer is image stabilization, and it maintains the PowerShot line’s compact point-and-shoot design.
Image stabilization technology has slowly been trickling down through Canon’s arsenal of cameras, starting with the company’s interchangeable DSLR lenses, and then appearing in its high-end consumer cameras, and finally materializing in the reasonably priced SX100 IS. This feature lets you shoot at slow shutter speeds and still capture images that don’t exhibit motion blur, the jittery effect that comes from having the shutter open too long. The SX100 IS’s image stabilization will provide the equivalent of at least two ƒ-stops for your exposure. In other words, if you should expose the image at 1/125 second, the camera set at 1/60 or 1/30 will still give you a good picture.
Your pictures will also show great color fidelity and sharpness. We were very pleased with the image quality of the SX100 IS: Neutral areas in our test images showed no colorcast and skin tones were spot on. While the camera offers an ISO range of 80 to 1600, we don’t recommend a steady shooting diet of ISO 1600, as these images showed a lot of visual noise in our tests. Shooting at 80 through 400, however, should produce excellent pictures in most scenarios.
While we made great use of the 2.5-inch LCD on the back of the camera, the SX100 IS has no optical viewfinder, which means that you drain your battery faster because you have to use the screen to both frame and review each image. While Canon has improved its battery technology and has built in better, lower-power circuitry, which helps boost battery life, we would recommend that you carry spare batteries (it runs on two AAs, with NiMH lasting almost three times as long as alkalines) if you plan on a full day of shooting.
The PowerShot SX100 IS packs 10x optical zoom and impressive image stabilization at a competitive price point, and, at just over 4 inches wide, still fits in your pocket.
Big 2.5-inch LCD monitor. Good image stabilization.
No optical viewfinder. 