Canon PowerShot XS10IS; Learning to live within limitations
Posted by Kathleen Maher on January 9th 2009 | Discuss
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Hardware Review
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Musician David Lindley at the Fillmore in San Francisco—this shot was taken from
the audience about mid-way back in the hall and zoomed in. This is a pretty
amazing shot given everything going against it—low light, zoom, high ISO, etc.
etc., and it has been sharpened.
(Source: Jon Peddie Research)
If there is any activity guaranteed to teach you that you usually get what you pay for, it’s buying cameras. I don’t know how many times I have succumbed to a cheap camera when what I really wanted was the top-of-the-line camera.
This time was different. What I really wanted was a mid-range, super zoom camera. I have been traveling with my Canon dSLR and a couple of lenses and as a result I hate to check my baggage for fear of damaging the camera or lenses, and it doesn’t leave me much room for shoes. And, after all, sometimes I wish I had a video camera and lots of times the additional lens never gets out of the suitcase because it’s just too much trouble. So, I began my quest for a good camera but not a great camera. One that took better pictures than a point-and-shoot and had a lens with a wide range.
The other alternative was a 4/3 camera. They’re small and they take additional lenses but they have a larger sensor than the super-zooms and point-and-shoots on the market. I didn’t go that route because they seem relatively expensive in comparison to dSLRs and super zooms. Price-wise they sit in an awkward position.
What I finally chose was the Canon PowerShot SX10IS. It seemed to have everything I wanted. It supported ISOs up to 1600 and it zooms from 5.0-100 mm. The aperture goes from 2.8-5.7—not as wide a range as super duper lenses but hey, that 2.8 does get you some breathing room in low-light situations, especially with the ISO up at 1600.
And here’s where the you get what you pay for part comes in. Yeah, you can get an image in low light, no flash, ISO 1600 and f/2.8 but boy it is one noisy picture. You’ll want all the de-noising and sharpening tools in your tool box to pull anything out. And, in fact, this camera is at its best for tourist type operations—out in the daylight shooting statues, birds, flowers, and cute kids. Then, it really is a great camera with a great zoom.
But, after I went through the usual, oh-my-god I paid less than $400 for this camera and it doesn’t take pictures like a dSLR phase, I started to enjoy working within this camera’s limitations and pushing it. There are times when I’ve gotten very active, candid shots because I had this camera ready. There is motion blur and it adds to the shot, and sometimes I really like the grainy look. I’ve started shooting with the flash and without the flash, pushing and not pushing just to see what I get in the end. The results have often been very good and frequently very interesting. Perhaps it’s a matter of personal taste or I’m deluded but I believe this camera gives me style.
In cameras these days, the bells and whistles are often reserved for point-and-shoot cameras and the quality reserved for dSLRs. This camera is a true mid-range with a lot of very useful, and sometimes gimmicky, features and good quality pictures at a wider range of conditions than would be tolerated by a point-and-shoot. It doesn’t have the sharp clarity of a dSLR but honestly, it lists for $326.95 on Amazon.
Another drawback mentioned by several people who have bought the camera is that the video is captured in QuickTime .MOV format. As you can imagine, this does not make people happy if they don’t use a Mac or advanced video editing programs that let users convert files. Apparently, there are a whole lot of people using Microsoft Movie Maker and that’s where their movie editing interest stops. All hail to Microsoft, which has created an easy-to-use editing tool that people actually use. The solution is easy enough. Pop for QuickTime Pro for $30 to perform simple editing and/or conversions. Surely, you did not buy a 10.5 digital still camera to extensively edit videos.
What do we think?
So, would I buy it again? Probably so. As I use this camera I learn to love it more. And, as I say, there’s something really interesting about working within limitations. I’m learning a lot with this camera. (It must also be said, I’m also learning a lot about advanced image processing in Photoshop to try and fix some problems.).
Pros: The number one best feature is the 20x zoom on this camera. Also, the range of ISO settings is nice for a mid-range camera, and so are servo
options.
