Digital Trends

Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS

March 10th, 2008 | by David Elrich

Features and Design

The SD1100 IS features the classic “box and circle” ELPHs have used for over a decade. It’s simple, clean and screams “I am a camera!” We received a Swing Silver one to review but there are also Rhythm & Blue, Pink Melody, Bohemian Brown and Gold Tone, names that seem more appropriate for a martini menu then a camera catalog. Whatever. Personalization is a big buzz word among CE marketers—from laptop cases to cameras—and you certainly can pick one to fit your mood. This ELPH doesn’t have the swooping lines of the SD870IS but it’s attractive with silver front and back pieces sandwiching slick black accents. It’s a classic look I like.

The SD1100 IS is truly the size of an Altoids tin measuring 3.42 x 2.16 x .87 (WHD, in inches) and weighs 4.41 ounces for the body only, 5 with battery and card. The front is dominated by the 3x zoom nestled within its surrounding circle. The lens is equivalent to 38-114mm in 35mm terms, the basic point-and-shoot focal length. As with the complaint regarding the A590 IS, I prefer a wider view but that’s my preference; you might find this all you need. Also on the front is the flash, AF Assist lamp, pinhole mic and porthole for the viewfinder. There are a few embossed logos, but they don’t clutter the overall look.

There are only two controls on top—the on/off button and the shutter with surrounding wide/tele switch. There’s no mode dial so you have to make all your adjustments via the menus. This really is an aim-and-forget camera so if going manual in any way is on your plate, look elsewhere. The rear is dominated by a 2.5-inch LCD rated a solid 230K pixels. It features Pure Color II technology (an upgrade from the SD1000) and it works well in most lighting conditions. In the rare instance it doesn’t, you can use the viewfinder. Note: this viewfinder is one of things that separates Canon point-and-shoots with competitors who simply go with the LCD. I rarely use it but it’s a nice safety net.

To the right of the screen is the four-way controller with center Function/Set button. Tap the controller and you have access to ISO (80-1600), flash adjustments, Macro and the burst mode/self timer. Other keys include Display (grid lines are available), Menu and Direct Transfer to download images. At the top right is the main control switch (camera, movie mode and playback) as well as the speaker. As noted, there are very few manual adjustments other than exposure compensation and white balance so if the word aperture means anything and you want to use this feature on your new camera, check out another model. That said you can adjust the shutter speed (only for extended times) up to 15 seconds.

On the right side is the compartment for the USB and A/V out while the bottom has the tripod mount and slots for the rechargeable lithium-ion battery and memory card. It accepts SD, SDHC, MMC and MMC+ media.

Since this camera does not have internal memory, Canon supplies a 32MB MMC+ card so you can take a few snaps. Definitely buy a 1- or 2-gig card so you can shoot away for photos and video; this one takes 640x480 at 30 frames per second. Also in the box is the battery/charger, USB and A/V cables, a 226-page owner’s manual, an 80-page Direct Print guide and a CD-ROM with ZoomBrowser EX 6.1, PhotoStitch 3.1, drivers and EOS Utility 1.1a for Windows. Mac users get ImageBrowser 6.1, PhotoStitch 3.2 and EOS Utility 1.1.

Once the battery was charged, loaded and the date set, it was picture-snapping time.

Image Courtesy of Canon