The Canon SD10 (Ixus i in
Europe) is a remarkably compact and easy to carry camera. Used
outdoors, it easily yields clear, sharp and well exposed images
of most subjects.
At the Superfine image quality, the JPEG compression applied to the images
is unobtrusive, and does not produce artefacts, while keeping image file
sizes around the 2 MB mark.
The lens, equivalent to a 39mm in the 35mm film format, provides
a modest wide angle, which avoids distortion with standard
photography. Only in the Macro mode does a little bit
of barrel distortion become noticeable, but even then, the
distortion is minimal and usually difficult to detect.
Photos captured in backlight conditions however, do reveal a slight chromatic
aberration.
Aperture: f2.8, shutter speed:1/160 sec.
Aperture: f5.6, shutter speed:1/800 sec.
The default multi-point auto focus system is generally reliable,
but will on occasion select a focus point that isn't the desired
one. In such cases, the centre one is a simple an effective
alternative.
Used in situations with low lighting, and without the flash, the results
are excellent up to 200 ISO and the camera is usually able to focus accurately
with its focus assist light. The images of the SD10 are sharp and noise-free.
Used at 400 ISO, the highest sensitivity available
with the camera, noise becomes visible in the photos, and is
most noticeable in evenly coloured areas.
With flash photos, the results
are not quite as good unless there is already a reasonable amount
of ambient light. The built-in flash is small, making the SD10
best used over short distances. Past 2m (6.5 ft) and in low light
when the flash has to provide most of the illumination, noise
creeps into the image. While it will not be noticeable when the
photo is printed, it can be observed on a monitor when the image
is seen at 100%.
Aperture: f5.6, shutter speed:1/15
Without a doubt, the drawback of
the SD10 is that it does not have a zoom. The digital zoom is
not a replacement as the image is cropped to approximate what
would be captured by a longer focal length, and then interpolated
to the selected image size. The process entails a noticeable
loss in image quality.
Still, with a sharp 4 megapixel
image, and a size that allows the camera to be taken absolutely
anywhere but yet does not compromise the image quality, the SD10
is probably ideal for many people, and in particular for use
in some professions where a camera is essential, but so is a
small size.
If having a zoom is not critical, the 39mm equivalent lens of the SD10
is a focal length that can be used for most subjects from group photos
to scenery to buildings.
Image Quality
