The Canon SD10 has a generally simple
interface, and as with other recent Canon cameras, it has a Function menu
to reach the most commonly needed settings. The main menu also
follows the same design lines as other cameras from Canon, presenting
3 sections including the Setup options:
Mute: On or Off. Master control for all camera sounds.
Volume: serves to set the volume level for 5 separate
items (Off, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5):
Start-up Volume;
Operation Volume;
Self-timer Volume;
Shutter Volume;
Playback Volume.
Info Display: decides the level of information that
will be shown on the monitor:
Shooting Info: (On or Off);
Review Info: (On or Off);
Replay Info: (Off, Standard, Detailed).
LCD Brightness: serves to adjust the brightness
of the LCD monitor over a range of ± 7 increments.
Power Saving: addresses 2 areas that control the
rate at which power is consumed:
Clock Display: sets the delay during which the clock
stays on the screen after it is called up (0, 5, 10, 20 30
seconds, or 1, 2, 3 minutes.
Format: is to format the memory card. The camera
also indicates the capacity of the card in use right in the
menu.
File No. Reset: On or Off. When set to Off, the
default, image files are numbered sequentially, even when
the card is formatted, or another is used.
Language: sets the menu language to be used in the
menus of the SD10. The choices are English, German, French,
Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish,
Chinese, Japanese.
Video System: selects the video signal output by
the SD10, NTSC or PAL.
A compact, printed, instruction manual is included with the
SD10. The manual covers all aspects of the camera and its operation
very clearly.
Software
Two CDs were part of the SD10 kit
tested here. The first is Canon's Digital Camera Solution Disk
(ver.14.0); and the second, Camera Suite 1.2 from ArcSoft.
The Canon disk contains software for both Windows and Macintosh.
For Windows, ZoomBrowser EX
4.5.1, PhotoRecord 2.0, PhotoStitch 3.1 are
offered; while for Macintosh only ImageBrowser 3.5.1 and PhotoStitch
3.1 are available.
ImageBrowser serves to organize, view, edit, print and prepare photos so
they can be sent as attachments to e-mail.
Image editing is limited to controls over the colour saturation, brightness,
contrast, or cropping. Edited images can be saved as new photos, leaving
the original image intact, or by overwriting them. It is worth noting however
that regrettably, unlike many other programs, an image edited with ZoomBrowser
and re-saved atop the original looses all its Exif data.
The Printing capabilities of ImageBrowser are
extensive, and particularly well-suited to inkjet type printers.
Index sheets can be produced with a couple of mouse-clicks, and so can
print layouts with multiple photos. Moreover, it is possible to add comments,
date and time, file name or backgrounds to any image. Photos can be resized
and rotated, as can captions.
Camera Suite 1.2 from ArcSoft contains
2 programs: PhotoImpression and VideoImpression,
both for Windows and Macintosh.
PhotoImpression is intended to
edit, retouch, enhance or add special effects to digital images.
It also offers a great variety of project templates for creating
greeting cards and calendars.
ArcSoft VideoImpression is an easy-to-use video editing and presentation
program designed to allow video clip editing and the creation of multimedia
desktop video presentations for home or business.
Interface & Software
