Canon PowerShot SD30

Reviewed October 2005

Characteristics

Equipped with a 5.3 million pixel, 1/2.5-inch CCD of which 5.0 million are effective, the PowerShot SD30/IXUS i zoom is able to capture an image that has a maximum size of 2592 x 1944 pixels.

The SD30's CCD offers a sensitivity range that begins at 50 ISO and which can pushed to 100, 200 or even 400 ISO, or simply placed on Auto, allowing the camera to adjust sensitivity as required by the available light.

A 2.4X zoom with a focal length of 6.3 to 14.9 mm — equivalent of a 38 to 90 mm with a 35 mm camera — is used with the SD30. The zoom lens has an aperture of f3.2 at the wide angle end which becomes f5.4 at the telephoto end.

The relatively short zoom of the SD30 is "extended" by a 4X digital zoom, which by default is turned off. Activated in the Recording menu, the digital zoom crops a progressively smaller central section of the image as its magnification increases, interpolating the section cropped from the centre of the image to the image size currently selected, resulting in a progressively coarser image as zooming increases.

Although the SD30 is a fully automatic camera, selecting both aperture and shutter speed, it also offers a Manual mode that provides control over the shutter speed from 1 to 15 seconds, and noise reduction is applied to exposures longer than 1.3 seconds.

Image resolution and compression is set in the Function menu (see the Ergonomics section of the review for more information about the Function menu), but the SD30 offers a selection of 5 sizes:

All images are saved using the JPEG format, but three different compression levels are available:

While image size and resolution are set in the Function menu along with other commonly required settings, a number of other photographic settings are selected in the SD30's Recording menu. As is the case with most current Canon digital cameras, the menu system of the SD30 is composed of three sections. The first section is specific to the mode in use (still image, movie, or playback) but the other 2 sections are shared by all modes: Setup (see the Interface and Software section of the review) and My Camera (see further).

With the SD30 set to one of the still image capture modes, the REC. menu contains 9 items:

• AiAF: On or Off. Serves to choose how the SD30 focuses: automatically selecting the focus point using any one of its 9 AF points, or when Off, focusing on whatever is at the centre of the frame to the exclusion of all else.
• Self-timer: serves to set the self-timer delay for either 2 or 10 seconds, or to customize it which allows selecting a delay time between 1 and 10 seconds, or delays of 15, 20 or 30 seconds with the possibility of capturing between 1 and 10 images in a sequence.
• AF-assist Beam: allows turning Off the AF-assist lamp.

• Digital Zoom: On or Off, controls the 4X digital zoom (see above).
• Review: decides whether or not an image is displayed immediately post-capture, and for how long (Off, 2 to 10 seconds, or Hold which leaves the image on screen until a button is pressed).
• Grid Lines: On or Off. Serves to superimpose fine black lines in a grid pattern on the monitor to assist during image composition.

• Date Stamp: This option is only available when the image size is set to Postcard, the only time when the date and time can be selected to be permanently superimposed on the image.
• Long Shutter: available in the Manual Mode only, allows selecting a long exposure time from 1 to 15 seconds.
• Vertical Shutter: On or Off. Decides whether or not the FUNC. SET acts like a shutter release when the camera is held vertically.
• Stitch Assist: serves to create panoramic images. Series of images can be captured from right to left or left to right, and assembled later using the software included with the SD30.

Set to the Movie mode, the Recording menu is significantly shorter, offering only 4 options:

• Self-timer: 10 or 2 seconds only.
• AF-assist Beam: On or Off.
• Digital Zoom: to turn on the digital zoom during movie recording as the optical zoom is disabled.
• Grid Lines: as explained above.

In Playback the first section of the menu contains options that are related to the display and printing of the captured images.

• Protect: serves to mark images so that they cannot be erased accidentally. Images can be protected one at a time, or using the index view to speed the process.

• Rotate: makes it possible to change the image orientation by 90° or 270°.
• Sound Memo: allows adding a voice annotation to an image up to 60 seconds long.
• Erase All: erases all images on the memory card.
• Slide Show: serves to see a slide show of pre-selected images. All images or selected images can be used in the show, and any one of three transition/dissolve effects can be used between images.

• Print Order: serves to select images that will be printed (DPOF). Index pages can be selected for printing, or single images can be chosen for printing one at a time. In addition one or more copies of an image can be made and the date can be superimposed on the photo. The PowerShot SD30 is PictBridge compatible and can be used to print directly to PictBridge compatible printers via USB, as well as Canon printers that are Bubble Jet compatible.
• Transfer Order: provides a way to select images for direct and automatic transfer to a computer once the camera is connected to a computer that has the included software installed.
• Transition: provides a transition effect between images as the right and left arrows are used to go from one image to another in playback. Two transition effects are available, dissolve or horizontal slide, or none.

Also while in Playback, the images can be shown either by themselves, with no superimposed information, or with either one of 2 levels of information, and any of these is easily selected using the remote control's DISP. button. One level superimposes the image file name, its position witching a series of images in the same folder, its resolution, and the date and time when it was captured. A more in-depth level adds a histogram, along with information about the shooting mode, ISO, exposure compensation, flash mode, metering pattern, white balance, file size and image size.

However, aperture and shutter speed are absent, unless the image was a long exposure (more than 1 second). That data is nevertheless available within the image's Exif tags.

With a movie on the screen, not only does the menu button display the aforementioned options, the FUNC. SET button superimposes a control panel on the lower part of the screen that allows control over the playback of the movie.

The movie can be played, moved to the first frame, or the previous frame, the next frame or the last frame, or it can be edited.

Once selected, movie editing allows marking the beginning, or the end, and then playing the remaining section. The editing can be then adjusted simply by holding the right or left arrow of the 4-direction controller, gradually playing the movie forwards or backwards in slow motion. Then, when a satisfactory result is achieved, the edited clip can be saved as a new movie, or saved by overwriting the original.

By default the SD30 comes pre-configured with 3 Themes that are each composed of a background start-up image and a set of 5 matching sounds that are heard when the camera is started, menus and buttons are pressed, the self-timer is activated, or when the shutter release is pressed. Using the first option Theme of the My camera menu applies both the image and the soundscape to the camera. Alternatively, sounds an images can be selected at will. Furthermore, using the software, it is possible to overwrite the default themes in the camera when connected via USB with any of the more than 40 themes that are included in the software.

A 16MB SD (Secure Digital) memory card is supplied with the PowerShot SD30 in North America, but is indicated as having been tested with cards up to 2 GB. The card fits into a compartment on the right side of the camera, next to the rechargeable Lithium ion battery.

As can be seen in the chart below, using the 16MB card, the image capacity of the SD30 is quite limited, particularly if the highest image quality is used. Therefore, values are also given using an inexpensive 512MB card:

A rechargeable Lithium Ion (NB-3L) battery powers the SD30. The compartment for the battery and the memory card is covered by a solid door that slides and locks shut.

The SD30 reviewed here was supplied with its Camera Station, a dock that serves to connect the camera to a computer or a printer, a television, and to recharge the battery.

The Camera Station is compatible USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed) and the video out signal is decided in the SD30's Setup menu.

An optional charger (CB-2LV a charger that plugs directly into a power outlet in North America; and CB-2LVE, a wired charger for other regions of the world) can also be used to recharge the battery independently from the camera.