Technical Details
* 10.0-megapixel resolution for high-quality printing and flexibility when editing
* 20x optical zoom, wide-angle lens and Optical Image Stabilizer; improved speed and quiet zooming
* 2.5-inch Vari-angle LCD; DIGIC 4 Image Processor improves Face Detection
* MovieSnap mode lets you capture high-resolution still images while shooting a movie
* Capture images to SD/SDHC memory cards
This is a second update. It comes after several months working with an SX10 IS.
SHORT LIST
Pros:
Excellent resolution
Very good noise control
Image edge and corner sharpness
Less than average color fringing
True wide angle and phenomenal telephoto
iContrast for highlight/shadow
Vari-angle LCD
Focus frame size adjustment
Brightness, contrast, sharpness and color settings
Great movie mode with stereo sound
Hot shoe
Lens hood
Cons:
Slow f5.7 maximum aperture beyond 100mm
Tendency to overexpose (though this can be an advantage--see below)
Low light autofocus issues
Minor lens distortions and color fringing at either end of zoom
Tedious control dial
LCD hard to see in bright outdoor light
Zoom sounds audible in movies
IN DEPTH
A semi-pro photographer with 30+ years' shooting experience, I am respectful yet rigorously demanding of my photo equipment. I push parameters, often absurdly so, but the SX10 doesn't seem to mind it one bit. For its price point, features and class, this is a stellar offering, and I highly recommend it.
The camera is solidly built and, although hefty for a point-and-shoot, feels well balanced in the hand. Controls are intuitively placed and easy to find with your fingers--no need to take your eye off the LCD or viewfinder when you've become acquainted with their positions.
Performance is excellent in all but low light, where autofocus and shutter lag are sometimes at issue. The camera powers on and is ready to shoot very quickly. Image recording time is swift, especially with a Class 6 card, and in reasonable lighting focus is both swift and accurate. Resolution is superb; image stabilization is best in class. And the sheer zoom range--wow!
Point-and-shoot capability is great. Open the box, install batteries and memory card, and fire away. It's so easy, kids can do it. And given a little time and tinkering, in its creative modes the camera really shows its chops.
In this review, you'll see several references to existing-light photography. It's my personal preference; I only use flash when I must. So I've spent a lot of time working out the angles for that sort of shooting. What you won't see is anything more than a cursory remark about action photography. It's not something I've used this camera for just yet.
In this model Canon addresses several issues inherent in the "S" series--most notably noise and dynamic range. Though still noisy at ISO 800, about half the images I've shot at that setting have been okay for prints, and nearly all are very good at ISO 400. Pictures taken between ISOs 80 and 200 are clean and excellent. Noise reduction at higher ISOs does degrade saturation and details a bit (more noticeable at the longer end of the zoom, especially in low-contrast lighting) but not enough to abandon the higher sensitivities altogether.
Both edge and corner sharpness are very good at anything but widest angle and full zoom, and even here sharpness is much improved over the S5 at ANY focal length. In truth, no zoom lens of such wide range has edge-to-edge sharpness at its focal extremes.
Color fringe is a mixed bag. Depends somewhat on the focal length, ISO, aperture and shutter speed. Overall, fringing is not that bothersome. At both the widest angle and full telephoto ends you'll see some colored edges, most noticeably in areas of high contrast. Bumping the zoom lever once or twice makes all the difference.
Some barrel distortion occurs at the wide end as well, though not too bad. It's only noticeable where there are obvious vertical or horizontal lines (again, a bump or two of zoom, and lines strighten right up). These issues can of course be corrected in most photo editing programs, although not in Zoombrowser EX, the camera's supplied software.
Achieving focus in certain lighting can be iffy and sometimes fails. Changing the focus frame size will usually remedy this. When it doesn't, manual focus feature comes to the rescue. Fortunately this feature is improved in the SX10. The autofocus issue seems linked to extremes in contrast, whether low or high, rather than actual light available. Low contrast, low light situations present the most difficulty, but a couple of times my copy has struggled and failed in high-contrast, intense lighting, too. Lowering the ISO helped.
If you prefer existing light photos and stay at ISO 400 and under, at focal lengths beyond 100mm you'll need to reduce shutter speeds due to narrowing apertures, and action shots get tricky. For stationary subjects, though, the camera can be hand-held at speeds as low as 1/6 sec to produce sharp images without flash--phenomenal. This works best with image stabilization set to single shot rather than continuous.
It IS a good idea to carry a mini-tripod or monopod. The SX10 tends some toward overexposure, though, which works to your benefit; an increase in shutter speed not only balances exposure but also results in fewer blurry hand-held shots. So, although it's a good idea to have one handy, the tripod probably won't be needed too terribly often.
The camera's built-in flash is quite good to about 17 feet. There's also a hot shoe for dedicated external flash; and with flash employed, the playing field broadens significantly. I've not yet encountered a situation where I couldn't get a picture when working with flash. A few times manual focus has been necessary, but by golly, I got the shot!
That big lens does zoom--boy, does it ever! Furthermore, digitally zoomed images are surprisingly detailed. Image stabilization is so effective that in good lighting sharp, hand-held shots are VERY doable at maximum magnification--a whopping 80X. The hardest thing about shooting at that length is just keeping the subject in your viewfinder!
Canon's vari-angle LCD is thoroughly spoiling--it cooks. There have been many times when I simply wouldn't have gotten a keeper without it. An articulating LCD not only offers the flexibility to shoot no-hassle self portraits, overhead, ground-level and other awkward-angle pictures, but it also gives an extra measure of stability in composing your pictures. Just fold out and tilt the LCD and hold the camera close to your body with your elbows tucked in. It's a much steadier stance than the traditional arms-out, eye-level method. Makes for some good stealth photography, as well as opening up new perspectives (think children and pets). And it's a real boon for tight spots and macro work. My only quibble about the LCD is how difficult it is to see in bright sunlight. (Fortunately, the electronic viewfinder is excellent, so you can shoot, no matter what.)
I really appreciate the ability to reduce the focus frame for capturing little details (it's nice to have a camera that "knows," for instance, that you're going for the antennae of a moth and not its entire body). Better yet, you can zero in on the eye as the sharpest point in the frame, making for stand-out people, bird, wildlife and pet photos. Pictures are so much more arresting with this capability.
About iContrast: while dynamic range does increase some, it's not a magic wand. With it turned off this camera does pretty well (though not d-SLR well) at highlight and shadow details. At least in my copy, pictures shot with iContrast are sometimes processed with a dull, gray-blue cast that no color or white balance setting offsets. So I keep iContrast disabled during shooting, unless the lighting is pretty extreme (the user guide suggests this approach). I've found iContrast of greater benefit, editing images in Review mode. Colors are more vibrant this way; the pics don't get that gray-blue cast.
SX10 pictures are not as contrasty as those from Canon's previous ultrazooms, especially at longer focal lengths. This is not a design flaw--you now have the option to adjust contrast as a custom function. It's found in My Colors. Options for adjusting sharpness, saturation and skin tones--as well as red, green and blue channels, are available there, too.
Often pictures lacking in contrast are simply the result of overexposure. If you're using one of the camera's built-in My Color settings, in average to bright light exposure compensation frequently helps, adding vibrance to your images and upping highlight details. The exposure compensation button makes this easy. On the other hand, photos captured in overcast and other low-contrast lighting conditions nearly always lack contrast, regardless of how you adjust exposure or which iContrast setting you're using. I personally don't mind this, as contrast can always be boosted in post-editing.
Even if you're a seasoned photographer, I can't stress enough: READ THE USER GUIDE even if you've owned one of Canon's previous superzooms. While the SX10 is very similar to its predecessors, there are also some big differences. When I got mine, I didn't actually look at the guide for almost a week; until I did, I grew steadily more disappointed. And just knew that Canon had lost their marbles.
If you're a full-auto kinda person, you'll probably love the camera without reading through the whole manual--that is, until you make your first movie. If you haven't read the advanced instructions for video capture, here's where you'll probably encounter dissatisfaction. Be sure and read the advanced guide for movies on pages 87-90 (English version). For instance, you can lock the focus--very nice--no more fading in and out. But the thing I think you'll really want to know about is a way to brighten movies when zooming. (More on that in a bit.)
It's when you move beyond point-and-shoot into the creative zones that an in-depth look at the advanced guide gets essential. The good stuff is in there all right, just waiting to be tapped, but you'd practically have to be psychic to know how to work it. It's not a hard camera to control, but some of its features and the procedures for using them aren't exactly transparent. You're paying for a pretty amazing, feature-rich camera. Instead of bashin' or smashin' the darn thing, do yourself and the SX10 both a favor. Read up on how to use it. It's well nigh impossible to get the best from it til you do.
In its auto modes, the camera selects ISO, aperture and shutter speeds which almost always work very well, although you may occasionally bring home noisier images than you'd like, and the white balance can sometimes be just a tad off. It also means employing the flash indoors fairly often, so if you prefer point-and-shoot, existing light photography you really may want to consider a different camera.
About Movie mode, in my estimation the only down side is the lens noise it records--an audible clacking sound during zoom. In every other respect, movies are outstanding. Before I bought the camera I had read user complaints about dark videos, and that concerned me. Sure enough, when I got the camera and gave it a whirl, my movies were just bogus beyond the 100mm tele mark.
Then I read the advanced guide--duh. And found that Canon has made provision for the lens's narrowing aperture as you zoom in. When you notice the image growing dim, you can increase the exposure--during recording! It's very easy--a press of the exposure compensation button and a twirl of the control dial is all it takes. Works like a charm. And that's not the only new enhancement (earlier I mentioned focus lock). Before beginning a movie, you can also set preferences for white balance and color. With stereo sound, volume adjustment, a wind filter and such enormous focal reach, the Movie mode is a great addition to an already magnificent camera--why, it's just gravy.
If anything ever fails on my copy, it'll probably be the control dial. Learning to use it was pretty trying. The dial is thin and slippery, and the mount is too shallow, almost flush with the FUNC/SET button it surrounds. The knurls on the dial are barely palpable and provide little traction. Worse, the dial tends to slip while it's turning. Applying enough pressure to engage it can inadvertently change the ISO setting or switch the camera to Manual Focus or Macro mode. My touch has improved with time and practice, but it took way too long to get the knack, and it's still not surefire. The thing's just plain tetchy!
Despite its idiosyncracies, I'm very glad the control dial is there. The SX10 is a camera that offers many adjustment options for making the very most of its incredible abilities.
If the dial were more easily engaged, and the zoom were silent during video capture, this camera would earn my resounding five-star rating. It probably deserves one anyway. If I didn't use the creative modes almost exclusively, the control dial wouldn't be such a bother. And if I weren't so persnickety, the lens sounds in video probably wouldn't be an issue, either. The dial needs improvement, though. Because this camera falls in the "advanced" category, aimed at the photo enthusiast/advanced photographer, and because it is one of the most-used and important features for that kind of shooting, I can't rationalize away its mediocre design and just love the dial anyway. Canon simply MUST improve on future iterations of their SX cameras, and I expect they will!