Saturday, November 1, 2008

Canon SX110 Review: a compact superzoom?

The Canon Powershot SX110 is a "compact" super-zoom (10x).  By compact I mean a good bit smaller than an SLR; but it's still bigger than most compact digital cameras.  If you have big pants pockets, it might fit, barely. But really, this camera is intended to be carried in one of those over the shoulder camera cases. 

The two pictures at right show the SX110 in comparison to the Canon SD850, which is a true pocket sized camera (though slightly more bulky than the average 'compact' camera, these days). On the off chance that you don't have personal experience with the SD850, I've also included an Altoids can, which is about the same size.

The SX110 measures 4.35 x 2.77 x 1.76 in., which, BTW, is bigger than the SD850 in every dimension. It's also a little bit heavier than the SD850, but not as much as you might expect. The upside of the camera's size, however, is that it's a very comfortable camera to hold, unlike the SD850, where there is little to get a good grip on. In fact, the right side of the SX110 has a beveled edge, which serves as an excellent grip.

When turned on the lens extends, nearly doubling the length of the camera. When the lens extends, the camera gets quite front-heavy, and will tip forward unless balanced on a perfectly flat surface. This may make it more difficult to take action shots of yourself using the 10 second self timer, unless you use a tripod. 

This post is part of a series that reviews the Canon SX110IS.

2 comments:

Raj said...
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Unknown said...

This camera marries some of the best features of the Canon S series like zoom and manual flash with the convenience of the A series. This camera is an upgrade of the SX100 and feels much more sleeker than the previous model.

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