Canon Powershot SX1 IS

P

placebo

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I am a very amateur photographer,and while I have read these posts on the quality of DSLR entry level cameras and was very tempted to buy one I purchased a Canon Powershot SX IS.I Had numerous reasons for this purchase at this stage.
1)I will have to use the camera in auto mode for the next year at least as I require corneal graft transplants in both my eyes and at the moment my eyes are just on the legal driving limit with spectacles.
2)I would like to experiment taking photographs with a (what I hope is a decent)P&S prior to purchasing a DSLR with the various necessary lenses which will cost a great deal of money.For all I know I might never be bitten by the photographic bug.
I also bought Vanson rechargeable batteries 2500mAh which I hope are not a waste of money.
Your comments on the camera and rechargeable battery purchase either positive or negative would be highly appreciated.I am busy attempting to set up the camera at the moment.
 
The SX1 is an awesome camera. It does full HD movies and the flip&twist screen is very handy. If I had the money I would get one - currently I have my hopes on getting a Kodak Z980 (12mp, 24x zoom, 720p HD) since it only costs R4000.
 
I am pleased someone replied to this thread.Taking my circumstances into account and the fact my internet fromTelkom packed up I can now post that due to work pressure have not used the camera very often.However the salesman who sold it to me (who happened to be a professional photographer)made me feel like an idiot in that he reckoned it was the best camera for my needs.I will post a photograph or two once I am on leave which will be from the 19/12/2009.Perhaps they might meet with approval even with my eyesight on this forum.
 
R5999.00 from Stax.Rechargeable batteries plus 16 GB card and a car window mount(always wanted a car window mount for the Kruger Park) cost me R7900.00 or thereabouts.Window mount was R600.00 .
 
The sony is not good - it does not take standard AA batteries and it uses sony's own Memory Stick cards which are very expensive when compared to standard ones like SDHC.
 
Hi placebo,

I can't comment on the SX1 IS, but I have it's "near-identical CCD-based sibling", the SX10 IS and can comment on it and the PowerShot range in general.

To quote DPReview.com:

"At their base ISO settings, there is not much to pick between the two cameras. Noise levels, sharpness and fine detail are pretty much equal, which is not very surprising since both cameras have the same resolution, with the same lens and the same Digic 4 image processor. Neither of these cameras can resolve the fine detail in the coin in front of the Martini bottle. If you look closely you can see a slight difference in how 'clean' the output is, and in the rendering of fine detail (the CMOS based SX1 looks slightly more sharpened and has slightly more jagged diagonals), but at normal viewing magnifications you'll never see it."

The camera itself follows the mold of pretty much every Canon Consumer/Prosumer SLR I've managed to get my grubby paws on. The grip is comfortable, even in my relatively large hands, and the controls are within easy reach and pretty intuitive for anyone that has worked with multi-function cameras before.

I've found the lens to be pretty decent in terms of focus times (I've shot a lot of equestrian events with it) and it fairs well in day to day light ranges. I have noticed a lot of grain in low-light shots but unless you're going to be viewing images at full resolution or cropping smaller segments out of the larger captures, it shouldn't be an eye-sore. A few subtle passes through Photoshop would clean up some of the worst of it as well.

The zoom is decent, though there is (to me at least) a loss of sharpness at it's extreme zoom. Again, not something you'll find a problem unless you're specifically zooming to maximum and then still having to crop detail from the larger shot.

The flash is decent, especially with the flash control and the image stabilization is a godsend, especially for me with my caffeine jittery hands.

An external flash unit and a steady monopod/tripod will complete this camera in terms of extending it's functionality range and it's small enough to carry around in my laptop bag without having to fuss about a large camera bag. The fact that I can use my old filters from my EOS 500N with a ring adapter made me very happy with the purchase.

Overall, it's a good carry around Semi-DSLR, but it's not going to replace the EOS range cameras anytime soon. It is however good for those wanting to take the step from point and shoot compacts to the versatility of the SLR's.
 
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