Canon PowerShot SD1100IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)

I've owned digital SLRs for many years and I needed a P&S camera to take along for snapshot photos. This camera turned out to be the perfect choice for me. It is so small it can easily be carried anywhere. The photos are not as good as those from my SLRs, of course, but they are excellent, nonetheless. The point is, I can take this camera anywhere for any occasion and get the shot, whereas I can't and won't do that with the pro equipment. There are several features I especially like, including manual controls, widescreen mode, time-lapse movie mode, macro mode and a remarkably useable digital zoom. The camera has enough manual controls to satisfy my need for tweaking, especially since I usually prefer the lowest ISO possible with flash forced 'off.' When I shoot in widescreen mode, I can view the photos on my 16x9 widescreen TV and they look great. As a matter of fact, I'm shooting in 16x9 widescreen format pretty much all the time now because of this capability. Digital zoom has changed--no longer do you get blocky images from the camera's blowing up a portion of the sensor's image. Due to the sensor's high megapixel count, the blown up portion no longer looks pixelated as in previous models. It's like having a telephoto lens inside the camera to get those shots at the rare times when it's needed. Macro mode performs so well that flower photos rival those from my SLRs. The camera also has an excellent movie mode, including a fun time-lapse feature. Previous Canon sensors on P&S cameras were 'use at your own risk' when shooting above ISO 100. This camera's sensor has improved considerably by providing what I would call 'very good' photos at ISO 200, 'good' photos at ISO 400 and 'acceptable' shots at ISO 800. I use noise-reduction software to clean up photos, anyway, but I'm pleased that Canon has improved their sensor and in-camera software. Couple all of these features with IS, which virtually eliminates shaking and blurry pictures, and Canon has another winner on its hands. I predict sales of this little gem will be off the charts.

Pros: - Great Price for quality of the camera - Easy to use - Small size - Good battery life Cons: - Need to remove battery to charge - No internal memory Purchased this for a recent trip to Walt Disney World. Took over 500 pictures over the course of the vacation, the majority of which came out great. It was small enough to fit in a front jeans pocket, easy to use, with a great battery time, although you may want to look into getting a spare if you take lots of pictures. Mine lasted almost two full days on a single charge, which was good, but also that "almost" caused me to miss a few good photo ops since it was dead. After that I charged it every day. You'll need to get a memory card; I purchased a 8GB SD and it was more then enough room for a few thousand photos. I didn't think to bring the instruction booklet on my trip, but the camera was simple enough that I was able to figure out how to change all the functions I was interested in (flash, night type modes etc) within a minute or so. This is a great camera for someone who doesn't want to spend a lot of money, but still wants a good quality camera.

The image stabilization and the face detection work well, and most images come out wonderfully. There is a noticeable issue with noise and fast moving subjects are still an issue for me. One is common in ultra compacts and one may simply require another round with the manual so take that for what it's worth. I found the menu and settings to be usable, but the settings I want are sometimes buried on a third level. Sometimes menu response has lagged a bit, which can be frustrating when your subject is moving faster than you are. I moved from a Canon SD20 so having an optical zoom is wonderful. Plus, this camera is not that much larger than the SD20 so I still feel like I will take it out with me without worrying about bulk. Battery life seems fine so far...much better than the SD which only holds a few minutes charge these days, despite having replaced the battery. The SD1100 seems to do a decent job overall and overcomes the photographic failures of it's operator (what do I know). If you want a simple point and shoot, you could do much worse. If you want more manual control over your pics, really good low light performance or something to document your next roller derby match, this may not be ideal.

This camera worked well after six months, but in the past week, after the camera opened, it stayed open and beeped, saying "Lens error, restart camera." Google this term and the Canon 1100IS and you'll see many people with the same problem. A shame since I've bought numerous Canon cameras over the years and have found them to work flawlessly. There's even a class-action suit over this to get them to acknowledge the problem with the 1100IS. Google that and you'll find info on that too. UPDATE: I've read accounts of owners who send Canon the camera in for servicing within the warranty period and for their troubles are told that it's their fault instead of a production flaw. I sent in mine prepared for the worst, but they ended up fixing it! So in my case, they honored the warranty. I'd give the product 3 stars now, but Amazon doesn't let you change the original rating.