Canon Powershot SX10 is

[DisneyCouple07]

I wanted to know if anyone owns this camera and what their thoughts are on it. I currently have a point and shoot Sony cybershot that is great and fits in my pocket, but looking for something with a better zoom and a little more manual adjustments. I was thinking going the dSLR route, but I really don't want the extra size and expense of extra lenses.

Looking at some reviews online, the SX10 looks to be a winner, but I wanted to know if anyone on here has one, what are their feeling on it. Is it a great camera or just ok? I know it can't compete with an SLR, but how good are the images (I read that there is some fringing around the edges when zoomed all the in, and noise increases with higher iso)? Overall, I will using it to take pics of our new baby girl and would like something that we can carry around all day when visiting WDW.

Any info or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[BigRedDad]

Take a look at "ken rockwell" on Google. Read that information thoroughly and read some other sites on digital cameras as well. From what I have experienced, the person behind the camera is what makes a picture, not the camera itself.

My recommendation would be a P&S or a DSLR. The DSLR-like cameras are simply bulky P&S cameras.

What features are you looking for, realizing quality of the picture will come from you?

[DisneyCouple07]

Thanks for the tips. I know that its the person using the camera and not the camera—because a friend of mine spent a small fortune on a Canon SLR and his shots don't even come close to mine (on my little CyberShot). It also takes time to learn what a camera can do to use it to its full potential. But, the thing that my little P&S can't handle long distance shots as well as I would like (it just doesn't have the range).

Looking at some test images on the SX10, I would really love to have an optical zoom that can go from wide angle to extreme zoom (the SX10 has a 20x zoom which is equivalent to a range of 28-560mm)—my P&S is 5x, which is great, but all my shots on Kilamanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom are a little less than desirable (always got to say "Look down there, you can get a glimpse of the gazelles head.. or if you squint you may be able to see the lion on the rocks").

I do like the DSLR, but I don't want ALL that pertains to it (mostly having to buy extra lenses). I still have an old Pentax K1000 with a bunch of lenses (for some reasons lenses are like potato chips to me, you can't have just one) that I love, but I haven't used in a long time due to the selfish need of instant gratification that comes within that little LCD monitor.

From what I see, the SX10 (although more or less just a bulky P&S) has some of the adjustability of an DSLR, with a pretty good range lense. The Powershot SX1 actually is a little closer to an DSLR in that it uses a CMOS sensor instead of the CCD, but looking at some samples online, the image quality doesn't look as good as the SX10 and nowhere near the quality of a true SLR(again, since it really is just a fancy P&S).

Overall the main features I look for are:
1. full range zoom
2. Image stabilization (again, just don't want to carry a tripod all the time)
3. Adjustable shutter speed
4. Adjustable ISO
5. Size/space (don't mind a slightly larger camera, but don't want the extra hassle of packing a bag of lenses as well)

Sorry for the long-winded response . And thanks for Ken Rockwell.. great site (and I do love his comment on megapixels, it really is funny hearing people show off how many pixels their camera has). BTW, another great site is cameralabs.

[J9]

Speaking of cameras - I love the effect where the photo is in b&w except for one color. Does anyone know of any cameras that have this feature built in? Cause I want it, and I'm also in the market for a new digi!

[DisneyCouple07]

From what I know, most of the Canon line-up has this feature (the SX10 included). I don't know how well it works, hope someone here has it and can either or .

[scooterca42]

Bought one for my husband for Christmas and we love it - the zoom is fabulous! We did a lot of airshows and became used to a massive zoom lens on our 35 mm camera, so the 3 and 6 times zoom left us cold.

I tested a whack of cameras and stuck with Canon because all our peripherals are also Canon - we have never had an issue with anything we've bought. As for fringing, if you're far enough from your munchkin that you have to use the full zoom... Seriously, the centre of the image is just fine. If there is fringing, I haven't noticed it.

I'd recommend it.

[DisneyCouple07]

Thanks for your recommendation Scootera. I've been reading a lot of reviews and the vast majority of them were great, but with the fringing complaint. Being that my little one doesn't leave my side, I may not even need the full 20x zoom, lol. Thanks again.

[DisneyCouple07]

Hi scooterca, I have one question for you on the camera. How is it with night shots? Is a tripod needed or can you get away with handheld? And how good are the manual adjustments?