The PowerShot SX10 IS is equipped with a 20x optical zoom lens with a focal length of 5.0-100mm (35mm film equivalent: 28-560mm) that allows you to shoot any scene from wide-angle to telephoto. The camera uses a VCM (Voice Coil Motor) for high-speed, quiet, energy-efficient lens movement with precise control. Focal length is conveniently indicated on the lens barrel.

The lens is optimized to fully exploit its zoom length and wide shooting angle in concert with the camera’s high 10.0-megapixel resolution. UD glass effectively suppresses chromatic aberration, while enhanced negative refractive power ensures that distortion at the wide-angle is also corrected. Further aberration is controlled with the inclusion of a double-sided aspherical glass-molded lens and ultra-high refraction index lens.

Keeping a mostly similar design to the S5, the SX10 follows in its footsteps as a very comfortable to hold and shoot camera, retaining perks like the articulated LCD and four AA-powered operation. It’s a little heavier, 1.5 pounds, which makes it feel like a dSLR, but the big grip gives you plenty of holding room. While it offers the same set of manual, semimanual, and automatic controls, they’re differently designed and laid out. Gone is the multifunction power switch, leaving a plain old button in its wake. Now you have a more traditional button to jump into review mode; it sits near the indented thumb rest on the back, joined by the exposure compensation and focus area selection buttons. Unfortunately, the labels, light blue on gray, are pretty difficult to see in dim light and can be obscured by the glare off the iridescent plastic in bright.

On the right side of the back is a dial concentric to a four-way navigation switch with the function button in the middle. Canon uses this control layout for some of its recent compact point-and-shoots, and in many ways it’s a vast improvement over the S5′s configuration. But while I generally like the controls, the dial feels too mushy. It doesn’t respond appropriately, and it feels like it needs to spin too far or not as far for any given operation. As a result, for example, I frequently overshot desired shutter speeds. Perhaps it just takes more getting used to than I had time for, but it really feels like it needs better tactile feedback. The zoom switch didn’t feel terribly exact either. While that’s a typical problem with stepped zooms (these lenses don’t really cover a continuous zoom range, instead stopping at a series of preset distances), the SX10′s felt even less accurate than usual, likely because of the wide range it has to cover. I expect to see this problem even more as we test this year’s 24x and 26x lenses.

The G10 is the third incarnation of Canon’s flagship ‘prosumer’ compact since the G series was reinvented with the G7 in 2006. Announced two years after the G6, the G7 caused quite a buzz; partly because everyone had presumed the budget SLR had killed off this sector of the market, partly because it lacked several of what had become G series trademarks (fast lens, tilting screen, raw mode, secondary LCD panel), and it would be fair to say the response was ‘mixed’. The G9 went some way towards placating the critics, reintroducing raw mode and improving handling, but it still suffered from the fundamental problem that the sensor inside couldn’t deliver on what the fantastic camera promised on the outside.

When we reviewed the G9 last year, we praised it for the styling, handling and build and for its excellent output at low ISO settings. The G10 builds on this by adding handling and control refinements, improving the LCD resolution, and, most importantly, adding a wider lens starting at 28mm (equiv.). It also retains the rangefinder styling and solid build quality, and reduces the amount of silver accents on the camera. All the external controls have been carried over, and a new one has been added (a very useful exposure compensation dial).

Handling the number crunching is Canon’s latest DIGIC 4 processor which brings a number of enhancements to the camera, including more efficient H.264 compression for video (albeit still in standard definition), improved face detection, a new self-timer option which exploits face detection to wait for the photographer to enter the frame, motion detection, a new Servo AF mode, and i-Contrast which can boost shadow areas in images.

The screen remains a 3in model, but Canon’s upgraded the resolution from 230k to 460k pixels, allowing it to display much finer detail in composition and playback, along with allowing much smoother menu fonts. The new screen also has a very wide viewing angle.

The primary reason to buy a camera like this, however, is the photo quality, and here the G10 doesn’t disappoint. Color and exposures are great. There’s some wide-angle distortion at the 28mm-equivalent maximum, but photos have very good center and edge-to-edge sharpness at longer focal lengths. ISO 80 and 100 produce relatively pristine images and if you’re alert to it, you’ll see some noise-suppression artifacts starting at ISO 200. But photos look quite usable up to and including ISO 400; at ISO 800 they get visibly soft. (For more on photo quality, click through the slide show.)
Though I can’t yet compare it with competitors like the Nikon Coolpix P6000 or the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3, users of the G9 or previous models who want the higher resolution and who won’t miss the extra lens reach won’t be disappointed. Only the mixed performance–not bad, just not as fast as it should be for the price–brings down its overall rating. And even if the Canon PowerShot G10 eventually turns out to not be best-in-class for whatever reason, it’s still a great camera.

The primary advantages of having a digital sensor the same size (24x36mm) as a frame of 35mm film are (1) higher image quality, especially in terms of noise and especially in lower light situations, and (2) the ability to use very wide angle lenses. The only disadvantage to having a full-frame sensor compared to a small-sensor digital SLR body (Canon Digital Rebel or any Nikon) is that the small-sensor effectively increases the magnification of telephoto lenses, which can be useful when you are doing sports or bird photography. Of course, the resolution of the 5D is so high that you could pull out the central 8 MP of a Canon EOS 5D image and it would be almost as though you had taken the photo with a Canon 30D or Digital Rebel.

If you are a wide-angle junkie and have a bunch of older Canon EOS lenses designed for film cameras, you’ll love having the EOS 5D. The small sensor Canon bodies turn an exciting 20mm wide angle lens into a boring 30mm perspective. With the 5D, what you got with your 20mm lens on the film camera is what you get with the 5D.

At around $3000, the Canon EOS 5D is currently the lowest cost full 35mm frame DSLR available. In fact it’s the lowest price full frame DSLR that ever has been available. The EOS 1Ds Mk II sells for in the region of $7200 and right now that’s the only other option for a full frame 35mm DSLR. The Kodak 14c had a pretty short life which perhaps say ssomething about it’s practicality and problems with noise and speed of operation. The EOS 5D is not only cheaper, but a far more practical camera with better usability. much faster operation and an ISO range from 50 to 3200 with good image quality.

The EOS 5D will likely be regarded as something of a landmark camera and shows how much digital technology has advanced in only a few years. The first “affordable” DSLR was the Canon EOS D30, a 3MP APS-C sensor camera which sold for $3000+ in October 2000 (Original price 380,000 yen). In only 5 years (October 2005) we now have a 12.7 MP full frame camera selling for about the same price ($3000). In another 5 years I would not be surprised to see a 15MP full frame camera selling for under $1500. However the 5D will be seen as the “full frame” breakthrough camera, just as the D30 is seen as the first really practical and affordable DSLR. 5 years prior to that all you could get was a 1.3MP DCS 3, and it would have cost you almost 2,000,000 yen (almost $20,000) or a 6MP DCS 1 selling for 3,600,000 yen (upwards of $30,000). I’m sure the rate of progress is slowing down now as the technology matures, but it certainly hasn’t stopped!

The Canon PowerShot A1000 IS digital camera is a new addition to the popular PowerShot range, which has traditionally offered a compelling combination of features and affordable price. The A1000 IS is around 25% smaller than its predecessor, the PowerShot A580, yet still retains a 4x optical zoom lens with a focal length of 35-140mm, and newly adds an optical image stabilizer to help prevent blurred photos. The 10 megapixel Canon A1000 also features a 2.5-inch LCD screen and true optical viewfinder, DIGIC III image processing engine, 17 shooting modes including the new Easy mode for point-and-shoot operation, plus Face Detection, Motion Detection and Auto Red Eye Correction technologies.

The A1000 IS is powered by relatively cheap and universally available AA batteries. The 10 megapixel A1000 features 16 shooting modes, Motion Detection, Auto Red Eye Correction, a nice range of scene modes and movie mode options, a solid 4x optical zoom, a bright 2.5 inch LCD screen, and Canon’s advanced Optical Image Stabilization system – which dramatically reduces camera shake, resulting in fewer blurry pictures. The A1000′s Face Detection AF system is linked directly to the camera’s Auto Exposure and Auto WB systems – the A1000 IS’s Face Detection AF automatically finds, locks focus on, tracks, and then optimizes exposure for up to nine faces, or shooters can lock on a single face and track it through a crowd.

At first glance, it seems as if there’s a lot going on with the controls for the A1000 IS. On top are a power button, a shutter release with zoom ring, and a Mode dial with no fewer than 10 shooting options. Why so many for such a basic camera? Well, along with its P (for Program), Auto, Easy (auto without options), and Movie modes, Canon puts five popular scene selections (including Portrait, Landscape, Indoor) and a SCN choice for accessing lesser used scene settings like Sunset, Snow, and Aquarium. So while the Mode dial looks quite busy, it is actually simple. Likewise, the back of the camera is loaded with a directional pad and six buttons labeled in silver (for shooting functions) and blue (for playback functions), but even novice users should have things down pat fairly quickly.

Regardless of the controls, there’s little reason to spend much time hanging out in the menu system. But for those times when it’s necessary–say to change the autofocus priority, adjust the LCD brightness, or switch when the image stabilization is engaged–navigation is straightforward.

The Canon PowerShot SX110 IS is a new 9 megapixel digital camera featuring a 10x zoom lens with optical image stabilizer. Successor to the SX100 model, the Canon SX110 IS is the second camera in the SX ultra-zoom series, with the lens covering a versatile focal length of 36-360mm. Other standout features of the SX110 IS include a larger 3 inch LCD screen, DIGIC III image processor, and Face Detection complete with Face Selector button and new Face Select & Track mode. The SX110 IS has 20 shooting modes including the new Easy Mode for complete beginners and full manual control for more experienced photographers, various My Colors settings, a high ISO setting of 1600. It can shoot 30fps VGA movies with a Long Play mode and is powered by readily available AA batteries.

The new SX “Super Zoom” model: the 9 Megapixel PowerShot SX110 IS, which replaces the popular SX100 IS. Featuring a 10x optical zoom with optical Image Stabilizer – plus a 3.0” LCD – the PowerShot SX110 IS delivers outstanding telephoto reach in an even more compact and lightweight body. Also available is Black.

A full range of Canon technologies – including Face Detection Technology, Motion Detection Technology and a new Easy Mode – helps everyone take great photos, while experienced users can also enjoy the creative possibilities offered by full manual control.

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