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"Great, but not perfect."
4.0 starson by tedjohnstonPros: Large, brilliant screen; Great picture quality; Good features; Compact.
Cons: No battery meter; No USB bus power; No EOS Utility support; Lacks a few advanced features; 3x zoom a bit whimpy.
Summary: Well, Canon has done it again! Canon's new line of cameras is probably the best combination of aesthetics and functionality on the camera market today. It's like they put together Sony (who only focuses on looks and doesn't care if the pictures it takes are crap) and their older Canon models (which were the fattest, ugliest things ever, but took great pictures) into one slick product line.
This camera is great, but it's not perfect like many make it out to be.
Pros: This thing looks sexy! Large 2.5" screen that you have to see to believe. Bright and brilliant, it makes you wish they implimented this kind of LCD technology in everything digital. It boots up in about a second, which is great for those who like to turn it on just to snap a picture, and then keep it off to conserve battery. The pictures it takes are great, and there are a myriad of different features, which include several different kinds of presets for point-and-shoot photography in all sorts of situations. There are also manual features which can be tweaked to liking, such as white balance, color, exposure (contrast), ISO speed, etc. There is also a High-ISO mode for 800+ISO pictures, which can be handy for many situations. Also one neat feature is time and date input and time zones. Basically when you first boot the camera for the first time, you enter in the date and time and your time zone. Then, if you go traveling, you can set the camera into travel mode and select the time zone of your travel locale for instant time switching.
Cons: No battery meter! Is it just me, or do NO digital cameras these days have battery meters!? Sheesh, at least make it a menu item where you can check the battery levels! The camera also lacks some advanced manual features like aperture and shutter speed. On top of this, the camera requires battery power to operate USB transfers and does not draw USB bus power. The software bundle comes with Canon's EOS Utility (which allows some nifty features like remote capturing of pictures straight to the PC), but there's no support for the SD600! It kind of gets your hopes up when they bundle that software in there, and then it doesn't even work with your camera model. Also, the 3x optical zoom leaves much to be desired.
Conclusion: This camera is great, and if you can get over its few shortcomings, then it's for you. If not, then you can try checking out the Canon A-Series which I imagine would have a few more features, but slightly poorer picture quality. Overall, great camera, and another success for Canon.
- 2 replies to this review
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the "no battery meter" is the only thing it's lacking, but that's it. it's small, compact, INCREDIBLE video quality (better than most full-fledged movie cameras); incredibly sharp photos, and massive features that you don't have to worry about if aren't too photo/light savvy (like me) a+ camera.
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Great review Ted. You covered the pros and cons well. As a happy owner of this camera, I would argue that the pros definitely outweight the negatives, which are few.<br><br>On the positive side, this is an ultra-compact, solidly built point and shoot camera that takes great photos virtually without fail. More than enough controls to take great pics of everyday life, holiday trips, even parties and social events. Moreover, the video quality is superb.<br><br>My only beefs tend to mirror Ted's: (1) no battery meter. I can't think of any decent camera in the last 20 years that didn't have a meter. Why Canon omitted it is a mystery. Thus, I tend to charge the battery more frequently, and have placed an order for a second, back-up battery. For me, the lack of a battery meter is the camera's biggest failing -- if you could call it that.<br><br>(2) I too would like a slightly longer lens, and for that matter, a wider lens as well. But, as my goal with the purchase of this camera was an ultra-compact size -- a size that would invite me to take the camera along with me without concerns about bulk or being weighed down -- I accept these minor limitations.<br><br>All in all, a great ultra-compact that takes superb photos with ease. Even with the minor beefs mentioned, this is a good choice for those on the go, or for those that want to go light, but not at the expense of good image quality.
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