SD1000: An awful name for such a nice camera

It is the best selling camera in the world. Find why.

What is a pure point & shoot camera doing at PhotoAficionado.com? It has no titanium body, no manual modes, it even hasn't Image Stabilization or a fancy 28mm equiv. wide angle. What makes this little camera the best selling digital camera in the world? The price tag is a tad high ($190usd, street); Fuji, Casio, Kodak or Lumix cameras are cheaper. So, the riddle remains: why is the SD1000 special?

Petit Size

It is even smaller than other ultra-compact cameras and way more enchanting. The quality build is remarkable. The front and back is all metal, with a black "belt" surrounding the sides. The color is warmer than the average silver digicam. The SD1000 surely is a  fashion statement.

Retro look

The camera is a brick, light and small, but a little brick. The design is sophisticated in look but also in engineering: flat screws, recessed power button, pure flat recessing lens. The only part that protrudes is the shutter button. We were surprised with ergonomy; at first glance you may thing that a camera as square as this would be uncomfortable, but it is not. You can handle it with just one hand (although is better to hold it with both hands). The SD1000 has no grip, but we never felt it loose. The finish is available in both silver and black versions. We prefer the black one with this Elph retro look, yet most people seems to prefer the silver version

Optics

Zoom is nothing to write home about: 3x UA lens has a 35mm film equivalent of 35-105mm; maximum aperture  of f/2.8 (W) - f/4.9 (T) is also average.

Usability

The SD1000 (we hate the name; imagine a car with a name such as SD1000, IXUS 70 ain't any better, either) interface is minimalist. You'll find only the classic Canon's DISP. and MENU buttons, the regular round FUNC. SET, 4 ways round button and the direct print button. You'll find also the mode selector. This approach leads you to dig into the camera menus to change ISO speeds and even to select scene modes or any other function more advanced than just point and shoot.

Although an elfin camera, you'll find in the SD1000 two generous features: a 2.5" LCD and an optical viewfinder (rarely seen in the ultra-compact arena).

We specially liked the mode selector that is easy to use and more effective than other round dials.

Processor

The Digic III processor is responsible for speedy performance and a number of nice to have attributes: face detect function; 10 secs, 2 secs and customizable self timer,color accent, color swap, and scene functions. We didn't like that most scene functions are buried inside the function menu.

Although camera is fully automatic, the Digic III informs you of the chosen shutter speed and aperture, so you can have a good idea of the kind of photo you'll end with. With most of the shooting parameters computerized, you can only change the exposure, select a custom white balance setting  and choose from evaluative, center weighted avg. and spot metering.

Battery life

Canon reports a 210 shots figure with the proprietary NB-4L battery. You'll probably will need a spare battery.

Resolution

With 7.1 mega pixels there are plenty of pixels for reasonably big prints, although the typical user of this breed of cameras only print 4x6"s most of the time.

Image Quality: the bad SD40 taste vs the SD1000 delicacy

Not long ago we tried a Canon SD40. Big on style, but image quality was objectionable (to say the least). We were really surprised with the dreadful pictures of this camera. An ultra compact has inherent limitations: noise at high ISO settings, automatic only modes, camera shake due to the small size. But the SD40 made all that annoyances much worst.  We were intensely displeased with this particular model; no wonder it is no longer available. So, when we received the snazzy SD1000 we were afraid of the "good-looking-poor-quality" syndrome of the SD40. Good news: this is not the case. The SD1000 is very competent. Yes, you will find yucky noise above ISO 400, but not worst of higher level Canon Cameras such as the G7, S5 or A620. Photos are sharp, color rendition is accurate (with Canon's typically saturated reds) and the in-camera processing is quite good overall.

But we didn't like...

- Digging into the menus for some common settings (such as changing scene modes)

- The battery/card door is flimsy (it begins to seem a Canon trademark)

- Tripod mount is plastic (how costly is a metal mount?)

- You can obstruct the flash with your fingers if you use both hands

- Red eye is a problem

-Flash performance is not grand and takes an eternity (well, not thaaaat long) to recharge (10 seconds is quite a while in most "hurry, shoot!" situations).

Buried in the manual

We read the manual and found a couple of nice features:

Time Lapse movie function (p. 41): "Select a shooting interval (1 or 2 sec. ) to have a single fame shot at that interval. When played back, two hours worth of recorded frame is compressed to 8 minutes (1-sec. interval) or 4 minutes (2-sec. interval. You can record events from a fixed perspective, such as the spectacle of a flower budding over time, or view changing elements in a short period... Maximum recording session: 2 hours." Hey, that's a lot of fun!

Customizable button (p. 67). You can register a function that you often use with the print-share button: +/- exp., white balance, custom white balance, digital tele-converter, display overlay, record movie, display off.

Wish list

- Image Stabilization, in such a petit camera it must be mandatory by this time and Panasonic offers this ingredient in the same price range.

- 28mm wide angle (OK, we have the SD800IS but we would truly like to see this traits in the SD1000).

The right combination

No camera is perfect, and the thing is: what do you want a camera for? It is not an ultra advanced camera, nor provides dSLR quality images. It doesn't even have IS. Why would a Photo Aficionado want one?

- It is handsome (very)

- Fair bang-for-the-buck ratio

- At this price, you won't be too worried if something happens to the camera

- It is handy: small enough to carry all the time in almost any pocket

- It is easy to use, so you can give it to anyone and just say "just point & shoot" (isn't that what a P&S is all about?)

The combination offered by the SD1000 is quite something: great style, mini size, remarkable build quality, very good images and a fair price. This little best seller needs image stabilization and most of its flaws are inherent to all ultra compact cameras; yet this particular model does a good job taking photos, and that's the key function of any camera: it doesn't matter if it is a $40,000 super heavy weight, or a $200 P&S. If the images produced are better than most cameras in its class, everything else are bells & whistles. That's why the SD1000 is the best selling camera in the world.