TX1: the great pretender?
Great photos and superb movies. Is it possible?
by Oscar Colorado

Intro I've seen camcorders taking mediocre pictures and digital cameras shooting lackluster movies. Is it possible to have the best of both worlds? Canon thinks so and the PowerShot TX1 has reached the street with quite a big promise: stunning 7.1 Mega pixels still pictures and 720P High Definition movies. Strangely, although most new products from Canon usually receive a wide-open reception, it's not the case with the TX1. There are only a couple reviews on the net (including this) and forum discussions are biased against this new hybrid device. Among the so-called flaws of the TX1 are sub par still images, poor battery life, worst-ever ergonomics and sluggish performance. What's going on? Are all these claims true? Here's my review of this polemic camcorder/digicam. Or should it be digicam/camcorder? Whatever! Let's check the headline specs:
- Full stainless steel construction - 7.1 mega pixels - 10x optical zoom Lens covers 39-390mm range - Optical Image Stabilization - DIGIC III processor - Face detection - Vari-angle LCD monitor, 115,000px - 15-1/2500 sec shutter speed - 2.2 fps continuous shooting - 4:3 and 16:9 selectable aspect ratio for both photos and movies - HD stereo movies (720P ,1280x720 at 30 or 15fps) Design The TX1 design is entirely vertical, resembling more a camcorder than a digicam. Canon clearly considers this a digital camera and not a camcorder.

The lens is fully retracted and the vari-angle monitor is folded against the body when not in use. Premium quality was, obviously, the aim for Canon designers. The body is practically all metal (stainless steel case with textured accents) and it's not the average silver digicam, its colors are slightly warmer (hence the gold look in some of this review photos, it's tricky to have the right white balance when shooting the TX1). The overall look and feel of the TX1 is of a luxury item, this is not a budget camera and it doesn't look like one.

Side by side the two top of the line PowerShot cameras: G7 and TX1. Different niche, same impressive quality I have one complaint: if the TX1 is a luxury digicam, why does Canon use such a cheap, flimsy and fragile plastic battery door? It's the same case on the SD800IS, and even in high-end cameras such as the EOS 30D the battery door is not in the same quality league as with the rest of the camera. I'm not the only one complaining about this. Although I have to admit that I've never experienced a broken door issue.

The infamous door over battery compartment Regarding size, it is ultra compact measuring 3.50 x 2.36 x 1.14 in., right in the Digital Elph alley. This is smaller than any camcorder (check it against the Sony P109 Handycam, that actually is one of their smallest camcorders ever). It's not heavy (7.8 oz) yet the feel is pretty beefy for its size.

As you can see, the TX1 is pretty much in the size of other Canon Elph cameras This beautiful camera is just like the iPod and other ultra good looking gadgets: they look incredible in the manufacturers photos, but they seem impossible to be fingerprint free. The TX1 always look dirty, and it was a real pain in the neck to take the products photographs for this review.

For the big handed, size will be an issue. I have long and slim hands, and it's not an issue for me, but if you have big hands you'll have problems handling the TX1 and you'll find your pinkie carrying the weight underneath the camera. There's a chromed metal part to attach the hand strap that lets your fingers rest. If size is not a problem for you, the camera will feel pretty natural. Usability: the 4 Big issues I have one grievance with the TX1: usability. This camera is beautifully designed, impeccably executed, but it is -at least to me- awkward to use. First, the on/off button is in the side, and you should open the vari-angle display. Both operations are not intuitive. During the entire test I've always struggled with this. It doesn't help to take photos promptly. I've found that the correct sequence to perform this operation is to first switch the camera on and then open the vari-angle monitor.

Can you find the ON/OFF button? The second usability complaint is with the still-images shutter button. It's on top of the camera and it won't win an ergonomics award. The movie record button is near the thumb, under the zoom; both controls are much easier to operate, as if the camera would be intentionally designed to encourage movie making which is OK, but this is supposed to be a hybrid product, therefore it should be easy to operate in both modes.

Still pictures button is pretty strange. The movie record and zoom control are much easier to use.

Third usability issue: the joystick. I'm really familiar with the PowerShot controls, layout and overall interface, but Canon designers changed things here. There's a joystick instead of a circular control, and the DISP and MENU buttons are in top of the joystick. Although these seem like minor alterations they really change the way you use the camera. And, by the way, the joystick is really small.

Small changes make big differences, in this case for worst. Fourth usability issue: memory card compartment. Most PowerShot cameras store the SD card with the battery. Not in this case.

To remove or insert the memory card you must move the vari-angle monitor and then open a door (another breakable one). Not a big deal, but tricky. The vertical design looks great, but it's odd and the camera feels moderately unsteady. Using both hands certainly helps. In practice, the Image Stabilization remedies any shake movement due to a trembling hand. I've found people writing in many Internet forums that the TX1 is an ergonomic disaster. It is not true. Yes, regarding usability for some operations there will be a learning curve but I don't think it's a matter of grave concern. In any case, I suggest you to buy it from a vendor that has such a return policy that allows you to test the camera for a reasonable length of time (at least a couple of weeks) and if you find ergonomic issues unbearable, return it to the store. Controls and Menus The user interface is very polished and this is Canon's latest version of an already successful approach. The TX1 has the DIGIC III latest features: face detection technology, multiple scene modes, MyColors function, color swap, the orientation sensor rotates the display if you turn the camera, slide show, direct print, red eye reduction, etcetera.

Both set up and menu screens work intuitively and are as well designed as any other Canon. You'll have no problem at all setting everything, although you'll have to read the manual to understand all the functions (particularly the movie functions) of this camera. Photographic test For this review I'm taking a different approach than other reviewing style around the net. Instead of capturing resolution or colors charts, I shot many real life situations and uploaded the results untouched; for the pixel peepers all photos are in full size. The opinions for the photos may be subjective, yet it's my unbiased experience and the information I think that you'll really care about. Here you can check the whole set of samples I shot with the TX1, as well as product shots: www.flickr.com/photos/oscarnates/sets/72157600324179832/ The DIGIC III does a good job managing white balance and the TX1 performed reasonably well. Anyway, it's really easy to correct white balance these days with almost any imaging software. Macro Photography Surprisingly, many compact and ultra-compact digicams perform great at Macro Photography. It was not the case with the TX1. Bokeh is unexciting and actually you can't take a very close macro, so forget about photographing those insect eyes.

Don't expect great macro shots from the TX1, but if you turn on the Super Macro Mode you'll be surprised with a 0" macro distance.

Lens range The lens begins at 39mm in the wide end, which is narrower than the average 35mm of most compact cameras. I guess it's to avoid the barrel distortion in movie mode and to have a long zoom range (390mm). Those 39mm are not great for interior photographs or formidable landscape. Regarding the tele-end, at 390mm this is an ultra-zoom that it's impressive for such a small camera. This super tele numbers allows you to take great candid photos. Of course, having 390mm is an invitation to blur disaster, but the Image Stabilization saves the day. This is one of the best IS systems I've found on any compact camera, and it should be, bearing those 390mm at the telephoto end. Canon's IS technology is actually very good and in this case the TX1 also has a "pan stabilization" for moving subjects, just like the IS option on some Canon lenses.

10x zoom is very impressive. Auto-focus is on the slower side, but it's not sluggish except at 390mm tele end

Color is accurate, nice and well balanced

Exposure is consistently very good. The dynamic range is surprisingly good and, although you'll notice clipping in very contrasty situations I expected the typical digicam poor performance: this is not the case.

Chromatic aberrations are surprisingly low for a long zoom range lens. This new canon hybrid shows in still pictures very mild purple/blue fringing that's almost invisible in print and really low on screen.

Check the accurate detail and great texture

Clipping highlights

Although in contrast situations the TX1 do clip highlights, I found that this camera's dynamic range is actually pretty good.
Obviously this is a fully automatic P&S and although you have a so-called "manual" mode, you won't be able to change many parameters. Don't even think in manually changing aperture or shutter speed, although there is exposure compensation. Low light performance Although the TX1 has a great Image Stabilizer system and big ISO numbers, it's not a good camera for low light performance.

The flash certainly is weaker than comparable PowerShot cameras. It is obvious that Canon designed it to have a "just-in-case" flash, but don't expect to fill a room with light. Yet it's the best flash I've ever seen in a camcorder. Noise Noise is the Achilles' ankle of all compact digicams. In this case at ISO 80 the noise levels are under control. Camera exposes a lot using ISO 200, which is a little noisier but it doesn't show in prints. With ISO 400 and above noise levels are up to the sky and ruin your photos at any size, even on screen. I don't really know why does Canon include ISO 800 and ISO 1600 that are truly useless. ISO80
ISO100

Even with Image Stabilizer on at this very low light and low ISO speeds there's a good amount of blur
ISO400

You can't push the ISO much more than this without terrible noise ISO800
Things are getting nasty. Open the photo and you'll see the digital noise even at medium size.

ISO1600

At this speed, noise ruined everything, at full size detail has been lost and the image is pretty useless. Below ISO 400 the TX1 performs well, but ISO 800 and 1600 settings are only if picture quality isn't important and the value of the image itself is worth the loss of detail

Continuous shooting mode

At 2.2fps the TX1 performs very good in continuous shooting mode and is better than the average ultra compact digicam.

Printed photos I took a sample of my photos to a digital kiosk and printed an assorted selection of 4x6, 5x7 and 6x8, the most common sizes. I'll print some 8x10 and 12x14 to let you know the results. Pictures were untouched right from the camera. The results were very pleasant: accurate color, sharp images, great detail and surprisingly good dynamic range even in contrasty conditions.

Resolution is very good, and it looks that the mega pixels race is slowing. Although there are some 12 mega pixels new compact digicams it's obvious that the average consumer doesn't need huge prints and even true professional cameras (such as the EOS 1D mark III) are adopting 10.1 mega pixels sensors. There's nothing to complain with the 7.1 mp of the TX1 that delivers big, detailed prints and that allows reasonable crops. The real deal: Movies Well, by now you're figuring out that the TX1 is a much more capable digital camera than expected. Now, we are about to enter a truly new dimension: the high definition movies. Many guys complaint about the codec Canon chose for TX1. I will not get technical in such matter. The thing is, in the TX1 movies, every single frame has the quality (almost) of a still picture. That has two consequences: first, every single frame is usable as a still shot, and second, you'll have huge files. Movie quality is really superlative. Auto focus, white-balance and image stabilization feel like made for movie mode. The resolution and quality is really awesome. To clearly understand how good this movies are, I opened a couple of TX1 movies (a "middle" 640x320 resolution and a big 720P HD movie) beside a DVD motion picture and I made a snapshot of my Apple Cinema Screen.

Check the size of the DVD movie in native resolution besides the huge TX1 movie. Pretty awesome, uh? You can expect to have 30 seconds movies of 133 megabytes. In the best mode, the TX1 consumes more than 4 megabytes per second (per second!) That's really a monumental file! So you will really need a couple of 4Gb cards for this camera. With a 4Gb card you can record up to 74 minutes in middle-quality movie (equivalent to crystal clear TV resolution). The TX1 has a great control for stereo sound with a wind filter setting. Another nice feature is the fully functional optical zoom during movie recording: try this with the average digicam. The TX1 is a really good still picture camera, but it is in the movie mode where this new gadget truly shines. Battery life The TX1 has not an optical viewfinder; hence you'll have the LCD 1.8" monitor switched on all the time. The battery is smaller than other PowerShot cameras. According to Canon you'll be able to shot 160 pictures with a single charge. Battery life is not superb, yet I could perform the test most of the day without recharging. LCD monitor The 115,000 pixels monitor performs unexpectedly well under full sunlight. The vari-angle is always a nice addition.

I'm really getting used to 2.5" LCD monitors, so I really feel the 1.8" monitor a little small.

Conclusion Pros
- Glorious HD movies
- Great photos with very good resolution, sharpness and accurate colors
- Reliable exposure system - Better than average 2.2fps continuous shooting
- Good user interface
- Superb build quality and styling
- Good results out of the camera
- 10x zoom
- Great Image Stabilizing feature
- Still exposure information, at last!

Cons
- Usability issues
- Unstable
- Difficult to use for photographers with large hands
- So-so flash power
- Limited time for movies and big file sizes
- Battery life subpar
- Noisy above ISO 400, unusable at ISO 1600
- No optical viewfinder
- Insubstantial, fragile, breakable, frail, shaky, unstable, wobbly, tottery, rickety, ramshackle, makeshift door battery compartment.
- 39mm at the wide end.

You may check the Nikon Coolpix S10 if you're looking for a compact ultra zoom. In a larger size the Lumix DMC-TZ3 is a good contender in the ultra-zoom arena. If you are looking for both an ultra zoom digital camera with good movie capabilities the Canon PowerShot S5 IS is a great option, but also much larger and a lot heavier. It's official: the TX1 is a niche product. Not too many people is buying it and the lack of information over the net and all the biased opinions in forums are clearly hurting the TX1 reputation. In the quality/luxury department the camera scores big in style. The image quality for still pictures is really good -as good as any other PowerShot Digital Elph in Canon's line-. For movies, it's a true titan of quality and capability in such a small package. In the ergonomics arena, you should really try it before buying it or buy it and be sure you can return it if you don't feel good with it. I certainly would recommend it for taking still pictures and highly recommend it if you want to record HD movies in a small stylish package.