I have used a few other digital cameras, and so I will compareperformance when I can.
Specific Observations
---------------------
I programmed the camera to use its lowest ISO setting (50), spot
metering, spot auto-focus, largest image file size, and highest image
compression quality. The rest of this post assumes these settings.
1. The camera is quite fast, faster than my old Canon SD10. Both
shutter button response time, and shot-to-shot delay have been
improved significantly. Nice going Canon!
2. With "spot" autofocus selected, the camera seems to do very well.
With my old SD10, I would regularly obtain photos that were
grossly out of focus. It does not seem to happen with the new
SD30. Thank you Canon!
3. The "deluxe" kit features a very nice soft case. It fits perfectly
and looks good. I consider this to be a "must" for a tiny,
carry-it-everywhere gadget. All of the stores I checked stocked
the "deluxe" kit, perhaps there is no other kit for sale. But I
suggest that you confirm that you are getting the Canon SD30 soft
case with your purchase.
4. The flash intensity cannot be adjusted, as far as I can tell. It
is therefore difficult to photograph certain shiny objects, such as
circuit boards and small machinery. This is giving me fits. The
available flash power is not much either. This is no shame for Canon
really, since the size of the tube must be small in a midget camera
like this. By comparison, the Casio Exilim EX-S500 can produce
significantly more light.
5. After some practice, I am very pleased with the image quality that
I am getting from this camera, at least when there is adequate
lighting. The SD30 produces what I have come to regard as the "Canon
look." I'm not sure if the photos are especially true to life, but
they are extremely pleasing. I see highly saturated colors, sharp
focus, low noise, and pleasant "warm" skin tones. I also detect this
"Canon Look" in photos coming out of the Sony Cybershot DSCP200. I
suspect that Sony and Canon use the same image sensors. I compared
photos of the same objects taken with the Canon SD10 and a Casio
Exilim EX-S500. The pictures coming out of the Casio are fuzzy by
comparison. The side-by-side comparison also makes the Casio pictures
look a bit washed out. The Casio pictures have much more chroma
noise too.
6. The macro capability is excellent. The camera has a feature which
puzzled me at first. Now I understand that it is pure genius: the
best macro performance occurs when the lens is zoomed to its maximum
(2.4x). With the zoom at maximum tele, I can reliably fill the image
frame with an object that is 5 cm across (left to right) or smaller.
Where does the genius come in? Most other cameras are engineered so
that the most extreme macro performance is achieved when the lens
is at its full wide angle setting. If the SD30 was designed this
way, then the camera would have to be positioned very close to its
subject matter. When this occurs, shadows from the camera and the
photographer's hands would interfere with the photogaraph. The
performance of the flash unit would also suffer. Good job Canon! I
have taken some really amazing macro shots of ears, for example. It
sounds disgusting, but I was able to discern incredible detail in
the subject matter and learn how to use the camera's macro mode.
It was almost like working with a microscope. My macro photos
were all "hand held," no tripod used. Nevertheless, most of them
turned out well. Many looked "razor sharp."
7. The camera feels solidly durable. The various buttons and other
controls are especially firm. I also like the Casio Exilim EX-S500
in this regard, but the Canon controls are more solid, with no
side-to-side play.
8. The SD30 is not as amazingly small as the old SD10. I would not
want to carry it in the breast pocket of a man's dress shirt, for
example.
9. You must use the (included) cradle to charge the camera's battery.
Although the cradle is reasonably small, it still sucks for
travelling light. There is probably an accessory you can purchase
that travels better than the cradle and power cable that is
included in the "deluxe" kit. I haven't shopped for such
accessories yet.
10. The camera retains a feature of the SD10 that I absolutely HATE:
it resets its metering mode to "evaluative" after every power cycle.
Like all other digital cameras, the only metering mode that works
worth a damn is "spot." At power-up, it takes me 8 button pushes to
get the camera to "spot" meter. The main value of a tiny camera is
that you can carry it everywhere, and capture unplanned events.
Those 8 extra button pushes really detract from the value of this
type of machine. (Sorry for venting).
11. When connected to a computer, the camera will NOT emulate a disk
drive, the way many other cameras do. It is still an easy matter
to transfer pictures to the PC, but I prefer the increased
flexibility of disk drive emulation.
12. The quality of the motion video in the SD30 is pretty bad. There
is a 320x240/20fps mode and a 640x480x15fps mode. The 320x mode
has bad spatial resolution. I don't like looking at the "movies"
produced in this mode. The 640x mode looks jerky, because of its
15fps rate. By comparison, the Casio Exilim EX-S500 does a bit
better.
Conclusion
----------
The Canon SD30 is one of the smallest digital cameras available today.
This type of camera, by its nature, must have compromises. I find it
interesting to compare the different approaches to design evident in
the Canon SD30 and the Casio Exilim EX-S500. I believe that these two
are the best of the tiny cameras, though in different ways.
Both cameras are fast (shutter lag and shot-to-shot delay). Both are
handsome and appear to be constructed nicely. Both cameras use SD cards
for storage, which I prefer. This card format is physicallly small, and
it is not controlled by a single vendor, like Sony and its Memory Sticks.
Canon offers excellent image quality. Like the old Canon SD10, the
photographs have a certain "Canon look" that is very appealing. I suspect
that this "look" is the result of high color saturation, sharp contrast,
and low noise. White balance is nicely done too.
The user interface of the Canon is spare. There are not a lot of features
for the user to play with. The simplicity will be a godsend for some
users. Personally, I would have preferred to have more control.
I believe that it is useful to compare the Canon SD30 to the Casio Exilim
EX-S500. The Casio offers a TON of features! It has more "scene" modes.
It can function as a sound (only) recorder. It can photograph documents
and force them to look rectangular (remove keystone effect). Best of
all, the Casio can be programmed to remember some of its settings, and
reset others, when it is powered off. The customer gets to choose which
settings are remembered. Too bad about the chroma noise and soft focus
though.
Before I obtained the Canon, I already had an EX-S500. I had planned to
keep one of these cameras and give away the other. But frankly, I don't
like the thought of parting with either of them. Comparing these two
cameras has made me appreciate both of them. A few monthes ago, I wrote
a review of the EX-S500 that was fairly negative, due to image quality
issues. Oddly enough, I respect Casio more now. This, in spite of the
fact that the Canon SD30 does produce superior photographs, as I expected.
Both cameras are engineering marvels! The Canon produces beautiful
photographs and stunning macro images. The Casio is a "Swiss Army Knife"
of useful features that can be customized to match the tastes of the
owner. Also, the Casio has a superior shape for carrying everywhere.
Looking Forward
---------------
In the next few monthes, at least two new cameras will appear that are
in the same size class as the Canon SD30.
Sony will soon deliver its Cybershot T9. The reviews that I have seen
indicate that the previous "T" cameras had pretty bad image quality.
This includes the T7, which is probably the tiniest camera available.
The T9 will be somewhat larger. Perhaps Sony will do a better job with
it.
Casio will replace the 5 megapixel Exilim EX-S500 with a 6 megapixel
EX-S600. The feature set won't change much, but it is already superb,
as I have claimed above. Perhaps the new camera will offer better image
quality? Increasing the pixel count is not likely to solve any noise
problems. But until the camera is delivered, who knows?
In my opinion, it is reasonable to buy now, rather than wait for these
new cameras to arrive. Both the Canon SD30 and the Casio Exilim EX-S500
are great.
The SD30 has been my constant companion for over a week now. I have used it to take all the shots the s200 could handle, and have tested it with all the shots the s200 just couldn't quite get. The SD30 has exceeded the performance of the s200 on ALL counts. Indoor shots no longer have that yellowish tint. The flash no longer over brightens the picture. I can take pictures of my quick moving 9 month old and no longer get crystal clear backgrounds and a blurred child. These are all made possible with the preset picture settings, something my s200 was lacking. I have not had to alter or correct even one image taken with this camera, beyond cropping or cutting.
This is a true point and shoot camera.
Positives
Remembers your last settings so you don't have to reset for the same conditions if the camera shuts itself off.
Takes SD or MMCard memory. I have the 1gig card in and at the highest settings it will store up to 370 pictures. Lowest settings 2000+. My peferred settings, 700+
Has cables to allow you to browse the pictures stored in your camera, on the television with the remote control via the docking station. You can delete with the remote control as well.
Controls seem more intuitive than the older ELPH's, but this is a personal preference.
Negatives
You must use the docking station (which must be plugged in) or a memory card reader to transfer pictures to your computer. The cord is about 3 feet to short for me to reach my computer from my chosen docking station location. I would have preferred an optional non-power required method of transfer. If you keep the docking station within 4 feet of your USB connector, you should have no problem.
Extras
I truly enjoy the sound schemes. My 9 month old loves that my camera barks when I take a picture, and the older boys find it amusing as well.
My camera was the deluxe edition and came with a matching leather case.
This camera is SMALL. It's about the size of 2 packs of Trident held together.
If you are a parent that needs a reliable and good looking camera to take to soccer games and just to document your children's lives without needing to carry a manual around to ensure quality photo's, this is the camera for you.
Buy Canon Powershot SD30 5MP Digital Elph Camera with 2.4x Optical Zoom (Rockstar Red) Now
Many reviewers have noted the quality of the pictures obtained with the SD-30, and I fully concur. This is a fast, quiet, and well designed digital camera. For someone with little previous experience in digital photography, I was able to get up and running with just a scan of the quick start guide. A high speed SD card like the Sandisk Ultra II is highly recommendeda quicker write speed improved the quality of my video captures.My first outing to the ski slopes captured great pictures, even with fast moving targets. I tried to tinker with the various shooting modes, but still ended up on AUTO. Until I muster up enough interest to experiment with all the settings, I would recommend the AUTO setting to all beginners. My second session was indoors, and while the pictures came out clear, I found the flash inadequate beyond 10 feet.
I disagree with a previous reviewer about uploading to the PC. Once the software installed, I did not have to plug in the Dock's power adapter to upload my pictures. Just turned on the camera while it was in the Dock, with the switch in review position, and the software automatically launched.
The carrying case is very well designed as its edges are wider than the center. This means if you drop the camera case, the sides cushion the impact rather than the corner that lands first. I found that I preferred the built in belt loop rather than belt clip that comes with other camera cases. There's zero danger of the case sliding off your belt.
Highly recommended. If you hunger for more technical details, check out the SD30 review at dcresource dotcomI've already been the happy owner of a sd40 "big" camera for over a year, and still consider it perfect for my serious photographic needs.
However, precisely _because_ it is so big, it can be very inconvenient to bring along, and also very intimidating to potential picture subjects.
I didn't realize just how _much_ smaller, or more precisely, how much thinner it is than all other digital cameras until I saw it in person. It not only fits in a shirt pocket, it fits in a shirt pocket _along_with_ a Treo or an iPod. Because its 3x zoom lens is folded, it does not protrude at all when taking pictures, meaning most subjects won't even realize a camera is pointed at them, let alone that it is zoomed in and high resolution. This greatly easy getting natural expressions in informal photos.
Next, the specifications of the sd series is better than those of other similar Sony cameras such as the T1 and T33 in ways I care about, such as doubling the number of pixels in the 2.5" LCD screen, including an auto-focus assist lamp, and USB 2.0 support without needing driver software when used with Windows XP.
One of my pet peeves about digital cameras is that they are not protected from the elements. it helps this in two ways. First, its on/off switch is a solid lens cover. Second, the camera fits easily in the smallest size zip-loc sandwich bag, and can easily be operated while in the bag, providing serious dust and splash protection.
One further protection is needed, but easily handled. The LCD needs protection, which I provided by covering it with a sheet of screen protector plastic left over from an old PDA.
As you might expect from such a thin device, battery life is somewhat limited (about an hour of continuous use, set up for maximum brightness, continuous focus adjustment, and automatic flash. For that reason, I bought a spare battery, and since the charger is bigger than the camera, suggest other buyers do the same.
I bought this for my point and shoot wife to take on a week-long trip, and thereafter to have it with us whenever a shot might present itself, but not surely enough to carry the large camera, or in situations where keeping the large camera clean and dry might be an issue.
If you too are a serious hobbyist, do be aware of unavoidable limitations: 1) 5MP is good, but not as good as the 7MP of a few also (barely) pocketable cameras. I decided smaller size outweighed higher resolution, but you may feel differently. 2) F4 is 2 full stops dimmer than the F2 of my other camera, which matters quite a bit when the light is low, as does 3) the ASA maximum of 400, rather than 800. There's also 4) no place to attach a filter. For a second camera, these are all perfectly acceptable compromises, in my opinion.
Highly recommended as a second camera for hobbyists, or as a first camera for folks who want a very convenient and very high quality point and shoot camera.
Want Canon Powershot SD30 5MP Digital Elph Camera with 2.4x Optical Zoom (Rockstar Red) Discount?
Admittedly, this is one cool camera and everytime I use it, I get tons of "ooooohhhh's" and "aaaaahhhhh's". People are continually amazed by how small and sleek this camera is and the compact size has made it convenient to carry around with me in my purse everyday and everywhere I go. Like a previous reviewer, however, I have found that the auto-focus sometimes is lacking and I have to retake the same picture several times to get a focused picture, in ideal lighting situations and with a perfectly still subject! Additionally, the flash covers a fairly limited distance and, if there is not enough lighting, even in night mode, the picture will come out dark. Of course, these are all primarily due to the fact that a lot of the features of the camera are compromised due to the size. All complaints aside, this camera is easy to use and is perfect for point and shoot and casual picture-taking. In fact, this is the only camera that my little dog is not afraid of when I'm taking pictures of him, I think due to the unintimidating size and quiet operation. Hope this helps!
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