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User Report: Canon SD30 digital camera
I have been using a Canon SD30 for about a week now. Here are my
observations. I have used a few other digital cameras, and so I will compare performance when I can. I will appreciate corrections and criticisms of this post. That's why I'm putting it out on usenet. 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. -- David Arnstein | | |
#2
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User Report: Canon SD30 digital camera
I just purchased an SD30.
Do you notice a hiss (or other background noise) in your video? I am quite impressed with camera overall but the terrible audio may be a deal breaker for me. I would like to know if it is a universal problem or just my particular camera. thanks, Mike |
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