Canon PowerShot SD1100IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)

I've owned digital SLRs for many years and I needed a P&S camera to take along for snapshot photos. This camera turned out to be the perfect choice for me. It is so small it can easily be carried anywhere. The photos are not as good as those from my SLRs, of course, but they are excellent, nonetheless. The point is, I can take this camera anywhere for any occasion and get the shot, whereas I can't and won't do that with the pro equipment. There are several features I especially like, including manual controls, widescreen mode, time-lapse movie mode, macro mode and a remarkably useable digital zoom. The camera has enough manual controls to satisfy my need for tweaking, especially since I usually prefer the lowest ISO possible with flash forced 'off.' When I shoot in widescreen mode, I can view the photos on my 16x9 widescreen TV and they look great. As a matter of fact, I'm shooting in 16x9 widescreen format pretty much all the time now because of this capability. Digital zoom has changed--no longer do you get blocky images from the camera's blowing up a portion of the sensor's image. Due to the sensor's high megapixel count, the blown up portion no longer looks pixelated as in previous models. It's like having a telephoto lens inside the camera to get those shots at the rare times when it's needed. Macro mode performs so well that flower photos rival those from my SLRs. The camera also has an excellent movie mode, including a fun time-lapse feature. Previous Canon sensors on P&S cameras were 'use at your own risk' when shooting above ISO 100. This camera's sensor has improved considerably by providing what I would call 'very good' photos at ISO 200, 'good' photos at ISO 400 and 'acceptable' shots at ISO 800. I use noise-reduction software to clean up photos, anyway, but I'm pleased that Canon has improved their sensor and in-camera software. Couple all of these features with IS, which virtually eliminates shaking and blurry pictures, and Canon has another winner on its hands. I predict sales of this little gem will be off the charts.

Pros: - Great Price for quality of the camera - Easy to use - Small size - Good battery life Cons: - Need to remove battery to charge - No internal memory Purchased this for a recent trip to Walt Disney World. Took over 500 pictures over the course of the vacation, the majority of which came out great. It was small enough to fit in a front jeans pocket, easy to use, with a great battery time, although you may want to look into getting a spare if you take lots of pictures. Mine lasted almost two full days on a single charge, which was good, but also that "almost" caused me to miss a few good photo ops since it was dead. After that I charged it every day. You'll need to get a memory card; I purchased a 8GB SD and it was more then enough room for a few thousand photos. I didn't think to bring the instruction booklet on my trip, but the camera was simple enough that I was able to figure out how to change all the functions I was interested in (flash, night type modes etc) within a minute or so. This is a great camera for someone who doesn't want to spend a lot of money, but still wants a good quality camera.

The image stabilization and the face detection work well, and most images come out wonderfully. There is a noticeable issue with noise and fast moving subjects are still an issue for me. One is common in ultra compacts and one may simply require another round with the manual so take that for what it's worth. I found the menu and settings to be usable, but the settings I want are sometimes buried on a third level. Sometimes menu response has lagged a bit, which can be frustrating when your subject is moving faster than you are. I moved from a Canon SD20 so having an optical zoom is wonderful. Plus, this camera is not that much larger than the SD20 so I still feel like I will take it out with me without worrying about bulk. Battery life seems fine so far...much better than the SD which only holds a few minutes charge these days, despite having replaced the battery. The SD1100 seems to do a decent job overall and overcomes the photographic failures of it's operator (what do I know). If you want a simple point and shoot, you could do much worse. If you want more manual control over your pics, really good low light performance or something to document your next roller derby match, this may not be ideal.

This camera worked well after six months, but in the past week, after the camera opened, it stayed open and beeped, saying "Lens error, restart camera." Google this term and the Canon 1100IS and you'll see many people with the same problem. A shame since I've bought numerous Canon cameras over the years and have found them to work flawlessly. There's even a class-action suit over this to get them to acknowledge the problem with the 1100IS. Google that and you'll find info on that too. UPDATE: I've read accounts of owners who send Canon the camera in for servicing within the warranty period and for their troubles are told that it's their fault instead of a production flaw. I sent in mine prepared for the worst, but they ended up fixing it! So in my case, they honored the warranty. I'd give the product 3 stars now, but Amazon doesn't let you change the original rating.

I haven't had much time with this camera, but have researched many and this seems to be the best compact buy without sacrifising image quality. I have an A610 as well as a Rebel XT and love picture quality, ease of use, and affordability with Canon cameras. My A610 is great and takes wonderful pictures, minus the lens error I got with it, luckily Canon fixed for me, but I know others were not as lucky. I did have to have the first SD1100 that I was sent replaced b/c the lens sounded like it was catching and I did not want to chance it. I returned it with no problem and no charge. Amazon was out of stock, but I still received a new camera within TWO days of processing my return online. Amazon had overnighted it to me within one day of getting it in stock, no charge. The noise is less noticeble on this one. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND BUYING IT FROM AMAZON; CUSTOMER SERVICE IS EXCEPTIONAL. For Now here is my opinion. Pros: MOST IMPORTANTLY: Takes vibrant/ crisp pictures Easy to Use Auto Red Eye Image Stabilization Face Detection Compact and Lightweight Battery- I like not having the weight of regular batteries VERY AFFORDABLE (Compare to what you would get in other brands- compact) Cons: I compared it to my 610 and it seems like it does cast a warmer tone to white and skin tones, but not extremely noticeble Battery life could be better Zoom and shutter a little noisy (might just be the sound it is supposed to make) Flash Recycle time a bit slow QUESTION: I would like to know is if the slightly static noise when zooming and pressing the shutter is universal. I will prob try one in store to make sure. For now I will give 4 stars.

This is the best little camera I have ever had. It relies on hard drive storage which can tend to fill up pretty quickly. You will need to consider "old school" processes such as downloading your photos to a hard drive hence cleaning the camera clean, etc. You also have the option of deleting photos individually or selecting several as a group for deletion through the camera itself.....that way if you are travelling you can filter through the photos and delete those not to your liking. So often we have duplicate, triplicate, etc. photos and really with this camera, you can narrow down the what you think are the best of the bunch. A bit expensive at the time of purchase but I'm certain pricing coincides with market conditions, etc so I did not mind paying the price. Overall it was a good buy which I have used taking photos around the world.

Now that Canon and its rivals are offering numerous compact and ultracompact point-and-shoot cameras in the 10-12 megapixel range, the price on this 8 megapixel unit has dropped dramatically. But don't be fooled by the notion that more megapixels is better -- in this class of camera, it's not necessarily true. Unless the sensor is larger, which it generally isn't, you will often not see any difference in the 10 and 12 MP cameras. In fact, you might get more noise. You are also likely to get a longer delay between shots. So if you are buying a high end digital SLR, sure, go for 12, 14, or now even 16 megapixels. But for a point-and-shoot compact, 7 or 8 MP is more than adequate. This model offers 8 MP, face detection, and a variety of shooting modes that can be easily selected from a menu. It provides excellent results for everyday photography. It is also extremely compact and easily fits in a pocket or purse. If you want a camera to take along wherever you go, this is a must-have. It's also an incredible value, now available for as little as $160-$180. If you buy this camera, note that it only includes a 32 MB memory card, which holds roughly 10-12 photos. You will certainly want to purchase a good, fast card. The SanDisk Extreme 4 GB works great and will hold over 1000 photos at the highest resolution (1800-2500 at lower image settings). You can now get one for $30-$45. Also, you may want to get an extra battery. Lenmar makes a good Canon equivalent that you can get for about $10. (Beware of no-name knockoffs that cost $2 or $3!) Overall, excellent ultracompact point-and-shoot camera. Get this item to have with you all the time. (And save up $1000-$3000+ for a high-end digital SLR if you have serious, semi-pro photography needs).

WOW! My wife and I recently took a trip to Disney World. We both have DSLR cameras and knew we wouldn't want to take them everywhere with us. So, based on the previous reviews of this camera, we bought it for our trip. This little camera does a fantastic job. I think the only complaint I have is that anything at 800 ISO or higher is very grainy/noisy. I used an existing 1gb sdcard for it and with the settings at 8mp and Fine, I can take 476 pictures or 21 minutes and 30 seconds of video in 320x240. My wife and I are both students at NYIP.com (by the way, that course is worth EVERY penny). I truly believe that the NYIP course along with the superior quality of this camera led to some unbelievable photos. Image Stabilization works very well. This is the first camera I've owned with that feature and none of my Nikon lenses have their version of IS known as VR. You can easily see it working via the LCD. I moved the camera on purpose and it still managed to capture the photo in very clear focus with the IS enabled. My previous point and shoot was an SD110. And after about 5000+ photos, it finally broke down. Being as satisfied as we were with that camera, we had no problems going back to Canon for another point and shoot and we haven't been let down. My dad and my boss were both in the market for a point and shoot and after seeing the photos and quality of this camera, my dad has already bought this camera and my boss will be getting one this month.