Canon® PowerShot® A1100 IS Digital Camera

Comments about Canon® PowerShot® A1100 IS Digital Camera:

Let's be fair right up front the camera is very easy to use and it takes very nice pictures. Those are the two most important things about any camera, and this one has them. The pictures have been nicely exposed and the flash has fully illuminated the pictures taken in an indoor room that is about 18 feet long without making them over exposed.

I am an advanced hobby photographer who has used DSLR-like cameras for several years and moved into the the full-fledged DSLR line this year. I wanted a good point-and-shoot to grab quickly and take places where carrying my DSLR would be cumbersome. This is my first Canon product and considering all the great reviews that Canon always gets, perhaps my expectations were too high.

As I said earlier, for a point-and-shoot this camera takes very nice pictures and is very easy to use. However I was expecting more solid construction. Don't get me wrong, the camera is as well built as any other point-and-shoot in its price range. With the Canon reputation I was expecting it to be noticably better built than the Fuji, Kodak, and Olympus products I have had in the past.

The only really bad part is that the tripod mount and battery door release latch are plastic. An extremely small detail for most people but it struck me as making the camera appear cheap.

Battery life is nothing exceptional either. The camera has a view finder so you can turn the LCD off to improve the battery life, but most people buy this type of camera intending to frame pictures with the LCD. Make sure you have good rechargeable batteries and preferably carry a second set if you are going to be on an all day outing. This seems to be a problem with most point-and-shoot cameras. Even good rechargeable AA batteries get drained because of the constant use of the LCD. The fact that you can turn the LCD off and use the viewfinder is actually a nice feature.

Overall I would recommend the camera for anyone who wants nice photos of gatherings of family and friends. This camera is built as good as any other camera in its price range, the 12 mega-pixels allows freedom for cropping the pictures to get just want you want, and the picture quality will not disappoint.

Comments about Canon® PowerShot® A1100 IS Digital Camera:

The two main things I wanted in a high-resolution pocket camera were the ability to use AA Batteries (so you always have an option in case recharged batteries die or an event goes longer than expected) and an optical viewfinder (so you can take pictures at dark events, ballet, theater etc without a glowing LCD screen to annoy folks around you). This camera had that. I would only have liked to see a tilting LCD to make it perfect as well as the ability to zoom the lens during videos, but it does electronically zoom so there is some flexibility there.

The size, although somewhat larger than the tiniest pocket cameras, actually makes it easier to take photos without getting arthritic hands. The buttons are all sensibly placed, and although I missed my old Nikon's ability to rotate the LCD screen, I am getting used to the fact that the auto-shot feature will do a lot to minimize mistakes if taken without direct view of the shot.

Love the silver look, the easy-to-hold shape and button controls, and the size. If they had only placed the battery and card slots further away from the tripod mount, you could take batteries and memory cards out without having to unscrew from the tripod each time. That is the worst feature and could have easily been fixed by placement choices.

Other than things mentioned, the camera is a fast-learn and the controls, although a little complex at first compared to my Nikon, eventually became intuitive and for a low-priced camera, the images are great in color and clarity. I even took some near-dark photos using the timed-exposure setting of 15 seconds and the resulting images came out pretty accurate in color, even under orange street light conditions. I was surprised!

I'd recommend this for anyone who wants a little bit of flexibility with lighting conditions and suggest it is worth doing some experimenting with the non-auto modes because I got some really nice shots that way. Also, the macro close-up feature gets you REALLY in tight with tiny subjects and was a nice feature for a small camera.

Comments about Canon® PowerShot® A1100 IS Digital Camera:

As a serious amatuer photographer for 40 years, it just gets better faster than my skills! This is my 6th digital P&S camera (too many film cameras to count) and one goes with me everywhere. Work, family, friends, travel, everything gets a picture. After a couple hours with this little Canon, I like it a lot. Fairly quick, menus are usable, lots of features for a few dollars, and very light weight. I think the A1000 only used alkaline or lithium batts, but the 1100 uses NiMh just fine. Comes with a 128M SD card which is better than most; i.e. no internal memory. I'm sure I'll find some things to nitpick and after a year or 2, find an excuse to shop for another P&S. And it will be better; til then I'll enjoy my new toy.

Comments about Canon® PowerShot® A1100 IS Digital Camera:

a great little camera to keep in your car or backpack. easy to use right out of the box, easy to download pics to your computer. it has lots of picture taking options! recommend getting a big memory card (i put in a 4G). you do NOT have to install the software on the CD-ROM that comes with the camera. that software is not that good (in terms of features, ease of use, etc.) anyways. i tried using the 'stitching' app and it was not as flexible as the HP imaging software that came with my PC. the camera does eat batteries quickly - 4 batteries in 50 pictures. i turned off several features to save on batteries. i turned off the display (this also turned off the autofocus that is used for the display) so that focusing motor is not running all the time. btw, the autofocus for when you take pictures remains on, so all my pics come out okay. i also turned off the flash, so that does not go off at the wrong times. there is a viewfinder, so you do not need the display on all the time. if you want to see the display all the time, i would suggest getting four AA rechargable batteries - 2 in thecamera and 2 ready to be used. the digital zoom gives you somewhat fuzzy results, but, with optical and digital zoom, you can get 16x! overall, a great camera, not too big but not too small, nice and comfy in the hand, controls easy to get to and use, lots of options, easy to use manual.

Comments about Canon® PowerShot® A1100 IS Digital Camera:

IMHO - this camera represents Canon's (and other manufacturers) moving away from low-cost consumer cameras that have shutter and aperture priority modes and full manual control of exposure.

As a professional photographer I find this camera just cannot take adequate pictures at dusk or in low light. For daytime shots, it works fine. If you want toal control (as I always do) look to Ebay for a Canon A590IS. It is only 8 megapixels compared to 12 for the A1100 but the extra megapixels won't do you much good if the photo you take is inferior to one taken by an A590IS. Of course, you can always get full manual control in the more expensive models if you really need it, but you'll pay $$ for it. Also, you only need 8 megapixels unless you intend to make prints larger than 8 x 10 inches.

I like the A590IS; it's cheap and it's a jewel. Get one if you can.

Comments about Canon® PowerShot® A1100 IS Digital Camera:

I purchased this product based on price and cannon reputation. I was looking for an automatic snap and shoot that could capture precious moments with my infant that didn't require detailed focusing and lighting adjustments like my SLR that was small enough to take anywhere and large enough that my fingers could operate it easily. This camera seems perfect! It took only minutes to set up and it takes great indoor pictures. I haven't had it long and I have not had a chance to really explore its functionality, but I'm excited about my purchase from everything I've seen it's all there!