DIGITAL ELPH by Canon

I guess this is an entry I've been meaning to do. Joel has asked me a couple times what camera it is I use on my new blog, since I got a new one in March (since then I have been shooting many more pictures than I used to).

Here's why I bought the SD10:

- Quickshot mode: for really spur of the moment pics, shoots like a regular point and shoot without needing to focus first like most digital cameras.

- Super Macro Mode: as you can see I can get much closer to my subjects and get greater detail than I was able to with my PowerShot S40. I've always loved macro shots.

- Overall portability: You can kinda tell from the second picture (taken with my camera phone) how big this camera is. Less than 3/4" thick and about 3 1/2" long x 1 3/4" wide, it's the most pocketable toy that I have-- more so than any cell phone or MiniDisc / mp3 player I've had. This means that I just keep it in my pocket all the time-- always have my camera handy and hence take more pictures for ye ole blog.

- Bonus: This tiny little wonder is a 4 megapixel camera, so I'm not really sacrificing image quality for size. In fact, I feel like it often takes more vivid photos than I generally got with my S40, though perhaps that's just my perception.

Though of course the camera does have it's drawbacks.

- No optical viewfinder. This means I only have the LCD to frame shots, and sometimes in bright daylight it's hard to see the LCD to frame photos properly and see what the exposure is like. I can live with that.

- No optical zoom: if I want to get in close to a subject I've gotta hoof it if possible. Means that I can't zoom in on distant subjects such as the players on my brother's Lacrosse team (where I can't just run onto the field and get an action shot of the game).

- Less control over the shutter speed than I'd like. I can set it for longer shutter speeds but not really fast shutter speeds. No biggie.

I can live without the above features simply because I do have another digital camera that does have those features when circumstance calls for them. It's just not as convenient. Perhaps one of these days Canon will make a successor to the SD10 that has optical zoom. Until then, I'm loving the portability of this baby and taking tons of pics with it.

Joel, this might replace your digital elph if you wanted to get one, since both would probably serve similar function. I guess it's up to you whether you can handle the lack of optical zoom (since you have much better optical zoom on your bigger camera it shouldn't be a big deal but who knows).

Update: Joel asked what memory this uses-- it uses secure digital (SD) memory. Another thought I'd like to add is that the battery life on this thing thus far has been great. Granted I tend not to use the flash very much, which could account for some of the longevity of the battery, but I've shot hundreds of photos with this thing since mid March and I've recharged the battery only twice-- the included rechargable lithium ion battery lasts like a champ.