SD30

In answer to a question in my last post, here’s the new camera I’m using as of last week:

Yes, red. Rockstar Red, as Canon calls it, though I don’t think
that name does the color justice.

Except this is the European version– so the text on mine says “Powershot SD30 Digital Elph” instead of “Digital Ixus i Zoom”.

My last camera (R.I.P.) was the SD10, so this is 2 generations later. A brief review / rundown of the Powershot SD30:

Improvements:

• 5 megapixels instead of 4 megapixels
• Canon’s Digic II processor
• 2.4x the optical zoom (probably one of the nicest improvements for me– since the SD10 had no optical zoom)
• Cradle included for both charging the battery and viewing photos (has a video out and video cable)
• A small remote for viewing pictures when the camera is connected to the cradle
• The red version is HOT (it’s available in 4 colors, Tuxedo Black, Glamour Gold, Rockstar Red, and Vivacious Violet)

Cons:

• Still no optical view finder (not a big deal, I’m used to not having it)
• No included stand-alone battery charger, must buy separately
• Only 1 MP upgrade for a model 2 years newer
• Small price premium for the size over slightly larger cameras

I bought this to replace my SD10 because it died, not so much because I wanted an upgrade (though you know I’m not complaining, right?) so it’s not a huge deal to me that it’s only a marginal upgrade in some areas. I think though the digic II processor, optical zoom, and cradle are very nice additions. I might need to buy a wall charger for recharging extra batteries while on vacation (kind of a hassle to bring a power cord and cradle on a trip, you know?). I will admit that for regular use the cradle will be a convenient way to charge (no fishing for the charger, taking the battery out of the camera, etc.) Also the remote only works with the cradle and only facilitates playback functions. I’d love it if this were a remote for releasing the shutter/taking pictures.

Of course we’re still short on manual controls being that this is a small form factor point-and-shoot camera, but that’s to be expected. There are a number of new modes to shoot with, though I haven’t really tested them yet. The UI is very similar to the SD10 but it’s smoother and has animated transitions. I like that when I’m reviewing photos on the LCD that the next photo fades onto the screen quickly from black (perhaps helpful when reviewing a series of photos that are extremely similar. Either way it’s a nice touch).

I also noticed you can put up a 3-column / 3-row grid on the LCD to help you frame a picture/position your subject (so as to avoid good ol’ bulls-eye syndrome).

The SD10 had become a drag simply because some of the navigation buttons had become unresponsive so that I practically had to mash them to get them to function. Inconvenient and takes the fun out of taking pictures (especially as I rarely used Auto mode and was always playing with exposure settings, the ISO mode, white balance, etc.). It feels like the buttons / control pad on the SD30 have been raised a bit, so hopefully this won’t be a problem in the future with this camera.

I mentioned that I had a little difficulty focusing in macro mode– I’m still getting used to it. The main thing is that with the new zoom lens (as opposed to the fixed lens on the SD10), the distance at which you can shoot an object is different depending on the focal length. In other words, if you’re zoomed out, you have to be farther away from the subject to focus in macro mode than I had to be on the SD10. However, if I zoom in all the way I can get much closer to the subject and focus– so it’s just a matter of getting used to it: the minimum shooting distance zoomed out is 1 ft, while zoomed in it’s 3.9 in (interesting huh? You’re already zoomed in but then you can focus much closer. Maybe I’ll think about why that is later).

The only thing this camera is missing is the next big fad for digital cameras: image stabilization. There’s a new Canon SD700 IS which has image stabilization, but I didn’t feel like the extra size or paying $200 more (though I wouldn’t complain about 6 MP or 4x optical zoom).

Overall a very nice camera– I’m excited to use it. It fills a specific purpose: it’s very small, hence very portable / easy to have with me all the time for catching the odd photo-op. Macro mode is great too, whenever I want to get in close and pick up the texture of something. And it looks hot. Though that conflicts with the portability aspect as I’ll have to try harder to keep it looking nice, kinda hard when it’s always with you.

p.s. another plug for Macs: Safari (the browser) has built in spell check. Sweet.