Anyone familiar with the PowerShot S series will first notice the huge 16:9 aspect ratio widescreen LCD screen and the different layout of buttons. The lens is different from earlier models and is larger in size. The second most noticeable thing about the PowerShot SX1 IS is the weight. It's definitely the heaviest of all PowerShot S models to date. That said, the grip and the weight of the camera give a very ‘solid’ and rugged feel to it, which comes quite close to holding a DSLR camera.
Other features summarized:
- 230000 pixel 16:9 aspect ratio 2.8 inch LCD screen makes up most of the rear of the camera. As with other S series PowerShot cameras, the screen can be swung out through 180 degree and swivelled through 270 degree, offering tremendously flexibility of positioning the camera. It's one killer feature which is impossible to live without.
- SX1 IS gets a new 20 X zoom lens with Canon’s immensely functional optical image stabilization.
- The layout of buttons has been changed with the appearance of a scroll wheel and grouping of similar function buttons. The dedicated movie button still holds place of pride in the rear panel with buttons for manual focus and continuous shoot moving, along with a dedicated ISO button. All these buttons help reinforce the SLR feel a lot!
- A dedicated print button makes an appearance, as does an aspect ratio button.
- A bayonet hood ships with the camera.
- Other features like the shutter release, zoom control and flash are the same as its predecessors.
The placement of the buttons on the PowerShot SX1 IS continues to be excellent and all buttons are easily reachable with the tips of the fingers or the thumb. One would never be found fumbling or hunting for the right buttons, it's all very intuitively placed. A nifty feature is a scale of focal lengths, both in absolute terms (mm) and 35 mm equivalents, printed on the lens barrel.
I was most excited to check out how the new lens performed as compared to the earlier one. I own a PowerShot S3 IS - this particular camera shows a fair bit of purple fringing and vignetting at the longest zooms in high contrast conditions, so I wanted to see if Canon has improved this flaw. I’m not too happy to report that these flaws still haunt the new lens too. But I guess the cribbing stops here. In most other conditions the pictures turn out well and, in full auto mode, the SX1 IS is simply a winner!
The next feature I wanted to check out was the 4 fps continuous shoot. Though the camera delivers what it promises, one caveat here is that 4 fps is achieved only with continuous focussing turned off. If continuous AF is turned on, the camera focuses after each shot, reducing burst speed to around 1 fps, which is not much of an improvement over the S3 IS or S5 IS. That said, the AF does a very good job and the output is sharp and quite impressive. The continuous mode offers unlimited shots in all modes except the ‘Superfine’ JPEG, where it's around 20 shots.
Canon offers RAW mode in its prosumer cameras. One can also capture in RAW+JPEG mode. This feature would appeal to all photographers who seek more control over their images and would definitely prove to be a deal clincher, as one does not often find RAW mode in non-SLR cameras.
The SX1 IS also offers full HD video capture, amongst the first of non-dedicated-video-cameras to offer this feature. Though one can only capture 30 minutes of video at this resolution in the cut-off 4 GB size, it's still a worthy feature and good to have for all those on-the-spur moments.
Finally, the most significant feature of this camera - the CMOS sensor. Now, my opinion is divided when it comes to this. Though the output of this sensor is definitely good, maybe even better compared to its predecessors, it definitely is not as good as the CMOS sensors of the dSLRs from Canon. For example, ISO200 and above still remains just as noisy as in S5 IS. The PowerShot SX1 IS still struggles to get the exposure right in high contrast situations and often ends up blowing out backgrounds. Maybe I shouldn't expect a performance similar to SLR cameras, as it's comparing two different things, but the combination of CMOS and RAW mode is bound to evoke such comparisons. Let me again make it clear that I’m being finicky here and this camera gives great results most of the time. It's only the fact that it comes from a company from whom I expect the world that makes me so particular!
Please continue on to the final page of this review to find out how user-friendly the Canon PowerShot SX1 IS is and whether or not the camera is worth your money.