| User-friendliness | Rating  |
The Canon PowerShot SX1 IS scores full marks here. For a novice or a beginner photographer, this camera is a God-send. The Auto mode does an excellent job and gives very sharp and correctly exposed images. The macro mode is simply superb, with minimum focussing distance being 0cms. Additionally, the Auto ISO mode is fairly accurate. The video mode is accessible at all times, irrespective of the still mode one is shooting in, and conversely, one can take a photo at the highest resolution right in the middle of a video being shot. The zoom lever is fully operational while shooting video, and a fine touch is that one can zoom really slow and noiselessly while in the video mode, offering very good control over the shots.
| Value for Money | Rating  |
Now comes the most important part, which is also quite subjective. The Canon PowerShot SX1 IS retails for around $600. So, is it worth that much money? To put it straight, I think not. The extra money is for the CMOS sensor and HD video capability. But given that the CMOS does not perform as well as one would expect it to, I think it does not justify its high price. A basic dSLR camera is available today for just slightly more. Its sibling camera, the SX10 IS, offers all the features of the SX1 IS but with a CCD sensor and no HD video, it retails for a good $100 less. So for people who wouldn’t care too much about HD video, the SX10 IS makes for a more sensible purchase. But if the price of the PowerShot SX1 IS were to fall sometime soon, this camera would be right up there screaming ‘buy me’!
Final Conclusion
As a bridge between the advanced compact digital cameras and beginner’s dSLRs, the Canon PowerShot SX1 IS occupies a unique spot. It's as close to an SLR as possible without actually being one. So for a person who needs a fantastic camera with high grade performance, an extremely long and usable zoom range, HD video mode, RAW capture and 16:9 aspect ratio mode, without the bother of changing lenses and carrying all that extra weight around, the SX1 IS should feature somewhere near the top of his or her shopping list.
Recommended.