Seldom does a new digital camera interest me much since I got addicted to toy/plastic cameras but this one was an exception. The Canon SX1 IS camera. Well, the 20x zoom didn’t really matter too much to me as I don’t expect miracles from such a prosumer camera … but it’s the 1080p (30fps) High Definition video capture capability it has. A couple of friends who does video shooting for a living, told me that it’s good for someone like me who wants to mess with some video stuffs and at the same time having a reasonable camera at the same time. I shall blame them for making me ‘invest’ in this cammie.
Pssst! I was too lazy to take photos of the camera, so I leeched this photo above from LetsGoDigital website. Shhh!
The last time I tried shooting video, it was a trip to Australia. I remember coming back with about 2 or 3 hours of video clips and after editing … re-editing … re-editing and re-editing … the tapes went into the trash bin and I sold off that video camera. 😀 I expected too much. I didn’t want the videos to be like those darn holiday videos that people torture their friends and relatives with when they drop by for dinner. Oh well … basically … I gave up.
Many years later … hopefully I can do something cooler than boring holiday videos. NO! NOT HOME MADE PORN!!!
Oh, back to the main subject. The SX1 IS.
Didn’t have time to go for shooting today with this new toy. However, I decided to do a simple test to see the noise performance of this first CMOS sensor in a prosumer camera from Canon. Click on the image below to see a comparison of the various ISO settings being used to shoot a same scene. Please note that I am really crappy when it comes to these technical stuffs, so the test might not mean anything at all. Hahaha!
Warning : File size about 3MB. For easier viewing, right click and choose ‘Save target as’.
So what do I think of it’s ISO performance? I don’t know. For someone who thinks that blur is beautiful, my conclusion is definitely not one you would wanna trust. 😀 Anyway, I think it’s good enough for me.
Some first impresssions …
* The focusing speed seems pretty good even in low light
* The built quality seems pretty good except for the handgrip which feels pretty plasticky
* I hate the silver zoom rocker & shutter button!
* I hate the shiny material they used for the lens barrel (the part that doesn’t extend)
* I love the wide tilt/swivel LCD! Cool!
* The command dial behind just feels weird compared to the one on my 40D (ok, I’m too picky!)
As for video performance … I don’t know too! I did a short video clip just now while waiting for my family to go dinner and haven’t got time to even look at it.
WHAT????
As some might already know, I will be kicking off a ‘Lensbaby diary’ come 1st January 2009. It’s pretty scary thinking of the commitment I’ll have but it’s gonna be fun at the same time. Yeah, a Lensbaby photo a day. I know some might suggest that I can cheat and take a bunch of photos and then claim that they were from different days but … I don’t like to lie to myself! Can’t wait to see it take off … 5 more days to go!
Talking about that … I also discovered that Lomography is starting a ‘LC-A Anniversary Year Daily Photo Diary’ that is suppose to work the same way. A photo a day using the LC-A. Hey! They leeched my idea for the ‘Diary’ thingie! Haha! Okay, I’ll forgive them since they are still producing pretty Diana cameras that I love. Not sure if I wanna take part in this though … I’ll be dead busy lugging around my DSLR + Lensbaby and the LC-A+!
WOW! Congrats on the buy! What’s the damage?
Cyan … I paid S$890 for it 😀
I bought the very first generation S1IS. I love it. I think Canon manages to squeeze in a lot of great functionalities (back then it was the optical zoom and IS function) in quite a small body.
The only thing was that I have to take my Canon S1IS for a motherboard replacement three times. They were really nice to me as they didn’t charge me a cent even after the warranty period was over. Canon admitted that it was the chip’s fault. The thing is, my Canon videocam that I bought at the same time also had the same problem (motherboard replacement). Thereafter, I don’t buy a Canon product anymore.
But I reckon in this 10th (?!) generation, the S series must have improved a great deal – in terms of quality and reliability.
Wilfrid, sorry to hear about your experience with Canon products. Maybe it’s fate that you should be with Nikon. Muwahaha. My story is the other way round. My D70 died on me on a trip to Europe, and I came back selling it off and from then … I’m with Canon. Guess it’s just luck to sometimes buy a lemon. My first LC-A+ was a lemon too. 🙁
No way! No wonder in order to sign up for the Nikon Professional Service, you must have 2 pro bodies. Just in case one die, you still have another one to shoot those Nikon moments … ha ha ha.
Happy New Year.
Happy New Year to you too, Wilfrid. All the best!
where did you buy the SX1 from?
Azam … I assume you are also from Singapore. I got it from MS Color in AMK Hub.