Canon SX10

[Dan Murphy]

A missing in action photography board member here, reporting in.

I am not a DSLR user, not sure if I will ever be. I suppose it depends on what the manufacturers make in coming years. I started my digital life, after a long film life, with the old Nikon Coolpix 995. I was sold on the swivel body and its ability to take pictures from unusual angles quite easily. Then when the Canon 3S IS came out, I purchased that, and still use today. Really do like and use that swivel preview LCD.

I see where the apparent successor of the S5 IS, the SX10 IS is now available. I do recall when the S5 came out, replacing the S3, there was much good discussion here about the merits, or lack of, of the new camera.

Any of the photo experts here have any thoughts, for a photo shooter who still is pretty much in the P&S world, on this new Canon?

As always, thanks for sharing your thoughts.


http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=144&modelid=17630

 

[AbbysFamily]

The sx10 looks to be a good improvement over previous models.

The zoom is significantly greater, both on the wide and telephoto ends.

Still no SLR, but looks to be a nice step up from the S5 overall.

 

[Amy]

Hi Dan - good to see you again!

I'm an S3 user, and I can't wait to get the SX10! I'm still amazed at the 12x zoom of the S3, and I can only imagine how great the 20x of the SX10 will be! I was near our Best Buy on Sat. so I stopped in - they just got the SX10 and have it on display, but they didn't have the power supply hooked up to it yet, so I couldn't try it out. (And with that security thing they attach to the cameras, they couldn't put regular AA's in either.)

From what I've read, the zoom is great, and it's also got a hot shoe for an external flash that the S3 doesn't have. It's also supposed to have a new processor to improve images in high contrast lighting - it looks like it'll eliminate some of the need to use Photoshop Elements to lighten shadows.

I've been dropping hints for Santa, but Santa's on a really tight budget this year. But I'm turning 50 in April, so I think I definitely deserve a new camera for that!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Thanks for the thoughts. I will be interested in seeing online reviews, especially the improvements indicated in low light/higher ISO situations.

And a very happy 50th, Amy, in case I miss you next year. Hope all is well.

 

[LaurieA]

I have the S2 IS(recommended from this board)-bought it 3 years ago. I want to upgrade now for my 19 year old son for Christmas. He loves zoom. His pics he took in Alaska are beautiful. Anyway-I just started to research. Would it be the SX10 that would be the newest upgrade in this line. He likes zoom, being able to take quick shots.

Few questions:
340.00 a good price-?
I know it has a 20x zoom- but how is it for time between shots. I am not a photographer so I do not know the correct terms. He likes to shoot wildlife and nature pics.

 

[Dimk]

I had an SX1 and just upgraded to the sx10 and paid $398 for it from our local camera shop. I like to buy from our local guy b/c he always answers my questions. I really like it. It took some great continuous shot at a basketball game last weekend. I think the 20x zoom is great for the price. Good luck.

 

[imsoscared]

so i recieved my sx10 for xmas from a friend and have been messing around with it quite a bit locally at the zoo n such. the important question tho is have you guys used this camera to shoot fireworks or parade settings like spectromagic? basically wondering if your using the preset settings for fireworks and nightscene or should i try to mess around with some manual settings.
i have flipped thru the how to threads for the 2 subjects in the past when i was a owner of a d40(till it decided it wanted to meet the bottom of our swimming pool) so i got a rough idea on manual settings to use, but just tryin to see if the presets would be good enough to use

 

[bob100]

so i recieved my sx10 for xmas from a friend and have been messing around with it quite a bit locally at the zoo n such. the important question tho is have you guys used this camera to shoot fireworks or parade settings like spectromagic? basically wondering if your using the preset settings for fireworks and nightscene or should i try to mess around with some manual settings.
i have flipped thru the how to threads for the 2 subjects in the past when i was a owner of a d40(till it decided it wanted to meet the bottom of our swimming pool) so i got a rough idea on manual settings to use, but just tryin to see if the presets would be good enough to use

if the settings are like the Canon S5 the fireworks scene mode works fine - it changes the shutter to 2 seconds and aperture to f8. you will need a tripod to steady the camera.
Parades at night? that requires more than the scene modes!

 

[ukcatfan]

Spectro can be tough for a DSLR with a fast lens and the ISO way up, so do not expect too much from any p&s. Try to find a location where there will be some background lighting that will help illuminate the parade. Sitting in front of the train station is one of those places, b/c they never completely lower the lights there. As for the camera settings, you are going to likely have to go full manual with the aperture as wide as possible, the ISO up as high as you can stand (and maybe even higher than that), then keep the shutter as fast as possible. What speed you need will depend on if the subject is moving relative to you, your focal length, etc. but I doubt you can go much lower than 1/125 sec. Getting the faces properly exposed can be tricky. One last thing, do not use the flash b/c it will not give the results you are wanting.

 

[imsoscared]

yea will have a tripod this trip finally. the fireworks mode seemed to turn out alright from some shots i took on new years here, tho it doesnt even come close to a wishes show.
as for spectro, guess i'll just pray n shoot n tweak around with the recommendations that ive seen on 2 older threads for spectro. only got 2 nights to attempt to come out with a few decent photos of it so im hopin for the best

 

[LittleDickensDesigns]

I'm thinking of buying this camera. I like the wide angle & zoom features of it. But I'd love to see some actual photos taken with it. Anyone have any they could share? Thanks!

 

[°O°Joe]

Try this link - these should all be from the camera you named above...

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=disney&cm=canon/powershot_sx10_is&s=int

 

[tinkabella627]

Does anyone own this camera and have pics from it? I thought I had read and saw pics from it but of course now I can't remember where I would have seen it. I don't want to open it if it isn't great because there is a restocking fee to return it if I open it. TIA

 

[Dan Murphy]

You may want to wait a couple months, if you can, and compare to the just released SX1 IS. This one was released overseas at the same time as the SX10 here, and now they have made a few updates on the SX1 for NA.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2094792

 

[tinkabella627]

I couldn't even wait for a reply to open it haha

I do like it though and am definitely going to read the book about how to use all the features. This is my first really nice camera so I am happy with it. This is probably as advanced as I will ever get to be honest.

 

[LAS321]

Does anyone have this camera? I need to upgrade from my little Olympus and am really drawn to the 20X zoom. I had the Canon S3 and it died on me weeks after the warranty ran out and swore I'd never get another Canon, but this camera really interests me....any comments or info would be greatly appreciated...thanks!

 

[Amy]

I recently upgraded to the SX10 from my Canon S3 IS, and I absolutely LOVE it! I don't have much time right now to go into detail, but you might want to check out the last 5 or 6 pages of the S3/S5 thread - I posted about the SX10, and a couple of other DIS'ers did, too.

The zoom is amazing, the lens cap is terrible, all the stuff I loved about the S3 are here on the SX10, most of them in better, more logical places. For example, when shooting in bright sunlight, I seem to like to adjust my exposure -1/3 or even -2/3. On the S3, you had to go into menus to change it, and then if you forgot to change it back, you were stuck with dark photos when you didn't want them. On the SX10, there's a button right on the back to adjust the exposure, AND there's a constant reminder on the LCD screen that the exposure has been changed.

 

[bukosluvswdw]

We just purchased the canon p/s sx10 is and we love it but we are lost on the bells and whistles. We are taking it to WDW and we want to get plenty of great pitcures. Inside attractions, outside areas, characters and our family of course. Any suggestions on how we can take great quaility pitcures or should we just use the auto mode. My manin concern is pitcures of shows and rides and parades and fireworks.


Thanks

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

We just purchased the canon p/s sx10 is and we love it but we are lost on the bells and whistles. We are taking it to WDW and we want to get plenty of great pitcures. Inside attractions, outside areas, characters and our family of course. Any suggestions on how we can take great quaility pitcures or should we just use the auto mode. My manin concern is pitcures of shows and rides and parades and fireworks.

Thanks

IIRC, the SX10 is in the same line as the S3/S5 ... just newer. It should have all the same features.

First off -- READ THE MANUAL! IMO, Canon manuals are really well-written and really help to explain what all the little symbols/icons are....

Some tips (some of which will only make sense after reading some of the suggested materials):
You really need to understand how ISO and Shutter Speed and Aperture work together to properly expose a picture to get the most out of any camera with advanced controls. You can learn a LOT about exposure from the following web site: http://www.goingmanual.com/photo/ (GoingManual).

Switch to P mode to "get your feet wet" using the more-advanced features of your camera. P is almost the same as Auto, but you can control the ISO (think of it as the sensitivity of your digital film; low ISO = not very sensitive = needs lots of light = very clean || high ISO = very sensitive = works in low light = noisy/grainy) and have access to a menu with Metering/Exposure Comp./etc.

When you take pictures in P mode, the camera will show you what the exposure settings it's picking are; this will help when you move into other modes.

Spot metering in AV mode with the aperature set to the smallest number (which is actually the largest size) is the best way to take less-noisy (lower ISO) pictures of characters on darkened stages or in shows. Just remember: if the subject is spot lit, use spot metering!

For fireworks, you'll get the best results if you can use a tripod and set long exposure times (like 2 seconds ... WAAAY to slow to hand-hold). You can also get nice pictures (that can be quite clear) with shutter speeds in the 1/4 to 1/10 sec. range.

Many of Disney's dark rides are too dark for ANY P/S camera (and even many DSLRs) and even pushing them to their highest available ISO isn't enough (Pirates of the Carribean is one) to get a good picture.

For outdoor shots and parades and the like, I usually just set my S3 (a couple of models back from yours) in P mode or Av mode with the aperture set at 4.5 (the sharpest for the S3's lens), the ISO at it's lowest (80) and let the camera do the rest of the work. I'm usually happy with 90% of them!

There's also a thread somewhere here about the S3/S5 "family" we posted TONS of pictures and good advice on that thread: S3/S5 "Family" Thread

Good luck with the new camera and feel free to post questions!

 

[bukosluvswdw]

thank you for the info. There is alot there to read. I ahev started reading the manual and thanks for you tips.