Pros: Great quality pictures, Great battery life, Many advanced features, Great Price, includes viewfinder
Cons: For once, I really have NONE
The Bottom Line: This is a great camera for anyone who wants great picture quality and easy operation. It also has advanced options for the photo buff!
noangels's Full Review: Canon PowerShot SD600 / IXUS 60 Digital Camera
My most recent camera purchase was the result of months of playing with the cameras at the retail store where I work, using feedback from customers that come in to tell us their own mini-reviews of the cameras, and reading online reviews. I am very interested in photography and wanted a camera that has many advanced options. I wanted one that was relatively easy to use and small. I wanted a camera that would also take great photos but would ensure that I wouldn't miss a moment. You never know when there will be something you'll want to remember, so I thought it would be great to always have a camera on hand, especially since I like to make scrapbooks. I've always been against the tiny "cute" cameras because many of them are lacking in features (and viewfinders) and some are purchased solely for their appearance. The exception to this is the Canon Elph series and I purchased the Canon SD 600.
This camera is relatively new to the Elph series. The camera was released almost 6 months after the preceding and very popular models, the SD 450 and the SD 550, were released. It was also released at the same time as the SD 630 and SD 700 IS. I chose this camera over even those models because it is a perfect fit for me and I think it is a perfect fit for anyone no matter what you are looking for in a camera.
Picture Quality This camera is 6 megapixels with one of the best processors on the market (The DIGIC II). It is the same processor that is used in Canon's $5000 digital SLR that can be hooked up to a telescope for astrophotography. What this means to the average camera owner is that you will get amazing pictures that you can even blow up to poster size. While the SD 450 has this processor, the little bump in megapixels was worth the price. This new camera (along with the SD 630 and SD 700 is) has Canon's new ISAPs technology which they boast improves picture quality even more. I have seen no noise on the pictures from this camera at ISO 400 and below. There was a little noise at ISO 800 but nothing too noticeable. The colors were very vibrant and real looking. I use an editing program that has an automatic color fix. It finds under and overexposure, and fixes things you didn't realize were wrong until they've been corrected. On over 800 photos that I took during the first month I had this camera, it only corrected 9.
Price The price is another impressive thing about this camera. The average price is $349.99 which is not bad for this camera at all, but I was able to find it for $279.99 on dell.com. A camera this great for under $300 is a steal.
Features and Operation The camera is very simple to use and offers an automatic mode for even the most flustered beginner. At the same time, it offers advanced options with white balance settings, many scene modes, custom and manual controls, and even several color options.
Scene Modes: The following modes were all included in the previous SD 450 and SD 550 models. Portrait: This mode will bring a subject into focus while blurring the background. Stitch Assist: I have not found any good use for this mode yet but this allows you to take multiple pictures in sequence that can later be stitched together with included software to make a panoramic shot. Fireworks: A mode that uses long shutter speeds to showcase light sources to give you that dramatic look. I used this on a fireplace and it blurred the room and sharpened the fire. It was very impressive. Underwater: A mode for underwater shots to be used with the underwater case for the camera that is available from Canon. Indoor: A mode for low light situations such as a party indoors. Foliage: This mode makes the greens more vibrant in a picture. I've used this mode in combination with the macro mode to get some really sharp photos of flowers. Beach: For use with bright beach scenes. This compensates for overexposure to keep colors from looking washed out in sunlight. Kids and Pets: This mode increases the shutter speed for moving subjects such as children or pets. Digital Macro: A closeup mode Night Snapshot: For shots at night. I've used this mode in combination with the camera's burst mode to get some really amazing shots of a recent lightening storm. Snow: For bright snow scenes. This sets the white balance to make sure snow is the whitest white.
New Modes: The main reason I chose this model over both the SD 550 and the SD 450, even though the 550 had a higher megapixel CCD, was that it has more of these features. They added color swap, color accent, and several other features to the SD 600. "Color Accent" was a feature that stood out to me especially since I have not seen this in other models. This feature allows you to focus on one color and take pictures in which every color except the chosen color will display as black and white. We were playing around with this feature at the Best Buy store and focused the camera on a yellow tag that said Best Buy and took a picture. The entire store was monochrome with the exception of a few Best Buy signs. This feature was relatively easy to use once you got the hang of it. Color swap allows you to target a color in your picture and switch it to another color.
Colors, White Balance and Light Sensitivity: Color options on this camera include Black & White, Sepia, Positive, Neutral, Vivid, and My Colors. This camera also includes a number of white balance options; Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, and Custom. The ISO settings are ISO 80, 100, 200, 400, 800 and auto.
Shutter and Aperture It has a max shutter speed of 1/1500 sec and an aperture range of f/2.8 Wide - f/4.9 Telephoto.
Burst Mode A burst mode is included with continuous shooting at 2.1 frames per second. I found this mode very helpful for capturing my two dogs running around in the yard. I put the camera into kids and pets mode and turn on continuous shooting. With a high speed card, it's almost like I'm taking video.
Compression The compression can be changed between 3 different settings. At the lowest compression and at 6 megapixels, each picture averaged a little over 3 megabytes.
Movie Mode Movie mode is included and sound is captured as well. The quality of both is very good, one of the best video features I've seen on a digital camera.
Physical Attributes of the Camera
Size Size was also an issue and this camera is thin and light with a large screen. Even better is that it includes a viewfinder for those situations when the sun makes the screen impossible to see, or when you want to save battery life. It is perfect someone who wants a camera to have nearby at all times, no matter what the situation.
LCD Screen The LCD screen is a decent size at 2.5 inches. I was very impressed with the quality of the LCD screen. The colors are very clear and the images very sharp. I did notice a little grainyness in dark colors under low-light conditions on the screen but the pictures themselves turned out well.
Some of the earlier models (the SD 400 and the SD 500) had a manufacturers defect that caused the screens to crack under little pressure. This has been fixed in the newer models but be advised that putting the camera in your pocket or bag unprotected is not a good idea. I have people come into our store with a cracked screen almost every other week because of this. Canon does make a case in black and red (PSC-90) that fits the camera so tight that the added size is negligible. It will still fit in your bag but will be protected from such abuse. It's a little expensive ($24.99) but it is well worth it.
Controls The buttons of the camera are well placed and easy to learn. It was very easy to become accustomed to, without even reading the manual. The zoom is a bit hidden (at the top around the shutter button) but easy to use once people find it (a lot of customers ask if it has a zoom until I show them where it is). The buttons are well labeled and spaced. My fiance, who has much larger fingers than I do, has little trouble using my camera. Also, one of the reasons I chose this model over both the SD 630 and SD 700 IS, is that the switch for the camera modes (camera, video, and playback) on those models are on the top of the camera near the shutter button. It is easy to hit them accidentally. This control is next to the screen on this model, out of the way of clumsy fingers.
Batteries and Media The lithium ion battery lasts about 350 pictures per charge and is relatively cheap to buy so you can have an extra charged as a backup. Generic brands of the battery cost about $39.99. Charging the battery took about an hour after the battery was completely discharged. My extra battery is the Digipower BP-CN4L Rechargeable Battery.
The SD600 takes SD (secure digital) memory cards. These are very cheap and they offer a high-speed option so you can have less time between shots, increased battery life, and less time when transferring the pictures to the computer. At the highest quality my high-speed 1 gigabyte card holds 331 pictures and there is almost no shutter lag. My 2 gigabyte card holds 752 pictures. There is slightly longer time between pictures using the standard cards(I tested it with the 16mb card it comes with). I would estimate that the burst mode goes from 2.1 images per second down to 1 picture every 1.5 seconds with the standard speed cards.
Zoom The zoom is average for a camera of its size, 3x optical. It focuses quite well when zoomed. I didn't see it go out of focus at all while zooming from all the way out to the full 3x. It has a 4x digital zoom as well but digital zooms tend to reduce picture quality so may not be of much use to most people. I keep mine disabled.
Connectivity and Software The camera should be easy to connect to a machine running Windows XP but some people have reported problems connecting it due to a driver issue. It comes with the USB 2.0 cable and I was able to connect the camera to my computer to download pictures without loading the CD. Windows automatically downloaded a generic driver for the camera and I was able to load the images into my software. I recommend doing this over using their software which seems to be the root of the problem. The software included is helpful but nothing stood out about the included utilities (It included Canon PhotoStitch, Canon ZoomBrowser EX, ArcSoft PhotoStudio, and Canon ImageBrowser). I recommend using an external memory card reader which retails for about $20.00. These will allow you to connect several different cameras to a computer without having to locate individual cables or unplug anything.
Comparisions I mentioned some of the reasons why I chose this camera over other models above, but I wanted to expand on that. I want readers to understant my reasons for choosing this model and ruling out other similar models since most people who are looking to buy this camera are looking into the same models.
In wanting something small and light to be with me everywhere, I was able to narrow down my search to 20 or so models. I eliminated Fuji and Olympus from my search for several reasons. Both manufacturers make few small models that include viewfinders which I consider an absolute necessity. Also, they both now take type M XD memory cards. These cards look the same as the old cards, but are not compatible in many readers. Some pharmacies that haven't upgraded their machines will tell you that you can't print your pictures and your card is defective. It can be worked around by putting the pictures on a CD and bringing them but it would be time consuming. I didn't want to limit myself in any way. I have also found that newer Olympus models produce noisy images above ISO 200. This is my experience with the camera and I'm not saying every Olympus camera has this problem, but I have seen a trend in the later models. I also decided against a Sony as I found the quality of the images of them to be lacking. Often times they are grainy and underexposed. The T series (one of the smaller series of their cameras) is notorious for this and we had many returns on these products over the last holiday season. I have also found the quality of the Carl Zeiss lens to be unequal in different models.
Models I did consider: Kodak V570: This camera was a big contender but fell short in a few ways. It had no viewfinder. I didn't like the setup of the controls. I felt the pictures were sharper and better exposed when taken with the Canon Elphs.
Canon SD 550: This camera is higher in megapixels and includes the DIGIC II processor. Compared side by side, I felt the image quality was about the same in both models. I didn't like the controls on the SD 550 nor the slight difference in size. The battery for the camera is harder to find as well since it is used in few models while the NB-4L is used in over 6 models. I also liked the addition of Color Accent and Color Swap in the newer models.
Canon Powershot Elph SD 630: This camera is almost the exact same camera except for two specifications and a $50 price jump. The screen on this model is 3.0" instead of 2.5" and it has no viewfinder. The controls are situated differently including a switch located on top near the shutter button. I found this switch easy to hit unintentionally and found myself taking several videos rather than still photos. The SD 630 also offers slightly higher video resolutions. Both the screen and video resolution were features I didn't feel were significant to me.
Canon SD 700 IS: The most expensive Elph so far at $499, this camera was simply not worth the jump in price to me. The model offers additional features such as image stabilization and a 4x optical zoom (1x higher than the 600 and 630). I felt these features were unnecessary since the zoom difference is so small. Image stabilization would be necessary in a camera with a high zoom (10 or 12x) but not for such a small one. This one also had the same control placement problems as the SD 630.
This camera fits the needs of every photographer from the person who is looking to buy his or her first digital camera to the photo enthusiast. You can take it anywhere and you will get great photos.
Update After two years, I decided to upgrade my Canon Powershot SD 600. This camera served me well and I had no problems with it. I sold it on ebay and at the time, it still worked as well as it did when I first purchased it. I replaced it with a newer model in the Elph line: the Canon SD 1100IS.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 279 This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Solid Enough for a Professional
6.0-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 14 x 19-inch prints 3x optical zoom; 2.5-inch LCD display ISO 800 shooting; widescreen (16:...More at Amazon Marketplace
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