Roundup: Compact Digital Cameras : Canon PowerShot E1
10. Canon PowerShot E1
LP movies
Digital cameras can shoot video in in various formats (HD, 640 x 480, 320 x 120...). Canon's PowerShot E1 has a Long Play Video option in 640 x 480. In order to achieve this, the compression is higher which makes the size of the file smaller.
For example, a 9 second clip that would normally be 17.3 MB will be 8.83 MB in long play. Compression of course doesn't go without loss: playback will be less smooth.
The Canon PowerShot E1 may look like a toy, but it is hardly a "Barbie" camera. With its 10 Megapixel sensor, 4x zoom and wide angle, it certainly qualifies as the "real thing" in the digital camera world.
Handling
- PowerShot E1 White...
The design here is really a matter of taste. Canon's PowerShot E1 curvaceous shell comes in sweet baby colors (girlie pink, boyish blue and a more neutral white). Some might think it looks more like a toy, others will find it "simply adorable." But don't be fooled by the looks: this camera is not a joke. Contrary to all appearances, the build is rather sturdy and has a good finish.
The navigation controls are very easy to grasp, with a scroll wheel to switch modes, a menu for settings, and shortcuts to activate the flash or change sensitivities. Manipulation is plain sailing. The Canon PowerShot E1 has a 2.5-inch LCD screen and a real-image optical viewfinder. However, this OVF is not vary accurate as the picture end ups actually being wider than what you see.
This camera is rather snappy. Focus is quick, almost immediate in auto focus in bright daylight and within 0.50 second in zoom x3. Shutter lag is minimal. Burst mode--1.4 frames per second--is a bit of a letdown.
Image Quality
Overall quality is good. Pictures are neat both at the center of the frame and around the edges, but lack in sharpness. There is some purple fringing in high contrast zones. Prints on A4--in the lightest sensitivities--come out fine and the purple fringing becomes less noticeable. Despite the noise you can still make out the details at 1600 ISO. If you want to do close-ups, the macro mode is ideal with its focus at 3 cm. The flash is not too bright.
Video
Video resolution is the standard fair of 640 x 480 pixels and 30 frames per second, and the quality is decent. It is nice to be able to use the zoom and autofocus while shooting clips. Other cameras may offer this feature too, but in this case, the auto focus is very fast and effective.
White balancing performs well outside, but inside with artificial lightning, it goes slightly purplish. The optical stabilization is also pretty powerful, and we managed to take a snap of Barbie in just 1/8 second (400 ISO settings). It took 1/3 second with Nikon's Coolpix S610c. Optical stabilization is better on the Nikon, but the Canon deals better with noise up to 400 ISO. Blurriness appears at 1600 ISO.
| Canon PowerShot E1 | |
|---|---|
| Pluses | Minuses |
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| The Canon PowerShot E1 is an uncomplicated camera that doesn't compromise on features or quality. Those who want more from their camera will prefer the PowerShot A590 IS ands its priority modes. |  |
should have classified the cameras to at least price and/or final rating. i got discouraged to read.
should have classified the cameras to at least price and/or final rating. i got discouraged to read.
When you say classified, what do you mean? Do you mean the pages should go in order of price, or in order of rating? Such as the cheap ones at the beginning and the expensive ones at the end OR the best cameras at the top and the worst cameras at the bottom?
i meant group them by chosen price ranges/brackets or any feature you think is relevant since comparison between cameras is just difficult with the present format wherein it is only possible to compare models of a certain brand.
It would have been nice if all the cameras were given scores (yes I know this is very subjective, but so are all the comments and pro/con sections). Idealy they would be given su scores as well (i.e. a still picture score, a video score, a asthetics score, a usablity score, maybe some others) and then the cameras could be sorted by those scores with links, maybey a short blurb at each camera in the sorted list. Another thing that would be very usefull to myself and I assume other readers is a features table that allows us to compare all the cameras.