Roundup: Compact Digital Cameras : Canon PowerShot A1000 IS
5. Canon PowerShot A1000 IS
Does optical stabilization work in all conditions?
The optical stabilization on the A1000 IS should mean that we don't need to change to use faster exposures for darker scenes. We photographed the same scene using three different modes to test that out. We used night mode, nocturne mode and P mode, allowing the camera to choose its own ISO setting each time.
Only the first of these photos was a real success: with the other two, the shots were very blurry. In P mode, the exposure time is one second up to 800 ISO, but above this, each image is taken a lot more quickly.
Handling
- PowerShot A1000 IS...
This camera benefits from high craftsmanship--one that's better, in fact, than on some of Canon's earlier models. The interface is simple and easy-to-use, with the cross allowing direct access to some key functions (ISO, flash, macro and auto modes), and the Function key allowing other important settings to be controlled in just two clicks.
The 2.5-inch screen is of dubious quality, displaying only 115, 000 pixels which is just enough for a screen this big. Fortunately there's an optical viewfinder too, but it's usefulness is rather marginal in bright sunlight.
The A1000 IS is certainly not lacking oomph however, as it gets going very quickly. We also appreciated how quickly it could focus, taking only 0.44 seconds in bright light, and it was marginally slower at 0.64 seconds in darker conditions. Saving images to the memory card is what slows things down, with a gap of 2.26 seconds in between photos. And the burst mode, well, hardly bursts, at a mere 1.6 fps.
Image Quality
Images from the A1000 IS are, in general, pretty acceptable. The electronic noise handling is pretty reasonable too, with graininess only very light up to 400 ISO (although details do begin to disappear soon after that). Nevertheless, the results are fine for prints on A4 right up to 1600 ISO. The lens is of good quality and with very limited geometric deformities, and features a good control of chromatic aberration as well. Bright colors are handled well, and the well-known phenomenon of purple fringing is mostly kept under control.
Turning on the flash gives a healthy burst of light, and works well even in macro mode, helping to create a good focus at just 3-cm from the object. The optical stabilization avoids nasty surprises, allowing handheld shots in just a sixth of a second. The video is much as it always has been. Little has changed, as Canon stuck with VGA (640 x 480 pixels) for the time being, with a slightly blurry image, but not at all bad for a digital camera. It is a shame is that you can't use the zoom while filming a video.
| Canon PowerShot A1000 IS | |
|---|---|
| Pluses | Minuses |
|
|
| The Canon A1000 IS is an agreeable compact overall, aimed above all at beginners who don't need a camera with advanced functions. Quick, easy to use and given a good image quality, the compact suffers most of all from the lack of a panoramic mode and a rather old-fashioned video mode. |  |
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.