As my negative experiences with the new Olympus SP-510 of the image quality was predominated, I sent it back and ordered my second favorite of Canon. Amazon managed within one and a half days to send me this camera included 1GB SD card. Thank You Very Much!
Ergonomics and operation: small and relatively easy it is because despite large 2,5`` display. The only noticeable drawback is the relative smooth surface. One should be a little careful while shooting and the lanyard is always (to) have in hand, especially when similar bridges photographed.
To make it short: If you already have experience with digital cameras, is used in most settings without user manual. After inserting the two AA batteries or rechargeable batteries and inserting the memory card, the camera is ready for use. The power button is located on top next to the control wheel for the recording settings, about one second the device needs to be used. All settings such as date, time, language, volume of sounds, card formatting, among other things can be done quickly with the menu button. At common settings like white balance, image formats, multi-field measurements, flash, ISO values, etc. can be run with the FUNC / SET button. Other settings are possible directly on the small buttons on the back panel.
The single and multiple recording modes can be accessed via the dial. Who does not want to take care of special settings, use Auto, the program setting P or SCN mode in which you can select preset shooting situations. Experienced photographers have to select the other settings, the possibility of aperture and shutter speed to make customized shooting. All in all, there are no objections to the operation.
Image Quality: the highest possible resolution and in conjunction with a 1-GB memory card 322 shots can be taken. The first attempts I started with overcast autumn weather. While in P mode only automatically 1/60 sec and an aperture of 2.8 were chosen by the camera, the images were excellent. Sharpness, hue and the dreaded noise of mine were no complaints. The tone was warmer than in the above Olympus and made the gray surroundings sympathetic. Even with full 6x zoom succeed the zoomed images thanks to the image stabilization very good.
Shots in the kitchen (for the most light) were sharper and much less noise than with the new Olympus. Even self-portraits from his hand showed only the taint my own person (J). Of course, I also tested night shooting with a tripod. When shooting with a long exposure time and ISO 100, qualitatively good shots with little noise can make.
Close-ups of slides and miniature films go well, so for me it was clear right away: The Canon I keep.
Who wants to shoot movies, with sound that can and up to a quality of 640 x 480 pixels at 30 B. / s. Fit about eight minutes on a 1 GB card. The first sample of a 106 cm plasma, which can be connected via an RCA cable, made a good impression. The photos were impressive on the screen.
Conclusion: Except for the minor flaw to have a too smooth surface, I can recommend the camera without concerns. For about 300 included 1 GB memory SD card you get a good quality camera, with which one is from the beginning on you despite small dimensions. The approximately 200 shots for this test are for me the proof, a small compact digital camera to have with 7 million pixels found that making good shots and with which I am in the coming years have a lot of fun.
Jörg Wernicke, Technical Editor
