I am also since 12.12.2008 proud owner of a Canon PowerShot SX1 IS.
Now as the owner of a Fujifilm FinePix F31fd I wanted to go a step further towards professional photography.
At first I had been thinking about buying a digital SLR, the final words were always so good. But if you informed in more detail, one discovers disadvantages.
OK, first time the most important question: What do I gain SLR at all? Very clear answer, you can see exactly what comes in through the lens. Sounds super first time, but the sensor does not have the same? Exactly! In analogue photography that might not have made sense, but now you can see it right away what the sensor records!
For the sensor to accommodate a DSLR, the mirror has to be folded away. Here, then, incredibly fast mechanics in the game. The mechanics in turn is a consumable item. At that time you made a few pictures, you had to develop each until eventually, but today one has yet hundreds geknippst within minutes on photos. The rapid swinging away of the mirror still leads also to minimal vibrations.
The only real advantage of a DSLR is therefore only the interchangeable lens, which is often just as expensive as the camera itself.
But now to my first experiences for Canon PowerShot SX1 IS:
Pro:
- Full HD video with stereo sound, the quality is indeed surprisingly good
- Flip-out display, great for shooting from a different perspective
- Display and viewfinder in widescreen format (however results in black bars on hour recordings)
- Live histogram to evaluate the distribution of brightness
- 20x zoom, while flying airplane you can even see the propeller yet
- Wide-angle lens, we get it right on the photo
- Image stabilizer, even at 20x zoom succeed sharp images even from the hand
- Manual setting of shutter speed and aperture by turning wheel
- IR remote control, handy for self-portraits or tripod shooting
- Auto Exposure Bracketing for HDR Photos
- Continuous Shooting with about 4 frames per second, with auto focus, after all, about 1.2
- If even with large hands still well in hand
- There is a viewfinder, though not very high resolution, in some situations, but in practice
- Flash must be opened to activate, accidental flashing is excluded
- Sound recorder in stereo, for example, to hold conferences
- Uncomplicated adding voice memos to photos
- HDMI connection for playback on an HDTV, older TVs can be connected via RCA
- At the upper knob you can select the Custom mode and specify a program itself, for example, for black and white images
Cons:
- Power Hungry, you should purchase powerful batteries AA with 1700 mAh minimum.
- Battery indicator reports only almost empty ", a short time later she goes from a 5 bar display as the phone does not exist.
- No power supply included (although not necessarily required, but would be useful)
- No internal memory, SD card not included
- No RAW image (. Lt various forums to function but will be supplied with a firmware update)
- The display in the viewfinder is not very high resolution.
- Up to ISO 200, the pictures in order, from ISO 400 it is already critical. Those using home-efficient light bulbs, should refrain from indoors without flash
- When video format MOV has been chosen with the supplied player that's not a problem, Windows Media Player and Windows Movie Maker to play the video but not liquid from (if QuickTime is installed, otherwise an error message is the same). At the moment I am still looking for a functioning converter.
A few tips:
- If you, the AF function on frame in the menu, the battery lasts longer, otherwise the camera is focusing continuously on
- The IS mode (image stabilization) is disabled by default, you should set it to only recording "
- While you can press the Record button from any mode, Full HD videos are only made if you chose Widescreen
- According to the manual can be seen on an 8 GB memory card 24 min 30 sec save in Full HD, who wants to use the camera as a camcorder replacement, so you should get a very large SD card Speed Class 4 or faster..
- Anyone choosing a power supply, should be aware that this can only be used for the operation of the camera, not for charging the batteries.
Conclusion: The Canon PowerShot SX1 IS is a true engineering wonder.
Due to size and maturity they replaced not the compact camera, but it offers the ideal introduction to professional photography.
