-
Pros
- Fast.
- Superb image quality.
- 4x optical zoom.
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Cons
- Bulky.
- Low-resolution screen.
Canon PowerShot A1100 IS Specs
| 35-mm Equivalent (Telephoto): | 105 mm |
| 35-mm Equivalent (Wide): | 35 mm |
| Battery Type Supported: | Lithium Ion |
| Boot time: | 2.26 seconds |
| LCD dots: | 115000 |
| LCD size: | 2.5 inches |
| Lines Per Picture Height: | 2172 |
| Megapixels: | 12.1 MP |
| Optical Zoom: | 4 x |
| Recycle time: | 2.35 seconds |
| Type: | Compact |
| Video Resolution: | No |
Canon's PowerShot A1100 IS ($199.99 direct), the successor to last year's Editors' Choice-winning
At just-under-5.5-ounces, the A1100 measures 2.5 by 3.8 by 1.2 inches (HWD), so it's a lot larger than most cameras in its price range. The $149.95
The A1100's 2.5-inch LCD is bright, but doesn't offer much contrast, so images can look a bit blown out. And because it packs only 115,000 pixels, it's not very sharp. Canon's higher-end
Shooting features remain strong on the A1100, however, and the camera is newbie-friendly. Face detection works well, and a button on the back of the camera lets you cycle through multiple faces in a shot to choose which should take focus priority. There's also an "Easy Mode," in which the only buttons available for selection are the zoom trigger, the shutter release, and the flash control; besides the A1000, this feature is not found on other Canon cameras.
The controls on the A1100 are generally excellent. You zoom in and out with a trigger that gives you the one-finger control you can't get with two separate buttons. The shutter release button is mounted in the middle of the trigger. The buttons on the back of the camera are all grouped next to the screen, and are clearly labeled and firm to the touch. A dial on the top of the camera lets you select shooting modes (Auto, Easy, Program, etc.), and is just stiff enough to prevent accidental switching.
Though the A1100 is one of Canon's least-expensive models, it doesn't compromise speed. The camera can boot up and take its first shot in an average of 2.26 seconds, and you have to wait just 2.35 seconds to take your next picture. The Shooting-Digital.com shutter lag test reported that the A1100 averaged only 0.53 second between shutter push and image capture, which is an excellent result. (Fast point-and-shooters average between 0.5 and 0.3 second.)
In our photography lab, I use the Imatest suite to objectively measure image quality. The A1100 performed very well. At all lens positions, levels of chromatic aberration were low to insignificant. Noise levels were low between ISO 100 and 400 (which are used in good lighting conditions without a flash). I typically don't focus too much on white balance tests, as Imatest typically reports these results as either slightly too cool or slightly too warm, but within an "acceptable to good" range. But after analyzing the white patch of an X-Rite color checker, Imatest indicated that the A1100 achieved a perfect white balance with no errors at any ISO sensitivity level—a rare outcome worth noting.
The A1100 captures an average of 2,172 lines per picture height, a terrific result (anything over 1,800 is considered sharp). Towards the outer edges, which are typically not as sharp the center, the A1100 captured an average of 1,590 lines, which is still good. For comparison, images from the Sony Cyber-shot W230 were very sharp in the center (averaging 2,302 lines) but dropped considerably in the corners (averaging 711 lines).
To see how it performed outside the lab, I took the A1100 (along with the Kodak EasyShare M340) out shooting on an overcast day in New York City. Though the Kodak camera delivered sharper results in the lab (2,570 lines per picture height in the center and 2,169 outside it), images from the A1100 were all sharp, while a handful of Kodak shots showed image blur. (See the slideshow for an example.) There's an easy explanation for this, however: The Kodak lens lacks image stabilization (which the Canon lens has), and thus could deliver consistently sharp results on a tripod in the lab, but not when held in the hand.
The A1100 reads SD and SDHC cards and can connect to your computer via a mini USB cable, instead of a proprietary cable, as many competing cameras require. You get the appropriate cable, as well as A/V cables that plug into the mini USB port and the composite connections on TVs for image playback. The A1100 is powered by two AA batteries; the other cameras mentioned in this review use rechargeable lithium ion batteries.
Given its speed and performance, the Canon PowerShot A1100 IS isn't a very solid choice for the price. But because it offers so little improvement over the A1000, if you can find last year's A1000, you should grab it save yourself $50. The A1100 certainly won't disappoint, but for the extra cash I'd like to see greater evolution in terms of capabilities, features, design—even better, all of them.
BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS: Check out the test scores for
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