The Canon Powershot SX10IS 10 MP Digital Camera

If you're into serious commercial or artistic photography, and are contemplating a move to digital camera format, the Canon Powershot SX10IS 10 MP digital camera is probably the best starter camera on the market. The point and shoot simplicity of most digital cameras, fine for family album shots, often doesn't provide the range of capability to manipulate images and compositions that is required in commercial or art photography. The SX10 has the capability that makes the transition less traumatic.

With its 20x optical zoom lens that ranges from relatively wide angle to telephoto close-ups, and optical image stabilizer, the SX10 can be used for everything from portraits to sports photography. The 10 megapixel resolution gives you sharp images for good prints and flexibility in editing of images. The lag time between shots is far less than conventional digital cameras, which is essential in sports photography. It also allows you to capture still images and short movies on the same memory card.

For shooting portraits, indoors or out, the image processor's face detection capability eliminates washed out faces or out of focus images. The lens speed and aperture can also be adjusted permitting variable focus for artistic shots.

If you do news photography, you'll find the 2.5 inch vari-angle LCD viewing screen a real godsend. It flips out 180 degrees from the body and swivels 270 degrees so that you can hold the camera over your head to shoot over crowds, but still have a comfortable view of what the lens is seeing.

Contrast correction and automatic red eye correction ensures that every shot you take is one you can be proud of. The camera can be set on auto focus, or manual, allowing an astonishing variety of shots. The SX10 also has MovieSnap mode which lets you make still images while in the process of shooting a movie without having to stop.

The controls on this camera are ergonomically located, which for those of us with large hands and fingers really comes in handy. The mode dial, for instance, is large and plainly marked, so that it is a snap (no pun intended) to make the adjustment for the shot you want without a lot of fumbling. You make a simple turn of the dial and the camera takes care of exposure, aperture and flash, leaving you free to concentrate on subject and composition.

Captured images can be uploaded to your computer, or directly printed, from the camera or the memory card. When you buy the SX10, everything you need to immediately begin taking fantastic pictures is in the box, including lens cap, computer interface cable, photo software disk, and batteries are included. For a few dollars more you can get a camera bag, battery charger, and extra memory cards. This latter purchase is an essential if you do lots of heavy duty shooting. The Canon Powershot SX10IS is not a cheap camera. Retail prices range from just over $300 to over $450 depending on where you buy it. If you're only an occasional photographer, this might seem a high price, but this might be the last camera you have to buy, and since you get still and video capability in one machine, it's a bargain. If you do commercial or artistic photography, it is a good investment, and a great way to switch from film SLR which is rapidly becoming obsolete.

References:

http://www.usa.canon.com For information on all Canon products.

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=modelInfo&fcategoryid=144&model=17630 For specific information on the SX10

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