Canon PowerShot SX100 IS images and photo samples

And the wheel goes round
The SX100's scroll dial seems nicer in theory than in practice; frequently, when trying to change the shutter speed, we would accidentally click and end up changing the focus or ISO settings. It takes a while to get accustomed to the feel to prevent that from happening.

Photo Credit: CNET Networks

Slim profile
The top-mounted zoom switch and a relatively large mode dial keep the SX100's body from shrinking too much, but the camera is slim enough to fit comfortably in a jacket pocket.

Photo Credit: CNET Networks

Let there be bright
Although the SX100 has some colour reproduction issues with reds -- these flowers are a completely different shade -- it nevertheless produces vivid, saturated colours without going overboard. In general, photos looked evenly and correctly exposed.

Photo Credit: Lori Grunin

Symmetrical distortion
At its widest angle, the SX100 displays some -- but not a lot -- of barrel distortion. Because the distortion is reasonably symmetrical, it's less disturbing as a lens artifact. (Lines overlaid in Photoshop.)

Photo Credit: Lori Grunin

On the fringes
Fringing doesn't seem to pose a significant problem for the SX100, but there is some and what's there is colourful: in addition to purple and yellow, our photos also display magenta halos on high-contrast borders.

Photo Credit: Lori Grunin

Sharp
Overall, the SX100's lens renders sharp images, on the edges as well as in the centre.

Photo Credit: Lori Grunin

Not so noisy
For a comparatively inexpensive camera, the SX100 displays a pretty good noise profile. Detail only begins to degrade at ISO 400 and is still usable at ISO 800. At ISO 1600, though there's quite a bit of smeariness, there's still very little colour noise (for the camera's price class).

Photo Credit: Lori Grunin