Canon Powershot Pro1 Review

The AUTO mode allows anyone, regardless of expertise, to use the Pro1 like a simple point-n-shoot camera. The camera automatically selects the shutter speed and aperture allowing you to concentrate on framing your subject, not changing camera settings.

The menu options in AUTO mode are limited to what you see animated here. Pressing the FUNCtion buttons lets you change the image size and/or quality, no other settings are possible.

In Program AE mode the camera selects both the shutter speed and aperture but now you have access to all of the exposure and image adjustment settings. The screen here shows an ISO speed of 50, color is set to Vivid, evaluative metering, single frame advance, auto red-eye flash, flash exposure compensation, large image size, Superfine quality and memory card space for another 132 pictures. The LCD or EVF display can be cleared of all of this information by pressing the INFO button.

The Program AE mode also features "shift" which means that you can force the camera to use different combinations of shutter speed and aperture when desired. You half-press the shutter, press the AE/AF lock button and then rotate the command dial.

In Tv (Shutter-speed priority) mode the user selects the desired shutter speed and the camera automatically selects the aperture value. If the shutter speed is too fast (or slow), the aperture value will be displayed in red (when the shutter is half-pressed) which tells you to select a different speed. Slow shutter speeds allow for moving objects to "motion blur" and fast shutter speeds will "freeze" fast moving objects.

Shutter speed range is from 1/4000 to 15 seconds (1/2000 is only available above F3.2/F4.5 and 1/4000 above F5.6/F8). The fastest shutter speed for flash sync is 1/250 sec.

In Av (Aperture priority) mode the user selects the desired aperture value and the camera automatically selects the appropriate shutter speed. Small apertures (large F-stop number) increase the depth of field (range of focus) whereas large apertures (small F-stop numbers) decreases the depth of field.

Available f/stop range is F2.4, F2.8, F3.2, F3.2, F4, F4.5, F5, F5.6, F6.3, F7.1, F8 and varies on the focal length being used. Flash sync is from 1/60 to 1/250 sec. in Av mode.

In Manual mode the proper exposure value is determined by changing both the shutter speed and the aperture values manually. You can visually see the screen lighten or darken as you change settings and when you half-press the shutter, the EV (exposure value) will be indicated in the upper left corner. The camera provides no automatic exposure control in this mode.

When in MF (manual focus) mode, the AF point area can be magnified to aid in proper focusing. A sliding distance scale is shown on the right side.

The FlexiZone AF feature lets you manually select the AF (auto focus) point by pressing the SET button and using the arrow keys to move AF target mark on the screen.

While in record mode the White Balance can be changed by pressing the 4-way selector "down" - an onscreen menu will display the available presets (auto, day light, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, fluorescent H, flash) and two custom selections.

Pressing the 4-way selector "up" lets you change the Exposure Compensation value +/- 2.0EV in 0.3EV steps.

Record MENU options (except AUTO mode).

Flash Sync - 1st-curtain (leading) or 2nd-curtain (trailing) flash sync
Slow Synchro - Enable or disable slow sync flash mode
Red-eye - Enable or disable red-eye reduction flash mode
Flash Pop-up - Enable or disable auto popup for flash
Cont. Shooting - Regular or High speed continuous mode. High speed disables viewing inbetween shots to shorten the interval
Self-timer - 2 or 10 seconds
Wireless Delay - 0, 2 or 10 seconds
Spot AE Point - Center or follow the AF Point
ND Filter - Enable or disable neutral density filter (darkens the normal brightness to 1/8 to allow for larger apertures in bright light)
Safety Shift - In Av or Tv modes, Safety Shift will automatically select a different value to obtain the correct exposure if it's incorrect when the shutter is half-pressed
MF-Point Zoom - Magnify focus area during manual focus
AF Mode - Continuous or Single auto focus
Digital Zoom - Enable or disable digital zoom
Converter - Sets camera for TC-DC58A tele adapter or 500D closeup lens
Review - Post-capture review time, settable for 2 - 10 seconds
Color Space - sRGB or Adobe RGB
Reverse Display - On = the image is reversed if the LCD is tilted 180°
Off = do not reverse
Super Macro - Enable SuperMacro focus mode
Intervalometer - Enable timelapse recording mode, interval (1-60 mins.), number of shots (2-100)
Save Settings - Memorize camera settings

Record FUNCtion options (except AUTO mode).

ISO - Auto or 50, 100, 200 or 400 equivalents
Image Effects - Off, Vivid color, Neutral color, Low Sharpening, Sepia, B&W, Custom (Contrast, Sharpness, Saturation)
Bracketing - Enable and set options for Exposure or Focus Bracketing modes
Flash Compensation - Adjust the output level of the flash +/- 2.0
Image Quality - Superfine, Fine or Normal JPEG compression
Image Size -

Large 3264x2448
Medium1 2272x1704
Medium2 1600x1200
Medium3 1024x768
Small 640x480
CCD RAW 3264x2448

Macro Focus mode allows for close focusing, 28-63mm from 3.9 inches to 1.6 feet, 63-90mm from 1.0 to 1.6 feet (90-200mm is not available in macro mode.) The area covered in macro mode is approx. 6.2 x 4.5 in. at wideangle, approx. 3.4 x 2.6 in. at 63mm and approx. 5.9 x 4.4 in. at 90mm.

Super Macro (enabled in the menu) permits even closer focusing from 1.2 inches to 1.0 feet (3 to 30 cm) with a zoom range of 42-90mm. The area covered is approx. 1.7 x 1.3 in. at 42mm and 1.4 x 1.0 in. at 90mm. The resolution can only be set to M1, M2, M3 or S. If the resolution is L or RAW it will be automatically changed to M1. The lower resolution is used to prevent edge vignetting at this extreme magnification.

Movie mode lets you record high-quality VGA (640x480) motion video with audio at 15fps for up to 30 seconds. Lower quality Quarter-VGA (320x240 pixel) or 160x120 movies can be recorded for up to three minutes. The optical zoom can not be used during recording.

If you're a real movie mode fanatic then be sure to check out the Powershot S1 IS - it has a 640x480 Fine movie mode at 30fps that can record up to 1GB of motion video, that's a little over 9 minutes.

MOVIE mode options.

Image Size - 640x480, 320x240, 160x120
Self-timer - 10 or 2 seconds
Wireless Delay - 0, 2 or 10 seconds
Converter - Conversion lens: 500D closeup or TC-DC58A tele adapter
Reverse Display - On = the image is reversed if the LCD is tilted 180°
Off = do not reverse

SETUP menu options.

Mute - Off, On: Mutes the speaker
Volume - Speaker level for Start-up, Operation, Selftimer, Shutter and Playback
LCD Brightness - Adjust LCD backlight intensity
Power Saving - Auto Power Down (On, Off) and Display Off (20s, 30s, 1,2,3,10m)
Format - Format the CF device or display space remaining
File No. Reset - Off=sequential, On=start at 0
Auto Rotate - Orientation sensor (On, Off)
Distance Units - Focus distance in feet or meters
Language - Set the menu language
Video System - NTSC or PAL video output