Canon Powershot SD10 Review

The screen display in the Automatic record mode. Onscreen icons indicate that metering is matrix, single frame drive, Auto red-eye flash, Auto exposure mode. The image size is currently Large and quality is Superfine. And we have enough space left on the SD card to take 116 more pictures.

The Auto mode recording options:

(from the Function menu):
Image Resolution 2272x1704, 1600x1200, 1024x768 or 640x480
Image Compression Superfine, Fine, Normal

(from the regular Menu):
Quick Shot Off, On
Selftimer Off, 2 or 10 sec
AF Assist Illuminator On or Off
Digital Zoom On or Off
Review Time Off, 2 or 10 secs

In Manual record mode the icons looks similar to Auto mode but here you can now adjust the exposure compensation, change the white balance, use a Photo Effect, the ISO is settable, you can select Spot metering, disable AiAF or select a slow shutter speed and more.

Manual mode FUNCTION options:

Exposure Mode - Auto, Manual, Night (Long Shutter 1-15 secs), Macro, StitchAssist
Exposure Compensation - Override the metering +/- 2.0EV in 1/3 steps
White Balance - Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom one-push WB set
ISO Sensitivity Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
Effect - Off, Vivid, Neutral, Low Sharpening, Sepia, B&W
Metering - Evaluative, Center, Spot
Image Resolution 2272x1704, 1600x1200, 1024x768 or 640x480
Image Compression Superfine, Fine, Normal

Manual mode MENU options:

Quick Shot Off, On
AiAF - 5-point automatic AF point selection On or Off
Selftimer 2 sec or 10 sec delay time
AF Assist Illuminator On or Off
Digital Zoom On or Off
Review Time Off, 2 or 10 secs

When you half-press the shutter release you will see the active AF points (green rectangles) used for the AF lock. You can also see the effects of the focus illuminator (orange-red beam.)

The StitchAssist Panorama mode aids you via on-screen prompts to achieve the proper overlap of sequential photos for later "stitching" with the PhotoStitch program. You can capture up to 26 images in either left-to-right or right-to-left orientation. After the first picture is taken the white balance and exposure is locked until you exit the StitchAssist mode.   Use of a tripod is required.

The SD10 can record movie clips with audio at 15 frames per second in 640x480, 320x240 or 160x120 resolution. The maximum length of each clip is three minutes in either 320x240 or 160x120 resolution. Movie clips are recorded in Motion JPEG format and saved as AVI files.

Both the video and audio portion of movies can be replayed on the camera thanks to the builtin speaker. Full audio-video playback is also possible when connected to a TV monitor or a compatible PC after downloading.