Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon Powershot SD10 4MP Digital Camera (White)
Canon Powershot SD10 4MP Digital Camera (White)
See it at Amazon.com for $399.99Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
a review for the non pictophiles
(4 out of 5) by Mary on May 5, 2005 (California)I'm not really involved in the digital photo scene so this won't be a super technical review.
I purchased this camera because of the size. It's about the size of a mobile phone, smaller than some, larger than others. It fits perfectly in the phone sized pocket of my shoulder bag.
Operation is mostly simple. Power it on with one button, focus and shoot with a different button. The location of these two buttons is pretty ergonomic - they make sense. I haven't taken a single picture with part of my hand shadowing the flash or found any fingers in the shot. In the past 14 months, I've taken over 2500 pictures with this unit and had no fingers in the pictures, so I think that's pretty ergonomic for a small camera.
The zoom is digital which makes it useless - if you zoom in, you can just see bigger pixels, so don't buy it for the zoom, ok?
Manual operation is hit and miss. Some of the settings I've found to be superior to the default point and shoot mode but for the most part I think you're better off using it in automatic mode. For one thing, it's really hard to find a setting where you can turn the flash off without leaving the shutter open forever. That means I can't use the camera in many museums because most restrict the use of a flash. Of course, a DIY fix for that would be to cover the flash securely with something like electrical tape, but I really don't like the idea of that.
Battery life is long, if you use the actual Canon batteries. I purchased a couple of aftermarket batteries and they only last for a couple hours of turn on, take a couple photos, turn off and repeat. So for vacation when you really need to rely on a spare, buy an actual Canon battery. It's worth the extra dough.
The case that comes with the unit is quite nice. You shouldn't need to spend more $ to buy another one. I don't like the velcro on the case so much because it gets stuck on the little camera strap and makes the strap look all scuzzy, but maybe you can find a better strap. Any cell phone strap could be used. Try to find one that will fit around your hand for security. I've dropped the unit once and it's okay so far but I wouldn't want to risk any damage.
The battery charger is small - no cord. On the US model it plugs into any two prong outlet. Doesn't work well on a power strip because it has a large footprint. But on a regular double outlet with a normal plug in one, this charger will fit just fine in the other outlet. On a totally dead battery it takes about 35 minutes to fully charge it.
The manual is descriptive. Keep it handy when you're getting started. Don't just use the quick start guide. You'll want to know how to use those manual settings from time to time. Take it with you on vacation.
Video mode is okay. The mic is quite sensitive - better than I had suspected. You won't get a particularly large image but you can find video editing programs that will enable you to enhance the video you record. For fun little snippets to send to friends via e-mail, which is what I wanted, it's great.
Sorting through the images and videos is extra simple. Deleting unwanted images is just as simple. Be careful, or you might delete something you meant to keep.
The unit does come with a 16mb SD card but that's too small for use in reality. Go to the store and buy a 256 or a 512 MB card and you'll be able to take way more pictures than your battery will allow. You should not need more than one 512 for a 10 day vacation. Seriously. I like that it uses SD cards because they're still quite easy to find. And unlike other camera brands, you can buy any brand SD card.
I can tell you that some SD cards are faster than others, which will affect your between snapshot time more than the camera itself. I'm using a PNY card and it's much faster than the card that came with the camera. Unfortunately, most of those cards are made by 2 or 3 manufacturers and then rebranded by the sellers. If you feel that it takes too long to take one photo after another, try a different card. Don't blame the camera.
There is a cable included to directly connect the camera to a device. You could use that but honestly I think it's easier to take the card out and insert into a card reader. Many computers have them built in. If yours doesn't, you can buy a reader at any electronics retailer for about $9-30 depending on how many types of cards it can read. All you need is SD reader.
Would I buy this camera again? Yes I think so. It's not everything I wanted but almost everything. 4MP is still nothing to sneeze at - the images are quite good. Usually the only modifications I have to make are to orient the photos 90 degrees(I take a lot of portrait shaped pictures, which default to view sideways when you look at them on your computer.)
Buy with confidence and enjoy this little thing. Every time I use it people still say "wow it's such a small camera!" If that's important to you, you'll really like it.
I purchased this camera because of the size. It's about the size of a mobile phone, smaller than some, larger than others. It fits perfectly in the phone sized pocket of my shoulder bag.
Operation is mostly simple. Power it on with one button, focus and shoot with a different button. The location of these two buttons is pretty ergonomic - they make sense. I haven't taken a single picture with part of my hand shadowing the flash or found any fingers in the shot. In the past 14 months, I've taken over 2500 pictures with this unit and had no fingers in the pictures, so I think that's pretty ergonomic for a small camera.
The zoom is digital which makes it useless - if you zoom in, you can just see bigger pixels, so don't buy it for the zoom, ok?
Manual operation is hit and miss. Some of the settings I've found to be superior to the default point and shoot mode but for the most part I think you're better off using it in automatic mode. For one thing, it's really hard to find a setting where you can turn the flash off without leaving the shutter open forever. That means I can't use the camera in many museums because most restrict the use of a flash. Of course, a DIY fix for that would be to cover the flash securely with something like electrical tape, but I really don't like the idea of that.
Battery life is long, if you use the actual Canon batteries. I purchased a couple of aftermarket batteries and they only last for a couple hours of turn on, take a couple photos, turn off and repeat. So for vacation when you really need to rely on a spare, buy an actual Canon battery. It's worth the extra dough.
The case that comes with the unit is quite nice. You shouldn't need to spend more $ to buy another one. I don't like the velcro on the case so much because it gets stuck on the little camera strap and makes the strap look all scuzzy, but maybe you can find a better strap. Any cell phone strap could be used. Try to find one that will fit around your hand for security. I've dropped the unit once and it's okay so far but I wouldn't want to risk any damage.
The battery charger is small - no cord. On the US model it plugs into any two prong outlet. Doesn't work well on a power strip because it has a large footprint. But on a regular double outlet with a normal plug in one, this charger will fit just fine in the other outlet. On a totally dead battery it takes about 35 minutes to fully charge it.
The manual is descriptive. Keep it handy when you're getting started. Don't just use the quick start guide. You'll want to know how to use those manual settings from time to time. Take it with you on vacation.
Video mode is okay. The mic is quite sensitive - better than I had suspected. You won't get a particularly large image but you can find video editing programs that will enable you to enhance the video you record. For fun little snippets to send to friends via e-mail, which is what I wanted, it's great.
Sorting through the images and videos is extra simple. Deleting unwanted images is just as simple. Be careful, or you might delete something you meant to keep.
The unit does come with a 16mb SD card but that's too small for use in reality. Go to the store and buy a 256 or a 512 MB card and you'll be able to take way more pictures than your battery will allow. You should not need more than one 512 for a 10 day vacation. Seriously. I like that it uses SD cards because they're still quite easy to find. And unlike other camera brands, you can buy any brand SD card.
I can tell you that some SD cards are faster than others, which will affect your between snapshot time more than the camera itself. I'm using a PNY card and it's much faster than the card that came with the camera. Unfortunately, most of those cards are made by 2 or 3 manufacturers and then rebranded by the sellers. If you feel that it takes too long to take one photo after another, try a different card. Don't blame the camera.
There is a cable included to directly connect the camera to a device. You could use that but honestly I think it's easier to take the card out and insert into a card reader. Many computers have them built in. If yours doesn't, you can buy a reader at any electronics retailer for about $9-30 depending on how many types of cards it can read. All you need is SD reader.
Would I buy this camera again? Yes I think so. It's not everything I wanted but almost everything. 4MP is still nothing to sneeze at - the images are quite good. Usually the only modifications I have to make are to orient the photos 90 degrees(I take a lot of portrait shaped pictures, which default to view sideways when you look at them on your computer.)
Buy with confidence and enjoy this little thing. Every time I use it people still say "wow it's such a small camera!" If that's important to you, you'll really like it.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
my new toy
(5 out of 5) by cherryosity on Feb 5, 2004 (Los Angeles, CA)i used to own a canon powershot s300 digital elph and i loved it. i gave it to my parents so that they could get into the digital age. so i researched different cameras and i kept coming to the sd10. a lot of the reviews said that the one flaw it had was no viewfinder. i don't really care for it. i never used the viewfinder on my s300. im not a professional photographer. i love the size of this camera. it's the same size as my driver's license! i love the clarity and the quick shot feature. it used to take forever to take a picture because of the shutter. now i don't miss a shot!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Photos have great color & clarity. Optical zoom not a big deal.
(5 out of 5) by smoothblues on Jul 21, 2005 (Austin, TX USA)I recently took this lil cam on a trip overseas and am extremely happy with the pictures that it took. Color and clarity are top notch, what I expect from Canon. It's very compact and easy to carry around. Just be sure it's in a safe pocket or bag, you wouldn't want to leave it behind.
The SD10 does lack optical zoom, which is advantageous in some ways. It's easier to use (no zoom controls to fiddle with) so strangers can just point & shoot in those situations when you want a picture of yourself. "Zoom with your feet". Not having to fiddle with zoom controls also makes for quicker shooting. Use a paint program afterwards to crop what you want to keep in the pic.
This isn't a replacement for a full-sized digicam. But it sure gives them a run for their money. I wouldn't take any other cam on a long trip. The charger is universal 100-240v 50/60Hz, so no power converter is necessary (just a plug adapter depending on where you're going).
The SD10 does lack optical zoom, which is advantageous in some ways. It's easier to use (no zoom controls to fiddle with) so strangers can just point & shoot in those situations when you want a picture of yourself. "Zoom with your feet". Not having to fiddle with zoom controls also makes for quicker shooting. Use a paint program afterwards to crop what you want to keep in the pic.
This isn't a replacement for a full-sized digicam. But it sure gives them a run for their money. I wouldn't take any other cam on a long trip. The charger is universal 100-240v 50/60Hz, so no power converter is necessary (just a plug adapter depending on where you're going).
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
WOW
(5 out of 5) by Amazon Customer on Jul 14, 2004I just got my camra today! It's the cutest thing ever. It's smaller than the rest of the camra's on the market. The 4.0 mega pix is a plus too! WOW I love it. It's smaller than my cell phone. You should get it too!
Love this little gadget!
(5 out of 5) by Evan Kleiman on Dec 2, 2004 (Newtown, PA USA)While it's not necessarily the best camera for professional photography, it is awesome for everday shots. Being only a bit larger than a cellphone, its sleek size really does the trick to slip in your pocket, and it really impresses people to boot. The only problem is a lack of a viewfinder, but you get used to that quick.