Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon PowerShot SD1000 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Black)

Having recently ventured into photography as a hobby, I couldnt resist buying the Canon XTi thats received so many positive reviews. After using it for a few weeks, I noticed how the portability factor really becomes an issue - cant take it on a date, cant place it anywhere but around the neck (the summer heat makes it worse)... silly to even bring along on a hike. That being said, I decided to invest on a smaller and more compact camera for all the small everyday moments that I had missed out on with the SLR.

You cant go wrong with the Canon SD1000.

Not wanting to spluge on another camera, the SD1000 is the perfect combination of form, functions, and value. If you're here, you probably already read about its aperture capabilities, ISO (1600!!), and the specs for the photographer in you. So Im going to skip all that and go down to the "goodies".

One thing that immediately wowed me is the motion sensor equipped within the camera. Much like the unrelated iPhone, the SD1000 is able to orient pictures base on the camera's position (vertical/ horizontal). As a bonus, horizontal alignment brings up the time, and vertical brings up the date. You can even change the background color - how cool is that!

Another thing not found on cameras of this price is the color swapping technology. Now I can pretend I have a new paint job on the car! But seriously, being able to concentrate on a single color can really make some shots inspiring and artsy. Canon even allows you to automatically save the original and the tempered one right after the shot is taken.

I simply cant wait to tinker around with the SD1000 thats sitting right next to me, so here ends my review.
You have to try out this camera (Canon's done it again!)

---Great software package too!

Yes, it is small and handy to carry around, easy to use if you just want point and shoot but, my camera has broken for the second time in the 2 1/2 months I have owned it.

The power button has failed for the second time since purchasing the camera in June 2007. I sent it off for repair, and while the people on the phone are very nice, it really doesn't get you anywhere. One email from the tech people said that I would have my camera back in approximately 7 business days, another said approximately 10 days and when I called to check they said they were still waiting on a part. Obviously, those estimates don't mean a thing, and apparently, time at the repair center doesn't mean a thing because I have had my camera back just over a week and it is broken again. I called Canon and they said just send it back for more repair. Great! Here we go again, but hey! I just got off the phone with Amazon and they said they will take the camera back and give me a refund! Thank you Amazon!!

When I started my research to buy a digital camera, I quickly narrowed the models to be considered down to two from Sony and one from Canon.

Unlike most consumers, one of the things that was madatory for me when choosing a digital camera was an optical viewfinder. I also liked the idea of a digital camera that would operate on AA batteries. My megapixel requirement was not very high; 6 megapixels or more was all that I needed.

I checked many resources and reviews of the three cameras online and found that all three were highly rated and well regarded by consumers and experts alike. I was leaning toward a Sony if for no other reason than that I own several Sony products and I am very happy with them all. Once I went to a store to actually see the cameras, I quickly disregarded one of the Sony models because I just did not like the fact that the zoom toggle was on the back of the camera. The other Sony and the Canon have the zoom toggle around the shutter button which I much prefer. The other reason I decided against the Sonys is because they both had very flimsy covers over their A/V and A/C jacks. The plastic covers were so flimsy I was afraid they would soon break even with careful handling. I found no such concerns anywhere on the Canon model.

In the end, I made my choice based on build quality. This Canon camera is well constructed and works great. It does not operate on AA batteries but that's OK by me. It is the smallest of the three cameras I was considering and that was of some concern for me as I would prefer a slightly larger overall camera. But I am very happy with this camera and believe I made a good choice.

I've had the Canon SD1000 for about 2 months now. I am sure glad I decided on the Canon PowerShot SD1000 7.1MP Digital Elph. Nice compact camera.A real solid feel, Excellent photo quality and easy to use. For $200 you can't go wrong! One surprise is how good the video quality is, I didn't consider using it for video when I made the purchase, but I have used the video a lot with excellent results.
The battery last a long time, 200 plus photos before recharging. Get an extra battery!and a slim case.
Buy it you can't go wrong.
Dw

This was my first Canon digital camera, previously I had owned and loved my Minolta 5 mega-pixel but with a vacation coming up I wanted something with a higher resolution and a little smaller. After researching dozens of cameras I settle on the SD1000 with it's mix of features, low price and good reviews. I took it and my Minolta on vacation and took over 200 pictures in the first few days. About halfway through my trip I took out the Canon and took a picture then went to turn it off. The camera refused to retract the lend and made a little grinding noise. The screen displayed the message 'lens error, restart camera'. After trying every combination of buttons to see if there was some trick to get the camera to work again I gave up. I was lucky to have a backup camera on my trip otherwise I would have been left in the cold as this error as it turns out, means the camera must be sent in for service. A gold star goes to Amazon for promptly sending out a replacement and accepting the return on their dime. Canon on the other hand wanted me to pay to ship it back to them and wait until they fixed it.

In terms of the quality of the camera, it seems very good and takes pretty good pictures although I have to say that when I view the 7 mega-pixel images at 100%, they all look slightly grainy, wheres my old Minolta 5 mega-pixel pictures look razor sharp at 100%. The controls are easy to use and the large screen is very helpful. The only feature I wish they had added to this camera is some sort of image stabilization. The pictures taken by this camera in auto mode or manual mode both seem prone to have a very slight blur to them. All in all I'm satisfied with the camera but will have to see if my replacement model suffers the same fate as the original one.