Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon PowerShot SX10 IS Digital Camera - Black (10MP, 20x Optical Zoom) 2.5 inch Vari-angle LCD

My son bought one in Australia before he and his family started their European/American holiday. The results were emailed to me from various capital cities and I was incredibly impressed. When he got to England I tried using it and being a lifelong Canon user I decided that I would buy one. I am absolutely delighted with it. The 28 to 500mm lens with the image stabliser is just what I need at my advanced age, the results from all the modes are vary very good and the ability to print A4 (my printer's limit) is good enough for camera club competitions. My husband is delighted because he not longer has to carry two camera bodies and three lenses for me!

This camera replaced my old Minolta Z1 (3.1MP). The zoom is incredible, and close-ups, portraits, medium-distance shots are pretty much perfect.
Get this machine OFF of auto, and spend a few days playing, and the rewards come thick and fast.

BATTERY LIFE
Despite another review here - battery life is NOT an issue, the SX10 seems to keep going and going on one set (4xAA)of batteries.
If you keep a spare set of recharged batteries in a pouch of your camera case, you would have to be snapping away ALL weekend, hundreds of shots, movies etc - and STILL you possibly wouldn't need the spare set! - faultless.

BUILD
A chunky, heavy camera - nothing feels cheap - but then neither should it.

CAN IT ACCURATELY DUPLICATE THOSE TRICKY, ARTY, TECHNICALLY DIFFICULT SHOTS?
No. Sorry, but NO!
My old Minotla was far superior - throw anything at it, against the sun, distance focus on a receeding tide - whatever, and only the canon's superior MP count shows itself (unneccessarily most the time). Big MPs do not equal good photos.
This camera is an excellent super-snapper, but don't trust it with anything too important!

There's a bit of shutter lag, which I was warned about, with these lower priced digital cameras, but on the whole, it is a lot of fun and a real joy to use. Comes as advertised. Not at all disappointed.

The PowerShot SX10 IS seems to fit all my requirements. Lots of functions and quick reaction to pressing the shutter. I had a Powershot A80 before which was great apart from the slow shutter which meant you missed the action because of the delayed shutter click. I also like the swivel view finder which allows you to hold the camera above your head, ideal in crowded places or tight angles and still make a decent composition.

A wonderful Zoom lens and an excellent camera generally. Minor criticisms:
no Manual - has to be downloaded from the PC - fiddling small AA batteries instead of rechargeable Lithium.