I decided to pick up the new Canon Powershot A1000IS in NYC last night. It wasn't an easy decision for me. I was actually going back and forth between two canon models: the Powershot A1000IS and the Powershot A590IS. I stayed until the store was on the verge of closing before I finally made my decision. I had studied up on the A590is, reading every review and looking at all the sample footage I could find, but little is out there at the time of this writing on the Canon A1000IS other than the technical specs released from Canon. The Powershot A1000IS was just released just a few weeks ago.
The salesman at the store, a knowledgeable camera guy named Michael, tried to steer me in the direction of the Canon Powershot A590IS. His reasons for the A590IS? Larger, better lens (in terms of Aperture), full manual controls, lower price, better overall value.
I can't dispute any of these key arguing points. I am a fan of the Canon A590IS, yet I chose A1000IS.
Why would I go with a camera that has not been tested, you ask? 30fps video capabilities had a lot to do with the decision to go with the A1000IS over the A590. The A590IS only shoots 20fps video quality. Since my DSLR doesn't shoot any video, I wanted any point and shoot I picked up to have decent video quality. I also knew I wanted to get a canon.
I own a Nikon D40 DSLR, and love it. I'm not a particularly great photographer, but I like to at least try to get a decent shot. Obviously, the Nikon has full manual controls and a great starter lens; yet I still felt like I was missing out because it--like most DSLRs--does not record video.
There have been occasions where I suddenly found myself walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and other fantastic places without my D40, so I knew it was time for a secondary camera. The Nikon is small in terms of an SLR, but is still too big to carry around everywhere without a backpack or something to carry it in. Some times I like to walk the earth without a backpack.
When you say “manual controls,” the first thing people think of is the ability to manual focus, plus the ability to control shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. This camera, unlike its predecessors in the powershot A-series (A590IS included), will not let you manipulate these photographic variables with such freedom.
The A1000IS does have program mode, however. From this setting, you can access burst mode shooting, exposure compensation, white balance controls, ISO settings to 1600 (although I found the 1600 setting to be too grainy), a very useful “my color” setting that allows you to switch from default mode to vivid, neutral, sepia, black and white or custom.
So do I miss the full manual controls offered on the A590IS? Not really.
I think canon eliminated these controls from the Powershot series because of the need for a smaller footprint. When they went in this direction, they assumed one of two things:
A) people who are going to buy the A-series may already own a DSLR for their more creative photographic work
B) the people who were buying the Powershot A-series cameras weren't using these Aperture and Shutter priority modes very often, not to mention manual focus.
Most of the time I leave my Nikon D40 in program mode. The controls I usually play with are White Balance and Exposure Compensation. If I'm trying to shoot sports I'll play with shutter speed, or if I'm trying to blur on purpose I'll use a slower shutter, but overall I leave my SLR in auto focus and in program mode, so I came to the conclusion that Powershot A1000is seemed like it would be capable of everything I would need it to do.
Size: this model is noticeably smaller than the Canon A590is. Although their weights are similar, the A1000is a little thinner.
One possible disappointment already: does it have time lapse, like the sd1100 that i returned in exchange for this camera? I guess not.
The SD1100 had some funky results in indoor lighting for my taste, YMMV however.
The two-tone look of the A1000 camera is nice. I was actually a big fan of the look of the A590IS, with its plastic-looking gun metal gray appearance. The A590IS looked very durable. The A1000IS feels more metallic like one of the digital elph cameras. I opted for the gray model of the Powershot A1000IS, although I walked in thinking I'd get the brown. They a1000 also comes in blue or purple. There are some nice chrome touches around the lens and shutter that gives the camera a high-quality look to it.
The tripod mount is plastic instead of metal. Would have been nice for canon to make it metal instead, since I do plan on mounting this puppy to my bike to do some experiments riding through NYC streets.
Gone is the switch that used to separate playback mode from shooting mode. Canon replaced it with a “play” button that rests near where you thumb would rest if you were shooting with the index finger of your right hand. Some of the navigation buttons are hard to press at times.
I liked the grip of the a590is because it reminded me of my Nikon D40, but the grip of the A1000 is just fine, although it is less pronounced than the A590IS. I think this is a byproduct of Canon trying to minimize the size of the Powershot as much as possible. The A1000 doesn't feel like it will slip out of your hand while shooting, but with the a590is you “know” the camera isn't going anywhere thanks to it's excellent grip. Still, the A1000IS feels great in your hands, and it isn't too small for people who have big hands.
I think Canon improved upon the flash recycle time on the A1000IS. At least it seemed that way to me. I think most of the reviews looked favorably on the A590IS, with a few minor gripes such as the slow flash recycle time associated with any battery that uses 1.5V AA batteries as its power supply. The A1000IS still isn't nearly as fast as my Nikon, but it did seem faster than the A590IS in the shop.
The 2.5” LCD on the back is little more than acceptable. I'm used to the rich, vibrant color of my Nikon D40, so although the LCD on the A1000 is going to do its job and tell you if you got the shot you need or if you need to re-shoot, the screen still leaves something to be desired for a 10 megapixel camera.
One thing I haven't been able to do with the A1000IS is shoot in video mode with the LCD off so as not to attract extra attention. Whether this is possible or not is yet to be determined.
Battery life: the camera shipped with two alkalines. I shot about 200 shots (maybe half of which were with flash) and about six high-res videos, and then they conked out in the first day. I'm hoping nickel metal hydrides and/or lithiums will do better than 200 shots.
A fellow customer, a lady in the return room was shocked i was returning the SD1100IS. Did I make the right decision? Time will tell.
Will try to update with some video, neither youtube nor blogger would accept the videos I shot, probably because they're too long to upload.
