Performance
While the SX100 gets decent marks overall for
speed, it does have some borderline performance issues that earned it
some ratings demerits. It wakes and shoots in a reasonable two seconds.
Its shutter lag for high and low-contrast scenes -- 0.5 seconds and 1.7
seconds, respectively -- are typical for this class, as is its
1.7-second typical shot-to-shot time.
Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Smaller bars indicate better performance)
(Smaller bars indicate better performance)
 |
Typical shot-to-shot time | |
|
Time to first shot | |
|
Shutter lag (dim) | |
|
Shutter lag (typical) | |
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H3
1.3
1.8
1
0.4
Canon PowerShot S3 IS
1.7
1.5
0.8
0.4
Canon PowerShot S5 IS
1.6
1.3
0.8
0.5
Canon PowerShot SX100 IS
1.7
2
1
0.5
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3
1.3
2.3
1.3
0.6
Fujifilm FinePix S700
3.3
1.3
2.2
0.6
Typical continuous-shooting speed (in frames per second)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3
2.5
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H3
2
Canon PowerShot S5 IS
1.6
Canon PowerShot S3 IS
1.5
Canon PowerShot SX100 IS
0.8
Fujifilm FinePix S700
0.5
However, shot-to-shot time jumps to 4.3 seconds once you
enable the flash, a seriously slow figure we haven't seen for several
years. And burst shooting runs a mere 0.8 frames per second, which
barely exceeds the single-shot shooting speed. Finally, the LCD is
good, but not terrific and not always easy to see in bright sunlight.
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User reviews4
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The Digiman 21 October 2008
Good: Overall picture quality is very good indeed
Bad: Flash recycling time overly long
Comment: Picture quality for me must be the over-riding factor when buying a camera. Handling issues can be irritating, but are usually adaptable.
This Canon's pictures are, in the main, spot on. Excellent sharpness, lovely colour rendition and decent exposures. Other aspects, such as noise and noise suppression appear to have been compromised somewhere near the centre of each - that is to say that at 400 ISO for example, images are noisy, but they do contain much more detail than the Panasonic TZ3/5, one of the main rivals.
In quite low light, shadowy interiors at a recent Dr. Who exhibition, I shot dozens of pictures, all at either 200 or 400 ISO, with handheld shutter speeds as low as 1/8th of a second, and my success rate was very high at some 85% - not a mean feat. Proof indeed that the optical stabiliser works a real treat. The images were sharp and surprisingly detailed, whilst the colour rendition was quite accurate and richly saturated.
My chief gripes are the lower than average LCD resolution, poor flash recycling times and lack of a 28mm wide angle. But you can't have everything, I suppose.
The only other trait is the textured skies - whether they be bright blue or dark grey - even at base ISO. Pity that, but it's not unique to Canon, and isn't that noticable.
Otherwise, a splendid camera at a reasonable price - now that it's discontinued in favour of the SX110 IS. Grab yourself a little gem.
Quan Pham 31 August 2008
Good: Compact, good image quality, price
Bad: Poor at 10x zoom mode, LCD has nothing but 3 inches size
Comment: If you wanna take a shot outdoor, you definitely get a very suitable camera with good image quality and considerably low price. But you should be desperate with image quality when you take a shot indoor or in poor light condition, it really makes me down! They said that it has image stabilizer, but in 10x zoom mode, you can sense that such a thing doesn't exist!!! Image quality in 10x zoom dramatically decreases, unbelievable bad!!! It's just like you have to take a shot sitting on a wash machine and under heavy mist!!!
NP 21 November 2007
Good: Excellent digital zoom and micro focus; great color outdoors
Bad: Outrageously long flash recharge time
Comment: This is a great camera for natural good light photography. The problems start in poor light or indoors. Despite all the manual settings and the ability to force a low ASA, pictures without the flash in poor light or indoors are very grainy. It takes the camera about 1.5 seconds to take focus and take a picture with the flash on and about 10-12 to recharge afterwards. This means it is pretty useless for anything other than posed shots. It just takes too long to recharge for anything else.
See all 4 user reviews