Canon PowerShot A1100IS – Simple to operate

Canon PowerShot A1100IS is the successor to the A1000 IS and the new model comes with a higher 12 megapixels sensor with Canon’s Digic 4 image processor. Apart from that, there are more options here like advanced face detection and Smart Auto which is Canon’s system of automatic scene recognition. Canon PowerShot A1100IS is available in 4 2-tones colors – green, pink, blue and gray. The camera has high end looks than what the price says. On the right, there is nice curve for giving you steady grip for shooting with one hand. Things might get bulky due to this but the camera will easily fit in to your pants pocket. The LCD screen is small when you compare it with what other cameras in the market have but it is also one of the rare Canon compact cameras to have an optical viewfinder. This viewfinder is a bit small and uncomfortable to use but it will certainly come in handy when you shoot in bright sunlight.

You can turn off the LCD for saving battery life. Battery juice is really important if you are using alkaline batteries as you don’t get a lot of time. I would recommend you to get a couple of NiMH batteries; they will let you shoot for more time.
On the top of the Canon PowerShot A1100IS, there is a power button along with mode dial with ten shooting options. Apart from that, the shutter release along with zoom ring is also located here. You will find the standard modes like Easy (auto without any options), Auto, P (which is Program), and the Movie modes and along with that the manufacturer has given 5 popular scene selections including (Indoor, Portrait, Landscape) and also SCN choice for accessing the settings that are less frequently used like Aquarium, Long Shutter and Sunset. This makes the mode dial look a bit complicated but it is really simple. On the back, there is directional pad along with 6 buttons for playback and shooting functions but even new users will get a good hang of it quickly.

The performance of Canon PowerShot A1100IS is good for this class but it feels too slow for regular use. It takes two seconds for the camera to switch on and start shooting. Shot to shot timing is of 2.1 seconds which is good for this class. But it was frustrated by the average wait time of 6.6 seconds.