Digital Trends

Canon PowerShot SD1000

April 8th, 2007 | by David Elrich

Features and Design

The SD1000 is a very compact camera (3.38” wide x 2.11” high x .76” diameter), and it weighs a feathery five ounces with battery and SD card. Hold this one in your hand and you’ll be amazed — it is really small. Canon sent us a camera with a black circle in the silver box; I liked it, since it’s such a throwback. For those with different tastes, the company has one with a silver-toned circle. It’s your call. Within the circle is the 3x Canon zoom lens with the traditional focal length of 35-105mm (in 35mm terms). The front has a flash, mic, AF Assist sensor, and a peephole for the optical viewfinder, something rarely found these days — especially on cameras this small. You’ll also find a lot of text detailing the lens, model number, and so on. This really takes away from the minimalist look Canon was trying to achieve. Some judicious editing would’ve helped.

On the top, you’ll find the power on/off key and a shutter button, as well as the wide/tele adjustment. It’s in a good spot, and there’s little fumbling while zooming in and out. This switch also helps to navigate through the menu system.

The rear of the SD1000 is dominated by a 2.5-inch LCD screen to frame your shots and review them. It’s rated 230k pixels. As noted earlier, the camera has an optical viewfinder. This can be a lifesaver if you’re shooting in bright sunshine that directly hits the screen. That said, the screen was a bit slow (with blur) when moving to snap new subjects, and it was definitely not as good as Sony’s top-of-the-line screens.

Since this is a point-and-forget camera, there is a minimal amount of buttons. To the right of the screen are the usual buttons, including a four-way controller with set button, one to change the display onscreen (grid lines are available), one to enter the menu system, and the main mode switch that moves between still, video, and playback. There’s no mode dial, so you have to use the menu system to make adjustments. It’s well thought out and a breeze to follow (other than having to drill down a level to find the shutter speed adjustment). Your other manual adjustments are exposure compensation, white balance, and type of metering, so if you want anything beyond this, look elsewhere. But advanced tweaks are not the raison d’etre of this camera. It’s designed for snapshots — of people and things— and to be carried around all the time.

On the right side is a small compartment for the USB and A/V outputs. On the bottom are the tripod mount and the compartment for the battery and SD card. As we said, this camera is pretty simple and easy to understand.

The SD1000 comes with the usual assortment of accessories to get you started. It even comes with a puny 32MB SD card. You can probably ask your dealer to toss in a larger one for free if you’re shopping in person (don’t be afraid to ask). There’s a battery/charger, wrist strap, USB and A/V cables, and CD ROM software (Canon Digital Camera Solution Disc Ver. 30.0). You’ll also get basic and advanced user manuals, along with a Direct Print user guide. You’ll be up and going in no time; we were too, and it was time to start shooting.

The Canon SD1000 w/retro black ring (also available w/ a silver ring).