Digital Trends

Canon Powershot TX1 April 10th, 2007 | by Jason Tomczak

Setup and Use

As if I wasn't happy enough with just having the TX1 in my possession, I was even more satisfied by the simple setup process. After opening the surprisingly small TX1 packaging, I found all the aforementioned contents neatly arranged in such a fashion that the critical setup items were closest to my grasp. I removed the TX1 from its plastic wrap and set it on my desk. Next, I popped the super thin battery into the wall charger and plugged it in. I then gave the camera a good, close inspection, checking out all the buttons and controls, the battery and SD/MMC card compartments, etc.

Once the battery had charged sufficiently (about an hour), I slipped it into the battery bay on the bottom of the TX1, then inserted a high speed Sandisk Ultra II 4GB SD HC memory card, perfect for use with the high-data-rate HD recording produced by the TX1.

After a secondary search to find the power button (top left of the body), I powered the camera up. My first impression - "Wow! The power button lights up when the TX1 is on!" A neat feature, for sure.

My second impression -"Hmm, that screen is pretty small." True, the TX1 has a small 4:3 LCD screen (1.8 inches), but this is due to the terribly obvious fact that the TX1 is a very compact camera. And for those who say "size doesn't matter," you're absolutely right - about the TX1. The TX1's LCD screen produces beautiful and crisp images with amazing color quality for a camcorder screen. The LCD screen also rotates 270 degrees for easy viewing at many angles. It may be too small for some people, but I found it sufficient.

With the TX1 all prepped and ready to go, I set out to take lots of video and still images.

Caveat

Understand that the TX1 isn't the ultimate HD camcorder on the market. It isn't meant for high-level pro or studio use. Canon has better, more expensive HD camcorders available to professionals. The TX1 is a compact, pocket-sized camcorder that retails for about $499 USD, and it gives very impressive results. It could be used as a worthy substitute for a higher priced HD camcorder, especially by budding videographers and by scores of individuals who want beautiful video for personal and business use.

Recording Modes

All videos are recorded in AVI format. When the TX1 is in 4:3 mode, it records video at 640x480 pixels and at 30 frames per second. With a slight tweak, the TX1 can also record 320x240 video at either 30 frames per second or a dizzying 60 frames per second. Recording at 60 frames per second may not be useful for everyone, but I can imagine that filming fast-moving objects (hummingbirds, a baseball pitcher, a race car, etc.) would render much better. Slowing down the 60 frames per second would also render a cool slow-mo effect.

Approximate file sizes for 4:3 modes are as follows:

• 640x480 30fps 1960 KB/sec approx. 30 min. on 4GB SD card
• 640x480 30fps 1020 KB/sec (LP mode) approx. 56 min. on 4GB SD card
• 320x240 60fps 1370 KB/sec approx. 42 min. on 4GB SD card
• 320x240 30fps 746 KB/sec approx. 75 min. on 4GB SD card

When in 16:9 mode, the TX1 records beautiful video at 1280x720 pixels and 30 frames per second. There's no 60 fps option in 16:9 HD mode, but you'll undoubtedly find that the 16:9 video is quite impressive at 30 fps. When I made my first dozen recordings, I was amazed at how the final video was almost lifelike in quality. I recorded in varying conditions - indoors, outdoors in bright light, outdoors at dusk, in the rain, etc. No matter who, what, where or when I recorded, the video was better than that of previous camcorders.

Approximate file sizes for 16:9 modes are as follows:

• 1280x720 30fps 4480 KB/sec approx. 14 min. on 4GB SD card
• 1280x720 30fps 2280 KB/sec (LP mode) approx. 26 min. on 4GB SD card

Before the TX1 was released by Canon, several tech websites berated the TX1 for its limited recording time. 14-26 minutes of HD content doesn't seem like very much at all, but I think the average camcorder user isn't necessarily going to be recording hour-long videos at a single sitting. If YouTube is any sort of indicator of how long average home-movie clips are, 14-26 minutes of HD may be fine. Of course, 4GB SD HC cards can be found for as little as $40 USD, and 8GB SD HC cards cost $65 to $100 USD. An 8GB card will allow for 28-52 minutes of HD recording.