Canon Powershot SX1 IS Features

The Canon Powershot SX1 IS is a 10 megapixel digital camera with a 20x optical zoom lens. The lens has a focal length equivalent to 28 - 560mm. Extra zoom becomes available when shooting at lower resolutions. 4x digital zoom is a further option.

Basics

Image Stabilisation
Self Timer: 2 or 10 seconds, Custom or Face Self-Timer
Hotshoe
Remote Control
Sound Memo: Up to 60 sec per image
Red-Eye Correction: During shooting and playback
Colour Effects: Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom Color, Color Accent, Color Swap
Special resolution for widescreen television playback
Stitch Assist: For panoramic shots
CMOS Sensor Size: 1/2.3 inches

Focusing Options

Manual focusing is available and you also have access to AF servo to track moving objects. Focus bracketing is another option you can use. For close up work the Powershot SX1 IS can focus from right next to the subject..

Flip Out and Twist LCD and Viewfinder

The LCD monitor is 2.8 inches in size. The screen is made up of around 230,000 dots. You can also pull the screen away from the camera body and twist it round to help with any awkward viewing angles.

The Powershot SX1 IS also has an electronic viewfinder. The viewfinder has Dioptre Correction. This allows you to adjust the viewfinder to suit your eyesight.

Flash

The flash modes are: automatic, on and off. You can also apply slow sync speed and red eye reduction. In addition flash exposure compensation and flash exposure lock are available. You can also adjust the intensity of the flash. Second Curtain Synchronisation is available too.

The maximum flash range is 4.8m. This falls to 2.6m when the zoom lens is fully extended. To increase the range of the flash unit you can buy an external flash - the Canon High Power Flash HF-DC1. The Powershot SX1 IS is compatible with a range of Canon speedlites.

Scene Modes

There are a number of preset scene modes. These are: Portrait, Landscape, Night Snapshot, Sports, Indoor, Night Scene, Sunset, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Long Shutter and Aquarium.

Movies

You can shoot short, HD quality movies with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The top recording speed is 30 frames per second. Sound can be recorded and zoom can be applied during shooting.

Advanced Features

Among the more advanced features are:

Exposure Modes: Program AE, Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual, Custom
Burst Mode: 4 frames per second
Continuous Shooting: Approx. 1.2 shots/sec until card full
White Balance: White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash, Custom
ISO Sensitivity: AUTO, High ISO Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Shutter Speeds: 15 to 1/3200 seconds
Exposure Compensation: +/- 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments
AE Lock
Maximum Aperture: f/2.8 - f/5.7
Bracketing: 1/3 - 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments
Metering Modes: Multi Point, Centre-weighted average, Spot