BOTTOM LINE:
With each generation, Canon makes the ELPH series easier to use and still get great results. Like it's predecessors, this one fits easily into your pocket (or the case I recommend toward the end of this review). That point alone may make this the best camera you own; having a $5k DSLR doesn't do you much good if you left it home because it wasn't worth the effort to lug it along.
However, unlike many other small cameras, this one does not sacrifice either features or quality. Well, it does give up on any reasonable manual control, things like setting shutter speed, lens aperture, ISO. What access you do have to that level of control is buried deep inside menus. It took Canon a while to realize that for most of us, if we wanted to fool with that kind of thing on a regular basis, we would be using a different camera. This camera is designed to leverage convenience over extreme control or nth degree quality.
DETAILS:
It is a small camera and carries with it the baggage that comes with the convenience of having to carry so little baggage. (sorry, couldn't resist) None of the issues raised, given that they comes as part of the convenience trade-off made me consider anything other than the 5-star rating this camera deserves.
One issue with all small cameras is the built-in flash. They are all underpowered and create red eye. Both problems are caused by the need to keep the camera small; the flash needs to be small and positioned close to the lens. Canon addresses it by putting in some really good noise reduction so you (actually the camera) can shoot at a relatively high ISO in low light allowing for a faster shutter speed. The result is an image that is both low noise and not blurry. And the best part is the camera takes care of all that so you don't have to. As a result you can take pictures in a well lit room without having to use the flash at all.
- The shutter response, as with any small digital camera for less that $500, is a bit slow for effectively capturing children and pets. The trick for doing that is to either have a great sense of timing and a shutter that reacts instantly or a reasonably fast ( > 4x / sec ) burst mode. This camera has neither.
Some other suggestions that apply:
Normally at this point I would put in some details about manually setting ISO or selecting a color space. However, for this camera it just isn't relevant. You are buying this camera because you want to take great pictures without having to worry about that stuff. If you do want to "take your photography to the next level then a great resource is the Confessions of a Compact Camera Shooter: Get Professional Quality Photos with Your Compact Camera.
Finally, I've found the Caselogic QPB-1 Compact Digital Camera Case (Black/Gray) is just the right size for this camera. It's semi-rigid so you get a fair amount of protection but doesn't add a lot of bulk. It's made even better by using one of these, Nite Ize SB1-2PK-01 Size-1 S-Biner, Black, 2-Pack, to secure it to a belt loop. Canon PowerShot ELPH 100 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 4X Optical Zoom (Silver)
Just received my Canon ELPH 100 HS {orange} and I absolutely love it. The camera boots up almost instantly. Installed a 16GB SDHC class 10 card and now have 5000+ 12MB photo capacity or 60 minutes for HD video. The image stabilization at max digital zoom 4X4/16x works great! The camera easily fits in my pocket and is very light @ ~5 ounces.
The Canon's Digic 4 processor & CMOS sensor make this camera truly point and shoot. By default it automatically selects the light level, shaking, target focus, shutter speed, flash/noflash and ISO to pick the optimal scene type. Perfect pictures virtually every time when button is correctly pressed 1/2 way (1) before fully in (2) for photo shot. But be sure to get a class 10 card for the best video.
The only 2 minor problems I believe are:
1) It comes with a 700 mAh 3.7 Volt battery instead of the 1400 mAh 3.7 OEM version which doubles it run-time for 230 photos to almost 500 pictures per charge. This is easily fixed when ordering additional batteries just get the larger mAh capacity ones.
2) The CameraWindow transfer software doesn't automatically delete pictures after they are transferred. Some people like this as not to delete photos improperly transferred.(I do not). Some camera blogs suggest a quick format after transfer is the way to quickly delete photos/video after successful transfer.
However, this is the best point and shoot camera I have used and I still think it's a 5 star camera @ $199 MSRP.
I normally use a Nikon D50 which takes great photos, Im no professional but really enjoy taking pictures of my toddler. Well he broke my Nikon and I sent to see if it could be fixed but wanted to point and shoot because they come in really handy! I reviewed what felt like a million cameras, I touched them and felt them and shot pictures with them and hated every single one! I hadnt seen this one online (cause there werent any reviews) but I went to Shutterbug and they had it, I tried it out and loved it! I've had it for a few weeks and I use it everyday! Pictures always turn out amazing! Our house kinda has crappy lighting and its a major problem with pictures, this camera takes the best pictures by far! (not super grainy looking like others) I also wanted to camera that shoots video. I dont use it to shoot professional quality video but Im impressed! Alot better then my last point and shoot. Also my video does autofocus on video mode, so the other viewer might have had a faulty one cause mine does great. I wasnt looking to spend $200 but I'd do it again in a heart beat!
Pros:
powers on so quick
Picture quality
Picture speed (amazing)
low light pictures
video!
Cons:
....nada'
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