Canon EOS 7D

Canon basically ceded the entry level pro performance market to Nikon in 2005 with the arrival of the D200 since then, Canon's 30D, 40D, and 50D have taken the slower but less expensive road, with a relatively stagnant AF system, which Nikon leapfrogged. But with entirely new AF and metering systems, a new high resolution eight channel readout sensor coupled with dual Digic 4 image processors and a new 100 percent coverage viewfinder, plus 1080p video capture, Canon EOS 7D looks like an aggressive attempt to make a comeback.

In addition to a body only version, Canon sells Canon EOS 7D in a kit with the 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS lens (44.8-216mm equivalent). One of the heavier single grip dSLRs available, there are no radical design departures in Canon EOS 7D but there are tons of subtle, and a few conspicuous, interface changes that greatly enhance the fluidity of the camera's operation. The new viewfinder is great, comparable with that of the D300s big and bright, with an optional overlay grid.

It's also slightly more comfortable than the D300s' because of the larger eyecup. Adding to its traditional array of buttons for metering, white balance, autofocus, drive mode, ISO sensitivity, and flash compensation Canon EOS 7D now includes an M-Fn button used to cycle through the AF point options, plus Canon brings the LCD illumination button into action for registering the orientation linked AF points. Unfortunately, the buttons are very difficult to differentiate by feel, and the M-Fn and illumination buttons are even smaller and harder to use than the others.

Following trends in consumer dSLR design, Canon EOS 7D now also has an interactive control panel for changing frequently accessed settings, called up with the Q button. Canon went from very few AF options to a gazillion in one model. Of course, there's the veteran full automatic AF selection. Spot AF is a subarea of the traditional single point AF, and for both of these you can choose from any of the 19 AF points. AF point expansion uses the three or four (depending upon location) points surrounding the chosen one.

Zone AF is similar to AF point expansion in that it allows you to define clumps of points in the center, top, bottom, or sides of the full AF area, but in contrast to expansion, where you still choose the primary focus point and it only uses the other points if the subject moves, the camera automatically chooses points from within the defined zone. The bulk of these are really designed to improve focus tracking during continuous shooting, and, much like Nikon's AF system, you have to think very carefully about matching the AF choice with the shooting situation or you can end up with surprising results.

Ditto for the flexible global and lens specific micro-adjustment tools, which it carries over from the higher end models. Very few users need all of these options, and Canon provides a solid interface for enabling or disabling the choices to minimize on the fly confusion. In Live View mode you have three AF options Live mode (contrast AF), face detect Live mode AF, or Quick AF (the "traditional" faster Live View AF, which uses the faster phase detection scheme but requires more mirror flipping).

Canon Vixia HV30

Canon Vixia HV30's user interface is similar to that of Canon point and shoot cameras like the PowerShot SD790 IS. It's flat, uses big block text, and has only four colors. The menus are drab compared with those of the Sony and Samsung camcorders, which are projected over images on colorful touch screens in a way that gives them a 3D feeling. What's worse, Canon Vixia HV30, unlike the hard drive based Sony or JVC Everio GZ-HD10, can bog you down with its in video navigation.

You can't jump through recorded video via DVD style chapter menus, but instead need to fast forward and rewind manually to get to the spot you're looking for on the miniDV tape. For some people, though, tape based recording is preferable. If you're the kind of person who will rarely have your camcorder cross paths with your computer, then the miniDV format of Canon Vixia HV30 isn't a major drawback. MiniDV requires much less maintenance than drive based camcorders do.

When you run out of room on a tape (each one holds 60 to 120 minutes of video, depending on quality), you just slap in a new one in and you're good to go. Once the memory on, say, the Sony HD-SR11 is full, you have transfer the video to your computer before you can shoot more. Image quality in video produced by Canon Vixia HV30 was terrific. The only flaw was that, like the Samsung SC-HMZ20C and JVC Everio GZ-HD10, Canon Vixia HV30 produced images that showed a trace amount of purple fringing in high contrast areas (where ceiling lights meet dark ceilings, for example), but the fringing was not as pronounced as with the other two models.

(Sony's HDR-SR11, on the other hand, showed no fringing whatsoever.) When moving from indoor to outdoor lighting, Canon Vixia HV30 had no trouble auto adjusting white balance, so colors always looked accurate. Even though it doesn't feature face detection, as the Samsung and the Sony do, the camcorder was still quick to autofocus on faces. Images were sharp, too 0.75 inch text was legible on screen in footage that was shot from more than 10 feet away. Canon Vixia HV30 has some interesting recording options. It can capture 1.920 by 1.080 high def video in three different modes 60 fps interlaced, 30 fps progressive, and 24 fps progressive.

Thirty fps, the speed at which many TV shows are shot, is great for extracting frames from the video to use as still images. The 24 fps option simulates motion captured on film a very cool effect. In test video shot at 24 fps, the on camera motion did look noticeably different than in comparable 60 fps video. Video editing software isn't included. Canon's bundled "Digital Video Solutions Disc" is misleadingly titled at best. The software doesn't capture video, only still images. The camcorder's HDV video format, though, is compatible with many third party video editing programs.

Mac users can rely on Apple's iMovie '08 (included on newer Macs running Leopard), and PC users should turn to Microsoft's Movie Maker 6 (part of Windows Vista). The top of the camcorder houses a slot Canon calls the "Accessory Shoe." Canon branded accessories, such as lights and shotgun stereo microphones, can snap onto this slot to add more functionality to Canon Vixia HV30. You may not need an extra mic, though. Sound produced by the built in stereo recording on the HV30 was superb not as outstanding as the Sony HD-SR11's built in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround recording, but remarkable nonetheless.

Canon PowerShot SD880 IS

The 10 megapixel PowerShot SD880 IS Digital Elph is the follow up to the popular SD870 IS, and what a worthy successor it is. It's capable of producing truly excellent pictures for a camera of its size and it has nice components for a sub $300 model including a wide angle lens and optical image stabilization. There are a couple weaknesses, but nothing that keeps it from being an excellent point and shoot camera.

At 6.3 ounces and measuring 3.7 inches wide by 2.2 inches high by 0.9 inch deep, it'll fit more comfortably in a pants or coat pocket than a shirt pocket, but it's by no means big. Compared with the SD870 IS, the SD880 IS has the latest version of Canon's image processing engine, Digic 4, jumps from 8 megapixels to 10, and offers a few more scene modes. The 4x f2.8-5.8 28-112mm lens is a highlight of the camera the wide angle is so nice to have on a camera this small, and it's a tad longer zoom than on the SD870.

It also records video using the H.264 codec instead of Motion JPEG. The directional pad is pretty standard; instead it's the thumb dial that adds interest here. In SCN mode, the dial is used for rifling through your options. It's also used for swapping between Auto and Program in Shooting mode and tone control in Video. It works well, but you can barely feel stops when spinning the dial making it just a little too easy to switch out of whichever mode you want.

The dial can be used for navigating Menu settings, too. Overall, I like the key design and wheel, but I can also see it confusing new users to the point of frustration. The buttons have a pillowy, convex shape, which is not only attractive, but makes for unmistakable presses. The Print and Share button can be turned into a shortcut key to access one of nine shooting functions. As for performance, the SD880 IS is fractionally slower than the first rate SD870 IS.

Time to first shot is 1.2 seconds and you can shoot again in 1.9 seconds. Shutter lag was great just 0.4 second in bright conditions and 0.8 in dim. The only marked decrease in speed is if you're using the flash. The shot to shot time extends to 3.2 seconds, which is a generally slow time and nearly a second longer than the SD870 IS. The typical burst speed is a respectable 1.4 frames per second.

The 3 inch Canon PureColor LCD II performed well in direct light and has a wide viewing angle. More impressive than the SD880 IS's speed is the picture quality. Colors were always natural and vibrant. White balance was accurate and pictures showed good detail and sharpness at ISO 200 and below. Also, if you take a lot of landscape photos, note that the SD880 IS is prone to fringing. Video is better than average considering it tops out at 640x480.

Canon PowerShot A590 IS

As with previous PowerShot A-cameras, Canon built Canon PowerShot A590 IS around a large, bright, flexible lens. The 35 to 140mm equivalent, f/2.6 to f/5.5 lens offers a slightly longer reach and wider aperture than the 3x, f/2.8 lenses found in most compact cameras. It incorporates Canon's Optical Image Stabilization system, which shifts lens elements to help reduce image shake.

The camera can also accept conversion lenses with an optional adapter that fits over the base of the original lens. Unfortunately, the adapter retails for about $25, and conversion lenses retail for $100 or more, so outfitting your A590 IS with wide and or telephoto conversion lenses can cost almost as much as the camera itself. Skilled photographers will appreciate the camera's myriad controls and options.

Like other PowerShot A-series cameras, it offers program, aperture priority, shutter priority, and full manual exposure control modes. Of course, if you don't want to use any of those features, you can still shoot in the automatic mode, or with the camera's several scene presets. Finally, the camera adds a new "Easy" mode, which further simplifies and automates the interface. Slow shot to shot speed hindered Canon PowerShot A590 IS's otherwise very quick performance.

After a 1.8 second wait from power on to first shot, the camera could capture a new picture once every 2.3 seconds with the flash disabled. With the flash turned on, that wait more than doubled to an anguishing 5.2 seconds. Burst mode further disappointed, capturing 9 full resolution shots in 11.2 seconds for a rate of 0.8 frames per second. On the other hand, its shutter performed admirably, lagging a scant 0.45 seconds with our high contrast target and an even more impressive 0.7 seconds with our low contrast target.

Whether you shoot in low light or outside on a sunny day, you can expect the camera to grab the shot quickly, and then leave you waiting a few seconds before you can shoot again. Last year, the Sony Cyber shot DSC-T100 wowed us with its remarkably crisp picture quality. Though the A590 IS retails for far less than that camera, it manages to produce photos that are nearly on a par with those from the T100.

While the A590 IS's automatic white balance does a great job for a camera in its price range, it's not quite as good as the automatic white balance in the T100. The A590 IS does a good job of neutralizing colors shot under incandescent light, but leaves a hint of warmth. It also leaves more of a green cast than we'd like to see on a camera like this when shooting under fluorescent lighting.

Its tungsten setting did a wonderful job of neutralizing our very yellow tungsten hot lights. While noise remains extremely low from ISO 80 to 200, we did see some noise even at the camera's lowest sensitivity setting. Still, at these lower ISOs pictures look very good for a camera of this price, and fine textures such as fabric and fur appear consistently crisp. Noise becomes prominent at ISO 400, though details still come through clearly.

Like most compact cameras, Canon PowerShot A590 IS produces significant grain at ISO 800 and its maximum of ISO 1,600, covering the picture and damaging details with a fuzzy sheen. Overall, Canon PowerShot A590 IS produces very nice images and can even yield usable small prints at ISO 800, which is impressive for a camera of its class.

Canon PowerShot A580

The A580 has a decent selection of Canon's shooting technologies. It offers no fewer than 16 shooting modes, including seven special scene modes such as Foliage, Fireworks, and Aquarium, the latter for capturing images of indoor aquariums without a flash. In Easy mode the camera makes all the decisions, Manual mode gives full access to all menu settings, exposure compensation, and white balance.

But most important, the A580 has a face detection and tracking system that worked as promised, keeping the selected face in focus even as the person moved among other people.

Though it lacks the sleek design of a compact model, with its bulky plastic body and bubble like curves, the larger body does accommodate features like an optical viewfinder, support for AA batteries, and a comfortable grip. But it does look and feel like a toy.

It measures 2.6 inches by 3.7 inches by 1.6 inches a little too big to fit comfortably in a back pocket and it weighs 7.7 ounces. Fortunately the right side hand grip is comfortable and just deep enough to securely wrap fingers around. It also houses the two AA batteries and the SD or SDHC card slot. At the front end of the grip is the shutter button surrounded by a zoom ring to control the 4x, f/2.6-f/5.5 35-140mm equivalent (4x) lens.

The lens is a touch wider and longer than its competitors. The power button and Mode dial are on the top of the body with the rest of the shooting options and menu navigation controlled by a directional pad and miscellaneous buttons on back. This aspect of the design works for me. Everything is easily recognizable from turning off the flash to switching modes to setting the timer. There's a serviceable 2.5 inch LCD for framing your shots as well as playback (a slider to the screen's right lets you jump between shooting and playing).

Canon PowerShot SD790 IS

Canon seems to be experimenting a lot with the design of its point and shoot cameras. That seems to have worked out a little better in the case of the SD790 IS than with its higher end sibling, the SD890 IS. Though I can't say I'm gaga over the new angular look and incised buttons, at least the camera remains stylish and functional.

Not quite small enough to feel like an ultra compact, at 6.3 ounces and 2.2 by 3.6 by 0.8 inches, the SD790 will still fit in a jeans pocket, and it feels surprisingly well made and sturdy. The camera has a typical control layout. On or off and zoom switches sit on top, while the display, menu, PictBridge, review buttons, along with a four way nav plus OK combo dial and movie, camera, program mode switch on the back.

The new buttons sit flush with the body and don't move much, similar to the style that has become popular on cell phones.

In the SD790's case, there are rubber guides to provide delineation between the buttons, plus the buttons are fairly large, both of which make a huge difference in usability.

You navigate via a combo control wheel or four way switch that is differently designed but functionally equivalent to the one on the SD890 IS. The wheel scrolls through some of the modes that you used to pull up via the function (Func) button, such as Stitch Assist, Color Swap, Color Accent, and Digital Macro, as well as the scene modes. The Func button sits in the middle and calls up exposure compensation or long shutter, white balance, My Colors, metering (evaluative, spot and center), compression quality, and image size.

Within this menu and within the menu system in general you can use either the nav switch or scroll wheel. A mode switch toggles among automatic or manual still photo, program exposure (scene), and movie capture modes. The scroll wheel doesn't behave quite as free wheeling as the one on the SD890 IS, which makes a big difference. There are a couple of other minor quirks with the design, however.

The thumb rest, designated by two rows of raised bumps on the back of the camera, isn't where your thumb falls naturally that occurs on the PictBridge and Review buttons. Unless you've got a crushing grip it's not critical, since your thumb actually rests on the rubber divider between the buttons.

Canon PowerShot SD890 IS

In addition to altering the overall design, Canon opted to replace its more traditional four way navigation switch with a four way nav plus wheel. The wheel scrolls through some of the modes that you used to pull up via the function (Func) button, such as Stitch Assist, Color Swap, Color Accent, and Digital Macro, as well as the scene modes. The Func button sits in the middle and calls up exposure compensation, white balance, My Colors, metering, compression quality, and image size.

Within this menu and within the menu system in general you can use either the nav switch or scroll wheel. A mode switch, which doubles as a thumb rest, toggles among automatic, manual, program exposure (scene), and movie capture modes. Normally, I'm a big fan of scroll wheels. But I find the free flying wheel of the SD890 IS too difficult to control.

There's no physical feedback so you can't feel you've scrolled to the next option, and I frequently found myself either zipping past my choice or frustrated because it didn't seem to be changing.

If you pause to figure out which option it's going to stop at Canon should have called it the roulette wheel the options time out and disappear.

Furthermore, when operating the menu, display, and review buttons, my thumb tends to drag the wheel with it.

Finally, though the mode switch works fine for its function, it's neither big enough nor shaped comfortably enough to rest your thumb. I was tempted to give the camera a lower rating for design, but I suspect other users won't find it quite as annoying to use as I do. The f/3.2-f/5.7, 37mm-185mm equivalent lens represents the most notable change from the SD850 IS.

Though a broader zoom range, it's considerably slower (the maximum aperture rises to f/3.2 from the SD850 IS' f/2.8) and slightly narrower (37mm equivalent compared to the SD850 IS' 35mm). That's not necessarily a trade off you want to make.

The wider angle lenses on models such as the SD870 IS and the Panasonic Lumix TZ models make them more flexible for typical snapshots of groups or landscapes, and it's not as if the SD890 IS' zoom reaches far enough to buy you other shots you might not normally get. Features carried over from the SD850 IS include face detection and optical image stabilization; features missing from both cameras include no semi manual exposure modes, such as shutter and aperture priority.

Canon EOS Rebel XSi

Slightly larger than the XTi, the XSi shaves a couple of ounces of the weight to 1 pound, 2.5 ounces. Its smooth plastic body still feels a bit on the cheap side, and I'm not crazy about the grip. I can't quite put my finger on the reason why it's not especially shallow, and Canon improved it over the XTi's with a more rubbery feeling cover. Still, I don't find it as comfortable to hold as most other dSLRs.

The larger 3 inch LCD necessitated some changes to the control layout from the XTi's, and I prefer the new over the old. Almost all the buttons lie under your right hand, and each feels slightly different so that you can grope them without looking. None require two handed operation when you push the button to change ISO, white balance, metering, and so on, the menu persists while you navigate the options. (For more on the camera design, click through to the slide show.)

The biggest operational advantage the XSi offers over competitors is My Menu, which it inherits from older models. With My Menu you can build a go to list of the most frequently accessed menu settings in my case, for instance, Format and Live View settings. However, the menus can be, irritatingly, a bit inconsistent and sometimes dumb.

For instance, you can change ISO sensitivity with either the dial or the navigation buttons, but can only navigate metering choices via the nav. Also, in some cases when you have two columns to navigate, as with Picture Style settings, it doesn't let you move to the right or left. It requires you to move all the way down the first column to get to the settings in the second column.

On some counts, the XSi offers some pretty nice specs, highlighted by the 12 megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor (for Canon's traditional 1.6x focal length multiplier) and 9 point user selectable autofocus system. The latter wouldn't be much of a standout if Nikon hadn't dropped to three area AF in the D60. I also mark the switch from CompactFlash to SDHC in the plus column. The camera also includes the same Highlight Tone Priority mode found in the 1D Mark III, which helps preserve detail in the brightest portion of a scene.

Also, the XSi includes Canon's Auto Lighting Optimizer, which automatically adjusts contrast and brightness in case the image you captured isn't quite perfect. Introduced last year in the 40D, the Auto Lighting Optimizer is now available in all exposure modes and employs face detection to prevent the underexposure of backlit faces I complained about in the XTi (it works).

Remaining specifications are in line with the previous Rebel. For example, shutter speeds range from 30 seconds to 1/4,000 second with a flash sync speed of 1/200 second and the camera employs a 35 zone TTL metering system. Canon also offers the BG-E5 battery grip.

Canon PowerShot SX 110 IS

One of the SX110 IS's biggest lures is its compact size for a megazoom. It measures 4.4 inches wide by 2.8 inches high by 1.8 inches deep and weighs 10.4 ounces and will fit comfortably into a jacket pocket or uncomfortably in a jeans pocket. The optically stabilized 10x f2.8-4.3 36-360mm zoom lens is responsible for most of that weight.

Though slightly smaller than the SX100 IS, the SX110 IS remains large enough that it should be easy to hold securely, but its grip is shallow and the body is slippery. Encased in plastic, the SX110 IS nevertheless feels quite solid and sturdy. A door on the bottom covers an SDHC card slot and battery compartment. Unlike most AA powered megazooms that use four batteries, the SX110 IS is powered by only two, and battery life feels relatively short.

You'll want to pick up some rechargeable NiMH batteries for sure. With the screen now 0.5 inch larger than the SX100's at 3 inches, the PictBridge, face detection, and display and menu buttons once below the LCD have been shuffled a bit.

Face detection, display, and menu buttons join the dedicated exposure compensation button above and below the navigational scroll wheel instead of below the LCD. This actually works better since it puts everything under your thumb.

The wheel surrounds a Func button and has top, bottom, left, and right pressure points for ISO sensitivity, focus (manual and macro), flash, and drive mode unfortunately, it retains its all too easy to change settings responsiveness. The PictBridge button is now relegated to the far left corner above the screen, while a playback button sits between the right side of the LCD and the slight indent of a thumb rest.

Since the release of the SX100 IS, many megazoom cameras have expanded to a full complement of manual and semi manual exposure modes, flash and exposure compensation, and metering modes, so it's no surprise that the SX110 IS is still fully stocked in that department. There's also the de rigueur handful of scene modes, plus a decent face detection mode that lets you scroll through found faces to select one. It still takes longer to use than simply picking a face and focusing on it.

Canon PowerShot SD 880 IS

At 6.3 ounces and measuring 3.7 inches wide by 2.2 inches high by 0.9 inch deep, it'll fit more comfortably in a pants or coat pocket than a shirt pocket, but it's by no means big. Compared with the SD870 IS, the SD880 IS has the latest version of Canon's image processing engine, Digic 4, jumps from 8 megapixels to 10, and offers a few more scene modes.

The 4x f2.8-5.8 28-112mm lens is a highlight of the camera the wide angle is so nice to have on a camera this small, and it's a tad longer zoom than on the SD870. It also records video using the H.264 codec instead of Motion JPEG. On top of the two tone body (it's available in gold or brown and silver or black combinations) are the shutter button and surrounding zoom control, a small power button, and a switch for going between Video, Special Scene modes (SCN), and Shooting mode in Auto or Program AE.

That mosaic like design on the right is the speaker. Scene modes are plentiful 16 in all and include Stitch Assist for panoramas and Underwater for use with an optional casing.

Shooting mode lets you go fully automatic with some minor adjustments, or drop it into Program AE, which gives you control for exposure compensation, white balance, tone, and ISO.

Following the body's curve on the right from top to bottom are Print or Share and Playback buttons, a directional pad surrounded by a thumb dial, and then Menu and Display buttons.

At first glance it looks like there's a lot going on with the controls, and there actually is, but operation remains reliably straightforward. The directional pad is pretty standard instead it's the thumb dial that adds interest here. In SCN mode, the dial is used for rifling through your options. It's also used for swapping between Auto and Program in Shooting mode and tone control in Video.

It works well, but you can barely feel stops when spinning the dial making it just a little too easy to switch out of whichever mode you want. The dial can be used for navigating Menu settings, too. Overall, I like the key design and wheel, but I can also see it confusing new users to the point of frustration.

Canon PowerShot G10

The G10 is physically quite similar to the G9. At 14 ounces, it's heavier by about an ounce, and it's also a bit bigger one to three tenths of an inch on all sides, for dimensions of 4.3 by 1.8 by 3.1 inches. As with its predecessors, the Canon G10's metal body feels like a tank. I'm beginning to wish for just a little bit more grip, though, especially since the thumb rest feels kind of slippery. The dial configuration ranks as the most notable change to the design.

Canon stacked the mode dial inside the ISO dial for right hand operation and added an exposure compensation dial on the left. It retains the four way switch (for setting manual focus, macro, flash, and drive mode) with a Function or Set button nested inside the navigational scroll wheel on the back. And though the focus point, metering, display, and menu buttons remain in the same positions, they now have an odd, angled design.

Overall, I like the changes, and shooting with the G10 feels quick, fluid, and comfortable. The optical viewfinder is relatively large and distortion free, making it quite usable.

Though Canon giveth with the improved wide angle coverage, it taketh away in total zoom range. The new optically stabilized f/2.8-4.8 28-140mm equivalent 5x lens should please landscape photographers, but some folks will miss the 210mm equivalent reach of the G9.

That and the move to a 1/1.7 inch 14.7 megapixel CCD from a 12 megapixel version constitute the most notable feature changes. At least they haven't taken away the stuff I liked in the G9 the built in neutral density filter, two slots on the mode dial for custom settings, ability to change the size of the AF area, a hot shoe, exposure lock, raw support, and the bayonet adapter mount that help distinguish the Canon G10 as a camera for enthusiasts.

The addition of Servo AF is nice as well, but it's odd to use while holding the camera out for LCD view, and unlike on an SLR, there's no focus area confirmation in the G10's viewfinder. I think it'll take some getting used to.

Canon EOS 50D

Canon offers three configurations of the 50D. One kit includes the veteran f/3.5-5.6, 28-135mm IS USM lens, with an angle of view equivalent to that of a 44.8-216mm lens on a 35mm camera, and a second kit comes with the new EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens, equivalent to 28.8-320mm. Of course, there's a body only version as well.

Though the 28-135mm lens doesn't provide the coverage or all in one convenience of the 18-200mm lens, I think it's a better lens, and would recommend that kit over the other and perhaps supplementing with the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4.0-5.6 IS lens that dual lens configuration can be cheaper as well. For better or worse, there aren't a lot of significant design or feature changes from the 40D.

At 1.9 pounds, the body has gained a little weight about an ounce but retains the same dimensions: 4.2 inches by 5.7 inches by 2.9 inches. It retains the same comfortable grip and sturdy, partly dust and weather sealed, body, as well as compatibility with the old battery and vertical grip.

I have the same likes and dislikes about the control design and layout as with the 40D. The series of three buttons above the status LCD metering white balance, AF Drive mode, and ISO flash compensation are easy to use, but they feel identical.

The status display delivers complete information and duplicates it on the rear LCD. Following the lead of competitors, Canon added the capability to change settings from that back information display, using a combination of the joystick and the big Quick Control dial on the back. Overall, it remains a good shooting design that upgraders will have no trouble adapting to and newcomers to the line should pick up pretty easily.

Canon squeezed an extra programmable function button below the LCD. You can assign it to directly access LCD brightness, image quality, exposure compensation, image jump during playback, or Live View settings. Additionally, the PictBridge button now does double duty it also lets you toggle between regular and Live View shooting. There are a handful of new features, though no movie capture.

Aside from the bump to 15 megapixels from the 40D's 10 megapixels, the most apparent addition is Creative Auto, a new semi manual mode with capabilities you can view as an advanced Auto mode or dumbed down Program mode, depending upon your viewpoint. All functions in CA are automated, with a few exceptions.

Notably, it replaces shutter and aperture adjustment options with two sliding scales Exposure (brighter or darker) and Background (blurred or sharp) that implicitly adjust shutter speed and aperture. While it's an interesting idea, it seems too much of a newbie feature to put on the 50D. The Rebel series seems far more appropriate. In CA mode you can also can select single, continuous, or self timer shooting; Picture Style photo size and quality and flash mode (auto, on or off).

Canon PowerShot SD770

All the SD770's controls sit on the back of the camera. While the use of a switch to shift among still capture, movie capture, and playback is common and easy to use, it does preclude being able to jump out of playback mode by pressing the shutter button, which many cameras allow, and which can slow you down a bit.

And I have the same complaint as previous reviewers with the four way navigation plus Func or Set button design the control is too flat and the ring too small, causing frequent mispresses on the center button when I'm trying to adjust the ISO sensitivity, macro, flash, or drive mode from the outer ring. The menu based options are pretty basic.

There's full auto, a handful of scene modes, and a manual mode that allows for adjustment of exposure, white balance, color tone and tints, metering (evaluative, center weighted average, and spot), and image size and quality.

You can set the AF frame to Center, AiAF (auto), or Face Detect as usual, Face Detect is generally better than AiAF, but choosing your own subject is best.

You can also choose the size of the AF frame in Center mode, and an AF-Point Zoom option will magnify the area of interest while focusing.

There are two available image stabilization modes, one for compensation along both axes, and one Panning mode that only compensates for up or down jitter. Finally, flash options include slow sync, red eye correction (which post processes the image and saves only the corrected one), and red eye reduction (which prefires the flash to constrict pupils in advance).

Like the SD790 IS and SD1100 IS, some aspects of the SD770 IS' performance are excellent, while others are below par. It wakes up and shoots in a fairly average 1 second, and delivers great focus and shoot times of 0.4 second and 0.6 second, in optimal and suboptimal lighting, respectively. But two consecutive shots take 2.5 seconds and adding flash bumps that up to 3.7 seconds, both of which fall behind much of the competition.

The same goes for its sluggish 0.9 frame per second typical burst shooting rate. Canon rates the battery at 300 shots (using CIPA standard methodology), which is relatively good for an ultra compact. The 2.5 inch LCD remains usable in bright sunlight, which is good I found the optical viewfinder too small and distorted to really be an acceptable substitute. It has a nice, wide viewing angle for impromptu slide shows, though it's a bit small for that purpose. Like the SD1100's, it's a fingerprint magnet.

Canon FS100

The FS100 is one of Canon's first Flash Memory camcorders. In addition to the advantage of added recording time, Flash Memory offers quick response time, because it doesn't have to wait for moving parts. The FS100's lower power consumption rate allows your battery to last longer. Measuring only 2.3" wide, 2.4" high and 4.9" deep, it combines big video storage capacity in a small, easy to carry body.

The 2.7" Widescreen LCD on the FS100 lets you see more of what your camcorder is recording. With the FS100 you get a powerful 1.07 Megapixel CCD image sensor.

The video you shoot will be sharp, clear and more true to life, as will your still photos. The Genuine Canon 48x Advanced Zoom on the FS100 extends the power of your zoom. In both wide angle and telephoto positions, there is virtually no loss in image quality throughout the range.

The Canon DIGIC DV II Image Processor is the next generation of Canon's exclusive DIGIC DV signal processing technology to ensure optimal image quality for still images, even though video and still images have different color requirements. Focal Length f=2.6 96.2mm Minimum Focusing Distance 10mm (wide) or 1m (tele) White Balance Daylight, Tungsten, Auto, and Manual Programmed AE.

Auto, Program, TV, Portrait, Sports, Night, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Spotlight, and Fireworks 2 channel Dolby Digital Audio (AC-3). 3.5mm Stereo Mini jack Microphone Terminal Dimensions. Width 2.3 x Height 2.4 x Depth 4.9 (58x60x124mm). Weight 9.2 ounces (260 grams).

Technical Details

• Capture video to SDHC cards
• 48x Advanced Zoom image stabilizer
• Widescreen HR recording
• 2.7 inch widescreen LCD
• USB 2.0 compatible for fast file transfer
  

Canon VIXIA HF100

Now that you've upgraded your TV to an HDTV widescreen, doesn't it make sense to consider a Hi-Def Camcorder? The Canon VIXIA HF100 captures videos at 1920x1080 for true 1080i display. There are no tapes or discs to concern yourself with. It has an SD SDHC slot for video storage.

So let your videos fill your new TV screen. Use the VIXIA from Canon. DIGIC DV II Image Processor SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization Instant AF (Auto Focus) 2.7 Multi Angle Vivid Widescreen LCD Superb Shooting Control 24p Cinema Mode 30p Progressive Mode Stunning Digital Photography Focusing System.

Instant AF, Through the Lens or Manual Focusing Possible Auto and Manual exposure modes; Programmed AE Auto, Program, Av, Tv, CINEMA, Portrait, Sports, Night, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Spotlight, Fireworks Recording Media SD/SDHC Memory Card (not supplied). Audio Dolby Digital 2ch (AC-3 2 ch).

HDMI Terminal Type C 480i/480p/1080I Format Supported Microphone Terminal 3.5 mm. Stereo Mini jack Mini HDMI Terminal and Mini Advanced Accessory Shoe Dimensions (WxHxD) 2.9 x 2.5 x 5.1 in (73x64x129mm). Weight (not including lens and battery pack) 13.4 oz (380g)

Technical Details

• Capture high definition video to flash memory
• 12x optical zoom, SuperRange Optical Image Stabilizer
• 24p Cinema Mode 30p Progressive Mode
• 2.7 inch widescreen Multi Angle Vivid LCD
• Simultaneous photo capture