Canon PowerShot A3100 IS – Face Select buttons
Thumbs Up:
Excellent picture quality in its class; optical image stabilization
Thumbs Down:
Cheap feel as per its price tag; weak feature set.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
The Canon PowerShot A3100 IS is a 12.1-megapixel digital camera that has CCD optical sensor. It features DIGIC III image processor, 4x digital zoom, frame movie shooting mode, Optical image stabilization, and face detection. The minimum shutter speed is 15 second and maximum is 1/1600 second. The memory card slot accepts SD memory card and MultiMediaCard.
The asperhical lens has 6.2-24.8mm focal length and F/2.7-5.6 aperture that features 4x optical zoom. The focal length equivalent to 35mm camera is 35-140mm. The PowerShot A3100 IS has TTL contrast detection auto-focus and nine zones. The minimum focus range is 1.2-inch and macro is 3-60cm. The zoom adjustment is motorized drive and focus adjustment is Automatic.
The Canon PowerShot A3100 IS has 2.7 inches LCD display of 230,000 pixels format. It has inbuilt lens shield, and mono microphone. The built-in flash has effective range of 1-13ft. and features AF illuminator. The flash modes are Red-eye reduction, Flash OFF mode, Slow synchro, Fill-in mode, and Auto-mode.
The exposure compensation is ±2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps. The exposure modes are: Automatic and Program; while the exposure metering are Center-weighted, Evaluative, and Spot. The White-balance options are Automatic, Custom, and Presets. Its presets include Tungsten light, Fluorescent, Daylight, and Cloudy.
The shooting programs are Snow, Beach, Indoor, Foliage, Fireworks, Landscape, Low light, Kids & pets, Super vivid, Slow shutter, Portrait mode, Poster effect, and Night snapshot. The special effect includes Sepia, Vivid, Neutral, Black & White, and Custom Effect.
The Canon PowerShot A3100 IS has self time delay function of 2 and 10 seconds. The additional highlights are AE lock, DPOF support, Direct print, Exif Print support, Built-in speaker, Cropping an image, Resizing an image, Histogram display, PictBridge support, USB 2.0 compatibility, Digital image rotation, RGB primary color filter, Scene Detection Technology, Face Detection AF/AE/FE/WB, Face Detection Self-timer, Camera orientation detection, Motion Detection Technology, and I-Contrast system
The A3100 IS supports MJPEG and AVI video formats; while supported image format is JPEG. The video capture resolution options are AVI – 640×480, and AVI – 320×240. The image storage resolution options are Large 307, Fine JPEG 4000×3000, JPEG 3264×2448, JPEG 2592×1944, JPEG 1600×1200, JPEG 640×480, and JPEG 4000×2248.
The connector set includes 1×USB, and 1×Composite video/audio output. The software inside the disc are Canon ZoomBrowser EX, drivers & utilities, Canon PhotoStitch, and Canon ImageBrowser. The supported operating systems are Microsoft XP SP2/Vista/7 and Apple Mac OS X 10.4-10.6.
The maximum operating temperature is 104°F and minimum is 32°F. Accessories supplied inside the package are A/V cable, USB cable, drivers & software disc, wrist strap, user manual, power charger, and battery.
Razzle Dazzle:
The Canon PowerShot A3100 IS is 3.8 inches wide, 2.3 inches tall and 1.1 inches deep. It weighs 5.5 ounces with media and battery. Its body is made up of plastic and available in three colors: red, blue, and silver. The digital camera fits easily in small handbag or pants pocket. On the dark side, the A3100 IS feels cheap while holding in hands due to plastic body.
Inside Dope:
The Canon PowerShot A3100 IS continues to have traditional “easy and fun” photography picture like its AA-sized siblings. $179 priced the A3100 IS has 12-megapixel sensor. It provides higher resolution and better picture quality than its $30 less priced A3000 IS sibling. The higher resolution is always better if you want to crop and print the images. The PowerShot A3100 IS looks better than its price tag. It has wider aperture lens and bigger display as compared to other digital cameras in its price range. In addition, the addition of optical image stabilization is also its key selling point.
2.7 inches LCD display of the Canon PowerShot A3100 IS is bright enough to retain the visibility even in direct sunlight. The A3100 IS has basic controls including mode dial, shutter release button, and power button on the top. All these buttons are well-spaced, but flush inside the surface. The Mode dial is a bit stuff that makes it a bit difficult to move. The controls and their marking on the back are similar to that of a Digital Elph camera. You will find the Face Select buttons for face detection; playback button, four-way toggle with middle select switch, Display key and Menu button are located beneath the zoom rocker at the back. You can use the Face Select button to focus on a person even in crowd or a group. The Menu button will display the screen with two tabs of settings, whereas the Select button shows mode-specific shooting options. The PowerShot A3100 IS has well-designed and easy controls that are enough for entry-level and casual users.
The mini-USB/AV port is located behind a small door at the right side below the shooting Mode dial. The batteries cannot be charged inside the camera and there is no locking mechanism to close the battery compartment securely. Therefore, you may have to take care that battery cover does not snap off while shooting.
The Mode dial has these shooting modes: Program (P) that gives the most controls on results; Auto that analyzes and detects the scene automatically; and Movie mode that captures the 640×480 pixels video at 30fps (frames per second). The Canon PowerShot A3100 IS has five scene choices a: Indoor, Kids & Pets, Night, Landscape, and Portrait with a SCN option to select less used choices such as Fireworks, Long Shutter, and Beach. The Low Light mode captures 2-megapixel shots from ISO 500 to 3200. The additional highlights are Poster Effect and Super Vivid modes.
The Canon PowerShot A3100 IS has average shooting performance. The time from power on to first shot is 1.8 seconds, which is better than 2 seconds for Nikon CoolPix S570 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS15. The average shot-to-shot time is 2.3 seconds and 3.9 seconds with flash. On the other hand, it is 3.3 seconds for Lumix DMC-FS15 and 3.8 seconds for the CoolPix S570 without flash. For the PowerShot A3100IS, the shutter lag is 0.7 second in dim lighting and 0.5 second in bright light. Its continuous shooting speed is 0.8fps (frames per second). In contrast, the Lumix DMC-FS15 shoots continuously at 1.8fps and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W330 shoots at 1.1fps.
The picture quality for the Canon PowerShot A3100 IS is excellent as per its price tag only. The quality is the best below ISO 400 and remains good even at ISO 400. In contrast, the other digital cameras provide less quality at this level. As compared to the A3000 IS, the PowerShot A3100 IS shows less noise even viewing the pictures at full size. As already mentioned, you will get the freedom to crop the images and print at large size. The pictures at high ISO levels look noisier and soft due to noise suppression; but still they are good for Web use and small prints
The sharpness remains good for lens from edge to edge, but a bit barrel distortion at the widest position. However, there is no pin-cushioning even at fully extended lens. The purple fringe is visible at high-contrast areas while viewing at 100 percent, but it is not at image destroying levels unlike other cameras. The colors are not accurate always; still they look great with vibrant and bright subjects. The exposure is good, though highlights tend to blow out. It is important to mention here that color and exposure for the PowerShot A3100 IS are good as per its price.
The video quality is satisfactory for Web use and on par as compared to standard-definition camcorders. As expected, you cannot use the optical zoom while video recording.
The standard lithium ion battery has a life of 240 shots, but it cannot be charged inside the camera.
Nitty Gritty:
The Canon PowerShot A3100 IS is an excellent entry-level point-and-shot camera for its price. It worth its price tag by including optical image stabilization, maintained shooting performance, and good quality.
If you need a basic digital camera for casual usage, then the PowerShot A3100 IS is a good choice.
