Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS – no advanced highlights
Thumbs Up:
Good picture quality as per its price; easy-to-use design; good looking
Thumbs Down:
Basic feature set as per its cost.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
The Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS is a 12.1-megapixel camera. It has 12,70,000 pixels CCD optical sensor. It features DIGIC IV image processor, frame movie shooting mode, Optical image stabilizer, and face detection. The minimum shutter speed is 15sec and maximum is 1/1500sec. The memory card reader slot accepts SD Memory Card and MultiMedia Card for external storage.
The light sensitivity levels are ISO Auto, ISO 1600, ISO 800, ISO 400, ISO 200, ISO 100, and ISO 80. The shooting programs are Portrait mode, Slow shutter, Kids & Pets, Underwater, Night mode, Snapshot, Low light, Fireworks, Foliage, Indoor, Beach, and Snow.
The exposure compensation is ±2 EV range in 1/3 EV steps. The white balance options are Automatic, Custom, and Presets. Its presets are Fluorescent light (cool white), Fluorescent light (daylight), Tungsten light, daylight, and Cloudy.
The PowerShot SD1300 IS supports JPEG still image format and video formats of AVI and MJPEG. The still image storage resolution options are Normal, Fine JPEG 4000×3000, JPEG 3264×2448, JPEG 2592×1944, JPEG 1600×1200, JPEG 640×480, and JPEG 4000×2248. The video capture resolutions are AVI 640×480, and AVI 320×240.
The inbuilt 2.7 inches LCD screen has display format of 230,000 pixels. The PowerShot SD1300 IS has inbuilt mono microphone and lens shield. The built-in flash features 1-13 ft flash range and AF illuminator. The flash modes are Red-eye reduction, Flash OFF mode, Slow synchro, Fill-in mode, and Auto mode.
The UA lens is aspherical in nature and features 4x optical zoom. It has 5-20mm focal length with F/2.8-5.9 aperture. The SD1300 IS has TTL contrast detection auto-focus. Its minimum focus range is 1.2 inches and macro is 3-50cm. The zoom adjustment is motorized drive and focus adjustment is automatic.
The digital camera has self timer delay function of 2 and 10 seconds. The additional features are AF/AE Lock, Direct Print, DPOF Support, Safety zoom, Resizing an image, Inbuilt speaker, Histogram Display, Smart Flash Exposure, Exif Print Support, YouTube capture mode, PictBridge support, USB 2.0 compatibility, In-camera red-eye fix, Digital tele-converter, Face Detection Self timer, Digital Image rotation, RGB primary color filter, Scene Detection Technology, Display brightness control, Face Detection Self-timer, Smile Detection Technology, Face Detection AF/FE/AE/WB, Motion Detection Technology, Intelligent Contrast Correction (i-Contrast) system, and Camera orientation detection.
The connector set includes 1×composite audio/video output, and 1×USB. The software provided inside the disc are Canon ZoomBrowser EX, Canon ImageBrowser, and Canon PhotoStitch. The supported operating systems are Windows 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 USB cable, one A/V, cable, power charger, battery, drivers & software disc, and user manual.
Razzle Dazzle:
The Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS comes in blue, brown, pink, green, and silver colors. It is 2.2 inches tall, 3.6 inches wide and 0.8 inch deep and weighs 4.9 ounces.
Inside Dope:
$199.99 priced the Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS is a basic digital camera. It continues to have the traditional design of its predecessors – Digital Elph series, but lacks optical viewfinder. Its main key selling point is its availability in numerous color choices. The SD1300 IS is a perfect mid-range camera with 28mm equivalent wide-angle lens, especially for those who do not care about advanced shooting options, HD quality and just want to remain in Auto mode. However, its picture quality and the shooting performance does not are not better than its competitors from Sony and Panasonic. On the bright side, it has a larger LCD display of 2.7 inches. The SD1300 IS has Canon-standard controls.
The back switch lets you moving between shooting modes. You will find the four-way directional pad with center Function button on the switch’s right side. The Play button sits above the pad, while Display and Menu buttons are located beneath it. You can use the display button to change the information on LCD screen. The power button and shutter release with zoom ring are located on the top. All these buttons are flat inside the surface and need a firm press.
The Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS has straightforward and simple menu navigation. The Function Set button displays context-sensitive shooting panel, whereas Menu button shows operational and general shooting controls. We are disappointed that you can only see common scene selections at first and then have to press Disp button to view secondary scene options. We do not like that there is in-camera settings and shooting assistance. The mini-USB/AV pot is located beneath a flip-down door on the right side. The memory card and battery are located behind a slide-open door on the bottom.
The Canon only provides basic shooting options for the PowerShot SD1300 IS, which are only good as per its cost. The shooting mode switch has three options: camera mode, standard-def Movie mode, and Auto mode. The camera mode lets you to access a Program Auto Mode that allows settings such as ISO levels and white-balance. At here, you can also access the scene options like Long Shutter, Fireworks, Snow, Foliage, Underwater, Beach, Indoor, Kids & Pets, Night Snapshot, and Portrait. The Face Self Timer option allows capturing a shot on detecting a fresh face in front of camera. The Low Light Mode captures 2-megapixel picture from ISO 400 to 6400.
The shooting performance is average for the Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS. The time from power on to first shot is 1.4 seconds. The average shot to shot time is 2.7 seconds and 4.9sec with flash. The shutter lag is 0.7 second in dim lighting and 0.5 second in bright light. The continuous shooting speed is 0.6fps.
In contrast, the time from power on to first shot is 1.7sec for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP8, 1sec for the Nikon Coolpix S640 and 1.9sec for Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W350. The average shot-to-shot time with flash is 2.4sec for the Panasonic, 2.7sec for the Nikon, and 3.9sec for the Sony model. In dim lighting, the shutter lag is 0.6sec for Panasonic, 0.8sec for Nikon and 0.7sec for the Sony model.
The picture quality for the Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS remains only good for its cheap price tag and small size. The subjects look soft due to noise reduction above ISO 200. The SD1300 IS needs enough light for good quality even in outdoor shots. The pictures exhibit more noise and softer details in dim light, especially in indoor shots. The color consistency remains good up to ISO 800. The yellow blotching and color shifting appears above ISO 800. The details become much softer at higher ISO levels.
The minimal barrel distortion is visible at the widest lens position, but there is no pincushion distortion even at fully extended lens. The sharpness remains excellent in the center and retains its consistency from edge to edge. You can notice more amount of purple fringe in the high-contrast areas than other cameras in its class.
The video quality is better than a standard-def compact camcorder and remains good for Web usage only. As expected, you cannot use the optical zoom for video capturing.
The SD1300 IS has Canon NB-6L standard lithium ion rechargeable battery that has a life of 240 shots. However, the battery cannot be charged inside the camera. It is annoying that you have to plug it out for charging and then install it again.
Nitty Gritty:
The Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS is a well-built digital camera that offers average shooting performance, fine picture quality, and basic feature as per its price tag.
If you do not care about high-definition quality, advanced shooting options and need just a basic point-and-shot camera with affordable price tag, then the SD1300 IS remains a good choice.
