Review on Canon PowerShot Digital Wide Angle Recording by Dan Germain

I received this camera today. Before deciding on this model, I did extensive research and compared it to other Canon Elph models. Several factors influenced my decision: 1. I needed high resolution and high optical zoom. Optical zoom is very important as it determines how much raw information you can capture. Digital zoom is just software that will eventually pixelate.2. The Wi-Fi capability was intriguing, but not the deciding factor.3. It was priced well under $200 (US$169) and well below the manufacturer's suggested retail price. Note on this: I would go for a more expensive camera, but this is the second camera I will be using on an upcoming trip where I don't want to lug around my Canon Rebel EOS and all of its lenses. I wouldn't choose an elf as my main camera - but it seemed ideal for me on the go.4. As mentioned above, I also wanted something I could slip in my fanny pack or shirt pocket (although I probably won't - ie in a shirt pocket). 5. I chose Canon because I'm familiar with the brand and overall good experience with the older Elph I bought for my wife and of course the EOS and lenses.6. I definitely didn't want the touchscreen that was offered on some of the newer models, simply because while they're handy, they're a pain in the ass and I often mis-touch the screen and ask for a return or undo and redo. For a device of this size, the buttons seem to be the best choice. I use the touchscreen on my Motorola Razr Droid Maxx and have learned to live with its features. I've also read some very negative reviews about touchscreens and didn't want to be a guinea pig. Now that you understand what my decision factors were, here's what I've learned through experimentation over the past few hours: PRO is intuitive to use, and if you're familiar with a Canon's menu system, you'll know it here too. .- It's so small and compact, but the controls are easy to use and responsive. - The installation process (software and user manual) was relatively easy and I was able to copy the PDF to my Google Drive to have when I need to travel (without a computer). Images are incredibly sharp and clear, with good to excellent color reproduction at a resolution setting of M1 (medium). I usually choose the highest resolution, but I'll explain why I didn't do this in the MINUS. I would advise you to always go for the highest resolution possible as you can always zoom out the image without losing clarity, but if you go too low you will end up with digital zoom pixelation. CONS: The WiFi capabilities seem really good. function, but you'd better not use Windows XP if you want to transfer photos to your computer over WiFi. However, you can use a USB connection. There is a disclaimer in the documentation that Wi-Fi only works with Windows 7 or 8. However, you can connect Wi-Fi to your smartphone (Droid or iPhone with the appropriate app from Google Playstore or Apple) and then share or download photos. via the cloud to your computer. The writing speed to an SDHC card is uncomfortably slow when you are shooting fast and using very high resolutions. The difference between L and M1 is incredible. With L resolution, you'll wait forever before you can take the next shot. It's not that bad, but it's in the "seconds" range. What is so noticeable in the test that it is annoying will also be in the field, especially when taking pictures while moving. It would be nice if Canon included a memory card, but I understand they are trying to keep the price competitive. I'm sure I paid less than they charged for a 16GB card. It would also be nice if Canon included a case. My wife's old Canon Elph came with a quality leather case. I bought the CaseLogic case on the aftermarket for a lot less than the Canon. Battery life. Haven't had a chance to test this, but am a bit concerned as the manual says 200 photos per fully charged battery. Of course, many variables affect it (e.g. resolution, card read/write time, ECO mode or not, flash memory usage or not). It's almost impossible to predict exactly how well I'll do here, so we'll just have to wait and see. My concern is going to Scandinavia and Russia and while I shouldn't have any trouble charging the battery with the right voltage adapters, I'll probably buy a second battery so I always have a charged spare. no voltage adapter required. The charger clearly displays the input voltage of 110-240 volts. You may need physical adapters, although most European hotels have "American" sockets for electric razors etc.) - Also note that it took almost two hours to charge. "cold" battery completely. It will likely be shorter if you start with a partially charged battery. I haven't been able to test many other features such as different recording scenarios, lighting conditions, portrait and landscape format, close-ups or panoramas. I will test them and let you know when I have information with meaningful indicators. I will adjust the 5 stars as needed, but for now I'm giving Canon the benefit of the doubt based on my experience with the brand to date. CONCLUSION - I would buy it again and am totally happy with my decision not to go for the high end touchscreen model. I hope that was helpful. ============================================== = === =====================*** *Update 1 - 05/18/2013 Well, the learning saga continues. It's kind of an adventure. In fact, I successfully established a WiFi connection between the camera and my home network, with the target device being my Motorola Razr Droid smartphone. The basic steps are to download and install the Canon app for your smartphone and set it up with very simple settings. Then configure the camera with the target device name (which you assigned in the previous step). You then need to scan the WiFi networks from the camera and select the appropriate network, enter the key and you're in business. You are then ready to share your photos from your phone via email, Facebook or any other mechanism or website of your choice. play with it; does not bite. After playing around with the settings a bit, I actually sent the pictures to the phone. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most difficult task, I would rate this around a 4. Time required: about 40 minutes. Not bad. And next time it will be even easier. My next task will be to try to set this up somewhere else on an open wifi network. I think I need to re-identify the phone and let the camera search for available networks. I also noticed that this gave me the option to connect to another network, which is probably the Canon cloud. The network name seemed to identify the Canon, camera model and serial number. I haven't tried it yet, but I probably will later. Also, I can use my phone as a wireless hotspot so I can send photos to my phone when I'm not online. In fact, it is a network of two devices, a phone and a camera. I'm trying to do as much of this research as possible before I travel next month so I don't get frustrated when I'm under pressure. So far, so good. Five stars left!========================================= == === ========================