The Canon PowerShot SX100 IS is the first ultra-zoom camera boasting 10x optical zoom in its compact body. Touted as the perfect camera in the hands of any family member, we found it to be true-the Sx100 IS is simple to use, and delivers superb photographs with minimum tweaking. The SX100 is relatively bulky and can only be carried around in a pouch-too large for any pocket. Similar to other A-series Cameras from Canon, the SX100 has a plastic body, however it is well put together and exudes a built-to-last feel. Instead of a five way rocker, the SX100 IS has a rotating click wheel for browsing the menu-quite intuitive to use.
The SX100 IS an 8 Mega pixel camera with 10x optical zoom, face detection and image stabilization. The camera has other features typical to the A series of cameras-scene modes, manual focus, color swap-ping, panorama mode and so on. The 10x optical zoom combined with an excellent image stabilization works wonders taking distance shots. The flash on this camera is simply superb-in fact, the best flash we have seen on any point-and-shoot camera. The SX100 IS uses AA size batteries-on an alkaline pair, we got around 120 photograph; using Ni-MH, batteries we got 400 shots-terrific. the down-side to the use of AA batteries is the flash recycle time-painfully long, and becomes noticeable when batteries are low. color rendition is accurate and natural. the camera performs admirably even in low ISO settings-we got excellent photographs even at 80 ISO. Higher sensitivity ISO setting such as ISO 800 and 1600 are completely useless-grainy images.
Working with manual focus and macro was fun, and it delivered some really good shots. The best part about SX100 IS is the ease with which any one can take good photographs. Video capture is excellent. A 20 second video requires 30 MB of space. Priced at $300, the camera is a steal for the features and performance it offers. If you have any friends coming from abroad, ask them to get you the camera.

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The Samsung NV8 is the younger sibling of the NV10 that we tested in October 2007. This is an 8 MP camera with 3x optical zoom, and looks and feels exactly like the NV10. The interface on the camera is simple to use, and is controlled by the touch sensitive buttons on either side of the screen. They’re easy to use, but take a little getting used to. The camera has a rough matte finish with a 2.5- inch screen.
Image quality is also very similar to the NV10. The clarity and crispness is there, and higher ISO levels give out a little grain in the image. The colours aren’t very vibrant; and have a washed look to them-especially in outdoor lighting. Indoor shooting is a different story altogether, and the NV8 seems to be better indoor then outdoors. You can get macro shots from up 4 cm away with good results. The video quality is good, and the same macro feature works for videos as well. Video resolutions are 640*480 and 320*240, and are saved as AVIs using MPEG4 codecs. The audio birate is 64 kbps, though the quality is nothing special.
Face detection and image stabilization are present as features, but image stabilization only kick in when you turn the mode knob to ASR (Advanced Shake reduction). If you use ASR for videos, a small area of the capture is cropped. This camera is pretty much the the NV10 with a lower MP rating. This average performing camera is priced at $350, and to be frank, there are better cameras available in the same price range.

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