you got mail . . . from Bavaria

Hi Joe,
thanks for your reply. I evidently was not too precise putting in my question only in terms of the outcome I´m aiming at:
“Get high-resolution photos which allow enlargements up to about 60 cm x 100 cm“

In terms of “technical” prerequisites I´m looking for answers to questions like:
* “what are the adequate requirements with respect to resolution of the sensor [without getting lost in
“pixel- peeper-nonsense”]
* “to what extent can post-processing help to minimize deficiencies concerning the resolution of large
print-outs ; what brand of [preferably free-/lowcost-] software is recommendable ?

Up to now I used PP mainly for:
* overlaying photos + radiographs [ pictures of which were taken using a light-box]
* editing of “just-for-fun-greeting-cards” and other “nonsense-collages”

In contrast to this kind of PP I´m a complete new-bee in the field of improving the resolution of large print-outs by means of – just an example - [horizontal and vertical] stitching.
Finally it boils down to the following question:
* will the SX10 be the appropriate camera for a photographer who spends most of his time on outdoor-
tours [in the Bavarian mountains] aiming at impressive landscape-/wildlife-shots.
Due to this mission-description and my age [70] the cameras size and weight [every gram counts!]
are important criteria.

After having read sooooh many reviews [including those cited at http://sx10-is.blogspot.com/]
I suspect, that it will be a combination of the SX10 and a software [which is not sophisticated] at last.

---

Klaus the SX10 will be the right camera for you.
- the swivel screen is big enough and of high enough resolution to even manual focus. Same for SX1   the Panasonic FZ28 is of no use for you because in the moment the camera is below you head the screen is not  usable any more. The screen is optimized for over head shooting and the worst screen I ever encountered for below the head shots.  
- the viewfinder is very big and of high enough resolution to even manual focus. Sadly not with the SX1   the Panasonic FZ28 has a tiny viewfinder what is not working with my glasses and its hard plastic at all.
- I made a A3 t-shirt print with a 1.3 MP camera and it turned out gorgeous. So the 10 MP will do nicely for big prints. If you plan for big prints stay with ISO 80 or 100 and the picture will be fine. If you are in high contrast situations and you want big prints, use the exposure bracketing and take 3 shots -2, 0 and +2 and put them together with a hdr software. Canons  i-Contrast makes the dark areas a bit grainy when activated.
- Canon has the panorama mode so you can stitch several photos together to greatly increase the resolution.
- The Camera is a bit heavy but a joy to hold in full telefoto because the long lens just begs for it and lies beautiful in the hand.
-the much talked about slow lens in 15x-20x is really not a big problem because Canon has a very good ImageStabilisation. See my handheld 20x moon shot.

-the pictures are a bit soft and could use a bit more color for the area I will shoot in (mostly bright sunlight) but setting the exposure compensation to -0.3 to -1 the sharpness to +2 and the color to +1 did the trick for my SX10 shots to come out pleasing.

A camera is a tool and with every new tool you have to familiarize yourself with it. It takes the first 1000 shots to try out the camera and fine tune the tool to your needs.
Read the manual from front to back and try out everything several times in different shooting situations.

As for post processing I work with my panorama shots with Autopano 1.3
The free software will be http://hugin.sourceforge.net/ what works very well and is much better as the Canon provided stitcher.

hope this helped and merry x-mas to Bavaria from the sunny Canary Islands.

the decision

My main concern with the SX1 were the screens (see postings below). I made up my mind, if I get the SX1 I will shoot mostly in wide screen so I have the full size of the displays to view. The 10 MP 4/3 mode will be used for panoramas. I view my fotos on a wide screen notebook and a full HD tv for pictures and video clips. Since the test and review of the SX1 swivel screen has a very positive outcome I will live with the crappy viewfinder. The picture quality is ok since it is similar to the SX10 I tested.

The clips from users of the SX1 in full HD mode were good and compared to my VGA clips form the S2IS a huge improvement.

One of my dreams were always to make a static video from a beach with the waves coming in for some time and then have it looped in life size on a huge screen (I am talking wall size via a projector) to have the impression that the beach is in your living room.
Viewing this in VGA resolution on a SVGA projector 2 meters high is a start but the quality was not what I wanted. So with full HD video and a big full HD TV I will at least have a window to the beach on the wall and since prices for full HD projectors starting to fall below 1000€ it is just a matter of time until my dream comes true.

But I am not sure I buy now, I might wait because from March 3-5 2009 is the PMA in Las Vegas and
Sony should bring out a replacement for the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H10,
Panasonic should bring out the replacement for the Panasonic DMC-TZ5,
Olympus should bring out the replacement for the Olympus SP-570 Ultra-Zoom,
Kodak should bring out the replacement for the Kodak Z1012 IS,
Fuji should bring out the replacement for the FujiFilm Finepix S8100fd
and the FujiFilm Finepix S100FS
It will be interesting to see how the competition reacts to the SX1

If there is nothing better than the SX1 then she will be my next camera because a full HD video mode with a 20x optical zoom and IS for just 200€ on top of a good camera is a price I am willing to pay.

confirmations and corrections

The Sensor is not a 10MP as stated on some Canon Websites but a 11.6MP
"It's a 1/2.3-inch type unit with a total photosite count of 11.60 million."
So if you shoot in wide screen you get just 8.3MP.

The viewfinder is bad as I suspected
photoreview.com.au states:
"Unlike the LCD monitor, the EVF has 148,000-dot resolution and looks quite granular. It also has a greenish-blue colour cast. However, if asked to choose between the LCD and EVF for framing shots, you'd definitely choose the former for accuracy and clarity."
Chasseur d'images: "The only serious complaint concerns the poor quality of the viewfinder."

The quality of the swivel screen from my test SX10 was fine with me. Sharp and clear enough to see the details needed for manual focus and bright enough to be good visible when the sun shines direct on the display.

In 2 reviews I read so far that the swivel screen from the SX1 should be bright and crisp

"It's also one of the clearest, brightest monitors we've seen on a compact digicam to date - despite having a resolution of only 230,000 dots."

"But the similar specifications (SX10 vs SX1) and the same resolution, the truth is that the quality displayed by the LCD of the SX1 IS in the preview and review of the images is quite superior."

Yes there is a filter thred

you can put 52mm add ons on the SX1/SX10
just found these on a forum.

First Comparison SX1 vs SX10

The website quesabesde.com did the first comparison.

Here what I could understand from the translation:
The image quality is nearly par, with the SX1 a bit worse in the purple fringing.
"Without major differences
Leaving aside certain details (the same zoom, their screens and uneven connectivity HDMI making the SX1 IS), the great hope is that the CMOS latter is able at last to address the traditional limitations of those who suffer compact models with high sensitivities
However, having these first samples before a still life with fairly low lighting, obvious that there are no major differences between the two models when it comes to noise control."

The SX1 seems to have a better auto white balance.
"Anyway, apart from the various responses in terms of color, white balance, with artificial lights is more than that of the IS-SX1 and contrast, we have to look very closely at the results of these two compact to find traits that mark a boundary between them."

The SX10 seems a bit sharper to me in the lower ISO.
"From ISO 200, noise is already visible in the images taken by both models, while not becoming a serious problem up to 800 ISO. At these levels, in fact, it IS the SX10 which suffers less from the ravages of processing and noise reduction system."

The SX10 looses more detail in high ISO due to smearing.
"It is with the lowest sensitivities when it imposed the SX1 IS slightly, proving to be capable of offering little more detail and sharpness in the images."

The display from the SX1 seems to be clearer for the testers.
"The size of the brand since the early differences between the two. Thus, the SX10 IS presents a display of 2.5 inches and 230,000 points, while the SX1 IS raises the diagonal up 2.8 inches and puts on a 16:9 widescreen format, very useful for recording videos (though not so much for catching photo).
But the similar specifications and the same resolution, the truth is that the quality displayed by the LCD of the SX1 IS in the preview and review of the images is quite superior."

 The video mode is what sets these 2 cameras apart, If you do not need the HD video, the SX10 is your camera. If you wants it the precious Full HD then the SX1 is your choice. Be aware of the limitations:
"While overall performance is pretty decent, the main problem is that it IS the SX1, to be equipped with a shutter-type "rolling shutter" in the fast movements of panoramic shots or more volatile straight lines appear visibly leaning. An effect that also suffer from the Nikon D90 or some video cameras equipped with CMOS sensor. 
In this sense, the above-mentioned Casio EX-F1 shows superior performance in the sequences in high definition, we assume that thanks to the increased speed of response and its CMOS processor."
Also if you want to watch or convert Full HD on your computer, it better be a fast one.

Here are 2 screen captures to compare actual footage

(click image for original size)

compare via picture in picture

and be aware the SX1 or SX10 are heavy

Inferior display and viewfinder on SX1 confirmed

The viewfinder is wide screen as stated by Canon Europe
Viewfinder EVF (0.40" type), aspect ratio 16:9, approx. 148,000 dots

Just got my hand on the SX1 manual and it seems I am right

If you shoot 10mp with the SX1 you have a 2.17" screen (something between the 2" from the S3IS and the 2.5" from the S5IS) with a 172.000 pixel resolution and your viewfinder will have a 0.31" with 110.000 pixel resolution and that is worse than the Canon S1IS from 2004 with EVF (0.33" type), approx. 114.000 pixels

Don´t believe me? Here is a 1:1 pixel count chart I made to believe it myself.

Since the viewfinder of the S2IS is even a bit better than the one from the SX1 in 10mp mode I made a side by side comparison so you will get an idea. Please concentrate only on the sharp parts of the image the unsharp is distortion of the picture taking camera not the actual clarity of the viewfinder.

Ok, so why am I so obsessed with the low resolution viewfinder you might ask. 
When I brought my brand spanking new Canon S2 I wanted a camera with manual focus but with that low resolution viewfinder and the low resolution display what was too small (1.8") also I was not able to use successful the manual focus. It did frustrate me so much that most of the time I did not use the S2. Now 3 and a half year later I will not make the same mistake.

bye bye

So after 6 days of testing I returned the SX10 to the store today for a full refund.
I will wait for the SX1 to come out and will verify if I am right about the viewfinder what will have less than half or the SX10 resolution when shooting 10mp. If this is the case the SX1 will be a big no no for me.
I am not sure if 320 Euros for just the slow 20x lens, the double size in megapixel and the DIGIC4 processor without any improvement in the video section is the smart thing to spend to replace my S2IS.Canon uses the same VGA video size they had on the S1IS in 2004 with the DIGIC 1 processor and just added stereo with the S2IS. Now they changed to H264 in a MOV format wrapper with a halfassed compression what safes just 25 to 30 % of the filesize from the AVI the S2IS had.
 

Compare the size of the frame from the display with the thick frames from the Canon S and SX series. If Canon would make the frame this slim they could easily fit a 3" on both SX models. 
Maybe Panasonic brings the FZ38 with an articulated screen like the TZ5 (resolution and size) similar the one they have on the Lumix G1 that combined with the right viewfinder and I would get that one in an instant. 

how much is that puppy in the window?

SX10 starting 312Euro 

SX1 starting 464 Euro

Cheapest one here on Gran Canaria I found was 320 Euro

get me a screwdriver

The SX1 and SX10 lenses compared with the G10

If you want to know what´s inside

some troubleing thoughts about the SX1

I need to pick your brain about something I just stubled over

Normal resolution with the SX1 or SX10 3.648 x 2.736 = 10mp.Wide resolution with the SX1 3.640 x 2.160 = 7.86mp so just a crop of the 10mp

Now if you shoot normal 10mp with the SX1 widescreen, the picture will be resized for the screen and you have a black bar on either side that leaves 110k pixel for the viewfinder and 172k pixel for the display if I did my calculation right.

SX10 screen 2.5" 230k ca 552x416 - 4:3 10mp
viewfinder 0.44" 235k ca. ca. 560x420 - 4:3 10mp

SX1 screen 2.8" 230k ca. 639x360 - 16:9 7.8mp 
(172k ca. 478x360 in 4x3 10mp)
viewfinder 0.40" 148k ca. 513x289 -16:9 7.8mp
(110k ca. 383x289 in 4x3 10mp)
So manual focus will be almost impossible with the viewfinder and not so good with the display.
If this is right then the viewfinder from the SX1 in 10mp is even worse than the one in the Canon S2 (115k) and will be a deal breaker for me.

Should not a wide screen camera whith wide screen displays also have a wide screen sensor???

Somebody please proof me wrong

I just did some calculation and if I am not wrong, the visible screen is 2.17" if you shoot 10mp with the SX1.
Since on some Canon websites around the world the SX1 data vanished or did not even appeared (out side the USA) maybe somebody pointed that out to Canon.
If they are clever the only solution I see is an option to use the screen full size and crop the top and bottom of the image. Maybe a fast switch via the shortcut button between full image at 2.17" or full screen cropped top and bottom. I think I could live with that kind of solution for the swivel screen but this leaves the 110k viewfinder at 10mp so they need to up that resolution higher than the SX10 or they become the laughingstock of the foto comunity for biggest blunder in 2008 in the category screen.
Somebody should give out an award for that like the broken lens award...

Just noticed the difference between Canon Japan and Canon Germany

The SX1 in Japan has a 200 pixel higher horizontal resolution. Do these people actualy know what they sell?

---

Another thing about the 4 fps against the 1.4 fps
If you use the autofocus it drops to 1.1 fps against 0.7 fps 

the honest cameralabs review

A very comprehensive review with lots of comparisons to the Panasonic FZ28 and the astonishing results compared with the DSLR Canon EOS 450D / XSi
http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Canon_PowerShot_SX10_IS/

Wehn you read it, look at the review from the Canon Powershot G10 http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Canon_PowerShot_G10/ and you will see how much the SX10 and the G10 are siblings.

After telling the people in the forum at dpreview about this fine review, dpreview banned me for doing just that.

have it your way

For my taste the pictures from the SX10 are too soft and lack a bit the color vibrance in some pictures. But since I live where the sun does shine on a mostly clear sky for 11 months my light is different from where you might do you major shooting.

There is the thing with the my colors.
Never used it on the S2, in fact I never used the S2 much. I had one of the first ones to come out but my trusty Canon A60 with 2 mp was mostly in my pocket. And that is the thing with the cameras. When I had my SLR with all the lenses and tripod and flash and filters and the pneumatic remote control etc. I only took her out for photo shooting.



The A60 I had often in my pocket and could do much snapshots. Here a few from Benidorm, Spain.




on the floor outside of a store




The S2 was used for tele and video shots and when I went out for photo shootings. The small screen was always something what held me back using her.

My A60 was replaced in 2007 with another Ricoh camera, because she was pocket size had 7x zoom and a nice 2.7" screen what could be used above the head or below the waist and was still viewable in bright sunlight and not to forget the 28mm wide angle. I tested the Ricoh R6 in depth and she is still my main camera. More info see my Picasa Web Album.

Now lets go back to the topic, the S2 already had my colors and you could adjust sharpness, contrast and saturation also red, green, blue and skin tone. So now the SX10 is set to sharpness +2 and saturation +1, lets see if you can spot a difference.

these two you can enlarge to compare

Yes, I know they are twisted but please concentrate on the difference, not on the picture it self.

what´s the thing with i-Contrast

Lets take a look at Dinoland (tm) because we have everything from bright blue sky to dark boding shadows and flesh tones here.

the next 2 images were shot with face detect and the SX10 locked on to the face in the right lower corner.

i-Contrast


no i-Contrast


i-Contrast


no i-Contrast


i-Contrast


no i-Contrast


and this is what Canon has to say about i-Contrast



lets have a look at the post processing the SX10 has to offer in PLAY mode
















so if you like, you can save your picture in 4 different i-Contrast settings and decide on the computer screen later which to keep.

so now you have to make up your own mind if you like it and if and when you want to use I-Contrast or if you I-Phone or your i-Pod is enough.

why I need that swivel screen

I sometimes have to shoot on ground level


to get shots like these:








and here a couple more from a differnt angle





20x