Canon Câmera Digital PowerShot TX1

Comments about Canon PowerShot TX1 Digital Camera:

I use this camera everywhere! I video recorded my sons school play, plus took lots of pictures of the event. I have taken inside and outside shots, action shots, and lots of zooming. Overall I am very pleased! It is compact enough to fit in my pocket, but the screen is a nice size. Only warning is that you will have to buy a card(or two) because the one that comes with the camera only hold about of minute of video.

Comments about Canon PowerShot TX1 Digital Camera:

The strap surprisingly secures the camera and adds stability while shooting on the go. I took this camera on several ski and snowboard trips and took live action shots. The 10X zoom is very handy. Just wish the mic was up near the flash rather than behind the LCD. I keep the LCD folded flush while shooting on the run to prevent damage in case I fall but doing so covers up the mic. I wish there is an underwater case available for scuba trips. Also, would be nice to have the option to program the top button to turn stabilization on/off. Ultimately, if there is a helmet strap made for this camera, that would be perfect - the form factor of the camera makes it convenient to be strapped vertically - i.e. arm, helmet, leg, etc. I think this camera is ahead of its time and many reviewers don't get it (yet).

Comments about Canon PowerShot TX1 Digital Camera:

If this camera had a mic line in, it would be worth buying a dozen times over! However, it is missing this cheap yet invaluably useful function. Therefore it is only a passing fad. There are many products that have comparable functions in smaller or more fashionable bodies. Close but no cigar, Canon.

Comments about Canon PowerShot TX1 Digital Camera:

I won't belabor the excellent picture/video quality of this camera. That has been covered, in depth, in numerous reviews. However, these same reviewers all complain about the ergonomic design. This is because they are HOLDING THE CAMERA INCORRECTLY! Instead of trying to trigger the shutter release with your index finger, USE YOUR THUMB. This allows you to support the camera with the ring and pinky fingers underneath the bottom and allows the index and middle fingers to wrap around the front - between the lens and wriststrap attachment point. Suddenly, the whole thing comes together and feels right. There are numerous additional advantages to this position, such as not looking like you are taking a picture. This is the ultimate, candid street camera because you can leave everything on auto, look down on the rotatable screen and never have to raise the camera up to eye level to grab a shot. The camera is practically invisible and very stable when held this way.

Expertise: Advanced Amateur, Member NY Stereoscopic Society, Member NANPA

Problems Encountered: Deciding which function to assign to the print button.

Previous Equivalent Item Owned: Leica IIIa, Lumix DMC-FZ50, Canon EOS 3 w/ L lenses, etc

Items I Recommend: 4GB Sandisk SDHC card

Comments about Canon PowerShot TX1 Digital Camera:

The camera is the funnest investment I have made in years. I shoot more video than snap pictures when I'm hiking or camping. I bought an 8GB class 6 card online I figured that would give me nearly a half hour of full quality HD video. I was very surprised when I found out that this camera has an HD LP mode which gives me nearly an hour of quality video on my card. I am so blown away by this mode that I don't even use the HD SP mode. It's really hard to tell the difference. I'm most impressed that Canon's motion JPEG shows no pixelization at high speeds, even in detailed mountain landscapes. One of my favorite features is that the video mode and still mode are not separate so any setting you change affects both video and still. This gives you a lot of manual control for video. I edit the video in Sony Vegas and it chops very cleanly and fast. I can extract any frame I want as a still and it is clean and sharp. I do a lot of audio recording as well and the built in sound recorder is really handy. It records in stereo at 44.1 Khz and it has manual mic levels. Can't say enough about it and will likely sell my Sony camcorder.

Problems Encountered: The number one complaint you'll hear is ergonomics. I have small hands and have no complaints. The number two complaint you'll hear is battery life. My first test shoot included a three hour hike with intermitent recording, zooming, playing with settings, using the flash, transferring video, etc. I shot about a half hour of footage with no battery warning. The number three complaint is the codec. I already addressed this above. The HD LP mode is fantastic. My personal complaint is with the Image stabilizer. I could see it working in my video footage. I set it to shoot only mode, so it only works when snapping a still so it's still useful. As you might expect, the camera can be slow or dramatic when adjusting to light changes. But as with any camera, if you take time to set up your shot, you will be pleased and the 10x optical zoom helps out tremendously with scene composition as well. I found render times to the WM-HD codec very slow and moderately slow for MPEG 2 SD when compared to DV render times. I have not authored to HD-DVD yet but I watch the WMV-HD raw files on my XBOX 360 and it looks crisp and clean with no signs of transcoding.

Previous Equivalent Items Owned: Sony DSC-W1 MPEG2 VX mode

Items I Recommend: 8GB Class 6 SDHC card

Comments about Canon PowerShot TX1 Digital Camera:

This camera has what I'm looking for compact, decent video quality, point and shoot. It's smaller than 2 packs of playing cards. The video quality, while very clear, isn't as good as dedicated HD camcorders, but is cheaper than those cameras. I think the quality is great, and better than my MiniDV camcorder, which is, admittedly, old. Video clips are quickly uploaded to iMovie and easy to work with. Some like to connect their camcorders to the TV and watch from the camcorder. I like to take my video clips and cut-and-splice them on the computer. The TX1 won't take super long clips at the highest quality setting, but I feel that most people take far too much footage and cut it down anyhow because it's too boring. I try to shoot only what's necessary. I went with this instead of a dedicated camcorder because video isn't of great interest to me. I'd like to take it sometimes, but I don't make movies and I just have a few select clips I like to watch. I don't enjoy sitting through endless hours of my video taped experiences. The TX1 takes long enough clips for what I need. Besides, you can always buy bigger SD cards if you want to take longer clips.For pictures, it works as well as any Canon point-and-shoot. Very few manual controls, but that's what I wanted: simple, automatic. When I want to take real pictures I bring my Nikon D200 and various lenses. The TX1 is easy to carry around for simple shots, still and video. Two concerns; battery life is short (buy an extra) and the pistol-grip is not optimal, but I'm fine with it.

Problems Encountered: Two concerns battery life is short (I bought an extra) and the pistol-grip is not optimal, but I'm fine with it. I've gotten used to holding the camera this way. The TX1 is not for the person hoping to make a full-length movie or take professional photos. I look at this basically as an easy-to-carry all-in-one gadget that lets me take video for those few times I like to take video.

Previous Equivalent Items Owned: Canon A80

Items I Recommend: Extra battery; large, fast SD cards