Canon Powershot SX10IS 10MP Digital Camera with 20x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Decide Now

I have been looking forward to the "S6 IS" coming out this year (after skipping out on the S3 and S5), and now it's out, with the name "SX10 IS". I think Canon wanted to show that this camera is a huge leap forward from the S5 IS, and it certainly is given the new specs.

Compared to the S2 through S5, the zoom is now 20x optical starting at 28mm instead of 12x starting at 35mm (much wider shots), as well as a 10MP sensor, up from 5-8MP, and Digic IV (instead of Digic II and III) for improved shots.

I tried out the demo model in the store, and some differences I noticed were:
- The camera is much taller and deeper to accommodate the huge lens, and does not feel as good in my hands as even the S5
- The body of the camera is very smooth compared to previous models, but it feels bulky compared to the S5
- The button layout is COMPLETELY different, there are no buttons on the front of the camera, MF and macro buttons are located in the back, you now press a button to turn the camera on and off (instead of turning a jog dial), the 4-way directional pad has been replaced with a clickable scroll wheel, also to enter playback mode you must press a button instead. I do not like this layout, but it does offer the advantage of being able to enter macro and MF mode using your right hand only.
- After taking a shot, you can view very detailed information about the shot (ISO, aperture, histogram, etc) which is a nice add-on
- The lens is marked on the top with approximate zoom levels and focal lengths
- Unlike the S5, the battery compartment is again separated from the SD-card slot, which is good
- The picture quality is better, thanks to improved high-ISO quality, so the pictures come out less blurry than on the S5. The sharpness and auto-focus at 20x is very good, with no visible distortion at any zoom level

I did not see the intervalometer function in the menu, so I assume it is still gone as it was removed in the S5, also no RAW support, and there is no custom firmware available for the SX10 (since it is Digic IV), look for that in the future. Movies are in .MOV format instead of .AVI, still 480p, and still one of the best "camcorders" around.

The MSRP is also $100 lower than the S5 was at launch, making this a terrific bargain for a 20x superzoom with Canon's great quality. My only concerns are with the size of the camera and the button layout. However, the huge zoom lens makes up for it, and the fact is it is still much smaller and lighter than a D-SLR plus wide-angle and telephoto lens. Overall, you can't go wrong with this camera, the quality is superb.Get more detail about Canon Powershot SX10IS 10MP Digital Camera with 20x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom.