new PowerShot continued

Continuing from yesterday's post about my new Canon PowerShot SD941 IS digital camera...

I don't know how long it took to charge the battery because I was distracted using TurboTax. It was less than two hours, but I cannot be more specific than that.

I am very impressed with the camera's power supply. I have been playing with the camera off and on for four days and it is still running on the original battery charge.

While I was checking out the various shooting modes, Oliver, our eldest feline, curled up next to me on the couch. It was a perfect time to try out the camera's Digital Macro mode.

I took a handful of shots of Oliver with the camera two or three inches away from him. The photo at the top of the post is his nose and whiskers (watered down to 72dpi for Internet display). I think it is impressive even at that low resolution --- as you may imagine, the original is much more impressive.

Some people have complained that selecting modes is more difficult with this camera as compared to earlier Canons, like my PowerShot A520, which has a dial to select modes. The SD941 IS has a three-position switch that selects the automatic mode, other modes, and the video mode; place the switch in the other mode position and you select the desired other mode using the camera's menu system.

With the dial selector, I learned the hard way that you can inadvertently change modes just by handling the camera. I often found the camera in the wrong mode --- typically, not in the automatic mode --- after taking a shot. This problem goes away with the SD941 IS.

I am still exploring the camera. I have not even tried the video yet, but here are my likes and dislikes so far.

Dislike the lack of a printed manual. The camera has a printed quick start guide, but its full-blown manual is only available as an Adobe Acrobat file contained on the CD-ROM that comes with the camera. While I am learning how to use a camera, I like to have the manual handy; this is impossible unless I want to drag my laptop along.

Like (love) the size of the camera. Its miniscule size allows me to carry it everywhere. I bought a pouch to protect the camera and I can still stuff the pouched camera in the pockets of my jeans and jackets. Despite its size, I have had no problem using its tiny buttons and I have found that the size of its LCD is more than adequate.

Like the color output. They seem more natural than my A520.

Like the low light sensitivity. Most of the indoor shots I have taken have been without flash and they look great.

Like the speed. The SD941 IS is lightning fast compared to my A520.

That is all I have so far. I will have more after I use the camera more.