Daily Marauder

SEX AND THE DIGITAL CAMERA: THE FASHIONISTA’S SOLUTION

With the Sex and the City movie debut swiftly approaching, I set out to find the perfect compliment in digital camera for the Monolo Blahnik-loving woman…or man. Before getting to the camera, please take a moment to appreciate the extended trailer for the Sex and the City movie as released at the end of February. Even if you’ve already seen it, nothing brightens a Monday like this:

Back to the camera. The Canon SD1100 which started selling in stores in March can be best described with a word from Project Runway’s Christian: fierce.

Image Quality

Do you need 8 megapixels? Probably not. . .but it’s nice to have. The SD1100 ups the ante on its predecessor with 8 megapixels rather than 7.2 and optical image stabilization.

Image Stabilization

Works well with significant vertical shift but not quite as well with horizontal shift. After a few cocktails, nothing is more necessary than image stabilization.

Controls

I’ve had a Canon camera for several years now so it’s a bit difficult for me to be truly objective on this matter. The controls are fairly intuitive. That said, it took speaking to a bona fide camera expert, my colleague Doug Milby, to understand all of my camera’s capabilities. Here’s one example. Night shot mode. Apparently, this mode keeps the shutter open longer to encapsulate more of the photo in darkness. Do I really need to read the entire manual? Really?! Besides, no fashion-loving New Yorker has time to read a manual. . .well, maybe in line for brunch at Balthazar.

Continuous Shutter

After commencing operations on Project Jump!!, photographing my friends jumping in front of artwork derived from inspiration from a fellow blogger, I realized the need for continuous shutter, allowing continuous picture-taking over a set amount of time. On this camera, the continuous shutter performed flawlessly and more importantly took pictures quickly in sequence. Cat fight in line for the bathroom at the Whitney Biennial Cocktail Party? Continuous shutter mode time.

Contrast

Photo Credit: Doug Milby

Note the contrast between the light and dark shadows on this image taken in midtown Manhattan by the SD1100. Nothing says contrast like a black and white cookie…but this camera comes close.

Flash

Excellent coverage. Next time you’re grabbing some red carpet action, this camera will make sure you capture Jay Z and Beyoncé having a fight about Jay Z’s relationship with Rihanna from the other end of the carpet.

Color Matching

Here. . .I’m a bit disappointed. These colors remind me of the ill-fated path traversed by the Microsoft Zune. Brown? Hmmmm. . .no.

Let’s compare the above color palette with. . .say, another popular piece of technology:

While I’m not a huge supporter of the iPod color palette, at least one feels vibrant while the other just feels blah. Nice attempt Canon but next time, come with it.

Price

$250

Final Call

Excellent novice camera for the price. Wanna buy one? Click here.