| Canon PowerShot D10 Digital Camera Review |
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Canon’s PowerShot D10 is certainly not the first waterproof, freezeproof and shockproof digital compact camera to land on the Buy-n-Shoot.com review desk (although it is a first in the extensive Canon line-up) but it is certainly one of the favourites so far. Its most immediately striking feature is simply that the D10 actually looks like a waterproof camera: its sturdy almost globular little body and fixed porthole inspired lens scream, ‘take me for a swim’ and there’ll be no panicked cries from onlookers as you do just that. Unlike other waterproof cameras that show no visible sign of their underwater capabilities, the D10 shamelessly flaunts its watertight casing and penchant for all things extreme-weather related. Take for example the colour choice of the unit’s face plate: bright water-like blue or if you’re more inclined towards camouflage print, extreme orange or a stealthy grey you can purchase the optional accessory set of interchangeable covers and change them as your mood or activity sees fit. Try orange for visibility at the snow, grey for less conspicuous day-to-day shooting, camouflage print for hiking, camping and mountain bike riding and blue, of course, for your tropical holiday, swim carnival or waterskiing adventures. Another favourable design decision is the inclusion of four separate mounts, one on each of the D10’s corners, where users can choose to attach (and swap at a whim) either the included wrist strap, or optional accessories such as a shoulder/neck strap or cabin hook strap. The twin carabiner shoulder/neck strap, which attaches to two of the four available mounts, will prove especially handy for active folks who often ride, raft, travel and kayak etc. but still want their camera readily and easily available at all times. But enough about external knobs and bobs for the minute and let’s concentrate on some of the D10’s specifications starting with 12.1 megapixels, 3x optical zoom lens (35mm-105mm equivalent) and a 2.5 inch PureColour II LCD that delivers high visibility under the majority of conditions although is fairly susceptible to fingerprints and smudge marks. The D10 can delve to a massive 10 metres underwater and remain fully waterproof and it can comfortably survive temperatures to a minimum of minus 10 degrees. On top of that, the D10 is shockproof to approximately 1 metre and the all-weather build of its body means that dust isn’t likely to be a problem either. In other words, you can trust that the D10 is a rugged little unit capable of handling a variety of conditions and as such, it opens up a whole new world of photography for the compact camera user. In terms of image quality, the D10 performs as you would expect it to: its photographs are not the best seen amongst the compact camera market in this price range (RRP $599) but that’s the trade off for being able to take images in places so many others compacts simply cannot. Having said that, image quality is far from bad. While the D10 can struggle somewhat with low light conditions, it thrives outdoors under natural light and regularly produces fairly sharp, vibrant images with true-to-life colour. As a result of the lens being housed behind a protective casing, a degree of softness is evident in images particularly towards the outer edges. Generally this isn’t easily visible to the naked eye unless magnified and as such, shouldn’t be a problem unless you intend to print large-scale A2 photographs - as Canon claims is possible with files from the D10. Chromatic aberration (purple/blue fringing along areas of high contrast) can also be seen on images but again, only becomes significant upon magnification and in truth, if you’re unsure of what chromatic aberration actual is its presence is unlikely to bother you. The D10 offers optical image stabilisation to help reduce the possibility of motion blur in images and also comes loaded with efficient face detection, blink detection (that flashes a warning on screen to inform the user that the subject/s have blinked and another shot should be taken), motion detection technology and intelligent auto mode to help users instantly point-and-shoot with solid results. Aside from the slightly awkward and inconvenient location of the review button (at the camera’s centre, directly above the LCD as opposed to the right-hand side of the body at immediate thumb access) all other buttons are conveniently located and will prove familiar to existing Canon customers. The decision to split zoom operation in to two buttons rather than a single toggle remains a mystery, but aside from fractionally increasing the time it takes to activate either the wide or tele zooms, it makes no significant difference. The D10 rests quite comfortably in hand due to its round-edged body and for the most part remains easy to use and logical to navigate. General movie mode with sound is available along with colour accent movie recording, which highlights certain hues in the composition while desaturating the others, and colour swap movie recording, which swaps one hue for the other.  The standard set of Canon scene modes are also available including, as expected, underwater, beach and snow modes as well as portrait, foliage, aquarium, indoor, kids and pets, stitch assist and night snapshot etc. Bottom line is the D10 is an outdoors/adventure camera. It will suffice indoors for sure but absolutely thrive outdoors and in extreme weather conditions. It’s best suited for those who regularly camp, caravan near the river or beach, engage in extreme-style sports, go to the snow, own a boat or subject their camera to a general amount of rough and tumble in day-to-day living. Compact camera users are highly unlikely to be disappointed with the D10’s general performance and will be thrilled with its ability to go on and survive a host of adventures that regular compacts and even some of the competing specialised all-weather cameras simply cannot do or at least, cannot do as well.
     
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