Canon’s Social Media Exclusive @ 1 Caramel

I was invited by Canon to get a hands-on to their latest imaging products. Held at 1Caramel at The Luxe (next to The Cathay), the set-up is so much more casual and relaxing than the previous one I attended. This time, no formal presentation from the executives, which is good. I mean, hey, we’re bloggers, not press.

I was very pleased with the line-up this time round. Here’s a brief of my impression on the models I’ve had some time playing with:

PowerShot S90 – this is gotta be my favourite camera for the evening. The 10mp 3.8x zoom aluminum-body S-series got a large aperture of f/2.0, a gimmicky lens control ring that allows me to change settings quickly, performs very impressively with high ISO 3200, allows full manual exposure controls. Under the “AUTO” mode, the S90 is constantly looking for face subjects and quickly selects the best scene mode to capture the image. What I dislike is the control dial that I find is too sensitive. Unlike most Canon models, the navi-dial doesn’t have the usual clicks when you turn. This is a camera that delivers great images under natural light conditions.

PowerShot G11 – this latest G-series has become more masculine as compared to the previous models. It has loads of hardware buttons and dials to make this a compact companion to the professional photographer. The decision to drop the megapixel count from 15mp on the G10 to the 10mp on G11 means Canon understands that a lower pixel count will reap better noise control. Personally, I feel that the G11 and S90 has comparable image performance. The G11’s advantages are its better-spec manual controls, plus the hotshoe that professionals would truly appreciate.

IXUS 200 IS (SD980) – this is Canon’s first touchscreen digicam, and with every first, there will always be design oddities. Not every button on the screen can be touched for selection, but this model still comes with the usual hardware buttons and control dial for those who aren’t comfortable with the touchscreen to continually navigate outside the screen. There are gesture-based controls, touch AF, to name a few. It has a wide-angle 24mm lens, 5x optical zoom, supports 1280×720 HD movie recording. For once, I actually find a IXUS model that meets my photographic demand.

IXUS 120 IS – this is the younger sister to the IXUS 200, without the touchscreen, starts at 28mm to 4x zoom, and a smaller size. The image quality is similar to the IXUS 200, which is to me quite usable. The camera, like the IXUS 200, also seems to perform generally faster than the previous IXUS models I’ve tried.

EOS 7D – the latest DSLR is available for my hands-on. It certainly has a much better build quality, and the buttons next to the LCD monitor is moved from the bottom to the left. There is a dedicated movie dial and button to allow you to toggle between movie and still photography with ease. The new kit lens, 15-85mm, is the widest kit lens ever produced (the Nikon equivalent is 16-85mm). The build is also quite good. Also included for hands-on is the 100mm f/2.8L macro lens and the 18-135mm. All lenses have Image Stabilizers.

The other models that I didn’t have hands-on are the PowerShot SX20 IS, PowerShot SX120 IS; video camcorders LEGRIA HF S11, LEGRIA HF21; photo printers SELPHY ES40, SELPHY CP790.

Thanks to Canon and Ogilvy for organising the lovely event, and 1Caramel for the lovely food and oh-so-delicious cakes. Now, photos from the actual cameras!

PowerShot IXUS 120 IS

This image is shot at ISO 1600. Impressive!

Shots of the lovely cakes. ISO 160.

General shot, ISO 800.

PowerShot S90