Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2009/05/11/review_compact_waterproof_camera_canon_powershot_d10/

Canon PowerShot D10

Waterproof, but you'll need to splash out

By George Cole

Posted in Personal Tech, 11th May 2009 08:02 GMT

Review Go on, admit it, when you first clapped eyes on Canon’s PowerShot D10, you thought: “That’s a kiddie’s camera!”

Well, the PowerShot D10’s bulbous shape, large buttons and brightly coloured face plate certainly give it the air of a child’s toy, but it’s really designed for outdoor activities like, climbing, snorkelling, trekking and white water rafting. The PowerShot D10 marks Canon’s entry into the rugged-cam market, but how tough is it?

The PowerShot D10 is no shrinking violet when it comes to looks. It’s quite large, measuring 103.6 x 66.9 x 48.8mm and weighing around 240g with battery and card. Consequently, you’d be hard pushed to find a pocket to hold it. That said, Canon provides a very good system for attaching a strap to one of four anchor points located on the corners of the camera.

Canon says the PowerShot D10 is tough enough to withstand immersion in water up to 10m and has an operating temperature range of -10 to 40C and in up to 90 per cent humidity. Oh, and it can be dropped onto a hard surface from a height of 1.22 metres. As they say in Liverpool, “It’s well ’ard.”

A quick tour reveals, a large flash and bulging lens housing at the front. Incidentally, the faceplate can be removed and changed for another design, should a makeover appeal. On top are a large power button and an even larger shutter button. At the back are three buttons for printing, mode selection (Auto, Program AE, Scene and Movie) and playback. Below them is a 2.5in PureColor LCD II screen composed of 230,000 dots and protected by a 2mm Perspex shield.

To the right, are two zoom buttons, and below these, a multi-controller composed of five buttons. At the bottom are display and menu buttons. Note the multitude of buttons and the absence of any dials, sliders, switches or joysticks. Moving to the right of the camera body, we find a waterproof cover for a mini USB port and DC in.

Canon PowerShot D10

Buttoned up: no dials or sliders, menu selections are keyed in

At the bottom is another water proof cover for the battery and SD/SDHC memory card. The covers are well designed; simply pull on a plastic lug to open them and then push them back into position with a quick snap. The battery has a protective white plastic coating and it comes with a matching battery charger – a nice touch.

In terms of specifications, the PowerShot D10 has a 1/2.3in CCD with 12.1Mp (effective), DIGIC 4 processor, 3x optical zoom in the form of a 6.2-18.6mm f/2.8-f/4.9 lens, equivalent to 35-105mm on a 35mm camera, ISO range 80-1600, shutter speed range 15-1/1500 sec, optical image stabiliser, Face Detection technology, Motion Detection system and continuous shooting at 1.1 fps – the camera continues photographing until you take your finger off the shutter or the memory card fills up.

Sample Sequence

Canon PowerShot D10

Continuous mode is set at 1.1fps
Click for a scaled QuickTime image sequence

Image resolution ranges from 4000 x 3000 to VGA, and movies can be recorded at VGA or QVGA resolution at 30fps and are saved in the Mov (H.264) file format. There are also a dozen scene modes including – you won’t be surprised to note – landscape, beach, underwater, stitch assist (panoramic) and snow, plus a variety of picture effects, such as colour swap.

When it comes to handling, the PowerShot D10 acquits itself fairly well. Switch on is fast and the camera is ready to go in about two seconds. The set-up menu uses the usual tabbed system and is easy to navigate. Switching between shooting modes is also simple, and likewise, selecting the various functions simply involves pressing the function button and then scrolling along a horizontal menu at the bottom of the screen.

Despite its smooth, rounded body, the PowerShot D10 can be gripped pretty firmly, although we would have liked to have seen a small finger rest on the face plate for extra comfort. The LCD screen is crisp and clear, and there are five brightness levels available. Bear in mind though, that the higher settings will affect battery life, which under ideal conditions, is good enough for just 220 frames.

There’s plenty of spare space around the LCD screen and it’s a shame Canon didn’t give the PowerShot D10 a 3in LCD, although no doubt cost considerations played a part in this decision. That said, the screen easy to view even when used underwater.

Canon PowerShot D10

Hand in glove: large buttons enable operation even with mits on

We tried using the camera wearing heavy gloves and the big shutter button means you can happily snap away however large your mittens are. However, focusing and operating the multi-controller were trickier with gloves. The PowerShot D10 also comes with manual focus and the zoom motor is sensitive enough to allow for fine focusing.

Sample Shots

The D10 features a decent ISO range with noise levels low until around ISO 800.

Canon PowerShot D10

ISO 80
Click for full-resolution crop

Canon PowerShot D10

ISO 100
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Canon PowerShot D10

ISO 200
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Canon PowerShot D10

ISO 400
Click for full-resolution crop

Canon PowerShot D10

ISO 800
Click for full-resolution crop

Canon PowerShot D10

ISO 1600
Click for full-resolution crop

Sample Shots

Canon PowerShot D10

Click for full-resolution crop

Canon PowerShot D10

Click for full-resolution crop

Canon PowerShot D10

Click for full-resolution crop

Canon PowerShot D10

Click for full-resolution crop

Canon PowerShot D10

Click for full-resolution crop

Sample Shots

The D10 includes an aquarium mode, which is designed for shooting fish behind glass. When set to this mode, the camera disables the flash to avoid reflections from the glass, and increases the exposure time and ISO speed to compensate.

Canon PowerShot D10

Aquarium scene mode

Canon PowerShot D10

Aquarium scene mode

Canon PowerShot D10

Aquarium scene mode

Canon PowerShot D10

Aquarium scene mode

Sadly, these shots weren’t taken underwater with the camera, but they do show how well the Aquarium scene mode works. Many thanks to The Water Zoo

Sample Shots

We had asked the Reg Hardware editor if we could take an all-expenses-paid diving trip to The Maldives to test the PowerShot D10 but, strangely enough, he declined our request. We had considered going to our local swimming baths to test it there, but cameras are banned. So sadly, our underwater tests were limited to plunging the PowerShot D10 into a bath. That said, we can confirm that the camera works well under water and suffered no ill effects from the wettings it received.

Canon PowerShot D10

Underwater

Canon PowerShot D10

Underwater

Opening the battery/card slot after a long immersion revealed a reassuringly dry memory card and battery. The flash range is given as 30cm to 3.2m and works well under water. Using the PowerShot D10 certainly beats using a camera with an underwater housing. We also put the camera into a freezer for 13 hours and, after a little coughing and spluttering when first removed, the PowerShot D10 was soon ready for action. So on our (admittedly limited) tests, the PowerShot D10 seems fit for purpose as an outdoor activities camera.

Canon PowerShot D10

Wide angle

Canon PowerShot D10

Telephoto
The 3x optical zoom 6.2-18.6mm lens is a 35-105mm equivalent on a 35mm camera.
Click for full-resolution crop

But in performance terms, we were a little disappointed. The 3x zoom is rather limited. and Although we can appreciate why Canon has decided on such a small zoom on a camera designed for the outdoors because, with a greater magnification, the PowerShot D10 would become a rather unwieldy beast. Consequently, you’re going to have to swim up close to any fish to get a decent shot.

We were also disturbed by the tendency for the PowerShot D10 to overexpose shots. Yes, you can use the camera’s exposure compensation system (-2 to +2 range with 1/3 stop increments) but many users engaged in activities will simply want to set the camera to a shooting mode and then snap away without having to tweak any more settings. We have certainly seen better auto exposure systems than this.

Canon PowerShot D10

Macro
Click for full-resolution crop

But there are good things about the PowerShot D10. Under the right conditions, you can capture some really fine detail with this camera. The Panoramic feature was easy to use and produced good results after the images had been stitched together with the bundled PhotoStitch software.

Canon PowerShot D10

Panoramic shots are stitched together with the supplied software
Click for a scaled crop

Other scene modes worked well, including aquarium. The movie mode produced reasonable sound and good picture quality, even when displayed large on a PC screen – and you can zoom whilst recording. And let’s not forget that you can dunk this camera in water, drop it onto sand or use it in ice-cold conditions with no ill effects.

Canon PowerShot D10

Taking the plunge: the D10 checks the effectiveness of toilet blue

Verdict

At just under £400, the PowerShot D10 is not cheap, especially when you consider that you can get a decent DSLR for the same price. That said, you can’t use your DSLR underwater without any protection. As a camera for using in extreme conditions, the PowerShot D10 offers a lot, but in order to take advantage of this, users will have to settle for some compromises in terms of features and performance. As the saying goes, you pays your money and you takes your choice. ®

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