>> When you think digital point-and-shoot cameras,
what's the first company that comes to mind? Now if you
guys are thinking Canon's digital L series, you got it.
I'm Brian Tom for cnet.com and we're putting the product
spotlight on the Canon SD 1000 to see if the line
continues its reign of excellence. The Power Shot SD
1000 has that sleek, elf-look that many people are used
to. Now this rendition is boxier and doesn't have some
of those flowing curves of past models, but it's simple
minimalist design is just as nice. It's really a
compact four factor, and it fits in about any pocket
comfortably. The SD 1000 is a 7.1 mega pixel camera
with a 3 X zoom, which is pretty much the standard for
point-and-shoot cameras these days. Now the camera's
layouts and controls are also basically the same, but
this tech toy isn't just about looks. Sometimes, guys,
it's the inside that counts. And that's where we see
the changes with the SD 1000. Now the biggest change is
the switch to the digit 3 processor. This rebound
processor claims to give you longer battery life, faster
start-up, auto focus, and shutter response. It also
adds face detection for focusing. So if I move around,
you can see that the SD 1000 keeps locked on my grill.
It also has an ISO 1600 setting for faster shutter speed
in low light situations. And that means sharper
pictures at parties that you may not remember. Now
that's claiming a whole lot, but in our lab tests we
were able to verify these improvements when we compared
it to the model it replaced; the SD 600. We love the
fact that it still has an optical view finder which you
guys can see here. Because more and more cameras are
getting rid of this feature. But it does come in handy
in tight shooting conditions. So let's take a look at
the L controls. Now you've got a slider here for image
capture. And I can slide it down to video capture, and
then down here, the playback mode. Now below here this
four-way control let's you change the ISO settings,
flash or no flash, and on the left side you've got the
macro or infinity focus, and the continuous shot and
shot timer button over here. Now this is pretty much
the standard layout for an elf design. But the most
important thing about cameras are the images. The image
quality from the SD 1000 was excellent in the CNET lab
tests. They were accurate with colors, and had plenty
of sharpness. They just looked really sensational. Now
I'm a previous owner of the SD 600 and I was able to see
the subtle Richness and vibrancy with pics right from
this camera right when I started using it. The SD 1000
continues to be one of the top choices for a
point-and-shoot. But there's still some things that
bug. These days people want more from their pocketable
cameras and having manual exposure controls would kick
the elf line up one more notch. No one in this category
of digital cameras does it yet, so Canon, you guys could
be the first. I'm Brian Tom for cnet.com. And the SD
1000 continues its run of great cameras with the
improved digit 3 processor and the quality performance
that we're used to. This guy is a keeper.
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