Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera and Photo Reviews

-Summary of all Reviews

Average User Rating:

I have used them for years.
Some set back the brightness of the LCD a couple of notches to save some battery.

**Update10/30/2010 At the Columbus zoo we shot well over 350 pictures and a lot of them with flash on one charge...


Very good image quality keeping the iso at 200 and below.
I am getting about the same image quality as the SD 1200 which is very good for this small size point and shoot camera.

*As point and shoots get better we often try and compare them to digital SLRs ( speed,noise, ISOs, picture quality ) but because of the point and shoots very small sensors it is just asking to much of the little cameras....

This is just me, but I like using the program mode best and I try not to use the auto mode indoors ((auto works good outdoors in good light though, Lighting is everything, it's the most important thing I've learned so far ( I think?? ).
Our copy of this camera is better indoors at the next lower video setting, 640x480.
-You must plug in the camera to charge it.
In newer dSLR cameras you can get over 1000, maybe well over depending on the camera, before the noise becomes noticeable.
The video is very easy to transfer to your computer and burn to a DVD or upload to Facebook using the included USB cable.
This camera has neither.

Some other suggestions that apply:

- Use the lowest ISO available given your requirement for either aperture or shutter speed.
I will try to share some things I have discovered about this camera.
These are just (my thoughts), I hope they might help a little.
Some things I am compairing to a canon SD1200 and the SD940 .
I do not use the viedo enough to judge that part of the cameras.

*No memory card included with this camera*.

*Some will miss the viewfinder that the SD1200 has.

*Some will miss the HD 720p in the movie mode that the SD940,SD1400 has, The SD1300 has 640x480 at 30fps like the canon SD1200, G11 and S90.



The flat button arangement is the same as the SD1200 all but the power button on top is larger and easier to turn on and off, I like that but be careful it does not come on in your pocket or in your soft camera case.

You get a 2.7inch very clear LCD screen that has a (very good and wide viewing angle in all directions).
A 28mm x 112mm lens, a little better than the 35 x 105 on the SD1200 ( But no view finder on the SD1300 ).

I have not had any trouble using any of the buttons even with my big old hands.

The SD1300 is very easy to use and small enough to carry every place you go for those spontaneous grand kid pictures like the SD 1200 was .




I like that the mic for the video is in the front of the camera instead of being on the top (where I put my finger) like the canon SD970 and others, it picks up less finger movement noise being in the front.

Very fast start up time of just over 1 sec.

I can not tell any difference in shot to shot or flash shot to shot times between the SD1300 and the SD1200 which is ( 2secs with out the flash ), and 3 to 4secs with the flash on, (( up to 6secs for full flash recharge )).

(Update > A lot of review sites(C-NET) are getting around 2.7 to 3 seconds for the SD1300 between shots with out the flash so I grabed the two cameras and tryed the two again(SD1300 SD1200) with and with out the flash on and I had the same results both ways, I used program mode both times and they would focus and recharge the flash evenly also...)

Shutter lag is good for a canon point and shoot but if you pre focus that will help even more.
I never tested the continuous shooting( but see my battery test) but canon says it is 0.9 per sec where the sd 1200 is 1.4 shots per sec, if that is important to you.

I did test the battery (NB-6L same battery as SD1200) by using continuous shooting mode ( with the flash on ) and got well over 400 pictures and it was taking ( 1 picture every 2 seconds or less in the continuous mode( flash on ) if that helps you out on the continuous shooting part, and when I turned the flash off it seemed to be very fast coming from a point and shoot world.

In real life I get around 300 or more pictures with some of them using the flash, your still need a second battery for a backup.
A nice backup battery is a (power2000) for canon NB-6L (1200mAh)$19.00.
Nikon Coolpix S4000 12 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 3.0-Inch Touch-Panel LCD (Silver)

Here is a comparison of the two after about a week:

Pros from Canon 1300:
-Familiar Canon menus and more simple menu similar to Canon's SLR's.
-Power button, shutter release and zoom ring were all in a comfortable layout and good spot for my hands, which aren't huge for a guy, but I just can't comfortably hold Canon's 780,940,1400 point and shoot bodies for long.
- This is nerdy, but the 1300 is capable of using the SDXC cards, a step up from SDHC, that will become a standard sooner or later.
-AutoFocus was pretty good for point and shoot, but not what I would call lightning fast.
-12 MP and a decent image sensor, which is about the best a point and shoot can benefit from anyway.
-The battery is removed from the camera to charge in a wall adaptor, which means you can carry spare batteries and keep the camera free to use.

Cons from the 1300:
-More expensive than comparable cameras.
-First copy I had ended up with a lens issue.