Canon PowerShot SD4500 IS

The easy-to-use Canon PowerShot SD4500 IS packs a lot of features into its compact frame, but does so at the expense of overall performance, reviews say. Yet, Joshua Goldman at CNET says this 10-megapixel point-and-shoot still "has plenty of positive attributes to make it a compact megazoom worth considering." Like its Canon SD4000 IS predecessor, the SD4500 IS sports a 3-inch widescreen LCD and backside-illuminated CMOS sensor for noise reduction and speed. The SD4500 IS adds full 1080p HD video and boosts the optical zoom to 10x (36 mm to 360 mm). However, critics say that although the SD4500 IS excels at sharp close-ups, the wide-angle view disappoints with skimpy lens coverage, which limits group and landscape shots.

Still, reviewers say the Canon SD4500 IS boasts great modes for continuous high-speed shooting, firing off 8.8 frames per second (fps) at 2.5-megapixel resolution (Steves-Digicams.com testers manage about 1.5 and 6.5 fps, respectively, which they call "excellent"). But outside the camera's burst mode, shooting performance is "frustratingly slow," taking three seconds from startup to first shot, says Tim Moynihan at PC World. In addition, the SD4500 IS digital camera lacks an optical viewfinder and manual controls, though users have 28 automatic scene modes to choose from, including Miniature Effect, Handheld Night Scene and Best Image Selection, which sorts through five successive shots and picks the best one.

You can also shoot video at high speed for super slow-motion playback (30 fps). Experts and users at Amazon.com praise the camera's top-notch video quality, stereo sound and quiet optical zoom in recording mode. But photo quality draws mixed reviews from critics who say outdoor images are crisp, but indoor shots lose color because of the camera's powerful flash. However, the Canon SD4500 IS's biggest drawback is its paltry 150-shot battery life: Several owners at Amazon.com report missing shots because their batteries died. Finally, more than one tester complains about the SD4500 IS's sound quality with videos; one calls it "tinny." Overall, critics find the Canon PowerShot Elph 100 HS (*Est. $160) a more satisfying shooter, even though it's supposed to be a lower-end camera.