Point, shoot, upload to web
The iPhone has been a double-edged sword
for consumer electronics. On the one hand, it’s given us perhaps the finest
mobile interface known to man; on the other, it’s made the touchscreen
ineluctably cool. The chic 10.1 megapixel Canon Ixus 510 HS is the latest bit
of kit to offer a touchscreen on a device that five years ago would have had
buttons.
Fortunately, it’s a decent example of its
type. Flip over the impressively compact body and you’ll see that the back
plane is occupied virtually entirelybythe 3.2in 461,000-pixel resistive
touchscreen. Being resistive, it’s not quite as responsive as the capacitive
technology iPhone users will be used to, but it’s no more frustrating to use
than most compacts.
Canon Ixus 510 HS
The touchscreen isn’t the 510’s best trick,
though. That honor falls to the 802.11b/g/n wireless chip nestled behind it,
which makes this one of a handful of new Canon cameras capable of sending
images straight to the internet without intervention from a computer.
For example, add the free camera window app
to your iPhone or iPad and the 510 HS can send images over an ad hoc wireless
network, so you can, for example, save images to your iPad before editing them
and uploading them to the web.
Alternatively, you can join a normal
wireless network and upload images to a cadre of social networking sites,
including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. These take a little work to get going
- you have to register with Canon’s Image Gateway service, then use that as a
gateway to Facebook et al - but once that’s done, the ability to send images
straight to the web is truly liberating for anyone who drags a laptop on
holiday with them simply to post beach pictures to the web.
There
was a little softness at the very upper reaches of its ISO 100-3200 range, but
chrome noise was virtually absent.
“ITS 802.11b/g/n chip means this camera can
send images direct to the internet”
Canon can’t be accused
of overlooking the more fundamental bits of the camera. The 10.1 megapixel
sensor produced some sensationally clean images. There was a little softness at
the very upper reaches of its ISO 100-3200 range, but chrome noise was
virtually absent. The lens is a good one as well: providing a 12* optical zoom,
it’s equivalent to a 28336mm optic on a 35mm sensor. Not only is this a highly
practical focal length for a one-size-fits-all camera, but it turns out sharp
results, and none of our test images showed any purple fringing.
Unsurprisingly, there’s no manual mode, but
the program mode offers a reasonable amount of flexibility and there’s a
predictable array of in-camera effects - think faux fisheye, faux tilt-shift
and so on.
There are imperfections. By any standard,
the 510 HS’s battery is small - an 870mAh lithium-ion rechargeable about the
size of an AA cell. We had no complaints about it in the field (it’s rated to a
reasonable 190 shots), but once you start working the wifi, it becomes clear
you’ll need to keep the charger with you even for relatively short
Canon Ixus 510 HS periods away from base.
We ran it flat - with admittedly intensive use - in about two days. The memory
card is a slight sticking point as well: those upgrading from an older compact
will need a new Micro SD card, since it doesn’t take the full-size version.
For serious photographers, the 510 HS is
pricey for a spare pocket camera, and most will hanker after something with a
bit more manual control. For casual snappers, however, it’s capable of some
superb images, the touchscreen works well and the built-in wifi is a very nice
extra.
The 510 HS’s slimline design will slip into all but the smallest of pockets,
yet it offers 12x zoom and wifi support means you can send photos directly to
the web
Details
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Price
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$549 inc VAT
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Manufacturer
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Canon
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Info
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Canon.com
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Pro
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Great image quality * Stacks of features
* Good looks
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Con
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Wireless is fiddly * Expensive
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Rating
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8/10
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