Customer Rating: 
Summary: greatdo it all video and still with HD,clever, if HDvid get 4gigx2 SDs
Comment: amazing little camera. Most imortant is ,it is easy to have around most of the time. My nikon d40x is super but often at home when I'm not. I leave this or my much smaller nikon coolpix in my briefcase 100% of the time.
very clear pix. My only complaint is not specific to this model, but I really do not like cameras without viewfinders cause they are difficult to hold still. Putting a camera to your face is very stabilizing. Holding it out to see the LCD is very unsteady, no wonder they all need stabilization.
This camera does as good a job as any for its purpose, top end point and shoot for movies as well as stills, and including high def,well 720 hi def. note I believe it works out to 15 min per gig of HD?
good batt life, lots and lots of features, if ur flying to australia u might just finish the manual!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great picture quality... I still like this camera a lot despite the fact that I had to send it back for repairs.
Comment: Unfortunately, I only had this camera for less than a week before the LCD went out on me. Obtaining service for the broken camera was certainly a bit of a hassle and I had to pay for shipping back to Canon. Regardless, the video quality of this camera was spectacular (while it worked). In addition, the digital pictures were as good as most of the pictures from my digital SLR (a Canon rebel).
This camera does struggle a bit in low light situations with a fair amount of graininess and dim illumination. In outdoor situations, the camera is unbelievable and is virtually indistinguishable from a video quality standpoint when compared to my friends 1080i $1000 digital camcorder that is three times the size and three times the cost of the TX1.
The camera also struggles a bit from an ergonomic standpoint. The buttons controlling the record function, zoom, and picture are difficult to reach. In addition, the camera does not balance well with the LCD screen extended on its base (it has a tendency to tip to the left).
The audio quality is excellent (much better then my Sanyo XACTI) and the video quality along with the optical Zoom and image stabilization are both much better than my Sanyo and Sony camcorders. Much has been said about the larger file format used by Canon but this camcorder works well with the larger HCSD cards and there are no issues using this camera with Apple products.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great all around family video/photo camera
Comment: I was sooo tired of hauling around a digital snapshot camera and a camcorder. I've got 4 kids and we do all the normal stuff. Soccer, skiing, Disneyland etc. etc. Have you ever skied a full day with a camcorder hanging around your neck? Almost as much fun as trudging through Disneyland for a day with one of those things around your neck.
So I heard about these "dual purpose" camcorders that record onto a memory card. I read all the reviews I could find. But let me tell you, don't believe these guys who pooh pooh this camcorder because the images aren't sharp enough or they're not "true" HD, or they use some unconventional file format. If you care about that stuff, then go spend the $3000 to get that stuff. But if you want a pocket sized camcorder to haul around to the family outings, buy this. Still images are excellent. There's plenty of pre-programmed settings (snow, beach, portrait etc.), so you'll always be ready to go. And the video quality is unbelievable coming from this little thing. I got an 8 Gig card and I've never run out of space. I plugged it into my Mac and it worked without a hitch or any messing around with settings, cords, connections etc. Pure plug and play with iPhoto. iMovie imports the movies from iPhoto. The Canon software isn't bad either, but I seldom use it.
The ergonomics do take some getting used to. The shutter button is at the top of the box and it's a little tricky on the first few uses to keep the rest of your fingers out of the frame. The thumb controls on the back for the camcorder can also be tricky to get the hang of. But after a few uses, I got used to it and it feels great now. Be careful asking strangers to use it though because it's not your typical button layout for either a camera or a camcorder.
This is the best $400 I've spent in a long time. Replaced both a digital camera and a camcorder. And it's saved my neck, back and sanity on all those family outings I enjoy shooting.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great ski/snowboard camera
Comment: The form factor fits nicely in the hand when taking action shots on the run. The AVI format produces great video without any blurring unlike other heavier compressions. I recommend an 8GB class 6 SDHC card to keep up with 720p recording. Battery life is quite good and lasted at least a full day in cold weather. The separate video record button is very handy. You can record at moments notice without having to fumble with modes, dials, etc. The small on/off button takes a bit of effort to operate but not too bad. At least I know it won't turn on by mistake when pocketed. The stills pick up a fair amount of noise in low light conditions especially if ISO increases over 80. Therefore, I have turned off auto ISO and fixed it at 80. To be fair, the noise levels are consistent with other cameras such as the SD500 and noticeable only if you are used to the quality of a DSLR. Overall, this camera is orders of magnitude better than any helmet cam (hopefully, I can find a strap to attach it to a helmet or arm). The 10X zoom is one of the best features of this camera especially for sports. One slight annoyance is when I take a still shot during a video shoot, the video gets briefly interrupted (this does not happen in the sony camcorder I have). So far, I have taken mostly VGA sized video and reserve the 720p video for special moments (including those which I plan to extract still frames). Regardless, I would highly recommend this camera for any sports enthusiast or traveler looking for a pocket sized camera with video capability. I also plan to take this to kids soccer games which would allow me to capture a combination of stills and video (like I did with the SD500 but with a more powerful 10x zoom and stereo audio). By the way, the key motivator for me getting the TX1 when I already have a SD500 is that unlike the SD500, the TX1 allows you to operate the optical zoom during video recording. Also, the 10X zoom range and 720p capabilities are hard to live without once you get used to them. I do miss the optical viewfinder of the SD500 to help increase battery life and to get around washed out LCD screens on bright days. But that is a minor issue.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent performance for the form factor.
Comment: I was looking for a compact point & shoot type camcorder and this was excellent; 10X zoom, stainless steel body, & an impressive power-on/off mode (enough for the guy next to you to stare at the camera while you switch it on).
I was one of those who dumped their tape-based video camcorders because I could not be bothered with keeping tapes, let alone editing them. So even when the introduction of mini DVs, CD-R or DVD-Rs, I still shy away from taking videos. It keeps avi format videos on as SD card, with a 8GB it can take almost an hour of video on standard 640X480 sized video (normal TV standards).
Normal complains I read on the net of this camera was the form factor. I guess it's either you love it or hate it. For me it's easy enough to handle. My hand does not complain about the small camera. I can manage it with one hand easily (you have to be right handed though). All the controls can be accessed using one hand.
A bonus for me is that it can take 7MP stills. A warning though the form factor was optimized for one-hand video recording, not as a digital still camera. You take videos/photos landscape mode while the camera is `vertical'. Seldom have you seen someone tilt the video camcorder to take portrait videos. So portrait still photo mode may be tricky.
I am happy with my find and have started to take videos again with this.
Summary: greatdo it all video and still with HD,clever, if HDvid get 4gigx2 SDs
Comment: amazing little camera. Most imortant is ,it is easy to have around most of the time. My nikon d40x is super but often at home when I'm not. I leave this or my much smaller nikon coolpix in my briefcase 100% of the time.
very clear pix. My only complaint is not specific to this model, but I really do not like cameras without viewfinders cause they are difficult to hold still. Putting a camera to your face is very stabilizing. Holding it out to see the LCD is very unsteady, no wonder they all need stabilization.
This camera does as good a job as any for its purpose, top end point and shoot for movies as well as stills, and including high def,well 720 hi def. note I believe it works out to 15 min per gig of HD?
good batt life, lots and lots of features, if ur flying to australia u might just finish the manual!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great picture quality... I still like this camera a lot despite the fact that I had to send it back for repairs.
Comment: Unfortunately, I only had this camera for less than a week before the LCD went out on me. Obtaining service for the broken camera was certainly a bit of a hassle and I had to pay for shipping back to Canon. Regardless, the video quality of this camera was spectacular (while it worked). In addition, the digital pictures were as good as most of the pictures from my digital SLR (a Canon rebel).
This camera does struggle a bit in low light situations with a fair amount of graininess and dim illumination. In outdoor situations, the camera is unbelievable and is virtually indistinguishable from a video quality standpoint when compared to my friends 1080i $1000 digital camcorder that is three times the size and three times the cost of the TX1.
The camera also struggles a bit from an ergonomic standpoint. The buttons controlling the record function, zoom, and picture are difficult to reach. In addition, the camera does not balance well with the LCD screen extended on its base (it has a tendency to tip to the left).
The audio quality is excellent (much better then my Sanyo XACTI) and the video quality along with the optical Zoom and image stabilization are both much better than my Sanyo and Sony camcorders. Much has been said about the larger file format used by Canon but this camcorder works well with the larger HCSD cards and there are no issues using this camera with Apple products.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great all around family video/photo camera
Comment: I was sooo tired of hauling around a digital snapshot camera and a camcorder. I've got 4 kids and we do all the normal stuff. Soccer, skiing, Disneyland etc. etc. Have you ever skied a full day with a camcorder hanging around your neck? Almost as much fun as trudging through Disneyland for a day with one of those things around your neck.
So I heard about these "dual purpose" camcorders that record onto a memory card. I read all the reviews I could find. But let me tell you, don't believe these guys who pooh pooh this camcorder because the images aren't sharp enough or they're not "true" HD, or they use some unconventional file format. If you care about that stuff, then go spend the $3000 to get that stuff. But if you want a pocket sized camcorder to haul around to the family outings, buy this. Still images are excellent. There's plenty of pre-programmed settings (snow, beach, portrait etc.), so you'll always be ready to go. And the video quality is unbelievable coming from this little thing. I got an 8 Gig card and I've never run out of space. I plugged it into my Mac and it worked without a hitch or any messing around with settings, cords, connections etc. Pure plug and play with iPhoto. iMovie imports the movies from iPhoto. The Canon software isn't bad either, but I seldom use it.
The ergonomics do take some getting used to. The shutter button is at the top of the box and it's a little tricky on the first few uses to keep the rest of your fingers out of the frame. The thumb controls on the back for the camcorder can also be tricky to get the hang of. But after a few uses, I got used to it and it feels great now. Be careful asking strangers to use it though because it's not your typical button layout for either a camera or a camcorder.
This is the best $400 I've spent in a long time. Replaced both a digital camera and a camcorder. And it's saved my neck, back and sanity on all those family outings I enjoy shooting.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great ski/snowboard camera
Comment: The form factor fits nicely in the hand when taking action shots on the run. The AVI format produces great video without any blurring unlike other heavier compressions. I recommend an 8GB class 6 SDHC card to keep up with 720p recording. Battery life is quite good and lasted at least a full day in cold weather. The separate video record button is very handy. You can record at moments notice without having to fumble with modes, dials, etc. The small on/off button takes a bit of effort to operate but not too bad. At least I know it won't turn on by mistake when pocketed. The stills pick up a fair amount of noise in low light conditions especially if ISO increases over 80. Therefore, I have turned off auto ISO and fixed it at 80. To be fair, the noise levels are consistent with other cameras such as the SD500 and noticeable only if you are used to the quality of a DSLR. Overall, this camera is orders of magnitude better than any helmet cam (hopefully, I can find a strap to attach it to a helmet or arm). The 10X zoom is one of the best features of this camera especially for sports. One slight annoyance is when I take a still shot during a video shoot, the video gets briefly interrupted (this does not happen in the sony camcorder I have). So far, I have taken mostly VGA sized video and reserve the 720p video for special moments (including those which I plan to extract still frames). Regardless, I would highly recommend this camera for any sports enthusiast or traveler looking for a pocket sized camera with video capability. I also plan to take this to kids soccer games which would allow me to capture a combination of stills and video (like I did with the SD500 but with a more powerful 10x zoom and stereo audio). By the way, the key motivator for me getting the TX1 when I already have a SD500 is that unlike the SD500, the TX1 allows you to operate the optical zoom during video recording. Also, the 10X zoom range and 720p capabilities are hard to live without once you get used to them. I do miss the optical viewfinder of the SD500 to help increase battery life and to get around washed out LCD screens on bright days. But that is a minor issue.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent performance for the form factor.
Comment: I was looking for a compact point & shoot type camcorder and this was excellent; 10X zoom, stainless steel body, & an impressive power-on/off mode (enough for the guy next to you to stare at the camera while you switch it on).
I was one of those who dumped their tape-based video camcorders because I could not be bothered with keeping tapes, let alone editing them. So even when the introduction of mini DVs, CD-R or DVD-Rs, I still shy away from taking videos. It keeps avi format videos on as SD card, with a 8GB it can take almost an hour of video on standard 640X480 sized video (normal TV standards).
Normal complains I read on the net of this camera was the form factor. I guess it's either you love it or hate it. For me it's easy enough to handle. My hand does not complain about the small camera. I can manage it with one hand easily (you have to be right handed though). All the controls can be accessed using one hand.
A bonus for me is that it can take 7MP stills. A warning though the form factor was optimized for one-hand video recording, not as a digital still camera. You take videos/photos landscape mode while the camera is `vertical'. Seldom have you seen someone tilt the video camcorder to take portrait videos. So portrait still photo mode may be tricky.
I am happy with my find and have started to take videos again with this.
Canon PowerShot TX1 7.1MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Reviews: Page 4 of 15
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