Canon PowerShot SD4500 IS Review

The Canon PowerShot SD4500 IS design features a 10-megapixel CMOS image sensor at its core. The Canon SD4500IS follows in the footsteps of the PowerShot S90, by decreasing effective resolution to ten megapixels, with the goal of increasing low-light image quality. An indication of this can be seen in the higher than average sensitivity range for a compact camera, between ISO 125 and ISO 3,200 equivalents. (Note that unlike the S90 and S95, the Canon SD4500 uses a CMOS sensor, not a CCD. CMOS allows for higher performance making shooting 1080p HD video that much easier, at the cost of some still image quality.) In front of the Canon SD4500's image sensor, Canon has placed a 10x optical zoom lens with actual focal lengths of 6.3 to 63mm, equivalent to a range of 36mm to 360mm on a 35mm camera--a not very generous wide-angle to a powerful telephoto. Maximum aperture varies from f/3.4 to f/5.6 across the zoom range. Importantly, given the telephoto reach of this lens, Canon has included a true optical image stabilization system in the SD4500 IS, which combats blur from camera shake.

    

The Canon SD4500 IS lacks any form of optical or electronic viewfinder, with all interaction taking place through its rear-panel LCD display. The PowerShot SD4500's display has a fairly ordinary 3.0-inch diagonal, and offers 230,000 dot resolution. As well as still images at resolutions up to 3,648 x 2,736 pixels, the Canon SD4500 can record Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixel) movie clips at 24 frames per second, while high definition 720p (1,280 x 720 pixel), or standard definition movie clips at either VGA (640 x 480) or QVGA (320 x 240) resolution, all offer a rate of 30 frames per second. Unusually, QVGA videos can also be recorded at a whopping 240 frames per second, for playback at 30 frames per second, yielding a slow motion effect with 1/8th real time. Videos are saved in H.264 encoded .MOV containers, and include stereo audio.

Exposures are calculated using the Canon SD4500's evaluative metering system, which also offers center-weighted average and spot modes. The Canon PowerShot SD4500 offers Smart Auto and Program Auto exposure modes, plus a wide variety of scene modes. These include Portrait, Night Snapshot, Kids & Pets, Indoor, Smart Shutter, High-Speed Burst, Low Light, Color Accent, Color Swap, Fisheye Effect, Miniature Effect, Beach, Foliage, Snow, and Fireworks. A Best Image Selection mode captures 5 images, then discards all but the sharpest one. A handheld night mode automatically stacks multiple shots in-camera to provide one image with reduced motion blur. Seven white balance modes are available, including Auto, five presets, and manual. The PowerShot SD4500 IS has a seven mode flash strobe with a range of one to 12 feet at wide-angle, or 3.3 to 6.6 feet at telephoto.

The Canon PowerShot SD4500IS stores images and movies on Secure Digital, SDHC or SDXC cards. Connectivity options include HDMI high definition or NTSC / PAL standard definition composite video and USB 2.0 High Speed data. Power comes courtesy of a proprietary NB-9L lithium-ion rechargeable battery, rated as good for a battery life of 150 shots.

The Canon SD4500IS began shipping from early September 2010 in the US market. Pricing is set at around US$350.