Canon PowerShot TX1 Point & Shoot Digital Camera - 1265B001
Canon Powershot TX1 7.1 Megapixel Digital Camera

This camera is great! small and good quality. If you need a small handy camera, this is the one.
 
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I knew what kind of camera I wanted and priced the TX1 out on various website and found it on buy.com at the lowest price. I received the camera relatively quickly and it was new in the box and works great.
 
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I was shocked how quickly I received my Camera. I would definitely use this company again. Camera works great for it's size. I especially like the super macro feature. There are times where I wished the screen was bigger. Overall, I think it is a good value.
 
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I bought the Canon TX1 in Sep'07 to replace both a 3.2 MP Canon S30 still camera and a Sony DV camcorder. I selected the 720p/7 MP TX1 over the 720p/7 MP Sanyo HD700 and 1080i/4 MP Sanyo HD1000 because the TX1 (1) is a digital camera first (with Canon's reputation for photo quality) and a camcorder second, (2) has the smallest form factor (slightly thicker than Digital Elph), and (3) has excellent build quality. Having used the TX1 now for 7 months--photographing/videoing my new baby daughter on a daily basis, on weekend trips, and on our 2-week Mexico beach vacation--I rate the TX1 a solid four stars and give Canon a thumbs up for a strong first effort. Video: The TX1 records its 720p video using the same inefficent Motion JPEG (MJPEG) codec that Canon uses in the rest of its cameras (in the AVI container/file format), as opposed to the modern H.264/AVC or AVCHD codec. The result are huge file sizes: an 8 GB SDHC flash card only hold 28 min of 720p video in the TX1 (though each file itself can be no bigger than 4 GB; this is a limitation of the FAT32 file system of SDHC and not the fault of the TX1), while an H.264/AVC or AVCHD camcorder can compress some 80 min of *1080i* video in the same 8 GB card (it's bitrate-dependent, of course). There is, however, the option of setting the 720p recording to 'LP' mode, which doubles the recording time, giving 56 min of 720p video on an 8 GB card--but I haven't tested how noticeable the degradation in quality is. Still, huge file sizes are not a deal breaker--just buy a couple of extra 8 or 16 GB flash cards or, better yet, an external travel hard drive with a built in flash card reader such as the Digital Foci Photo Safe (which worked great on our Mexico trip!). A tip: buy fast SHDC Class 6 cards (not Class 2 or 4)--you'll need it for smooth video recording. What the MJPEG codec does have going for it versus H.264/AVC or AVCHD is that virtually any Pentium4-class PC can play it using virtually any media player (Windows Media Player, Real Player, or Quicktime). And MJPEG can be edited by most video editors. This isn't true of H.264/AVC or AVCHD files, which, while efficient, requires significantly more computing power special software to decode/play back and, in particular, to edit. What kind of video quality do you get in these huge files? In well-lighted environments (daytime outdoors, mainly), the quality is quite good--definitely better than 720x480 DV. Having been stuck in standard-def camcorder land up until now, I found myself smiling with satisfaction at the new-found clarity and detail in the TX1's 720p video and marvelling at how Canon managed to pack HD resolution into a pocket cam. Still, I have to confess that the resolution, despite being nominally 720p, looks softer on my 50-inch 720p Panasonic plasma than what I expect true 720p video to be. It's certainly not as good as a dedicated 1080i HD camcorder (video from my friend's JVC 1080i Everio camcorder of the same beach shots looks crisper and has more detail). And in low-light (evening indoor situations without good lighting), forget about it--the TX1's video becomes grainy, and much detail is lost. Because of its small lens and CCD, low light performance is even worse than my old Sony DV camcorder. Photos: The TX1 photo feature set and photo quality appear equivalent to current-generation Canon Digital Elph cameras with Image Stabilization and Face Detection, but with the added bonus of a 10x optical zoom somehow shoe-horned in. Once the camera is turned on, the lens extends out of the body about 3/4 inch, and regardless of zoom, it doesn't extend any further. This 10x zoom lets you boldly go where few other pocket cams dare go and IMHO is almost enough to justify the TX1 price premium over a Digital Elph even if you don't use the HD video. It's worth noting that the TX1 allows you to take photos while recording video without switching modes, though with a brief 1.5-sec pause in the video for each photo taken. No more 'mommy takes photos with the camera while daddy holds the camcorder.' This is one place where the TX1 shines. There is one quirk that should be known: the TX1 lets you select different resolutons for digital photos and for videos, of course. Max photo resolution is 3072x2304 in 4x3 mode (which is 7.1 MP) and 3072x1728 in 16x9 mode (which is only 5.3 MP; it simply lops off the top and bottom of the 7.1 MP photo to make the 16x9). 720p video is 1280x720, and there is the run-of-the-mill 640x480 video. Ideally, I'd want to set photos to 4x3 7.1 MP and, simultaneosuly, video to 16x9 720p, but the TX1 does not allow this. If I want to shoot 720p video, then I have to set the camera global mode to 16x9, which forces the photos taken to also be in 16x9 (5.3 MP) mode. If I want full 7.1 MP photos, then I have to set the camera global mode to 4x3, which forces the video to be in 4x3 640x480 standard-def. In effect, because I want my video to always be in 720p, I'm forced to accept 16x9 5.3 MP photos. Otherwise, if I want both 4x3 7.1 MP photos and 16x9 720p video, I have to constantly switch back and forth between 16x9 and 4x3 modes. Again, it's not deal-breaker, but it is an annoying limitation.
 
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I've had this camera for several months now and have had time to really get used to its quirks and strengths and weaknesses since I carry it everywhere with me. The best thing about it is the amount of stuff Canon has crammed into such a tiny form. It's not as small as some of the point and shoot cameras out there, but what it has is very useful if you take the time to know it. The winning combination is 10x zoom, optical image stabilization (OIS) and passable video recording (under certain conditions). The images are not as good under high magnification as some of the best (and cheaper) point and shoot cameras, with some color fringing and softness toward the edge of the frame. This is the trade-off with the tiny long zoom. There is streaking on highlights on the video recordings as in many of the smallest cameras, and the OIS is fantastic- but only if you are relatively still to begin with. The video is slightly over-saturated and sharpened, and works great with the OIS especially at longer focal lengths when you are standing still, otherwise use a tripod. Those are the complaints, but having this camera with me, once I got used to the settings and menus (learn how to turn the auto-focus off and on, etc.) has provided me with fantastic photos I wouldn't have otherwise, and hours of fun just playing. The results of long shutter exposures is a fascination of mine and few small cameras allow you to do this (variable 1-15 sec). For travel, there is nothing like being able to record video as well as stills with the option of a long zoom to capture the ambience of a place. It's unobtrusive and non-intimidating while still being able grab decent images in almost any setting. I highly recommend this camera if you require what it has to offer, but not necessarily if you're looking for a camera which offers what you exactly what you need. It's not likely this camera will.
 
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Electronics > Canon Digital Camera & Camcorder Blowout