To replace my poor, broken SD1000 I set some of my birthday money aside to purchase a new replacement Powershot; the choice was to either get a simpler SD1100IS or splurge on the newer, wider-angle SD880IS. I opted for the SD1100IS — a cheaper camera closer in build to the older one, so that I could make use of the spare battery and charger left over from the SD1000. And the 1100 comes in blue!

Physically the SD1100IS is essentially the same as the SD1000, but with a slightly thicker depth and rounder corners. It’s also lighter, such that the SD1100IS with battery feels more springy (but not flimsy) in the hand than the SD1000 without. Controls are mostly the same, but with more picture review info options, and of course, image stabilization, which I haven’t noticed too much yet.

Picture quality is good, but the grain is noticeable on photos taken with “Hi Auto ISO” in a moderately dim apartment — grainier than photos from the SD1000. This gives me 8 megapixels over the SD1000’s 7.1, but I’d gladly give up that extra 0.9MP for lower pixel density and less grain in dim light. I haven’t had a chance to try the camera in daylight yet (that will come over the weekend) but what I’ve seen so far is reassuring that I will get photos at least as decent as on the last camera, and that’s good enough for me. Here’s a selection from the very first set of photos taken last night with the newly unboxed camera:

They look fine at 240x180px but viewed at full size the graininess is evident, and I’m not noticing much help from image stabilization. And of course, I had to try out the long exposure feature to make a happy face in the dark. This worked nicely:

Final verdict on the Canon Powershot SD1100IS, rendered in this macro shot of a TV remote: