Here at WoWasis, we’ve raved for years about our tiny metal-body Canon SD 1100 camera. It’s never died, and has been through so much that all visible making have worn off. But we’ve changed cameras and kept the SD1100 as a spare that we carry in our luggage. Here’s why we did it, and are we happy we did!
Canon’s new SX 260 HS went on sale, and we bought one. The selling feature was a much more powerful optical zoom (20x vs. 3x). The negatives were that it was slightly bigger (we always carry our camera in our front pants pocket) and the lack of optical viewfinder. It turns out that neither mattered. We’ve used the optical viewfinder less and less as the years went on. And while this camera is slightly bigger than the XXX, it still fits nicely in our trousers’ pocket. To keep the 5 leaf shuttle free of dirt and crud, and to protect the digital viewfinder/screen, we carry this camera inside a small drawstring-type cloth bag.
In a two week period, we’ve taken 674 pictures and 8 movies with this camera. It wasn’t always in a dirt-free environment, either. Bangladesh, in particular, was rough going, but the new camera survived everything. The 20x optical zoom we’ve used for lots of stuff, and we wouldn’t go without it, now. Movies are a snap, and you can use the zoom with it.
The NB-6L battery is good for roughly 350 pictures, and we recommend buying a spare (about $50 USD) if you’re doing a field shoot. The only cumbersome element we’ve encountered is the pop-up flash, which keeps running into our left index finger and creating an error message. We’re still getting used that. This is a GPS camera, but we haven’t yet used that feature, having heard that it’s a bit of a memory hog. It’s nice to know it’s there, because conceivably we’ll use it in the future.
The amazing part about this story is that we originally wanted to buy another XXX too keep in our luggage, but found that prices for that camera had skyrocketed. We were quoted $250 USD, even though the camera is no longer being made. We paid $199 USD for the SX 260 HS on sale, $50 cheaper and more feature-rich.
Our rigorous field test has proven to us that the SX 260 HS is a winner to such an extent that when we went back to our SD 1100 (the 260’s battery had run out), we longed for the new camera. Even though we paid $199 in the US, it’s being sold for $350 in Bangkok, where we are today. So watch the sales and buy this camera. For its small size, it’s rugged, feature-laden, and a great buy at just about any price.
Durability update: today we were hit by a tuk-tuk while crossing the street in Chiang Mai, Thailand, while carrying our Canon SX 260 camera. We went flying in one direction, the camera in the other, and all landed with a thud on the pavement. With the exception of some scratches on the body from sliding on the asphalt, the camera looks great. It continues to perform as well as they day we bought it.
While no camera is indestructable, we think it’s remarkable that the optics and zoom are still performing after the terrific hit the camera took on the street. We’re talking about a three foot fall and a six foot slide afterward.