Canon's new SX1 IS, announced for sale in the United States last week and set to ship in April, is a bit of a trendsetter. This model, a 10-megapixel compact costing $599, uses a carbon metal oxide semiconducter (CMOS) sensor, which is the kind found in digital single-lens-reflex cameras.

Other point-and-shoots use older charged coupled device - or CCD - sensors. The SX1 IS employs its CMOS sensor to also shoot HD video - 1920 by 1080 pixels at 30 frames a second, complete with stereo sound.

Though relatively small at 3.5 by 3.5 by 5 inches and 22 ounces, there are quite a few tricks inside. The self-timer starts when a new face is added to a group, and exposure and color balance can be keyed to faces.

In addition to standard JPG images, uncompressed "raw" images can be shot simultaneously, so you can have a larger file to tweak for higher quality final results. Other compacts shoot these, but their availability - along with HD video, a hot shoe for external flash units, using street-available AA batteries - could make this a good traveling companion for a more-than-casual photographer. And the shake-stabilized, 28-to-560-millimeter zoom range means no specks from changing lenses out in the dusty world.

Source:http://myces.bdmetrics.com