Anyone got a Canon SD1100si for sale (housing too?)

[drdaddy]

I'm looking for a Canon SD1100si for sale. And the underwater housing as well.

I still shoot with Kodak 20meter recyclable (disposable) cameras. I think I have 4 left. They do surprisingly OK. But I'd like flash & movies. I love my older Canon SD600 - works great topside, so I'm looking for one to go underwater with me.

I've held off on a SB deal of a Canon 780is & housing because I've got taxes due (estimated and last years). Also the SD1100si has fewer mega-pixels, bigger optical viewfinder (I'm 59yrs and still like to use optical sometimes), and is more what I want.

But I will consider the Canon 780is after taxes.

Thank you

 

[Charlie99]

I'm looking for a Canon SD1100si for sale. And the underwater housing as well.

I Also the SD1100si has fewer mega-pixels, bigger optical viewfinder (I'm 59yrs and still like to use optical sometimes), and is more what I want.

If you have the SD1100 in the Canon WP-DC22 housing, the front lens of the optical viewfinder is blocked by the main lens port and is unusable.

If you don't find a cheap used SD1100, you might consider the similar SD1300.
I noticed that the local Costco was selling the SD1300 for $120 last weekend. The DC36 housing for the SD1300 is about $175 new. I suspect that optical viewfinder is not usable in that system either.

One thing that isn't immediately obvious in the various review of the SD1100 is that is does not have an iris (F-stop control). The lens is always wide open at F2.8. Exposure control is via shutter timing and via a neutral density filter. So far that hasn't been a problem. The only thing I'd really like to see improved is a reduction in the noise in high ISO settings.

I have become a fan of the ability of the SD1100 to take videos, such as this
manta flyby.

 

[drdaddy]

If you have the SD1100 in the Canon WP-DC22 housing, the front lens of the optical viewfinder is blocked by the main lens port and is unusable.

If you don't find a cheap used SD1100, you might consider the similar SD1300.
I noticed that the local Costco was selling the SD1300 for $120 last weekend. The DC36 housing for the SD1300 is about $175 new. I suspect that optical viewfinder is not usable in that system either.

One thing that isn't immediately obvious in the various review of the SD1100 is that is does not have an iris (F-stop control). The lens is always wide open at F2.8. Exposure control is via shutter timing and via a neutral density filter. So far that hasn't been a problem. The only thing I'd really like to see improved is a reduction in the noise in high ISO settings.

I have become a fan of the ability of the SD1100 to take videos, such as this
manta flyby.

Thank you Charlie,

I really appreciate your feedback. I wanted the SD1100is because it uses the same batteries as the Canon that I have now, the SD600. Also the 1100is has a optical viewfinder - it's OK that it doesn't work/can't see underwater. Do you have any other advice for me. Right now I've found a used housing/original owner for $130 and a used camera/original owner for $110 (prices include shipping). That sounds affordable to me.

Really, all that I want is to take some pictures underwater - not become a pro-photographer. I use Kodak/film 20m waterproofs (no flash, and I have @4 left) now, and would like something just to bring back pictures to my family - mostly my 89yr old Dad who loves the sea. I'll be using it in the Cold Murky Pacific NW mostly.

Do you have some still pictures? How does the flash work? Do you ever use the diffuser/plastic cover?

The only thing that scared me in the review was people that said they got a "lens stuck" error message that required an expensive (if not under warranty) trip to Canon - so they would just buy a new one. I want a camera that just lasts like my 600SD has.

Please give me any other advice.

Are you ready to sell your set to me and move up to something crazily expensive?

Thank you again.

 

[Charlie99]

Sorry, I'm not selling. I'm very happy with the SD1100, but I have low standards ....... mostly as an assist to my memory for critter ID. I like it enough that I bought a 2nd camera as a backup in case of floods. (My daughter now has the backup, but I'll upgrade her if I need to reclaim it)

Later today I'll upload some photos to my gallery. Right now, what's in my gallery is from an even older Olympus Stylus 400 that didn't have manual white balance.


Like with most point and shoot cameras, the flash is weak on land, and just short of useless underwater. Max usable range of 2 or 3 feet. Good for nudibranchs, corals, etc. Without the diffuser the illumination is very, very uneven, so you really need to use it, even though it makes the flash output even wimpier.

My main use is in tropical waters, so available light and manual white balance work well.
Don't count on being able to use ISO higher than 400. Or maybe ISO800 if you are willing to accept a lot of noise in order to reduce motion blur. The F2.8 lens does help, but whatever light you have, combined with F2.8 and ISO400 is going to set your shutter speed. If things are too dark, then you'll have lots of motion blur. It will be much better than you present cameras. Even if they use 400 or 800ISO film, the lens is probably much smaller aperture.



A nice feature is that you can assign the custom white balance feature to the print button. So doing a manual white balance is a single button push. I just use my compass or SPG as the target for white balance.

I have loaded some 3rd party software called CHDK that adds functions such as RAW format, but 99% of the time the only thing I'm using is the battery life display in % rather than just a few bars.

The one thing I miss is not having a lens protector for the housing.

I haven't had any problems with my camera, and my 30 year old daughter has had no problems with my backup camera that she tends to use instead of her $1000+ DSLR (small and with you beats expensive but not at hand). On land I have had a couple of errors conditions where I powered up the camera when it was jammed against something and the lens could not extend. Just cycling power restored normal operation.