Canon PowerShot D30 Review - Canon's latest waterproof compact follows on from some impressive predecessors, but can it match their performance both in and out of the water?

Product Overview

Overall rating:

82%

Canon PowerShot D30

Overall score:82%
Value:75%
Performance:85%
Image Quality:90%
Design:85%
Features:75%

Pros:

  • Style; Build quality; Performance

Cons:

  • Outdated features; Lens quality

Product:

Canon PowerShot D30 Review

Manufacturer:

Price as reviewed:

£260.00

Canon PowerShot D30 Review – Performance

Canon PowerShot D30 Review - top down

The D30’s performance is, not too surprisingly, almost identical to the D20.

From a cold start it can power up, focus and take a picture in approximately two seconds, which is nice and quick. In single-shot mode it has a shot-to-shot time of approximately two seconds, while in continuous shooting mode it can manage approximately one frame a second, which is a little slow by recent standards.

Focusing is fast and accurate in good light, but does slow down by about half a second in low light. It has a bright amber AF assist lamp which has a range of about four or five meters, so it can focus in the dark.

As usual the Canon AiAF multi-zone autofocus system seems to have a mind of its own and often focuses on the background rather than the main subject, but the centre-zone AF is more reliable.

Canon PowerShot D30 Review -  front angled

Flash and GPS

The flash is a bit weaker than I would have expected on an outdoor-oriented camera, with a maximum range of only 3.5m. It charges reasonably quickly though, cycling in approximately seven seconds under typical use.

The D30 has a built-in GPS receiver to automatically geo-tag your pictures. I’m not usually a big fan of these; most that I’ve tried have been battery-draining white elephants that don’t even work half the time.

The D30’s GPS does appear to work quite well though, picking up a satellite lock within a minute or so and accurately recording position to within a couple of metres. If GPS on your camera would be a useful feature for you, then this is one of the few good ones.

  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Canon PowerShot D30 Review - Design
  3. 3. Canon PowerShot D30 Review - Performance
  4. 4. Canon PowerShot D30 Review - Image Quality
  5. 5. Canon PowerShot D30 Review - Verdict
  6. 6. Canon PowerShot D30 Review - Sample Image Gallery
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