The Canon Powershot E1 is the first member of a new digital camera series from Canon. This series aims to provide cameras which are easy and comfortable to use. At this, the E1 succeeds very well, with an intuitive user interface and reasonably good ergonomics, although the former comes at the expense of photographic controls. One could say that the Canon E1 has the features of an SD-series ultra-compact in an A-series inspired body.

Photographically, the Canon Powershot E1 brings in an average performance. Noise levels are typical of low-end small sensor cameras, with visible effects starting at ISO 200 and noise reduction affecting details from ISO 400. Color accuracy, white-balance, metering and focus are actually quite good. Too bad vignetting and distortion are more pronounced. Speed is also average with a mix of better-than-average and slower-than-average numbers. Most annoying though, the LCD blanks between shots so following anything that moves is difficult.

Given what it is - an average performing camera with visual appeal to some - the Powershot E1 faces tough competition from the successful A-series Powershots. At the time of writing, the good and extremely affordable Canon Powershot A590 IS sells for less. Not only does that digital camera give better performance, it some with a much more versatile feature set including full-manual controls.