Despite, or perhaps because of, an impressive feature set for such a small camera, the Canon Powershot TX1 is a poor digital camera. Although the photo quality in bright light is acceptable, the TX1 falls short photographically in several areas. This camera's most significant problem is its ergonomics which make it difficult to use, particularly for portrait shots. The camera is also underpowered with very short battery life and a weak flash.

 

The only reason to buy this camera is to have this feature set in such a small size. Canon has the much larger Powershot S3 IS which photographically does everything better and has much more features, although it does record video at a lower resolution. More similar cameras include the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3. Both these cameras are also point-and-shoot cameras with a compact 10X stabilized optical zoom lens. The latter has a better wide-angle lens than the former. These cameras are compact rather than ultra-compact but handle much better. Their only shortcomings compared to the TX1 is that neither of them shoots HD video.