PHOTO QUALITY. This 12-megapixel waterproof and rugged camera captured images with very good quality. We judged this model very good for outdoor performance, such as shooting landscapes in the daytime; good for indoor performance, such as photographing a well-lit basketball game in a gym.
FLASH. The PowerShot D30 captured flash shots that were good. In our distance test, we found the camera's flash could illuminate most subjects that are closer to the camera, but had some problems with distant subjects. The flash also has very good, even coverage.
LENS. This camera includes a 5x zoom lens, a bit more zoom than a standard 3x. The lens also has wide-angle (28mm) capability that's useful for landscapes and group portraits, although you may notice a bit of distortion when you're shooting faces up close, for instance.
IMAGE STABILIZATION. This is an important feature; taking hand-held shots at the telephoto end of the zoom range can generally blur or soften images due to the slight movement of your hands. In low-light settings, it performed excellently and almost never produced blurry photos. Overall, the shake reduction results from our tests were excellent.
SPEED. In terms of performance, the Canon PowerShot D30 powers up very quickly.
VIDEO. The Canon PowerShot D30 takes good video. It captures full HD video at 1920 x 1080 24p. As for sound, it captures good audio in mono.