Canon PowerShot SD870IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver) by Canon
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Digital camera reviews of Canon PowerShot SD870IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)
Digital camera Review: A great camera
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great camera. I do a lot of hiking and I am tired of stitching together 2 or more images to create a panorama. Most times I really only need a single shot to capture a scene rather than a stitch of two scenes... this camera does just that with its wide-angle lens. In that mode there is very little barrel distortion, too.
The zoom isn't great at about 3x but then again I don't really that. I take mostly "snapshots" and this point-and-shoot not only garnered Consumer Reports as being highly rated but also my rating.
I also spend time documenting underground mining scenes and I found the flash more than adequate (despite others' comments), but, more importantly, the camera projects a red dot so that the imaging software can correctly focus on the scene -- that is invaluable to me.
Red-eye reduction seemed ineffective at a wedding that I was at; the feature of detecting smiling faces was incredibly precise.
The software (menu system) is a little clunky and counter-intuitive, but so was transitioning from Windows 98 to XP, right? I'll get used to it in time.
Boot-up time is phenomenally fast, pictures are taken rapidly, focus is rapid, picture quality is excellent (an 8 MP image takes about 4 MB card space -- detail is not sacrificed).
So why only the 4-star rating? In moderately low light the software shifts to a low shutter speed, one slow enough that, say, if a breeze is rustling branches then they are captured as blurred. In my photographs, however, I have not experienced the graininess that others have experienced at similar lighting conditions.
I haven't yet evaluated the movie or time-lapse movie modes so I cannot report on them... but, for a compact camera with great battery life and an awesome wide-angle lens, I am more than pleased with my purchase.
It is my understanding that there is now a slightly more improved version of this camera... probably worth checking out for the few extra pesos...
Now, as far as the Canon software goes, hmmm... it needs some work (and I need to familiarize myself with it more), but it does the job that I need: download the pictures from the camera, auto-rotate portrait images, and then save them. I use 3rd party paint programs for any editing so I cannot comment on the ability of the supplied software to handle that... I am a "minimalist" of sorts in that regards. It took me a few minutes to figure out what I needed to do from the non-standard user interface, but I did figure it out and the pictures drop into my selected folder properly rotated -- what more could I want? When the pictures are downloaded they go into one folder, then I ask to save them in another, but the originals are then not deleted. This could be my ineptitude with the software. Either way, a right-click and delete from Explorer and I am on my way.
Digital camera Review: A great camera with some annoyances
Summary: 4 Stars
Although this is a great camera there are two minor annoyances I would like to highlight.
ANNOYANCE 1: It has a USB connection but it works in a non-standard way. It *only* works on Windows or Mac with the supplied software (and there is at least one Linux solution available -- gphoto2). This poses a problem when plugging it into the USB port on a TV that can read and display images and sound from a USB device -- they know nothing about the proprietary interface presented by the camera and therefore cannot display the contents. It is an example of the trouble that can be caused by not abiding by formally recognized standards. (I would expect this from Sony, but not Canon!) But the simple work-around is to remove the card from the camera and, using a USB SD-reader, plug it directly into the TV. See RECOMMENDATION 1, below.
My previous camera had a setting that allowed it to work in "mass storage" mode (I think that's what it was called). This allowed me to plug it into any USB port and read the card as if the cameras wasn't even involved. I couldn't find such a setting on this camera. Maybe I just haven't figured that out yet. I hope someone can correct me. If so I'll edit this review.
ANNOYANCE 2: You can only date/timestamp your photos in one of the shooting modes (postcard). Why Canon would impose this limitation is mystifying.
I also have a few recommendations:
RECOMMENDATION 1: You will need to get an SD (or SDHC) card for your camera as the one supplied with the camera has much too low a capacity to be of practical use. The manual even states that not all camera features will work with the supplied card.
I found the following and just received it from Amazon:
SanDisk 4 GB Extreme III SDHC Card with MicroMate USB 2.0 Reader (SDSDRX3-4096-A21, Retail Package)
BUT: see my review at
http://www.amazon.com/review/R9SW94C4AKBI1/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
as this SDHC card may or may not come with the reader discussed here!
It is quite nice and includes a small USB device that works perfectly as I described in the paragraph above. In the picture at the link, notice that the USB device is not much larger than the SDHC card itself, making it easy to toss into any camera bag that has room for a spare SD card.
RECOMMENDATION 2: I wanted something to protect the camera as I carry it around, but I didn't want to negate the "ultra-compact" advantage of true portability. I found the following which is just the right size and the camera still fits in a shirt pocket when in the case.
Case Logic UNZ-2 Small Black Case.
Be sure to get a UNZ-2. Amazon has mostly UNZ-3, which is too big. The link's product dimensions make no sense, but I have a UNZ-2 and it is the right size. There are other colors available.
RECOMMENDATION 3: I also wanted a case that could be used for travel -- something that could carry the camera, its charger, spare battery, spare SD card, etc. I found the following which is large enough for all that. It can hold the camera even when it is in the case above. And it is still small enough to throw in a glove compartment. It wouldn't take up much room in carry-on luggage either.
Case Logic TBC-3 Camera Bag
rcp
Digital camera Review: A recommended Camera Canon SD870IS
Summary: 5 Stars
Canon PowerShot SD870IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)Digital camera Review: A sure winner!!
Summary: 5 Stars
The cannon SD870IS has everything you would want in a camera in that category- trust me- I have been researching them for more than 6 months before I finally decided to buy the SD870. I just love it!! I got it a couple of weeks back and got a chance to use them extensively over the last weekend at a family party. Most people had canon SD cameras!! And I got a chance to compare mine with others including SD700, 750, 800, 900, 1100 among others. I must say the SD870 beats them all hands down!! The best thing about it is the wide angle lens( SD800 also has it). I could easily fit in 6 people in a frame when other camera would fit only 4 from the same distance.The image stabilization is 99.99% effective too!And its unique 3 inch LCD screen and the black panel on the back looks so cool!! Believe me when i say that you can see images on the screen even in very bright sunlight making the view finder irrelevant! Hardly anybody uses the viewfinder anyway!
Another cool feature is the self time- comes with 3 options including a custom setting where you can set it to click up to 10 times at one one go!! That could be very useful when you have to take pictures of a large groups.
Many other features are common to most canon SD series. Auto ISO is effective but not perfect. Exposures in the the dark may be not very good if it's anywhere more than 5 feet away. Also the LCD screen shows lot of grains in insufficient light conditions.
But in spite of its ignorable shortcomings the camera is a good investment. go for it!!
Digital camera Review: A very average replacement to 800IS
Summary: 3 Stars
I have been using my roomie's SD800IS for almost a year now and found it to be really an amazing point n shoot camera. When i decided to buy one, i thought of getting an improved version of the same. I read a few reviews and got this camera. The first shot that i took was in auto mode in a dimly lit room and the quality was not as i would get from my SD870. The image somehow had a Tunnel effect. It had light just at the middle of the subject and dark on the corners.. Confused, i took few more pics and found the same effect. I took the same pic from SD800 and the quality was way better. No darkening on the edges.
The camera somehow dissappoints me in terms of image quality. Day shots are awesome. No complaints.. but after hours, the camera is a completely an average piece.. Dissappointed. I misplaced my manuals and CD and unfortunately cannot even return it. so, i am trying to change the settings as mentioned in the discussions, here n elsewhere, but still no significant improvement.. got a bad piece i guess..