Canon PowerShot SD980IS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Ultra Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3-inch LCD (Silver) by Canon
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Digital camera reviews of Canon PowerShot SD980IS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Ultra Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3-inch LCD (Silver)
Digital camera Review: A really nice camera, with a few shortcomings
Summary: 5 Stars
The SD980 camera is pretty small, and will fit in almost any pocket. Because it doesn't have any significant protrusions, it is easy to take it out of the pocket without accidentally pulling out other things as well. It feels good in the hand, and I personally don't have a problem with the lack of a hand grip or viewfinder. The body is almost all metal, and has a nice feel.
Without boring you any further, let's see the cons and pros of this camera:
The pros:
1. 24 mm wide angle. This is very impressive, and very few compact cameras have it. What 24mm means is that you can take pictures in tighter spaces, take pictures of large groups without moving back too much, and nice landscape shots.
2. The corner sharpness is great. Almost all of the other cameras that I viewed picture samples of have very soft corners at wide angles. Soft corners means that the details in the 4 corners of the picture are poor, and if you view the image at 100%, or if you need large prints, this will show.
3. At ISO 80, the picture is pretty clean. Now you have to understand that most if not all the cameras that use a 12MP 1/2.3" sensor use the same sensor, probably made by Sony. So everything else being equal, the noise is the same for all of them. What is different is how the camera tries to remove the noise (noise reduction). Even at the base ISO (80), there is some noise reduction, which gets rid of most of the noise, but with it some of the detail is lost as well. Canon generally does a pretty good job keeping most of the detail and remove most of the noise (again, at ISO 80). Each camera manufacturer does it differently, and I like the Canon way best. At higher ISOs, even at 200, the detail start disappearing, and more noise is visible. I would not use an ISO over 80, unless if I really, really have to. I'd rather have a low shutter speed and rely on the IS feature, which works pretty well, and take multiple shots hoping that at least one is good.
4. Even though there are no manual controls, you still have AE (auto exposure) and AF (auto focus) locks, both in the still picture and movie mode. You will need to read the manual for how to use them, they are hard to find. AE is enabled in a different way in the still and movie mode. So with AE lock you can sort of simulate a manual shutter speed, by pointing the camera to an area that fits your needs (such as the sky or ground) and engage the AE lock.
5. HD movie, which looks pretty good. It is not using MJPEG, which means that you can get a smaller file size, so more movie can be recorded on an SD card. However, the movie might not play on older (slower) computers. I didn't try to play it on a netbook, but I would not expect it to work well on netbooks.
The cons:
1. There is no hardcover manual. You can get it online, or from the CD that comes with the camera, but it is nice to be able to take a quick reference guide with you in the field, at least until you get used to the camera controls. They wasted a paper with stupid warnings about copyright violations and a useless "getting started" manual, but the hard to find things are in the PDF file. The really useful things, such as AE LOCK, AE Lock during the movie, and AF lock are very hard, if not impossible to find without the PDF file. First I thought those options are not even available in the movie mode, until I read the manual.
2. The macro mode is not very useful, because the minimum focus distance is 5 CM (2"), at 24mm. At such a wide angle, the captured area is pretty big, so you can't get very close.
3. No manual controls, no RAW support. Sure, most people don't need those features, but they don't cost anything, and Canon already has them, they just decided to leave them out. The maximum shutter speed is only 15 seconds, even though it could be as high as 30 minutes. Sure, the image would be noisy, and the amp-glow would get in the way, but why not let people make their own decision whether they accept those trade-offs or not?
4. You can't zoom in the movie mode. That's because the zoom motor is too loud, and it would get recorded in the movie. However, there are situations where you are not interested in the sound, so it would be nice for Canon to give more freedom to the customers.
Some other things to consider:
1. Even though many people think that a 5X zoom camera goes pretty far in magnifying distant objects, what the 5X means is the ration between the focal range in mm. In this case, it is 120mm/24mm. 120mm is a magnification level of just 2.4 times, compared to the human eye (which has a focal distance equivalent of ~50mm). This means that if you are interested in taking pictures of birds or wildlife, this camera might not be good for you.
2. As with any other 12MP camera on a 1/2.3" sensor, anything above the base ISO will be noisy. ISO 1600 is almost unusable, ISO 3200 is even more unusable and the image size is 1600x1200 pixels.
3. The lens is pretty slow at the tele end.
4. There is some low to moderate purple fringing, but better than some other cameras. I am pretty picky about purple fringing and I still like this camera.
To sum it up, this is a very good camera for almost everyone, unless if you need good macro, wildlife, or low light capabilities. I really wish Amazon allowed a 10 stars system, because this camera deserves 9 out of 10. However, I am going to give it 5 stars, partially because I think that despite some of it's flaws, it is a very good camera, and partially because some previous reviewers gave it unfair ratings.
[edited on October 11]
Now that I ported CHDK to some extent so that I can get RAW files, it seems that the camera does some cheating.
At the wide angle, the picture is cropped and some distortion correction is done, then the image is UPSAMPLED (interpolation) to 12MP. That's not very good. However, there is a good side to this, if you use the RAW image (which is pretty distorted, but can be fixed on the PC) then you get an even wider angle, about 22mm or so.
Digital camera Review: A very good touchscreen wide angle compact digicam
Summary: 5 Stars
My previous compact digital camera was the Canon Powershot SD1000. This camera had very good picture quality. After I gifted that camera I was in the lookout for a good P&S. The SD940 really caught my eye due to its size and generally positive reviews. I returned that camera because I was not satisfied with its picture quality. My search continued and I found the SD980 at a very good price. I was a little hesitant to buy it because of average reviews here, but nevertheless I thought I'll give it a try. Boy am I glad that I did.
Pros:
1. Initially I thought that the touchscreen was just a gimmick and not really that useful. Now, I have gotten so used to the touchscreen that I find myself swiping the screen on non touchscreen cameras. The touchscreen helps a lot while focusing, changing settings, reviewing, etc.
2. The wide angle zoom (24-120mm on 35mm equivalent) is a really useful feature while taking landscape photos. The zoom lens has decent reach at 5x optical zoom.
3. Low light pictures. I have been able to get several excellent pictures during the night with the slow synchro flash setting. The Image Stabilization is pretty good allowing to take pictures at low shutter speeds with good clarity.
4. Very good Auto mode. But, if you do decide to get this camera I would recommend to go beyond the Auto mode and explore the different options to get the best possible picture. The auto mode is generally good, but in challenging situations (like low light) you need to adjust a few parameters to get the best results.
Cons:
None I can think of
Digital camera Review: An absolute winner fron Canon
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this to repace my Canon IXUS 75 Digital Camera - Black (7.1MP, 3x Optical Zoom) 3.0" LCD. Very difficult decision, so much choice. I was looking at the Canon Digital IXUS 980 IS Camera - Silver (14.7MP, 3.7x Optical Zoom) 2.5 inch PureColor LCD II Viewfinderand the Canon Digital IXUS 980 IS Camera - Silver (14.7MP, 3.7x Optical Zoom) 2.5 inch PureColor LCD II Viewfinder. The large 3.5" LCD toch screen helped make up my mind. The touch screen is a very well designed and welcome feature. Unlike what you might experience on a iTouch or iPhone more effort is required to avoid accidental changes. You can use the touch screen in shooting mode and playpack mode.
The photographs that this camera takes are fantastic with a mininum of effort. The camera is a nice shape and size and feels like a quality item. I bought the reccomended Canon Soft Case DCC-1100 for Digital IXUS 110 IS Camera. Fits perfect.
Whilst the pictures that this camera takes automatically are indeed excellent, there are endless features available that makes it a very powerfull and flexible device. It comes with a 169 page manual to help you get the most from it. such as shooting in special conditions, changing the metering mode, correcting for brightness and changing the ISO mode. Initially I thought there were are a lot of features that I would probaly never take of advantage of, but its been worth spending some time reading the manual.
All in all an absolute winner fron Canon and I am glad I opted for this model
Digital camera Review: As good as it gets with a pocket digital camera
Summary: 4 Stars
I guess i was one of the few early buyers to get one of these before they sold out, now it's a 2 week plus wait time. first let me make it absolutely clear: if you expect ANY pocket sized digital camera to produce the same results as a $500+ SLR you are in for a disappointment. just cannot be done. its all in the size and quality of the lens, forget about the megapixels...
the canon was directly compared by me to an similarly priced, and basically feature equal sony cybershot t-900. both have a gazillion features, 12 megapixels, large touchscreen, etc. BUT the canon does produce more detailed pictures. once again, nothing like a pentax K100 or nikon D40, but better than the sony. the shortfall was especially apparent when cropping pictures. but as long as you are using the camera to print out 4x6, you will probably be very happy with either. love the styling with the sony, the canon's look is somewhat frumpy. my daughter said it looks like a cell phone..
UPDATE 9/23/09
Just returned from a week in Austria with the Canon. I took a wide variety of shots (people, buildings, scenery) and I must say the results are very good. I used program mode with ISO set to 200 and colors to vivid. As stated in my initial review, NO pocket camera will produce anything like a full fledged DSLR. Also took a fair amount of video footage which also was pretty good but does not come close to my Canon Vixi HF100. I really do not get the people giving this camera only 1 or 2 stars.
Digital camera Review: Camera Quit Functioning In Less than a Week
Summary: 1 Stars
Recieved the Camera on 23 Jan 2010 and less than a week later it no longer functioned. An error message "Memory Card Error" appeared on the camera and after trouble shooting the problem and reviewing it online - it requires a service center repair for an apparent product defect. Since I travel abroad alot and it failed in London, I figured I would look up the Canon repair center in London and get it fixed - not quite so, the warranty is not valid outside the US. So I'm returning it and my suggestion is stear clear of any and all Canon products. Truly an eye opening experience with a manufacturer I use to have a lot of respect for - not any more.