Canon PowerShot SD800 IS 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Image-Stabilized Optical Zoom
by Canon
|
List Price: Our Price: $60.00 You Save: $440.00 (88%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon PowerShot SD800 IS 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Image-Stabilized Optical Zoom
Customer Review: Summary of Reviewers' Observations
Summary: 5 Stars
There have been so many reviews posted here, and so much has been covered, that I thought it would be a service to summarize what's been said so far in the way of praise and constructive suggestions. (I've omitted complaints since most seem like "outliers," or due to unrepresentative "lemons" from the production line that can be returned and exchanged.)
Canon Powershot Advantages:
Superior image stabilization;
Wider angle lens to get lots of people into a shot without backing out of the room;
Minimal shutter lag-time;
Superior design / ergonomics (one Amazon reviewer said this reflected Canon's "maturity" in the market compared to upstarts);
Ability to accept high-speed high-GB (up to 32) SDHC cards (I just installed mine);
Ability to take long, good-quality movies (related to the above);
Preprogrammed Special Screen modes that automatically adjust settings to take good shots of common picture-taking situations, such as portraits, pictures in snow or at the beach, night-time pix, horizontally moving subjects (sports), etc.;
Face-detect automatically focuses on faces (up to 9);
Low power consumption means many more shots between charges;
Optical zoom (as well as digital zoom);
Digital close-up ("macro") feature can get right up to a subject;
Speedy "continuous" shooting to capture the perfect shot;
Advanced "pro" features: exposure lock, flash lock, focus-check mode, and focus assist light;
Automatic image rotation in playback mode;
Grid-line LCD-display-assist for help in composing shots;
Up to ISO 1600 possible;
Sound recording (on movies and as audio notes on snapshots);
Iris automatically closes to protect lens--no cap needed;
Many snazzy special features, like Color Accent and Color Swap;
Other Notable Features:
Compact--the size of an inch-thick credit card;
Good LCD: biggish (2.5"), sharp, and bright;
Good picture quality (esp. in low-light indoors without flash, because Image stabilization permits slower shutter speeds);
Optical viewfinder;
Optional 2-second shutter delay, to avoid shake from shutter-pressing;
Some red-eye suppression;
Fast battery recharge (2 hours max);
Above-average manuals;
Underwater case available;
Improvements Wanted:
Stand-alone sound recording;
Better microphone (less noisy);
Battery-charge indicator;
Battery recharge through the USB cord;
MPEG4 video compression;
Bluetooth file transfer;
A grippiery, knobbier, scratch-resistant finish;
Date stamp in all modes;
Compartments in the case for a battery & memory card;
Computer editing software isn't what it should be;
ROM-based on-screen extensive help system, to avoid need to carry paper manual;
(My suggestions follow:)
Paper manuals should be larger, to make their screen printouts and icons readable. (Providing the ROM-based help system suggested above would allow the manuals to be larger, because they'd be stay-at-home items.);
Supplemental tutorial book written in a non-"manual" style;
DVD tutorial;
Customer Review: I love this camera !
Summary: 5 Stars
My camera came a couple of days ago from Amazon and I love it. Start up is superfast and writing to my SD card is so much faster than my old camera. I have taken a couple of dozen indoor shots without flash and they came out great. The image stabilization really works. Outdoor shots came out clear and the colors are so vibrant. I didn't need to install any software to transfer the pictures to my desktop (I'm using Windows Vista). The computer detected the camera automatically and gave me options as to which photo program to use to view my pictures. My laptop will be even easier since it has a built in card reader.
The camera feels comfortable in my hands and the controls are easy to access, although my hands are small and it might be a little harder for someone with large hands to use this camera. The mode dial is sometimes a little tricky to turn and I end up pushing it so hard, I turn past the setting I wanted. Best to use your thumb on that dial. I like the lighted power button and the LCD Monitor is large and bright. The one reviewer was correct when they said that the pictures come out clearer than the monitor sometimes displays. I haven't needed to use the viewfinder yet to take a shot, but living in Florida, I know that this feature will be handy on a very bright day. The lens opens and retracts quickly and I am enjoying the wide angle feature. We just remodeled our house and it's great being able to take shots of an entire room to send to family members. I haven't noticed any distortions on the sides yet.
The one complaint that is justified is how flimsy the battery and terminal covers are. I'm really surprised that Canon would use such cheap plastic on such a quality camera. I actually feel like I'm performing delicate surgery when I'm connecting the interface cable to the camera to transfer pictures to my computer. It's not a deal breaker, but I'll be very disappointed if either of these covers break off. I would give this camera 4 1/2 stars if I could just because of this issue. I also think that Canon could do better than a 16 Mg SD card. Cards are cheap now and at least a 512 mg card would give you a chance to get started before you upgraded to a larger card.
That said, this really is a wonderful camera. Please do not compare this to a more expensive SLR camera. This is a point and shoot with some nice features, but it's not what a professional would use. I love that I can easily take this with me anywhere I go and always be ready for that perfect "photo op". A camera won't do me much good sitting home in a camera bag (which is what my Kodak Z7590 does- great camera, but too big and bulky to carry around).
Do your homework before purchasing any camera and be realistic about which features are most important to you. There a quite a few good professional review web sites out there. I think that this camera's best features are the size, image stabilization, and wide angle lens.
Customer Review: More than satisfied--glad I upgraded before my vacation
Summary: 5 Stars
This was my first digital camera upgrade from an old Olympus circa 2000--maybe I'm easily impressed. This camera worked out great for a recent vacation... and I'm glad we didn't lug around the old camera.
The biggest concern I had was the shutter delay. Apparantly all non-SLRs have some delay but I couldn't find any definitive information about this particular camera. Again, perhaps all modern cameras are similar to this Canon--but I can say without a doubt, that if you pre-focus you can take action pictures with this camera. I am impressed.
My ultimate reasons to choose this camera were:
--wide angle lens
--size
Surprisingly useful features:
--image stabilization (one of those rare features that actually has great utility and not just marketing value).
--video capture (I just didn't expect to ever use it and it's quite fun).
--"scenes" for auto-settings. The aquarium setting worked great for example.
Negatives:
--corners of wide angle lens are definitely soft and off color sometimes... but, really, it's minor and the primary drawback found in any wide lens. I find the gripes about this issue a bit unwarranted because I think all similar cameras have (effective) 35mm lenses. Bottom line: I love the look of wide angle that I'm glad to sacrifice a tiny bit of quality to get the great shots.
--Flash is not that great. Personally, I found myself using the "AUTO HI" ISO setting (where it's still auto-ISO, but tends to use higher values) in order to take low-light photos. They're grainy, but if you have at least some light I still like the results better. I don't know if the flash is just poor at picking the right power for the subject's distance or what--but the flash pictures just didn't turn out that great.
Regarding the review comments about the flimsy battery cover... When I first saw this I thought, "oh, is that all they're talking about? who cares" The door cover on the battery is fine. It's not metal like the rest of the camera case but it's fine. However, the cover for the AV and USB cable hook up is totally flimsy. It has this plastic tether/hinge thing that makes me very concerned... however, it seems to be well designed and simply "feels" cheap. Even if this fell off I wouldn't be terribly concerned. I guess my point is that the battery/SD cover is fine!
Finally, something I noticed as I was optimizing a bunch of vacation photos today...the exposure and color balance is awesome in this camera. Again, maybe I'm just easily impressed but if I had gone through 30 images as I did today with photos from that old camera I know I'd be using Photoshop's Auto-colors or Auto-levels to improve at least half of them. I barely touched any of the photos from this camera. They really are quite close to perfectly balanced.
Customer Review: GREAT Point & Shoot
Summary: 5 Stars
When we were ready to spend the money on a new digital camera, I looked at everything, but I kept coming back to the Canon PowerShot series. I think they are by far the best point and shoot cameras for the money. Our first digital camera was mostly plastic, and in shopping around, I found that many cameras were the same. In contrast, the SD800 feels solid and well-built. After a year of use and almost 2000 photos, it is no worse for the wear, except for some scratches. I think the only thing I would change is the camera's finish. It is beautiful when new, but it really shows every little scratch.
It has a large, bright LCD screen AND a viewfinder. It uses a lithium-ion battery pack, and this was a MUST for me. I can't stand cameras that use AA batteries (or some other disposable battery). They are always dead when you need your camera. I've tried the NiMH rechargeables, and they just don't last long enough, so they are also dead when you need them. This Li-Ion battery is awesome. It lasts an incredibly long time between charges, and it charges faster than the Li-Ion battery in our old camera. It charges outside of the camera in a very compact charger, so if you want to keep a backup battery ready, you can. I did just that with our previous camera, but so far we haven't needed one with this camera. I charge the battery just before events at which I know we will want to use the camera, and it lasts so long on a charge that between those occasions it is always ready.
The wide angle lens is a great feature. I am consistently able to get shots that other people can't get because they can't back up far enough. Perhaps my favorite feature about this camera is the control it gives you. While it is great in full auto mode (which is why you buy a point and shoot), it also offers some very useful scene modes, and it allows for manual adjustment of several settings. For example, you can adjust the exposure by up to 2 stops up or down, in 1/3 stop increments. I looked at several other PowerShot models, such as the SD850 and SD900, but I liked the layout of the controls on this camera the best.
We have been very pleased with the SD800. It is fast, reliable, and takes beautiful shots. I have been pleasantly surprised with some of the shots I have been able to get with such a compact camera. I would personally love to have a digital SLR, but my wife wants something she can easily carry in her purse, and SLRs are too expensive. I have really enjoyed the creative control that this little camera allows. Perhaps the most amazing part was the price. I couldn't believe I was able to get a camera of this quality, packed with all these features, for under $200 on Amazon. That's a great deal on a great camera!
Customer Review: WONDERFUL camera
Summary: 5 Stars
My wife and I are both completely in love with this camera. I did hours and hours of research before buying and it definitely paid off.
--- PROS ---
IMAGE STABILIZATION: The image stabilization (IS) works wonders, making many pictures that would have otherwise been blurry turn out just fine. Blur was the biggest problem we had run into while using our other cameras (Sony DSC-P72 & Sony T1).
WIDE ANGLE LENS: At first I was skeptical of getting a wide angle camera like this. I nearly got the SD700 instead, but now I'm very glad that I didn't. I had always wanted a point-and-shoot that would let me zoom in farther than the standard 3x, so with the SD700 I almost jumped at the chance. But then as I got to thinking about it I realized that the average point & shoot user (life myself) is more often in need of fitting more into the shot than of zooming in on some distant object. I think this wide angle lens is the way to go for most folks--though obviously not for everyone.
BATTERY LIFE: Excellent. It seems to never run out. I've taken 250+ photos / videos without even seeing the low battery indicator turn on.
RED EYE: We'va had very little red-eye problems with this camera, though I'm not sure what about this camera would make such an improvement over our old ones. Maybe it's just that we don't have to use the flash as much since our lower-light photos are saved from blur by the IS feature.
VIDEO: The videos look fantastic, though they eat up a LOT of memory. A 12 minute video I shot took up 1 GB. That could obviously be compressed with some post processing software, but most people don't have this type of software.
FOCUS CHECK FEATURE: There is a great option that--after snapping a picture--shows you a zoomed in view of the object you focused on and which allows you to see whether any motion or focus blur occurred. This feature is fantastic because it lets you snap a photo and then move on confident that it came out correctly. With our old Sony T1 we used to have to snap two or three shots of everything just to help increase our odds of taking a photo free of motion blur.
--- CONS ---
CANON SOFTWARE: With the exception of the cool photostich program, the canon software is horrible.
SCRATCHES EASILY: I made the mistake of storing the camera in a small waterproof camera case that I rented while hiking the narrows at Zion National Park. The case had a few stray grains of sand that had fallen into it that really did a number on my camera's finish. It's got hundreds of small scratches on it now, all from just a couple of grains of sand.
That's it. It's a great little camera.