Canon PowerShot SD800 IS 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Image-Stabilized Optical Zoom
by Canon
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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: Terrific little camera
Summary: 5 Stars
Overall comments - I have had this about 4 weeks. I am very happy with my decision, after reading other reviews and details, and then adding my experience factors of previous cameras, this was a terrific fit and I was not disappointed after having it and trying it out. whatever camera you buy, make sure what you want it to do, and what it is supposed to do are in sync. megapixels alone do not mean much.
pros:
- Image stability - read about it in other reports, but believe it ! works great, very happy I decided to pay more to get it, my wife has never quite understood the camera "squeeze" versus "snap" for shutter button.
- auto options - the default built in works very well, but if you have some minor variations you want (like ISO speed change), it easily keeps other settings and does the new ISO selection. just what one hopes for in a digital compact 'point and shoot' camera.
- size and weight - just a bit larger and heavier than small compact, but I still consider it compact. yes, carry in your pants or shirt pocket is fine.
- eye viewfinder - ALSO chose this SC800 (2.5 inch screen) over others with 3.0 inch screen, as it has the eye viewfinder without screen - terrific for those aging eyes that need glasses to see screen - you don't need the glasses with eye viewfinder, very convenient so many times, I mean who always has their reading glasses with them for picture taking? and what good is another 0.5 inch screen, if you still don't have your glasses?
- good image resolution options, still cannot get RAW, but can change from 3 or more resolution images, and also change the compression mode for smaller file sizes, all with normal tradeoffs, but at least the options are there for the camera user to decide what is the need of the photo.
- snappiness from button to image capture - once taking first picture, there is a pretty quick response on getting the images from button press, my other cameras have had such a long delay, i quite often got a picture that wasn't what I was trying for, especially if people moving around, etc, not in a pose. the first picture after turning camera on, sometimes has a longer delay, i have not yet figured out how to improve that all the time.
cons:
- the price was a bit more than I was hoping to pay, but after reading other reviews, it contained the features I wanted, since I have all ready had 3 other digitals, I am now a bit fussy.
- none other worth mentioning.
Customer Review: It works for me
Summary: 5 Stars
I think this is a great camera for its size and price. But don't expect it to do the job of a larger and more expensive camera.
I consider myself to be serious about photography, and I have an EOS 20D as my main camera. But I'm not going to take that everywhere, so I need a small point and shoot camera for snapshot occasions. I've taken this approach since film days, when I had a Leica Mini (way bigger than this camera) for my "little" camera.
I was in the market for a new "little" camera, and the key things I wanted--beyond taking good pictures--were a 28mm equivalent wide angle capability, a viewfinder, small (but not necessarily tiny) size, and an underwater housing. Then this camera came out with all of those!
Another feature I like is that it can mask the LCD screen to show a 3:2 aspect. I normally crop to this aspect in Photoshop, and while I generally take pictures through the viewfinder there are occasional shots where this ability to check the framing is useful.
Some reviewers have complained about softness at the edges at the extreme wide angle. I haven't noticed this, but I haven't used it for the sort of picture where it would be critical. (I'd choose my 20D for that sort of situation.) If you want wide angle photos that are uniformly sharp across the frame you probably shouldn't be using a pocket camera. There is only so much manufacturers can do with optics that will fit in a camera this size.
I think the construction of the camera is fine. There is always a compromise among weight, toughness, and price. Canon has made reasonable choices here. This camera may not be the best choice for every photographer, but it isn't reasonable to ask one camera to be the best choice for every situation.
Judging this camera against previous small cameras I've had and my expectations for it I am very happy. Judging it against my 20D it does better than I might have expected, but I never intended to judge it that way. Expecting a camera that costs less than 400 dollars and fits in your pocket to do what an expensive SLR with an expensive lens can do is silly. Even comparing it to a camera that costs twice as much and weighs three times as much is silly. But what you get for the size and price is terrific.
If you want a small camera that takes great pictures and can go wide this is the one!
Customer Review: Best in class.
Summary: 5 Stars
Sure, there are some legitimate quibbles about the SD800. For example, while generally solid in construction, the USB and video out are hidden behind a remarkably flimsy cover. In fact, when you pull back on the lid, it feels as if the slightest additional force would break it, although so far so good. And, yes, as some reviewers have noted, the mode changing dial might be difficult for someone with clumsy fingers.
You also should know that, while it has a manual mode, this is a not a camera for someone who wants to tweak apertures or shutter speed. It's a point and shoot, after all. That's the category. If you want more, look elsewhere. So, that isn't a complaint. It's just a caveat to those who aren't fully sure what they want out of their camera.
Also, some have complained about the camera being "only" 7.1 mega-pixels. This kind of "insight" doesn't really help when looking at cameras as light, small, and easy as the SD800. Certainly, if you need to make prints bigger than 16 x 20 (after cropping), then perhaps you should be concerned -- and ought to be looking a something other than this point-and-click beauty. This camera is about a beautiful form factor, easy portability, and stunning pictures, not making posters.
These points being said, the SD800 is a very special camera. I've owned a number of digital cameras (Fuji, Nikon, and Canon), and checked out way too many cameras before I purchased the SD800. The picture quality is superb--the best I've seen under most conditions. It's incredibly fast on recharge, focus, flash, and picture snapping. It also has a wide-angle lens that grabs enough extra real estate (and people) to make far more stunning pictures than the typical lens on a point-and-shooter. The SD900's lens pales in comparison. I dare you to see for yourself!
As for overall build, this is a solid, virtually all metal camera. Would it survive a 12-foot fall? Maybe not. Few cameras would. My last Nikon broke on a 5-foot fall. That's life. Just keep it on a strap.
This is a great camera. The camera to get, in fact, if you want gorgeous pictures, a great lens, and more features than you can shake a stick at, including amazing optical image stabilization that really works, and software that identifies faces in a shot and makes sure they all look as great as they can.
Customer Review: Hits the sweet spot - performance, size, features and price
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this camera after much research. The main features that attracted me:
+ 28mm wide-angle zoom. Most compacts start at 35mm, which can make it hard to take pictures of groups of people without moving way back. The 28mm is wide enough to capture a wide shot, even in a small room.
+ Optical image stabilization. I prefer to take shots with natural light whenever possible. Without image stabilization and with flash disabled, any shutter speed below 1/25s or so gets you a blurry image, unless you use a tripod. With this camera, I'm getting good shots down to 1/10, even 1/8 second (if the subject doesn't move too much). That means I can disable the flash almost anytime, to capture, say, the ambience of a rainy day on the back porch. And as a bonus, the image stabilizer works full-time when using the...
+ high-quality, low-compression, 30fps, 640x480 video recorder. Video on compact digital cameras is usually a novelty. But I found myself using the video recorder on my old Canon Powershot S50 more often than my bulky 8mm camcorder because I had the Canon with me, and the camcorder was back in the car. The video was poor quality, but it was better than nothing.
Now, with the SD800IS, I can have my cake and eat it too. The video is as good as my digital 8mm Sony (640x480, 30 frames per second, low compression, few noticeable digital artifacts). Usually video on a compact camera is shaky, looking more like a cell-phone video than anything semi-professional, but here the optical image stabilization helps tremendously. I can pan as smoothly with the SD800IS as I can with a more bulky camcorder.
And since large capacity SD cards can be had on the cheap, recording capacity is no handicap. I purchased a 4GB card for $50, which gives me 30+ minutes of video recording. 16GB can be had, and bigger ones are coming. That's 2 hours of high-quality video on a camera that will fit in your pocket - which means you'll actually have it with you when something video-worthy happens.
The only downside: you can't zoom while you're recording video. You have to set your zoom beforehand. When you start recording, the camera sets focus and white-balance based on the first frame, then uses that for the duration of the shot.
Customer Review: Superb, a keeper!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had my SD800 IS for a couple of weeks now and after reading forum posts, I have finally learned to work well with the wide angle and you can't beat it. I also have an S230 which I still use and it still takes excellent pictures. I also have a Fuji F10 which I bought for the extremely long battery life and great night shots. All cameras have their pros and cons. I don't think you can beat the color quality of a Canon photo. The SD230 had a minor flaw where I had to check to see if it was in video mode or shooting mode, because the switch would easily flip from one to the other. They fixed that with the SD800 and now it stays in place. I like the size and portability of the SD800, it's as easy to carry around as a cellphone or drop into your purse if you are a female.
This is the only camera that I don't shoot in auto mode. I just think the pictures look much better if you shoot in manual and select an ISO like 80, or if you use SCN mode. At any rate I'm learning, and the more I fool with it the better the pictures look! For example at wide angle, some may be disturbed at the physics of perspective, buildings tilting inward, that kind of thing. It's sure easy enough to correct with any software that has perspective correction included. For me it's Paint Shop Pro. Many of my shots are indoors, at family and work events, and at least the wide angle gets everyone into the picture!
After having owned other digital camera brands, I do still come back to Canon for the beautiful color rendition of the pictures. I'm going to keep the SD800 IS!! Oh, and one more thing, I bought a 1gb SD card that folds in half and makes its own usb connector, eliminating the need for a card reader! That's great for traveling. I do any deleting, etc. from a card reader or the folding usb SD card, because it holds enough pictures to where I don't want to use extra battery power. I don't see where I am forced to use the date stamp, and don't, but then I'm still learning. I'm beginning to believe that one can't have too many digital cameras.