Canon PowerShot SD870IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)
by Canon
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon PowerShot SD870IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)
Customer Review: Excellent little camera
Summary: 5 Stars
I own a Canon Digital Rebel XT and a few lenses for it, and I am very happy with the image quality. However, it is large and heavy, so I bought this camera for those situations when lugging around a DSLR is not the most convenient solution. My wife carries the SD870IS in her purse all the time, and we often take pictures instead of jotting down notes. The camera is beautiful, and the gigantic screen looks very good, even in daylight (some people have complained about it being prone to fingerprints, which is true to a degree -- nothing like an iPod, though -- but it is also true that it wipes clean very easily on a shirt sleeve; it doesn't seem to scratch easily, either -- also unlike the iPod). The camera is a little heavy for its size, which gives it a good solid feeling. Despite its diminutive size, it takes very good pictures -- not as good as what I get with my DSLR, but clearly superior to compact cameras of two years ago. The colors are beautiful, thanks to the modern image sensor and the latest Digic III image processor. There is no detectable noise up to ISO 400. Images are grainy but largely usable at ISO 1600. It starts up very quickly. The flash recycle time is not that great, but not bad at all for a compact camera. The image stabilization works very effectively, and I am often able to take sharp pictures without a tripod even when the camera displays the "camera shake" warning. The autofocus system is one of the best points of this camera. It works reasonably well in low light, too. Face detection works most of the time and comes in very handy. The battery lasts a long time; I don't know how long, because I haven't ran it down yet -- definitely more than 400 images. I don't like the fact that I have to take the battery out to charge it, but I don't have to do that all that often anyway. Unused, the battery seems to keep its charge for more than a month. I like the controls, and I got used to them very quickly. While not as easy to tweak the manual settings as on a DSLR, the ergonomics of the controls and menus are very good; they are very similar to the older Canon models. I can't comment about Canon's bundled software, because I use it only to download the images off the camera -- and I have no complaints about that. Overall, an excellent camera, with no major or even minor faults or annoyances. I like it very much and I warmly recommend it.Customer Review: A Great Poinit & Shooter!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've owned digital cameras since "Genesis". Recently, my S30 was stolen from the car. Here were my requirements before I bought the SD870: <28mm wide angle, compact size, image stabilization, fast performance, good image quality & manual controls. Due to the scarce choices, I had to compromise the manual control feature and came up with the SD870. It had the above great attributes less the manual control (shutter speed/aperture) ability. SD870 takes excellent photos under most well lighted settings as already covered by many other reviews; here are my tips/notes for the less lighted settings:
1) When normal flash is used(slow sync off), the shutter speed is fixed at 1/60 sec(too fast); this explains why the photos turns out darker when using a flash at certain settings than no flash. This setting is good for not very dark setting.
2) When slow synch flash is used, the shutter speed could get much slower so it would capture much better amount of light. When lighting is very dark, the shutter speeds would go up to 1 sec(too slow to hold by hand); at this speed, you must use the tripod to avoid blurry photos. Play with the slow sync option and you'll be surprised at how different the photos would turn out.
3) When "night snapshot" mode is used, the ISO is fixed at 250 and shutter at 1/8 sec. A very useful mode to use. I set this mode as my default "scn" mode; when you slide the slider on top of the camera to the middle. I wish the ISO is fixed at 200 for less noise and shutter at 1/6.
4) In manual mode, you can adjust the shutter speed only from 1~15 sec; I wish Cannon allowed the control from 1/20~15 sec. But better than nothing. Great feature for very low light and must use a tripod.
5) Decent photo quality when ISO is 80~200; so in most situations, try to lock the ISO at as low as possible to obtain the best quality photos. You may have to use continuous mode to capture multiple shots and choose the best ones & use shutter delay 1 second to avoid hand shake.
When not using tripod, always turn the image stabilizer to continuous. You can still get a clear photo @ 1/2 sec shutter (1 out of 2 or 3 shots).
6) Customize the share botton to "exposure" control for convenience. But you rarely would need it since SD870 has very accurate exposure.
Hope this helps.
Customer Review: Best Point and Shoot Camera Available
Summary: 5 Stars
With all the digital cameras to choose from, it is difficult to know which one is best for you. To help narrow the choices, I had a few guidelines in mind:
1. Cost no more than $300
2. Must have excellent image quality.
3. Must have optical image stabilization.
There are many cameras available for that price point, so I checked the reviews of all the latest models. Any camera that had image problems mentioned in a review was removed from my list. I also wanted image stabilization to improve our chances of getting clear sharp pictures. You may have only one opportunity to take that shot, so IS is a must have in my opinion.
This search led me to the Canon SD800 camera series. I ended up choosing the SD870 because of the larger 3" LCD. I have little kids that love to see the pictures you just took, so I thought a bigger LCD would make viewing with 3 kids huddled around the camera easier.
After playing around with the SD870 for a while, I'm very impressed with it. The larger LCD was a big hit. Who needs a viewfinder when you have this nice LCD to look at? I had no problem using the LCD outside with the sun directly behind me. If you are worried about saving battery power, bring an extra battery.
The image quality is fantastic. Be sure to set the camera at ISO 80 and enable auto ISO shift. This will force the camera to use ISO 80 whenever it can and only increase the ISO only when necessary. At ISO 200 and above, noise in the image becomes more apparent.
Taking video with the image stabilization is a treat. The video is so smooth that is looks like you are using a camera boom. I only wish the camera allowed the lens to zoom in and out while recording video. You can zoom prior to starting your video, but I don't understand why you can't zoom while recording.
What really impressed me is this is the first camera that I owned that could take pictures in our kitchen without having the colors come out reddish. Even with a Canon XTi DSLR, I had to set a custom white balance to get the colors to come out right. The SD870 got it right automatically.
Overall, I am very happy with the camera. I think it is worth the extra money to get the larger LCD. Having the wide angle lens and a bunch of shooting modes is just icing on the cake.
Customer Review: Almost a perfect camera
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my fourth and final camera I have purchased. I originally started looking for a small point and shoot camera to fit in an underwater case, for scuba diving. I tried a Fuji 12mp, an Olympus 8mp, and finally a friends Kodak 8mp. All the cameras had there advantages. The Fuji finepix f50 se had a whopping 12mp and was a fairly quick camera, but the batter life was not that good. The Fuji also took very noisey pictures. Even at low iso. So I moved to the New 08 Olympus stylus 840. It had 5x optical, it was 8mp, 2.5in lcd. Battery life was really bad! Picture wise it took better pics than the Fuji. A lot less noise, but a lot of blurry pics. The Kodak I tried out was a little bulky for a slim cam. It took nice pictures, the batter life was good. It just seems the color was off a little. it also had a 2.5in lcd. So after playing with all these cameras and being very disappointed I went for the Canon! I knew Sony would have a better picture do to the crystal lens they use. But I did not care for how the camera settings were set up. After using the Canon sd 870 IS I fell in love. It is very fast. Battery life is great! its got a nice 3.0in lcd. That was very important for me since I planed on taking it underwater. It has a very nice wide lens that most cameras do not have in its class. The only thing I do not like about it is the manual controls. There are none. I knew this going into the camera, but I was looking for a point and shoot. "The perfect camera" is not out right now in my opinion. If your looking for a fast camera that takes great pics I would get the SD 870 IS. Pics have no noise at low iso. the noise creeps up on ya at higher iso, but thats to be expected. I have not taken any blurry pics yet! It also takes great pictures underwater with the Canon housing. Video is great too! you can zoom while in video mode. The transition from dark to light places is fast. This camera is just plane GREAT! This would be a great compact point and shoot next to any SLR. I got this just in time for my Florida Keys diving trip. All of my buddies were impressed by the camera's picture quality underwater. One buddy has last years Canon 10mp and he was pissed that my camera took way better shots! So thats it. If your wondering if you should spend the cash on this, do it! You will not be unhappy!Customer Review: Typically excellent Canon Digital Elph, easy to learn and use
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been a big fan of Canon's Digital elph Powershot cameras. I've had the S400, S500, SD500, SD550, SD800IS and now the SD870IS. Most of my family have also bought these cameras. What I like is that once you have learned to use one, it's very easy to move up to another one of their cameras and the learning curve is short and sweet. I have never had much of a complaint about these cameras. I thought about not having the viewfinder but then realized I almost never used it on my previous cameras, so it's no big loss. They say this camera is heavier than previous models but they all weigh about the same. It is slightly larger though because it just barely fits in my Coach case made for these Canon's. I also notice that this model has more black plastic than others, especially on that battery/SD slot door. Fortunately they have never broken on me. Build quality, picture quality is as good as any of their previous models. My wife and kids along with myself really love these cameras so I doubt I'll switch to anything else anytime soon. In fact I only research the Canon cameras when I plan to buy another one. I don't bother with any of the others. If you're looking for one of these Canon's, just pick the one in your budget range because they are all good. I can't think of one that you would not be happy with. They really packed a lot into these small cameras. I really like the color swap, color accent, the Vivid, Black and White and Sepia photos. The possibilities for creative photos in camera are endless, and easy. Get one and start having some fun. By the way, none of the 1/2 dozen or so Canon Elph's I've owned, or my spouses, kids, etc. have ever had a problem with their Canon, not one. I even dropped one on concrete once and I just picked it up and continued taking photos (BUT DON'T DO THAT, it's a sick feeling). Fortunately it only got a small scratch on the side of the camera and it didn't land on the open lens. I noticed too that prices have dropped for these cameras, they are much more affordable now. Just make sure you buy from a responsible, reputable dealer that you trust. It's sometimes better to pay a little extra just to protect yourself from some online dealers that sell cameras not intended for US sales, thus you probably don't get a legitimate warranty. [...]