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: New to Photography
Summary: 5 Stars
Just purchased the Canon PowerShot SD870IS and can't really say how pleased I am with this new purchase. This camera is really easy to use and figure out.
The design itself is sleek and simple. Don't let the simple design fool you though, this little thing has a ton of options to work with. The wide angle pictures and image stabilization are the features that lured me into buying this beauty. Another thing was the awesome price.
I was really only looking for a point and shoot that would help me take some pictures of things at work for documentation purposes. For that purpose it is beyond anything that I could have imagined for. The options are awesome and let you fit into almost any situation you may run into.
Never before have I owned a digital camera of my own. This is a first for me so I was under the impression that I would need a lotta work to get the pictures just right. Not with the Image Stabilization working like a charm. Also the ISO options help a ton with this. The Wide Angle pictures also look stunning when taking picutres of a nice horizon scene.
The battery lasts about a week while taking picture on and off. I carry my camera everywhere I go so it varies depending on what I see. But on average the battery will last me 7-10 days. Charging it takes about 2 hours. Buying another one will be necessary when vacationing. Getting stuck without a battery is not an option when you have such a good camera =)
One thing that I will say about this package is that you will need to also buy an SD card to accomodate you properly. I got the camera and saw that it came with only a small 32MB card. I promply bought 2 SanDisk 2 GB SDSDX3-2048-901 Extreme III SD Memory Card (Retail Package) and can say that it should last me a good while. Even with the pictures on max settings I still get about 500-600 pictures for each 2GIG card.
In the end I can't say how pleased I am with this purchase. It's totally peaked my interest in photography and has let me see things in a new light. I have never delved into the photography scene however. So please take this as a review from a beginners point of view.
Customer Review: Another addition to an already stellar line of digicams
Summary: 5 Stars
I've owned and bought for others a range of Canon cameras, ranging from the G2 to the EOS (Rebel, 30D) to Elph (quite a few), and most recently bought this one.
The Elph series specializes in being incredibly user friendly and and easy to use - and this one is more improvement on an already amazing product. Among other ELPH models, this one is special because this has a wide-angle lens which goes to 28mm equivalent. Indispensable for the family and landscape shots.
Other features on this camera which are highly useful:
1. Prices are now even lower than they used to be. You can get this camera under $300, even a year ago they were over.
2. Now you don't have to rotate a dial to move between Play and Shoot mode, you just press the Play button.
3. Moving to special modes (like Night shot, etc. is easier with the slider on top)
4. Button preview is an amazing feature for those not-so-camera-savvy - before you press one of the directional buttons, the screen shows you what you're about to press and what it will do in the current mode.
5. The larger screen seems brighter than previous models and is incredibly useful in daylight, evening situations
6. Face recognition seems to be improved. On the 850 I had to turn this off. On the 870, I do use it often.
Peeve: I liked the champagne finish on the 850IS better, looked more sophisticated. This one is back to bland silver
Peeve: Part of the casing is plastic - the 850 was all metal and hence "looked" more sturdy. But knowing Canon, I would say this is equally as sturdy.
Peeve: In a time when amateurs are playing around with things like HDR, exposure bracketing and other such useful features seems to be absent / hard to find.
Summary:
Incredible camera, makes taking great pictures amazingly easy. Much better and better value for money compared to other brands' similar offerings. Very good user interface and ergonomics, novice users will immediately be able to use it (including the older generation). This is a better value for money than the 9xx series, which is charging more for a higher megapixel count (WHICH IS NOT WORTH IT). Go for this camera, with the wide-angle, you'll need it.
Customer Review: Canon on the right track
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased the Canon SD800IS last year and was ready to pickup the matching waterproof housing for my vacation to Maui. But after being questioned by friends on whether to upgrade from their SD750 to the SD870IS, I did some deeper research on the SD870IS, both online and at a local store for the hands-on experience. To my pleasant surprise, I found that the SD870IS more matched my shooting style and preference than the SD800IS even though the upgrade between models in minor. Thus, I bought the SD870IS along with the matching WP_SC17 underwater housing.
What I liked:
1) The "play" as a button keeping the camera in an always-ready-to-shoot mode instead of missing the shot because I didn't turn the mode dial.
2) I could assign the "print/share" button to something else more useful; for me, it's instant movie mode.
3) The time-lapse movie mode which takes a picture every 1 or 2 seconds up to 2 hours and creates a VGA 15 fps movie.
4) The auto ISO boost which will bump the ISO up till the shaky hand icon disappears; this can be set to be done automatically or with the print/share button.
5) The 3" LCD screen - big and beautiful.
6) The now included battery-life indicator which has been missing from the ELF cameras since my original S400. It's not accurate, but does provide for some advance warning other than "your camera is about to shut off after the next shot."
What I didn't like:
1) The flash, while powerful for the size of the camera, is too close to the lens and will produce white flash orbs if there's any dust in the air. I have the same issue with the SD800IS. This is not a biggie as I prefer to take natural light photos anyways.
2) The time-lapse movie mode is limited to 2 hours. 4 hours would be perfect to capture the sunrise on top of Haleakala in Maui.
Customer Review: Great pictures and easy to use
Summary: 5 Stars
We purchased this camera for our trip to Japan after researching similar cameras and decided to go with this one. We were not dissapointed. The camera was extremely easy to use and taking pictures was very quick. One thing that I think would be nice is to be able to force the flash to be on in auto mode, but it's not a big deal since it's very easy to switch to manual mode and do that. Most of the camera features practically pop out at you as you scroll through them, which makes it very easy to actually use them: like switching between ISO levels, between regular size shot and wide angle shots, between flash modes, and between regualr mode and timer modes (and easy to set up custom timer modes). You can also easily line pictures up for stitching them together later. The optical zoom was more than adequate, and using even more digital zoom is very seemless if desired.
I already had most of the pictures we took developed and they turned out great. Even my pictures I took at night with ISO 1600 turned out great. And they look great on the computer too, as you'd expect. The only thing is that you need to be careful developing your wide angle shots with some of these places because of cropping. The default 4x6 will definitly crop your wide angle shots.
Perhaps the only other thing this camera is missing is another tri-pod screw-in spot for vertical shots (already has one for horizontal shots). As for not having a view finder, I never missed it. I can't really think of any instances when you'd need to use it. The LCD screen is huge, which is great! And when you're traveling, taking pictures of family and scenery, that's what you really need. And having wide angle capability was fun too...
Customer Review: The best of the lot 2008
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this for my wife, and it is excellent in nearly all ways. I bought the 800 predecessor for my daughter last year and she is very happy with it. The most important issue perhaps is the wide angle. You can not back away far enough from many subjects indoors with a 35 mm equivalent lens. Yes, you sacrifice the long telephoto end (without digital zoom) but unless you are photographing your daughters competitive event, you can walk closer to most subjects.
My serious camera is a professional 4 x 5 view camera, and my semi serious camera is a 5D with 3 lenses. However this is a great camera as a handy reach for on the spur of the moment.
I shouldn't even comment on image quality, it is good for nearly anything the above average shooter needs (or wants?). I have even included some shots from this camera on a wedding set.
The one complaint is that the on/off switch is too easily pressed accidentally, the predecessor 800's power button was flush with the body, this one protrudes and an accidental turn on when the lens isn't able to extend wouldn't be the best for it. I glued a small half inch foam rubber furniture protector around it after punching a small hole in the middle to solve the problem.
A side note of advice for a camera case is that the Tamrac T4 is a perfect fit for this camera. (I must have looked at least 20 cases, that one is simple without an overload of extra compartments and the camera fits smoothly in and out without any excess slop. Don't buy the Canon leather wallet for this camera, you will find it is like getting in and out of tights, and you will press the power button for sure, which will make the lens try to extend . . . .