Canon PowerShot SD950IS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 3.7x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Titanium)
by Canon
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon PowerShot SD950IS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 3.7x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Titanium)
Customer Review: A Tale of Three Treasures!
Summary: 5 Stars
This review is a combination of three:
Canon PowerShot SD950IS 12.1MP (Titanium)
Canon PowerShot SD770IS 10MP (Silver)
Canon PowerShot SD790IS 10MP
I first purchased the Canon SD950, and after loonnnggg shipping from Jr.com, I received it and tried it out. The camera is much bigger than the SD500 that I upgraded from--even though it's got so many bells and whistles. One thing about Canon that's got my eyebrow raised: Why the big font as if we can't read?
The Image Stabilization is a wonderful thing, right along with the face detection. It even focused on an enlarged print of a little girl! The 3.7 zoom is nothing to frown at either. ISO is easier to set now so one can play around with the settings...
The camera is made for "big hands" and it took me about two weeks of off and on shooting to get used to it. The 12MP quality is okay, and I didn't have to get used to too much new button placement. One thing I didn't like is the play button. I felt I had to really push my finger on the play button in order to view my photos. It annoyed me enough to see what else was out there.
The Canons SD770 and SD790 were next on my list. Even though they were "only" 10MP, they had newer technology from Canon: Motion Detection and Infinity and cute buttons in all new small packages.
SD770IS(Silver)
First the SD770. This was a nice small camera! Not cheap feeling at all, Canon packed everything but the kitchen sink in there. I like the "Infinity" setting that the SD950 didn't have. Also, I have the silver version and it's nice, small, sleek, and takes great pictures. I didn't like the way the battery cover was not spring loaded. Also, either it was this particular camera or the 770 in general, but it seemed like I had to "dig" for the battery and SDHC card once put in. Yes, it's compact, hefty, and full of bells and whistles, but it was...kinda boring. Maybe because the silver color didn't have the pizazz of the black version that I'd read reviews on. Moving on to the SD790...
SD790IS
Bigger camera! Compared to the 770, it's a giant! The same size as the 950 except in a square/cube like form. The 950 is curvy, while the 790 is sleek and boxy (not sure if that's an oxymoron or not!). The 790 also has a new button format that I'm not sure if I like or not. I really enjoyed the SD500's button placement and while I can appreciate a "play" button...why not make it easy access instead of having to constantly press the button down? I'm thinking that the play buttons will eventually wear out. The big screen is nice, and even though I haven't used a viewfinder since...ever, it would be nice to "just have". So the lack of a viewfinder is a potential bummer. You never know when you gotta smear your nose on the photo screen to take pic! lol Also, the 790 is a fingerprint magnet.
I tried to take the same pictures with all the cameras, but couldn't always (morning/evening, different zoom, etc.). Both the 770 and 790 have high ISO settings (as did the 950), but I didn't even use anything that high previously! All the pictures came out great. Even my crappy pictures of my messy coffee table were clear and colorful! One issue I had with all three cameras was the color accent setting. It seemed as if I got better black and white/one color photos from my SD500 than either of these cameras. I have to do a lot more tweaking. However, it could be just because of the balances of the colors and the lighting effects in my environment.
If I just had to choose based on portability, photos, looks, bells/whistles, ease of use, I would go crazy trying to decide. Both cameras are amazingly small! The thing that keeps me wondering about the 770 is, "how can they fit all these specs in this TINY camera!?? But, I'm a sucker for good looks, so the scale points back to the SD790! True it's bigger than the 770, but it's still small considering the screen. I always take great care of my electronics, so I'm not so worried about fingerprints. If the button issue upsets me extremely, then I'll just upgrade to Canon's latest and greatest in 6-8 months.
One more thing: I purchased the SanDisk 4 GB Extreme III SDHC Card w/ MicroMate USB Reader
and it gets 900ish pictures on the 10MP versions at the highest settings.
Either way, can't wait to take pics on the new SD790. I feel that although all three are great, the 790 has that sleekness with Canon's new technology all in one package.
Get out, purchase any of these cams and you'd be satisfied.
Customer Review: So glad I got this camera
Summary: 5 Stars
Last year I got a Vivitar camera for my girlfriend and it bummed us both out. No matter what we did it took 5 second from click to shoot. Settings, lighting conditions, all kinds of changes and it didn't matter. 1.. 2.. 3.. 4.. 5.. ding!
By then people lost their happy face and replaced it with a blink, a fake happy face, etc... My girlfriend is a big scrapbook nut and this camera was driving her nuts...
NOT ANY MORE!
I got her the Canon camera and now her only problem is she has too many photos to scrap with... Click wah...ding! Not even a second goes by unless we are in really dark lighting or we are moving. Then it makes adjustments and still it is like 1, t... ding!
She can get action shots now. Great since both of our kids are in sports. She used to have to guess 5 seconds before her daughter hit a ball or 5 second before my son poll vaulted over the bar or 5 second before my son took down another wrestler... It was maddening!
I would suggest getting the SanDisk 4 GB Extreme III SDHC Card with MicroMate USB 2.0 Reader (SDSDRX3-4096-A21, Retail Package) San Disk 4 GB Extreme III. Your pictures at 12mp are going to be large and you need 4 Gb to take 100 photos. It is extreme on the data transfer so you can click, click, click and not wait for the transfers to happen. Plus, it has a USB reader included so if you are somewhere that doesn't read SanDisk cards, you have a USB solution.
[The next chapter]
The camera died! 1 year out of warranty and it died. I researched and found that this model has a recall because of a screw that can come loose. The screw is magnetized so it won't bounce around if it does come loose. In other words... You cannot shake the camera and hear it. What does happen is that the camera without warning closed up and goes silent.
I sent them an Email and they sent me back a shipping label for UPS ground. Sent it in and they repaired it for free. They never said what was wrong so I don't know if it was the screw or if they were trying to avoid having lots of negative press. What I do know is my girlfriend loved this camera. She was devastated when it died and they repaired it for free. So she still loves the camera and I have nothing but the highest respect for the company!
Customer Review: Great Camera but not simple "Point and Shoot"
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great little camera, but it is not for those who want something very simple such as a "point and shoot". While it has an "auto" mode, it also has 10 preset other modes that can be somewhat tailored to your particular operating situation, and also a "manual" mode which has significantly more adjustment capability. However you cannot set shutter speed if that is important to you. The User's Guide is approximately 240 pages long and quite well written (in English, not foreign spoken "English"), although most people will not read it.
Before purchasing, I debated between this 12MP camera with a 2.5" LCD and separate viewfinder, and the SD870IS with 8MP and larger 3" LCD but no viewfinder. I would have been satisfied with either, but chose the SD950IS for my particular usage primarily because of it will take 4000x3000 pixel images (12MP). It should be noted you can also take smaller images with both cameras (8MP, 5MP, 2MP and 0.3MP for the SD950IS) which will allow putting more on the memory card (you will want to buy a separate memory card because the one that comes is only 32MB; I bought a 2GB which should store more than 300 images at the highest settings). While the layout of the controls are slightly different on each camera, they are basically the same.
I have not used the movie mode.
The included software is pretty good, although it is not as extensive as the specialized photo software from Adobe.
My main complaint is that it is very difficult to open the cover door to connect the camera to a computer to download the images, and someone with large fingers may not be able to do it easily. Also that door is very flimsy and if not handled carefully might break off.
Plan to read and study the entire User's Manual to get the full benefits of this camera. Canon makes good products.
While I found other stores advertising the SD950IS for a significantly lower price than Amazon, when I called them and tried to order it, I was told it would be 4-6 weeks even though their web site said it was "in stock". Be careful with other stores; Amazon shipped it free in 3 days (however it was by USPS and took 6 more days). And Amazon will refund any price reduction within 30 days (I have received it).
Customer Review: Very durable, great camera and customer service
Summary: 5 Stars
The Canon PowerShot SD950IS is the greatest point-and-shoot digital camera that I have ever used. Some notable points:
=> 12 megapixels is not necessary for printing standard 3x5 snapshots, but there are an increasing number of companies (such as ShutterFly) which create projects such as calendars storybooks from your prints. The extra megapixels definitely come in handy when doing projects like these.
=> The titanium shell is not a gimmick! I dropped this camera off a pickup truck and it landed on a concrete road. I thought it would be busted for sure, but it wasn't even scratched!
=> Image stabilization is not a gimmick! In my experiments, image stabilization is crucial for low-light photography because it allows me to quarter my shutter speed and take clear pictures with 75% less light.
=> I needed to perform warranty repairs because a black spot was appearing in all of my photos. I'm unsure if it had anything to do with the incident described above. Despite the fact that the damage may have been due to dropping and the serial number had rubbed off, Canon replaced the optics and sent it back to me for no charge. The repair experience was pleasant and I will remember this when I buy my next camera.
=> With 12 megapixels, digital cameras are now capturing as much detail as film cameras. My experiments revealed that the amount of detail in the images is comparable to 200 speed APS film or 400 speed 35mm film.
=> Although daytime images look great, pictures taken in low-light conditions suffer. If you're in flash range, the flash is accurately exposed (unlike a Sony digital camera that I used), but flash or no flash, focusing in the dark is slow and inaccurate. This will be a problem with any compact digital camera.
=> Movies are acceptable, but the files are very large because they lack the MPEG compression capabilities of Sony cameras. It is difficult to compress the files later because of the MJPEG compression previously applied. This is something for YouTube addicts to keep in mind -- this camera is not a camcorder.
Customer Review: Has it all
Summary: 5 Stars
Got it 2 days ago and I'm impressed. Other reviews on net generally like the camera but think price is somewhat high and 12 MP is overkill. A) It is expensive; all new camera models are high for several months when they come out. If you can afford it without problem then you get it now. Otherwise your choice is perhaps the SD850 at $150 less or waiting a while for price drop. B) The same overkill thing was said when 5 MP, 6 MP, .... became widely available. 12, 8, 5, and lower MP settings are readily available without entering menu. I set mine on 8 MP and, if desired, will change to 12 MP if the thought occurs for special pics. Now that you can order poster sized prints for cheap prices on Shutterfly and SnapFish you'd be amazed by the ease, cost and quality of them. Also hard drive space has gotten cheap and you could keep 1000's of 12 MP files on $20 worth of hard drive space now.
The other reviews have it right on the quality of the camera and its results. The photos are sharp, color accurate and, in Manual mode, have many SLR, non-auto type choices such as WB, exposure setting, shutter speed (long exposure) setting, color accent, focus lock, .....; The movie setting is simple to use, gives you choice of HD (15 fps, sl. jerky at rapid movement but with quality sharpness or 30 fps standard). Easy to import into iMovie without added Canon software (don't know about PC ease). Manual is logical though 220 pages in English. Has few errors, particularly for long shutter speed it states pressing "menu" but should read "disp." Finally, I dumped my Olympus Stylus 750 because I absolutely could not take photos outside on sunny days due to LCD washout and NO VIEWFINDER. Before getting the Olympus, I had read on their site that the LCD was "bright" with new technology that would not wash out. That's why I did not consider the SD700, 800, 1000, ... which have no viewfinder. That said, the 950 LCD really works well outside though I've only used it a couple times outside thus far.