Astonishing power in a super-compact design, August 28, 2008
By Edward Sawma (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
I previously had a Canon PowerShot S110 digital ELPH from 6 years ago or so, and loved that camera. I didn't realize that there was so much more that a little camera could do! I researched the new Canon's out there (since I loved the ELPH), and decided on the SD770 IS for its compact design and features outlined well by others.
This camera just blows me away. Canon Powershot SD780IS takes amazing pictures in full-auto mode. In situations where full-auto doesn't quite do the job as well as SD770 IS possible, this camera lets you change ISO settings, white balance, focus method, and tons of other factors.
Compared to the S110, I thought the ability to change the ISO setting was a big improvement over previous generations. You're actually changing the sensitivity of the sensor in the camera, allowing you to take pictures with more clarity in conditions that have less light. This, coupled with the image stabilization (which again, blows me away on this camera), allows you to not have to use flash, preserve the real look of the scene, and take a crisply clear picture.
Battery life is amazing. I haven't charged Canon Powershot SD770 IS once yet... I'm going on over 150 pictures taken now. I've taken many pictures in low light with no flash, which drains the battery faster because the sensors have to stay on longer. The battery low warning has now come on... but I've still taken over 10 pictures on low battery, so Canon Powershot SD780IS gives you a good amount of warning time.
I also thought I didn't need more megapixels, because my pictures from my 2MP S110 looked great. True, 10MP looks even better, but a HUGE benefit is that Canon Powershot SD780IS automatically improves your ability to do digital zoom and keep the picture looking crisp. You can take a 10MP full resolution photo of a scene, then crop Canon Powershot SD780IS down later to the zoomed-in part of the scene that you want, and still have a crisp image for a 4x6 print. The camera is also able to do this more automatically... if you choose to take a photo at a lower resolution, like 4MP, and you use digital zoom, the camera will automatically use its sensor to it's full 10MP capability to zoom digitally and SD770 IS retain image quality.
Just a fantastic camera. I'm glad I stuck with Canon, and I'm glad I bought the latest generation.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Canon A590IS - Possibly Good Camera With Some Flaws
Canon A590IS - Possibly Good Camera With Some Flaws, January 31, 2009
By JWCPA - See all my reviews
I would rate this camera only as average at this time because of the battery problems outlined below. Have not used the camera enough to rate the quality of the photos, features, and general operation at this time. Also, the included SD card with the camera was a measly 32 MB, basically nothing in this day and age of large image files and cheap memory. To get decent photos capacity and a spare, I bought two on-sale Kingston 2 GB SD cards, one from Meritline.com for ca. $7 (free shipping) and one locally at Inkspot for ca. $5.
My advice to others is that if you suspect your camera has a problem not due to your use/handling and the camera is still under warranty; return Canon Powershot SD780IS ASAP to Canon for repairs.
I bought camera early last December as a Christmas present, from Amazon since Canon Powershot SD780IS seem to have the best price at the time including free shipping. Selected this camera model based on Consumer Reports' recommendation, mostly favorable user reviews on Amazon and some ther websites, and the camera price and features. I was a bit concerned about some reviewers complaining of low battery life, but thought perhaps they were a small minority, maybe their problems were due to the way some used thier cameras/settings, and there's always a few lemons sold in any product line.
2. The camera out of the box seemed to be functional for all the features I tested, but after playing with the camera to learn how to use it, and a few dozen shots, the low battery inidcation came on. after a few number more shots (est. a few dozen), the battery replace indication came on and the camera shut down. These were the Panasonic alkaline AA batteries that came with the camera. At this time my voltmeter measured the batteries at ca. 1.35v.
3. To reduce power use, changed some settings to turn LCD off after a short time, and the IS (Image Stabilization) from always on to on only during shots. Put in new Berkley & Jensen (BJ's) alkalines, same low battery indication after a few dozen shots. After about a dozen more shots, the replace battery indication came on and the camera shut down. After checking the battery contacts, letting the camera sit for a while, etc., no change in behavior, i.e. camera can be turned on for a few shots with low battery indication on, then change battery indication comes on and camera shut down. The BJ's batteries voltage was 1.45v at this time.
4. A friendly camera repair place person told me about the Canon website online repair setup and gave me an Internet address, but even then Canon Powershot SD780IS was not easy to find page, the website search did not find Canon Powershot SD780IS for me. Go to any consumer camera model support; look at the bottom part of the page for links to "Repair Request" or "Repair & Tracking. Gee, I wonder why Canon doesn't make Canon Powershot SD780IS obvious, could Canon Powershot SD780IS be that they really don't want to hear from us, especially for warranty stuff... ?!?!
https://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=OnlineRepairBookingAct&fcategoryid=221&modelid=15658
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=OnlineTrackSearchAct
So I decided to return camera to Canon for warranty repair (no cost except my shipping camera to them). I mailed the camera (included 2 sets of batteries I used) to Canon's Elk Grove Village, IL facility by US Mail, insured and with post office deliver confirmation. Canon received Canon Powershot SD780IS in a few days, confirmed receipt to me via E-mail, and I received Canon Powershot SD780IS and my batteries back by FedEx ca. 3 days later. Factory documentation returned with the camera noted that:
- Low batteries was cause of problems, said nothing about any adjustments ("Unit has battery shortage. Check all functions, repair to good working order."), but since the camera behaves differently after getting Canon Powershot SD780IS back, I suspect they adjusted both the battery low and the battery replace indicators' voltage threshold settings even though nothing was said about it.
- "...found the optical assembly was inoperative and the focus did not operate properly. Adjustments were carried out on the optical assembly." I did not notice any wildly out of focus photos by the out-of-the-box camera using the Auto focus mode; perhaps they're addressing the manual focus mode that I did not test.
5. After I received the camera back from Canon, I put in the original used Panasonic and BJ's akalines (approx. 1.35v and 1.45v, respectively, similar to as previously measured), and still got the low battery indication with both sets.
6. Decided to put in a new set of BJ's alkalines, measured at ca. 1.59V. Camera set for AUTO mode, IS on only during shots, face detection on. Occasionally used the zoom feature, once or twice for every 25 set of shots.
- After 100 shots in succession, most with flash used, battery voltage checked to be ca. 1.43v.
- After 32 more shots, low battery indication came on, did 12 more shots, turned camera off, batteries checked at ca. 1.35v
- When camera turned back on, low battery indication not on, but came on again after 5 shots. When got up to 191 shots total, camera to off, batteries checked to be ca. 1.38v.
- Turn camera back on, low battery indication on again after 13 shots, camera off, checked batteries at ca. 1.34v.
- At 204 total shots with the set of new BJ's alkalines, the battery replace indication came on, and the camera shut down shortly after. Can turn on camera again of 2-3 shots before the replace indication/shutdown occurs again. The number of shots here appears to match the camera manual specification page that list ca. 200 shots for akaline batteries.
7. For the second set of testing, I used a fully charged set of Ultra Pro NiMH 2500 mAH-rated AA batteries (ca. 1.43v - 1.45v measured). Made all shots indoors, those where flash used were of house interior, those without flash used was through window (daylight).
- Erased all the previous 217 images from the SD card.
- After 150 shots, half with flash, half without, no low battery indication, turned camera off for ca. 45 min. for lunch.
- When camera turned back on, low battery indication showed, camera off, checked batteries at ca. 1.33v.
- When camera turned on, no low battery indication showed, but indication showed again after 23 shots using flash, continued to 25 shots using flash.
- Continued shooting 25 shots at a time alternating between flash and no flash, for 175 more shots. After a total of 350 shots (half with flash) have been taken with the NiMH batteries, batteries measured ca 1.27 - 1.29v.
- Continued shooting 25 shots at a time alternating between flash and no flash, for 150 more shots. After a total of 500 shots (half with flash) have been taken with the NiMH batteries, batteries measured ca 1.26 - 1.27v now. At this point, I gave up test shooting, as I have not seen the battery replacement indication after 500 shots. The number of shots here appears to in line with the camera manual specification page that list "approx. 450 images" for NiMH batteries. Fooled around for few more test photos, and the battery replace indication/camera shutdown occurred after ca. dozen flash shots past 500.
8. Some observations about the camera:
- Canon Powershot SD780IS looks like I'll have to accept the low battery indication on most of the time. My guess is that there some kind of design and/or manufacturing defect where the camera electronics/software does not accurately detect how much of the battery capacity is remaining. Judging from the various user reviews, Canon Powershot SD780IS may not be present in all sold units of this model, as not everyone sees this problem. However, if the camera can perform OK for several hundred shots until the battery replacement indication/shutdown (esp. with NiMH which I want to use), I can live with that.
- The flash can take more than 5 sec. to recover for the next flash shot.
- The camera seems to work differently on alkalines vs. NiMH 2500 mAH-rated rechargables, as Canon Powershot SD780IS continues working at lower voltage for rechargables. I know that the discharge curves, and capacity and voltage ratings for the alkalines and NiMH batteries are different, the alkaline are rated at 1.5v (actual ca. 1.6v new), and rated capacities numbers can be similar to the NiMH (over 2500 mAH). The NiMH batteries are rated at 1.2v (actual ca. 1.4v new), capacities can be vary (typ.1000-2800 mAH). The initial voltage of both battery types drops fairly quickly from their nominal ratings during use but after the initial drop, the NiMH types tend to have a flatter voltage vs. use time curves than the alkalines.
- Since battery monitors typically can only see voltage as an indirect measure of capacity remaining, why should the camera decide that the lower NiMH battery voltage is still OK, while a higher voltage on the alkalines is not? If the alkalines and NiMH rated capacities can be simialr, why don't they perform similarly, or are the alkaline capacity ratings done differently than the NIMH? Canon's camera documentation implies the camera treats the battery types differently as Canon Powershot SD780IS explicitly notes the performance difference in their camera spec. for nominal number of shots for alkalines vs. NiMH batteries. My Internet research also seems to indicate that the battery rating numbers may or may not all be done via a standard method, and different manufacturers' batteries can perform significantly differently under the same conditions, so as to make the capacity ratings less than useful.
By JWCPA - See all my reviews
I would rate this camera only as average at this time because of the battery problems outlined below. Have not used the camera enough to rate the quality of the photos, features, and general operation at this time. Also, the included SD card with the camera was a measly 32 MB, basically nothing in this day and age of large image files and cheap memory. To get decent photos capacity and a spare, I bought two on-sale Kingston 2 GB SD cards, one from Meritline.com for ca. $7 (free shipping) and one locally at Inkspot for ca. $5.
My advice to others is that if you suspect your camera has a problem not due to your use/handling and the camera is still under warranty; return Canon Powershot SD780IS ASAP to Canon for repairs.
I bought camera early last December as a Christmas present, from Amazon since Canon Powershot SD780IS seem to have the best price at the time including free shipping. Selected this camera model based on Consumer Reports' recommendation, mostly favorable user reviews on Amazon and some ther websites, and the camera price and features. I was a bit concerned about some reviewers complaining of low battery life, but thought perhaps they were a small minority, maybe their problems were due to the way some used thier cameras/settings, and there's always a few lemons sold in any product line.
2. The camera out of the box seemed to be functional for all the features I tested, but after playing with the camera to learn how to use it, and a few dozen shots, the low battery inidcation came on. after a few number more shots (est. a few dozen), the battery replace indication came on and the camera shut down. These were the Panasonic alkaline AA batteries that came with the camera. At this time my voltmeter measured the batteries at ca. 1.35v.
3. To reduce power use, changed some settings to turn LCD off after a short time, and the IS (Image Stabilization) from always on to on only during shots. Put in new Berkley & Jensen (BJ's) alkalines, same low battery indication after a few dozen shots. After about a dozen more shots, the replace battery indication came on and the camera shut down. After checking the battery contacts, letting the camera sit for a while, etc., no change in behavior, i.e. camera can be turned on for a few shots with low battery indication on, then change battery indication comes on and camera shut down. The BJ's batteries voltage was 1.45v at this time.
4. A friendly camera repair place person told me about the Canon website online repair setup and gave me an Internet address, but even then Canon Powershot SD780IS was not easy to find page, the website search did not find Canon Powershot SD780IS for me. Go to any consumer camera model support; look at the bottom part of the page for links to "Repair Request" or "Repair & Tracking. Gee, I wonder why Canon doesn't make Canon Powershot SD780IS obvious, could Canon Powershot SD780IS be that they really don't want to hear from us, especially for warranty stuff... ?!?!
https://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=OnlineRepairBookingAct&fcategoryid=221&modelid=15658
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=OnlineTrackSearchAct
So I decided to return camera to Canon for warranty repair (no cost except my shipping camera to them). I mailed the camera (included 2 sets of batteries I used) to Canon's Elk Grove Village, IL facility by US Mail, insured and with post office deliver confirmation. Canon received Canon Powershot SD780IS in a few days, confirmed receipt to me via E-mail, and I received Canon Powershot SD780IS and my batteries back by FedEx ca. 3 days later. Factory documentation returned with the camera noted that:
- Low batteries was cause of problems, said nothing about any adjustments ("Unit has battery shortage. Check all functions, repair to good working order."), but since the camera behaves differently after getting Canon Powershot SD780IS back, I suspect they adjusted both the battery low and the battery replace indicators' voltage threshold settings even though nothing was said about it.
- "...found the optical assembly was inoperative and the focus did not operate properly. Adjustments were carried out on the optical assembly." I did not notice any wildly out of focus photos by the out-of-the-box camera using the Auto focus mode; perhaps they're addressing the manual focus mode that I did not test.
5. After I received the camera back from Canon, I put in the original used Panasonic and BJ's akalines (approx. 1.35v and 1.45v, respectively, similar to as previously measured), and still got the low battery indication with both sets.
6. Decided to put in a new set of BJ's alkalines, measured at ca. 1.59V. Camera set for AUTO mode, IS on only during shots, face detection on. Occasionally used the zoom feature, once or twice for every 25 set of shots.
- After 100 shots in succession, most with flash used, battery voltage checked to be ca. 1.43v.
- After 32 more shots, low battery indication came on, did 12 more shots, turned camera off, batteries checked at ca. 1.35v
- When camera turned back on, low battery indication not on, but came on again after 5 shots. When got up to 191 shots total, camera to off, batteries checked to be ca. 1.38v.
- Turn camera back on, low battery indication on again after 13 shots, camera off, checked batteries at ca. 1.34v.
- At 204 total shots with the set of new BJ's alkalines, the battery replace indication came on, and the camera shut down shortly after. Can turn on camera again of 2-3 shots before the replace indication/shutdown occurs again. The number of shots here appears to match the camera manual specification page that list ca. 200 shots for akaline batteries.
7. For the second set of testing, I used a fully charged set of Ultra Pro NiMH 2500 mAH-rated AA batteries (ca. 1.43v - 1.45v measured). Made all shots indoors, those where flash used were of house interior, those without flash used was through window (daylight).
- Erased all the previous 217 images from the SD card.
- After 150 shots, half with flash, half without, no low battery indication, turned camera off for ca. 45 min. for lunch.
- When camera turned back on, low battery indication showed, camera off, checked batteries at ca. 1.33v.
- When camera turned on, no low battery indication showed, but indication showed again after 23 shots using flash, continued to 25 shots using flash.
- Continued shooting 25 shots at a time alternating between flash and no flash, for 175 more shots. After a total of 350 shots (half with flash) have been taken with the NiMH batteries, batteries measured ca 1.27 - 1.29v.
- Continued shooting 25 shots at a time alternating between flash and no flash, for 150 more shots. After a total of 500 shots (half with flash) have been taken with the NiMH batteries, batteries measured ca 1.26 - 1.27v now. At this point, I gave up test shooting, as I have not seen the battery replacement indication after 500 shots. The number of shots here appears to in line with the camera manual specification page that list "approx. 450 images" for NiMH batteries. Fooled around for few more test photos, and the battery replace indication/camera shutdown occurred after ca. dozen flash shots past 500.
8. Some observations about the camera:
- Canon Powershot SD780IS looks like I'll have to accept the low battery indication on most of the time. My guess is that there some kind of design and/or manufacturing defect where the camera electronics/software does not accurately detect how much of the battery capacity is remaining. Judging from the various user reviews, Canon Powershot SD780IS may not be present in all sold units of this model, as not everyone sees this problem. However, if the camera can perform OK for several hundred shots until the battery replacement indication/shutdown (esp. with NiMH which I want to use), I can live with that.
- The flash can take more than 5 sec. to recover for the next flash shot.
- The camera seems to work differently on alkalines vs. NiMH 2500 mAH-rated rechargables, as Canon Powershot SD780IS continues working at lower voltage for rechargables. I know that the discharge curves, and capacity and voltage ratings for the alkalines and NiMH batteries are different, the alkaline are rated at 1.5v (actual ca. 1.6v new), and rated capacities numbers can be similar to the NiMH (over 2500 mAH). The NiMH batteries are rated at 1.2v (actual ca. 1.4v new), capacities can be vary (typ.1000-2800 mAH). The initial voltage of both battery types drops fairly quickly from their nominal ratings during use but after the initial drop, the NiMH types tend to have a flatter voltage vs. use time curves than the alkalines.
- Since battery monitors typically can only see voltage as an indirect measure of capacity remaining, why should the camera decide that the lower NiMH battery voltage is still OK, while a higher voltage on the alkalines is not? If the alkalines and NiMH rated capacities can be simialr, why don't they perform similarly, or are the alkaline capacity ratings done differently than the NIMH? Canon's camera documentation implies the camera treats the battery types differently as Canon Powershot SD780IS explicitly notes the performance difference in their camera spec. for nominal number of shots for alkalines vs. NiMH batteries. My Internet research also seems to indicate that the battery rating numbers may or may not all be done via a standard method, and different manufacturers' batteries can perform significantly differently under the same conditions, so as to make the capacity ratings less than useful.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Takes a licking
Takes a licking...., March 28, 2008
By Jennifer K. Bretsch - See all my reviews
There are already great reviews out about Canon's A590is. I'd like to add that I bought this camera just before a 2-week trip to China. Well, canon powershot sd780is performed like a charm and I couldn't be more happy with my purchase, especially for such an affordable camera that has so many features. On the second day of my trip I was fumbling with the camera and dropped canon powershot sd780is from a height of 4 feet onto concrete. My heart was in my throat. Everyone stared. For the remainder of the trip the camera was just fine; not even a crack or scratch. I'm amazed. And because I had almost no time to look through the camera manual before I started taking photos, I'll add that this camera is very user-friendly and easy to figure out right out of the box. I especially like the image stabilization and video capture features. I was also pleasantly surprised by the long battery life. I took about 700 pictures on one set of batteries. Overall, a great camera. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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498 of 543 people found the following review helpful:
Nice features but way too much noise, April 4, 2008
By the engineer-historian - See all my reviews
I bought the A590 as a camera to keep with me in the book bag/briefcase that I carry around most every weekday. You may recall the old saying that the camera you have with you (when you see a photo op) is your best camera. The A590 fills that role by virtue of its small size combined with full exposure control. The big problem is that the noise generated by putting 8 mpix on a tiny (1/2.5) sensor chip can overwhelm the image and render detail moot.
I use Imagenomic NoiseWare combined with Photoshop Elements to reduce noise and sharpen the image as best I can. If possible I shoot at the lowest ISO setting, 80, which lowers the noise. I never go over ISO 100 if I can help it, and usually at -2/3 on the exposure control. It's much better to have the photo-editing software brighten up the image than the amplifier boosting the signal (and noise) from the sensor. When you play back the image on the camera's LCD, canon powershot sd780is should look a little dark -- never overly bright (which can also blow out details).
Here are two other items about the Canon A-series cameras. My 15 year old son uses a Canon A720 for what are essentially snapshots and is very happy with it. If you don't crop substantially and aren't too picky about sharpness and noise, the camera is quite capable. From what I can tell, the A720 uses the same electronics (including the sensor and image stabilization) as the A590. The A720 has greater zoom capabilities (and hence a different lens system) and is a little bit larger and heavier. If I were going to get just one of these, I would go for the A720 because of the zoom.
The second point is that the other camera I frequently use is a Canon A650, and canon powershot sd780is is far more capable than either the A590 or A720. The A650 has 12 mpix on a larger sensor (1/1.7). Comparing sensor sizes (available at www.dpreview.com/learn/?/key=sensor+sizes) and mpix shows that the A650's sensor has 1.75 times the area as those of the A590 and A720 with only 1.5 times the pix -- hence pix density is lower and the noise generated by the A650 is much better controlled. And because there are more pix, the noise gets smoothed over as a result of more little points covering the same area in the image. (FYI: Greater pix density on a sensor chip creates more noise.)
I did a noise and sharpness test with all three of these cameras plus my Nikon D40 DSLR. I set two shoes, one black and one brown (the latter with lots of texture) on a rug, just beside a sunlit spot inside my house. The shoes were well lit but not in direct sun. I shot all of the cameras at 200 ISO (because that is as low as the Nikon would go) and f/5.6, with the exposure control at -2/3 of an f/stop.
The results surprised me. For whatever reason, and despite several tries, I could not get the Nikon to focus adequately on the shoes -- this from a distance of about four feet. I know from experience that the Nikon D40, with 6 mpix on a 2/3 sensor (2/3 the size of a standard 35mm film frame) has extremely well controlled noise and excellent sharpness, but the inability to focus here took canon powershot sd780is out of the comparison.
The superiority of the A650 to the A590 and A720 was startling. Keep in mind that I "zoomed" in on the images in Photoshop after I had transferred them to my 24" iMac (a great computer for photo editing). This made different sections of the shoes appear much larger (the laces were really telling), and the 12 mpix A650 (vs. 8 mpix of the others) had more pixes to work with for any particular area I looked at. Nonetheless, the other two cameras had so much noise that the details were overwhelmed and no amount of noise reduction and sharpening could change that. The A650's image was far sharper and clearer.
The A650 has one other big advantage so far as I'm concerned and one drawback. The advantage is the articulating LCD, which I find extremely useful for many shots. Yesterday, I had to lay down on the cold, damp ground to get a shot with the A590, but with the A650 I would have put the camera at foot level and looked down into the cocked LCD. That is really nice, almost addicting. However, the A650's drawback is that it's bulky and surprisingly heavy, which is why I don't carry canon powershot sd780is along all the time.
So you pay your money and take your choice -- or, like me, pay your money twice and have canon powershot sd780is both ways. Remember, the camera that you have with you is the best camera you own -- so think about what size and type of camera you want to carry plus when and how you will use it. For some people, that means owning more than one camera.
By Jennifer K. Bretsch - See all my reviews
There are already great reviews out about Canon's A590is. I'd like to add that I bought this camera just before a 2-week trip to China. Well, canon powershot sd780is performed like a charm and I couldn't be more happy with my purchase, especially for such an affordable camera that has so many features. On the second day of my trip I was fumbling with the camera and dropped canon powershot sd780is from a height of 4 feet onto concrete. My heart was in my throat. Everyone stared. For the remainder of the trip the camera was just fine; not even a crack or scratch. I'm amazed. And because I had almost no time to look through the camera manual before I started taking photos, I'll add that this camera is very user-friendly and easy to figure out right out of the box. I especially like the image stabilization and video capture features. I was also pleasantly surprised by the long battery life. I took about 700 pictures on one set of batteries. Overall, a great camera. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Report this Permalink
Comment
498 of 543 people found the following review helpful:
Nice features but way too much noise, April 4, 2008
By the engineer-historian - See all my reviews
I bought the A590 as a camera to keep with me in the book bag/briefcase that I carry around most every weekday. You may recall the old saying that the camera you have with you (when you see a photo op) is your best camera. The A590 fills that role by virtue of its small size combined with full exposure control. The big problem is that the noise generated by putting 8 mpix on a tiny (1/2.5) sensor chip can overwhelm the image and render detail moot.
I use Imagenomic NoiseWare combined with Photoshop Elements to reduce noise and sharpen the image as best I can. If possible I shoot at the lowest ISO setting, 80, which lowers the noise. I never go over ISO 100 if I can help it, and usually at -2/3 on the exposure control. It's much better to have the photo-editing software brighten up the image than the amplifier boosting the signal (and noise) from the sensor. When you play back the image on the camera's LCD, canon powershot sd780is should look a little dark -- never overly bright (which can also blow out details).
Here are two other items about the Canon A-series cameras. My 15 year old son uses a Canon A720 for what are essentially snapshots and is very happy with it. If you don't crop substantially and aren't too picky about sharpness and noise, the camera is quite capable. From what I can tell, the A720 uses the same electronics (including the sensor and image stabilization) as the A590. The A720 has greater zoom capabilities (and hence a different lens system) and is a little bit larger and heavier. If I were going to get just one of these, I would go for the A720 because of the zoom.
The second point is that the other camera I frequently use is a Canon A650, and canon powershot sd780is is far more capable than either the A590 or A720. The A650 has 12 mpix on a larger sensor (1/1.7). Comparing sensor sizes (available at www.dpreview.com/learn/?/key=sensor+sizes) and mpix shows that the A650's sensor has 1.75 times the area as those of the A590 and A720 with only 1.5 times the pix -- hence pix density is lower and the noise generated by the A650 is much better controlled. And because there are more pix, the noise gets smoothed over as a result of more little points covering the same area in the image. (FYI: Greater pix density on a sensor chip creates more noise.)
I did a noise and sharpness test with all three of these cameras plus my Nikon D40 DSLR. I set two shoes, one black and one brown (the latter with lots of texture) on a rug, just beside a sunlit spot inside my house. The shoes were well lit but not in direct sun. I shot all of the cameras at 200 ISO (because that is as low as the Nikon would go) and f/5.6, with the exposure control at -2/3 of an f/stop.
The results surprised me. For whatever reason, and despite several tries, I could not get the Nikon to focus adequately on the shoes -- this from a distance of about four feet. I know from experience that the Nikon D40, with 6 mpix on a 2/3 sensor (2/3 the size of a standard 35mm film frame) has extremely well controlled noise and excellent sharpness, but the inability to focus here took canon powershot sd780is out of the comparison.
The superiority of the A650 to the A590 and A720 was startling. Keep in mind that I "zoomed" in on the images in Photoshop after I had transferred them to my 24" iMac (a great computer for photo editing). This made different sections of the shoes appear much larger (the laces were really telling), and the 12 mpix A650 (vs. 8 mpix of the others) had more pixes to work with for any particular area I looked at. Nonetheless, the other two cameras had so much noise that the details were overwhelmed and no amount of noise reduction and sharpening could change that. The A650's image was far sharper and clearer.
The A650 has one other big advantage so far as I'm concerned and one drawback. The advantage is the articulating LCD, which I find extremely useful for many shots. Yesterday, I had to lay down on the cold, damp ground to get a shot with the A590, but with the A650 I would have put the camera at foot level and looked down into the cocked LCD. That is really nice, almost addicting. However, the A650's drawback is that it's bulky and surprisingly heavy, which is why I don't carry canon powershot sd780is along all the time.
So you pay your money and take your choice -- or, like me, pay your money twice and have canon powershot sd780is both ways. Remember, the camera that you have with you is the best camera you own -- so think about what size and type of camera you want to carry plus when and how you will use it. For some people, that means owning more than one camera.
Worth the extra $30 over the A570is with mostly same or better features
Worth the extra $30 over the A570is with mostly same or better features, March 20, 2008
By BoaltGeek (California) - See all my reviews
Pros:
The A590IS is the best point and shoot under $200 today (closer to $155 most places). I own an SD600 and my wife, friend, and father (all different people mind you!) own A570IS's. The A590IS is the new version of the A570IS, 2007's best selling camera. Generally, see the rave reviews of the A570IS if you want to know the major pros and cons (in summary: Image Stabilization is amazing, noise is limited, features of all there including manual controls [though no auto-bracketing which no other cameras at this price point have regardless], final picture quality is superior to all other brands at this price point and type, [i.e., point-and-shoot], good size). Rather, here I'll address the main improvements over the A570IS (which is about $30 cheaper):
(1) The A590IS has 8mp vs. 7mp on the A570IS (negligible difference)
(2) The A590IS is slightly faster between non-flash shots BUT slightly SLOWER before the first shot can be taken and slower between shots where flash is used (less than .5 second difference according to CNet)
(3) It's charcoal/gray - minor change from silver, but I like canon powershot sd780is a lot.
(4) It's "rounder" on the edges but no less stable in your hand, neither camera is too slippery like other overly polished cameras (also, no finger smudges as a result).
(5) There is sometimes increased noise with higher MP cameras, this is NOT the case here - noise levels are similar.
(6) there are some minor additional shooting modes and improvements to other shooting
Cons:
The only change that is not an improvement is the lowering of the frames per second in the video mode.
A570IS: 640x480 = 30fps --- 320x240 = 60fps
A590IS: 640x480 = 20fps --- 320x240 = 30fps
Frankly, this is a bummer and cannon should correct canon powershot sd780is with firmware ASAP; however, the lower FPS is still quiet good, but this was a pointless change that is not appreciated -- the reality is that most people don't use video often and those who do will see a minimal difference ... if you're paying that much attention to the video you may be more interested in a different camera or a video camera.
Conclusion:
This will be the best selling camera of 2008 and it's a VERY safe purchase you won't regret (unless canon powershot sd780is gives you such a new found love for photography that suddenly you wish you had a Canon S5 or G7 ... which are more than twice as expensive!).
By BoaltGeek (California) - See all my reviews
Pros:
The A590IS is the best point and shoot under $200 today (closer to $155 most places). I own an SD600 and my wife, friend, and father (all different people mind you!) own A570IS's. The A590IS is the new version of the A570IS, 2007's best selling camera. Generally, see the rave reviews of the A570IS if you want to know the major pros and cons (in summary: Image Stabilization is amazing, noise is limited, features of all there including manual controls [though no auto-bracketing which no other cameras at this price point have regardless], final picture quality is superior to all other brands at this price point and type, [i.e., point-and-shoot], good size). Rather, here I'll address the main improvements over the A570IS (which is about $30 cheaper):
(1) The A590IS has 8mp vs. 7mp on the A570IS (negligible difference)
(2) The A590IS is slightly faster between non-flash shots BUT slightly SLOWER before the first shot can be taken and slower between shots where flash is used (less than .5 second difference according to CNet)
(3) It's charcoal/gray - minor change from silver, but I like canon powershot sd780is a lot.
(4) It's "rounder" on the edges but no less stable in your hand, neither camera is too slippery like other overly polished cameras (also, no finger smudges as a result).
(5) There is sometimes increased noise with higher MP cameras, this is NOT the case here - noise levels are similar.
(6) there are some minor additional shooting modes and improvements to other shooting
Cons:
The only change that is not an improvement is the lowering of the frames per second in the video mode.
A570IS: 640x480 = 30fps --- 320x240 = 60fps
A590IS: 640x480 = 20fps --- 320x240 = 30fps
Frankly, this is a bummer and cannon should correct canon powershot sd780is with firmware ASAP; however, the lower FPS is still quiet good, but this was a pointless change that is not appreciated -- the reality is that most people don't use video often and those who do will see a minimal difference ... if you're paying that much attention to the video you may be more interested in a different camera or a video camera.
Conclusion:
This will be the best selling camera of 2008 and it's a VERY safe purchase you won't regret (unless canon powershot sd780is gives you such a new found love for photography that suddenly you wish you had a Canon S5 or G7 ... which are more than twice as expensive!).
Hard to beat
Hard to beat, March 10, 2008
By Julie Neal "The Complete Walt Disney World" (Sanibel Island, Fla.) - See all my reviews
These PowerShot "A" cameras are Canon's attempt to deliver the quality and features of its more expensive PowerShot "G" and PowerShot Pro "S" lines (such as full zoom lenses) at a budget price. The results are pretty good. (How do I know? Because I've actually gotten to use all of these cameras. I earn my living at Walt Disney World writing a travel guide, and nearly every day guests ask me to take photos of them with their own cameras, which most often are Canon PowerShots.)
Here's my opinion of the top-selling "A" series cameras:
A580. This 2008 model is an A590IS (see below) without image stabilization and with semi-automatic instead of manual controls. I'd spend the extra bucks for the A590IS, because those two features can make quite a difference.
A650 IS. You can do a lot with this sweet little camera, though canon powershot sd780is may be more than you need. canon powershot sd780is has a flip-out LCD camera panel and the option of manual controls. The shots I've seen from this model look great. Keep your ISO under 800 and you won't get any noise.
A720 IS. This fully-loaded 2007 model has all the toys, including a 6x zoom (35mm film equivalent of 35-210mm), image stabilization, adjustable flash power and optional second-curtain flash. This last feature means you can make the flash fire at the end of a long exposure, instead of the beginning, so moving subjects streak into focus instead of out.
A470. This 2008 camera is great for kids or anyone just looking for a good basic camera. canon powershot sd780is includes Canon's face detection technology and camera has a zoom lens, 14 shooting modes and the ability to set exposure compensation, ISO and white balance manually. Plus canon powershot sd780is looks great, and is a good bargain.
Finally, the A590IS (the camera on this page) is a 2008 upgrade to an older model, the A570IS. The face detection system works a little better than the one on its predecessor, and the new model is slightly rounder and easier to grip. I personally like that canon powershot sd780is has automatic and manual controls, though I haven't seen anyone using the manual set yet. Overall this camera is a fine performer, a great bargain and camera I think the best buy of the bunch. I bought one for myself.
By Julie Neal "The Complete Walt Disney World" (Sanibel Island, Fla.) - See all my reviews
These PowerShot "A" cameras are Canon's attempt to deliver the quality and features of its more expensive PowerShot "G" and PowerShot Pro "S" lines (such as full zoom lenses) at a budget price. The results are pretty good. (How do I know? Because I've actually gotten to use all of these cameras. I earn my living at Walt Disney World writing a travel guide, and nearly every day guests ask me to take photos of them with their own cameras, which most often are Canon PowerShots.)
Here's my opinion of the top-selling "A" series cameras:
A580. This 2008 model is an A590IS (see below) without image stabilization and with semi-automatic instead of manual controls. I'd spend the extra bucks for the A590IS, because those two features can make quite a difference.
A650 IS. You can do a lot with this sweet little camera, though canon powershot sd780is may be more than you need. canon powershot sd780is has a flip-out LCD camera panel and the option of manual controls. The shots I've seen from this model look great. Keep your ISO under 800 and you won't get any noise.
A720 IS. This fully-loaded 2007 model has all the toys, including a 6x zoom (35mm film equivalent of 35-210mm), image stabilization, adjustable flash power and optional second-curtain flash. This last feature means you can make the flash fire at the end of a long exposure, instead of the beginning, so moving subjects streak into focus instead of out.
A470. This 2008 camera is great for kids or anyone just looking for a good basic camera. canon powershot sd780is includes Canon's face detection technology and camera has a zoom lens, 14 shooting modes and the ability to set exposure compensation, ISO and white balance manually. Plus canon powershot sd780is looks great, and is a good bargain.
Finally, the A590IS (the camera on this page) is a 2008 upgrade to an older model, the A570IS. The face detection system works a little better than the one on its predecessor, and the new model is slightly rounder and easier to grip. I personally like that canon powershot sd780is has automatic and manual controls, though I haven't seen anyone using the manual set yet. Overall this camera is a fine performer, a great bargain and camera I think the best buy of the bunch. I bought one for myself.
Hard to beat
Hard to beat, March 10, 2008
By Julie Neal "The Complete Walt Disney World" (Sanibel Island, Fla.) - See all my reviews
These PowerShot "A" cameras are Canon's attempt to deliver the quality and features of its more expensive PowerShot "G" and PowerShot Pro "S" lines (such as full zoom lenses) at a budget price. The results are pretty good. (How do I know? Because I've actually gotten to use all of these cameras. I earn my living at Walt Disney World writing a travel guide, and nearly every day guests ask me to take photos of them with their own cameras, which most often are Canon PowerShots.)
Here's my opinion of the top-selling "A" series cameras:
A580. This 2008 model is an A590IS (see below) without image stabilization and with semi-automatic instead of manual controls. I'd spend the extra bucks for the A590IS, because those two features can make quite a difference.
A650 IS. You can do a lot with this sweet little camera, though canon powershot sd780is may be more than you need. canon powershot sd780is has a flip-out LCD camera panel and the option of manual controls. The shots I've seen from this model look great. Keep your ISO under 800 and you won't get any noise.
A720 IS. This fully-loaded 2007 model has all the toys, including a 6x zoom (35mm film equivalent of 35-210mm), image stabilization, adjustable flash power and optional second-curtain flash. This last feature means you can make the flash fire at the end of a long exposure, instead of the beginning, so moving subjects streak into focus instead of out.
A470. This 2008 camera is great for kids or anyone just looking for a good basic camera. canon powershot sd780is includes Canon's face detection technology and camera has a zoom lens, 14 shooting modes and the ability to set exposure compensation, ISO and white balance manually. Plus canon powershot sd780is looks great, and is a good bargain.
Finally, the A590IS (the camera on this page) is a 2008 upgrade to an older model, the A570IS. The face detection system works a little better than the one on its predecessor, and the new model is slightly rounder and easier to grip. I personally like that canon powershot sd780is has automatic and manual controls, though I haven't seen anyone using the manual set yet. Overall this camera is a fine performer, a great bargain and camera I think the best buy of the bunch. I bought one for myself.
By Julie Neal "The Complete Walt Disney World" (Sanibel Island, Fla.) - See all my reviews
These PowerShot "A" cameras are Canon's attempt to deliver the quality and features of its more expensive PowerShot "G" and PowerShot Pro "S" lines (such as full zoom lenses) at a budget price. The results are pretty good. (How do I know? Because I've actually gotten to use all of these cameras. I earn my living at Walt Disney World writing a travel guide, and nearly every day guests ask me to take photos of them with their own cameras, which most often are Canon PowerShots.)
Here's my opinion of the top-selling "A" series cameras:
A580. This 2008 model is an A590IS (see below) without image stabilization and with semi-automatic instead of manual controls. I'd spend the extra bucks for the A590IS, because those two features can make quite a difference.
A650 IS. You can do a lot with this sweet little camera, though canon powershot sd780is may be more than you need. canon powershot sd780is has a flip-out LCD camera panel and the option of manual controls. The shots I've seen from this model look great. Keep your ISO under 800 and you won't get any noise.
A720 IS. This fully-loaded 2007 model has all the toys, including a 6x zoom (35mm film equivalent of 35-210mm), image stabilization, adjustable flash power and optional second-curtain flash. This last feature means you can make the flash fire at the end of a long exposure, instead of the beginning, so moving subjects streak into focus instead of out.
A470. This 2008 camera is great for kids or anyone just looking for a good basic camera. canon powershot sd780is includes Canon's face detection technology and camera has a zoom lens, 14 shooting modes and the ability to set exposure compensation, ISO and white balance manually. Plus canon powershot sd780is looks great, and is a good bargain.
Finally, the A590IS (the camera on this page) is a 2008 upgrade to an older model, the A570IS. The face detection system works a little better than the one on its predecessor, and the new model is slightly rounder and easier to grip. I personally like that canon powershot sd780is has automatic and manual controls, though I haven't seen anyone using the manual set yet. Overall this camera is a fine performer, a great bargain and camera I think the best buy of the bunch. I bought one for myself.
a camera that's powerful and a great value
A camera that's powerful and a great value, March 5, 2008
By RLSd (Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews
I own a DSLR and consider myself a photography enthusiast. I wanted a small compact camera with me when I don't want to lug around my DSLR + lenses and equipment. After a previous good experience with the Canon A720 IS, the new A590 IS seemed like a good choice. Since I'm an advanced photographer, I'll focus on the advanced features of this camera. The auto modes work as well as any other camera in its class, but the extensive manual features is what sets apart the Canon A series. What I like about the camera:
+ Compact, stylish. It's smaller than older A Powershots, and the dark grey color gives canon powershot sd780is a seriousness compared to the typical bright silver finish.
+ Image stabilization works very well, canon powershot sd780is allows me to take blur-free photos 2-3 stops below the recommended shutter speed, that means at 35-50mm f2.8 1/10 sec shots are CONSISTENTLY possible indoors without using flash.
+ Good image quality. Expected from Canon, but even better is adjustable contrast, saturation, and sharpness settings, along with the typical JPG camera compression and resolution sizes.
+ Fast and responsive. I was surprised how responsive this camera is even compared with my DSLR. Shutter lag is very low for a compact digicam, and when I pre-focus with manual focus, it's even faster.
+ Manual modes. Aperture priority and shutter priority are great, the M mode is even better than other A Powershots such as the A720 because now there's a light meter on the right side that adjusts live based on what the camera thinks is the optimal exposure setting. And you can adjust aperture/shutter speed and see how canon powershot sd780is affects the final exposure. Ideally a live histogram would be even better, camera but this is very handy.
+ Manual focus. Although the LCD resolution is not good enough, even with the point zoom option, manual focus helps in close-up work and pre-focusing for action or creative photography.
+ Manual flash modes. In addition to automatic flash. The manual flash allows me to adjust the flash power in 3 levels, and prevents a pre-flash. This last part is important for using a remote optical slave flash. I can basically take professional looking studio pictures with this camera with my external flash equipment.
+ Optical viewfinder. I don't use this much yet, but can come in handy in bright sunlight conditions, or when battery conservation is needed.
+ Battery performance seems improved over previous A powershots too. The official specs give canon powershot sd780is 220 shots on regular alkalines and 500 on rechargeable NiMHs. Good news is they use common AA batteries that you can camera buy anywhere instead of proprietary models with specific chargers.
Now the negatives. I hope Canon can improve these aspects in their future models.
- Slow flash recycle times. This is to be expected from a camera that takes AA batteries. Would be nice if the LCD didn't blank out after a full flash discharge. Not a big deal since I use an external flash anyway, and the camera's flash is manually set to medium output as trigger (so recharge is faster). I would not want to give up the AA battery convenience for a faster flash recycle time though.
- Higher resolution LCD. The 2.5" 115k resolution LCD is ok for framing and casual browsing, but higher resolution would be nice.
-Live histogram while shooting. This feature is available when reviewing a photo, but not live. Other manufacturers have implemented this, and Canon should also, especially since the unofficial CHDK software mod allows such a feature.
- Larger aperture would be nice. Such as f/2.0 (instead of f/2.6) at the wide end, and f/4.0 (instead of f/5.5) at the telephoto end. That way a lower (& less noisy) ISO can be used in dim conditions or when fast shutter speeds are needed to freeze action. All the electronics in the world can't replace a good large lens. Also allows camera more creative depth of field control.
- A wider wideangle would be nice, 28mm instead of 35mm (35mm equiv). I'd rather see a wider wideangle than a longer zoom.
- Video feature is not ideal. Optical zoom is not available during recording of video. And the more efficient MPEG4 compression is not used, so video files tend to be large. Also noticed at 640x480 resolution, the highest fps is now 20 instead of 30 from other A models. A definite step backwards.
- Noise at higher ISOs. This is due to the smaller sensor on compact cameras. But 8 MP is probably the most pixels that can be crammed into a small 1/2.5" sensor. I'd rather have a cleaner picture at 6-7 MP than a noisy 8 MP picture. And if in-camera noise reduction is used, I'd like to see an adjustable setting for how much is being applied.
- And if I were to be really critical: There's no indicator of what optical zoom level I'm at. Slight image noise is noticeable even at ISO 80 when I zoom in really close on a monitor view. When at the widest angle & aperture, there's slight barrel distortion and blurriness on the corners. Not many compact cameras can do better in terms of image quality, but I'm pointing them out here because even though this camera beats most of camera the competition, canon powershot sd780is still has room for improvement.
So overall it's a great camera for the price. Offering great image quality with the auto settings for the casual user, but also a powerful set of features for the more advanced photographer.
By RLSd (Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews
I own a DSLR and consider myself a photography enthusiast. I wanted a small compact camera with me when I don't want to lug around my DSLR + lenses and equipment. After a previous good experience with the Canon A720 IS, the new A590 IS seemed like a good choice. Since I'm an advanced photographer, I'll focus on the advanced features of this camera. The auto modes work as well as any other camera in its class, but the extensive manual features is what sets apart the Canon A series. What I like about the camera:
+ Compact, stylish. It's smaller than older A Powershots, and the dark grey color gives canon powershot sd780is a seriousness compared to the typical bright silver finish.
+ Image stabilization works very well, canon powershot sd780is allows me to take blur-free photos 2-3 stops below the recommended shutter speed, that means at 35-50mm f2.8 1/10 sec shots are CONSISTENTLY possible indoors without using flash.
+ Good image quality. Expected from Canon, but even better is adjustable contrast, saturation, and sharpness settings, along with the typical JPG camera compression and resolution sizes.
+ Fast and responsive. I was surprised how responsive this camera is even compared with my DSLR. Shutter lag is very low for a compact digicam, and when I pre-focus with manual focus, it's even faster.
+ Manual modes. Aperture priority and shutter priority are great, the M mode is even better than other A Powershots such as the A720 because now there's a light meter on the right side that adjusts live based on what the camera thinks is the optimal exposure setting. And you can adjust aperture/shutter speed and see how canon powershot sd780is affects the final exposure. Ideally a live histogram would be even better, camera but this is very handy.
+ Manual focus. Although the LCD resolution is not good enough, even with the point zoom option, manual focus helps in close-up work and pre-focusing for action or creative photography.
+ Manual flash modes. In addition to automatic flash. The manual flash allows me to adjust the flash power in 3 levels, and prevents a pre-flash. This last part is important for using a remote optical slave flash. I can basically take professional looking studio pictures with this camera with my external flash equipment.
+ Optical viewfinder. I don't use this much yet, but can come in handy in bright sunlight conditions, or when battery conservation is needed.
+ Battery performance seems improved over previous A powershots too. The official specs give canon powershot sd780is 220 shots on regular alkalines and 500 on rechargeable NiMHs. Good news is they use common AA batteries that you can camera buy anywhere instead of proprietary models with specific chargers.
Now the negatives. I hope Canon can improve these aspects in their future models.
- Slow flash recycle times. This is to be expected from a camera that takes AA batteries. Would be nice if the LCD didn't blank out after a full flash discharge. Not a big deal since I use an external flash anyway, and the camera's flash is manually set to medium output as trigger (so recharge is faster). I would not want to give up the AA battery convenience for a faster flash recycle time though.
- Higher resolution LCD. The 2.5" 115k resolution LCD is ok for framing and casual browsing, but higher resolution would be nice.
-Live histogram while shooting. This feature is available when reviewing a photo, but not live. Other manufacturers have implemented this, and Canon should also, especially since the unofficial CHDK software mod allows such a feature.
- Larger aperture would be nice. Such as f/2.0 (instead of f/2.6) at the wide end, and f/4.0 (instead of f/5.5) at the telephoto end. That way a lower (& less noisy) ISO can be used in dim conditions or when fast shutter speeds are needed to freeze action. All the electronics in the world can't replace a good large lens. Also allows camera more creative depth of field control.
- A wider wideangle would be nice, 28mm instead of 35mm (35mm equiv). I'd rather see a wider wideangle than a longer zoom.
- Video feature is not ideal. Optical zoom is not available during recording of video. And the more efficient MPEG4 compression is not used, so video files tend to be large. Also noticed at 640x480 resolution, the highest fps is now 20 instead of 30 from other A models. A definite step backwards.
- Noise at higher ISOs. This is due to the smaller sensor on compact cameras. But 8 MP is probably the most pixels that can be crammed into a small 1/2.5" sensor. I'd rather have a cleaner picture at 6-7 MP than a noisy 8 MP picture. And if in-camera noise reduction is used, I'd like to see an adjustable setting for how much is being applied.
- And if I were to be really critical: There's no indicator of what optical zoom level I'm at. Slight image noise is noticeable even at ISO 80 when I zoom in really close on a monitor view. When at the widest angle & aperture, there's slight barrel distortion and blurriness on the corners. Not many compact cameras can do better in terms of image quality, but I'm pointing them out here because even though this camera beats most of camera the competition, canon powershot sd780is still has room for improvement.
So overall it's a great camera for the price. Offering great image quality with the auto settings for the casual user, but also a powerful set of features for the more advanced photographer.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
So far, So good
So far, So good., September 25, 2008
By R. Bain - See all my reviews
Usually I do not take the time, but I felt obliged to write a review for this camera. That's because canon powershot sd780is took me so long to decide which one to buy. I am a point and shoot type of person with a side of "wanna-a-be" photographer. So, I wanted a camera with perks but easy to use. So far I really like this camera. My old one was a Nikon cool pix.I liked canon powershot sd780is well enough, though canon powershot sd780is was a gift so not personally choosen. Anyway, I dropped that one in the river. I really wanted a canon but was concerned about the lense errors I had read about. I think camera's just something you have to stay conscience of. I bought a case and I haven't had any problems. As far as picture quality, it's pretty sweet. I love the macro mode for close ups of bees and flowers and hummingbirds. However, canon powershot sd780is works great for regular pictures too. You can set canon powershot sd780is to where canon powershot sd780is makes chirping noises or barking when you shoot which is funny for kids. Also the video is really good. canon powershot sd780is only had 3x optical zoom which is another reason why I hesitated. But, I haven't found I miss canon powershot sd780is for how compact the camera is. Even with the case canon camera powershot sd780is fits in my purse good. I would advise you use the wrist camera strap always b/c canon powershot sd780is is small and could slip out of your hands and then you would probably bump the lense and get the lense error. I got the blue one and I love the color - makes canon powershot sd780is easy to know it's mine cause most people have silver. Oh yeah, I really like the different settings. canon powershot sd780is has a sunset, beach, foilage, snow, action, black and white, sepia tone, etc. I use the sunset setting every night to take a different picture of my lake sunset and it's beautiful. I've found the battery life is fine, especially if you use the view finder instead of the screen. The Nikon I had before came with a dock and tons of cords to charge it. This one has a battery-only dock the gets plugged directly in the electrical socket. Way better for everday use and trips. I've only had to charge canon powershot sd780is once so far and it's been over a month. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase and would recommend it. Especially because canon powershot sd780is was at a competitor for $50 more.***I almost forgot: in order to view your pictures on the camera the switch must be set to view mode. If you are concerned about the camera turning on in your purse, turn canon powershot sd780is to this mode and then push the power button off. Then, if canon powershot sd780is gets turned on accidentally, the lense will not come out b/c canon powershot sd780is is in view mode! (:
By R. Bain - See all my reviews
Usually I do not take the time, but I felt obliged to write a review for this camera. That's because canon powershot sd780is took me so long to decide which one to buy. I am a point and shoot type of person with a side of "wanna-a-be" photographer. So, I wanted a camera with perks but easy to use. So far I really like this camera. My old one was a Nikon cool pix.I liked canon powershot sd780is well enough, though canon powershot sd780is was a gift so not personally choosen. Anyway, I dropped that one in the river. I really wanted a canon but was concerned about the lense errors I had read about. I think camera's just something you have to stay conscience of. I bought a case and I haven't had any problems. As far as picture quality, it's pretty sweet. I love the macro mode for close ups of bees and flowers and hummingbirds. However, canon powershot sd780is works great for regular pictures too. You can set canon powershot sd780is to where canon powershot sd780is makes chirping noises or barking when you shoot which is funny for kids. Also the video is really good. canon powershot sd780is only had 3x optical zoom which is another reason why I hesitated. But, I haven't found I miss canon powershot sd780is for how compact the camera is. Even with the case canon camera powershot sd780is fits in my purse good. I would advise you use the wrist camera strap always b/c canon powershot sd780is is small and could slip out of your hands and then you would probably bump the lense and get the lense error. I got the blue one and I love the color - makes canon powershot sd780is easy to know it's mine cause most people have silver. Oh yeah, I really like the different settings. canon powershot sd780is has a sunset, beach, foilage, snow, action, black and white, sepia tone, etc. I use the sunset setting every night to take a different picture of my lake sunset and it's beautiful. I've found the battery life is fine, especially if you use the view finder instead of the screen. The Nikon I had before came with a dock and tons of cords to charge it. This one has a battery-only dock the gets plugged directly in the electrical socket. Way better for everday use and trips. I've only had to charge canon powershot sd780is once so far and it's been over a month. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase and would recommend it. Especially because canon powershot sd780is was at a competitor for $50 more.***I almost forgot: in order to view your pictures on the camera the switch must be set to view mode. If you are concerned about the camera turning on in your purse, turn canon powershot sd780is to this mode and then push the power button off. Then, if canon powershot sd780is gets turned on accidentally, the lense will not come out b/c canon powershot sd780is is in view mode! (:
I gave this camera a shot and canon powershot sd780is failed me
I gave this camera a shot and canon powershot sd780is failed me, October 11, 2008
By Henry Y. Ho - See all my reviews
I bought this camera to be used for an convention and during the convention canon powershot sd780is has gotten the fatal lens error problem. I have only had this camera for about 5 weeks and hopefully amazon will replace canon powershot sd780is or Canon will cover canon powershot sd780is in warranty. I really thought this fatal lens problem wasn't a problem but canon powershot sd780is is. I hope I get a new one and sadly enough I cannot take pictures for this convention I am at. I suggest stay away from this product. I will change my review if things are fixed.
edit: Called up Canon and they were very helpful. They took a look at canon powershot sd780is and repaired canon powershot sd780is free of charge so canon powershot sd780is ended up only costing me the shipping cost which was about 12bucks with insurance/confirmation. Would rate 3 stars now due to good support and decent camera but known faulty issue should be considered in buying this camera. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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Comments (3)
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Serious Autofocus Problem, January 3, 2009
By Don65 - See all my reviews
The SD1100 IS is my fourth Digital Elph camera. The previous three have been wonderful cameras. The SD1100 IS is not a good camera. canon powershot sd780is has serious autofocus problems. The autofocus in flash mode is not reliable. Approximately 20% of the photos taken with flash are out-of-focus. I have pictures taken on a tripod, with flash in which not a single object within the photoframe is in focus.
By Henry Y. Ho - See all my reviews
I bought this camera to be used for an convention and during the convention canon powershot sd780is has gotten the fatal lens error problem. I have only had this camera for about 5 weeks and hopefully amazon will replace canon powershot sd780is or Canon will cover canon powershot sd780is in warranty. I really thought this fatal lens problem wasn't a problem but canon powershot sd780is is. I hope I get a new one and sadly enough I cannot take pictures for this convention I am at. I suggest stay away from this product. I will change my review if things are fixed.
edit: Called up Canon and they were very helpful. They took a look at canon powershot sd780is and repaired canon powershot sd780is free of charge so canon powershot sd780is ended up only costing me the shipping cost which was about 12bucks with insurance/confirmation. Would rate 3 stars now due to good support and decent camera but known faulty issue should be considered in buying this camera. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Report this Permalink
Comments (3)
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Serious Autofocus Problem, January 3, 2009
By Don65 - See all my reviews
The SD1100 IS is my fourth Digital Elph camera. The previous three have been wonderful cameras. The SD1100 IS is not a good camera. canon powershot sd780is has serious autofocus problems. The autofocus in flash mode is not reliable. Approximately 20% of the photos taken with flash are out-of-focus. I have pictures taken on a tripod, with flash in which not a single object within the photoframe is in focus.
Great camera
Great camera , April 1, 2008
By avid reader "ary" (NJ) - See all my reviews
For a digital camera novice who has used the same one for the last 5 years, this is a great design in terms of portability and lightweight. I wish the buttons were easier to interpret and that there were a simple mode to take basic pictures. I have found that the face detection aspect of canon powershot sd780is does slow down the picture taking. This is especially hard to overcome when trying to take pictures of small chilren who do not hold poses. The quality is excellent though. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Good Results for Its Size, BUT..., September 6, 2008
By Confederate (Bethesda, MD) - See all my reviews
This camera is unremarkable in its output digital camera, but is rich in features. canon powershot sd780is makes a good traveling camera, but if you decide on it, I'd set the image compensation to +1. Set at zero, the images tend to lack contrast and rich saturation. This is true with most cameras, both digital and print. The extra boost in exposure fills in shadow detail and boosts color saturation. Owners also should invest in a copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements, if they don't have canon powershot sd780is already.
If you can cart around a slightly bigger camera, canon powershot sd780is should pay off with better quality photos; but if you want to travel light, this is as good a way as any.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
overexposes, a bit slow, and background audio too loud, otherwise nice, May 7, 2008
By roko roko - See all my reviews
There are three annoying problems that I can see so far, otherwise the camera seems nice. The first problem is that in auto, the camera tends to overexpose so that whites are badly lacking detail. The second is that the background audio digital camera in movie mode is loud, so that if you're taking a silent movie, even a very mild wind sounds like your movie was taken during a hurricane. The third is that the recovery time is a bit slow so that the time lag before you can zoom the lens or take the next picture is noticeable. There may be a way to compensate for these faults, but I haven't found them yet. On the other hand, the size is nice, build quality seems nice, pictures are generally excellent in both sharpness and color.
By avid reader "ary" (NJ) - See all my reviews
For a digital camera novice who has used the same one for the last 5 years, this is a great design in terms of portability and lightweight. I wish the buttons were easier to interpret and that there were a simple mode to take basic pictures. I have found that the face detection aspect of canon powershot sd780is does slow down the picture taking. This is especially hard to overcome when trying to take pictures of small chilren who do not hold poses. The quality is excellent though. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Good Results for Its Size, BUT..., September 6, 2008
By Confederate (Bethesda, MD) - See all my reviews
This camera is unremarkable in its output digital camera, but is rich in features. canon powershot sd780is makes a good traveling camera, but if you decide on it, I'd set the image compensation to +1. Set at zero, the images tend to lack contrast and rich saturation. This is true with most cameras, both digital and print. The extra boost in exposure fills in shadow detail and boosts color saturation. Owners also should invest in a copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements, if they don't have canon powershot sd780is already.
If you can cart around a slightly bigger camera, canon powershot sd780is should pay off with better quality photos; but if you want to travel light, this is as good a way as any.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
overexposes, a bit slow, and background audio too loud, otherwise nice, May 7, 2008
By roko roko - See all my reviews
There are three annoying problems that I can see so far, otherwise the camera seems nice. The first problem is that in auto, the camera tends to overexpose so that whites are badly lacking detail. The second is that the background audio digital camera in movie mode is loud, so that if you're taking a silent movie, even a very mild wind sounds like your movie was taken during a hurricane. The third is that the recovery time is a bit slow so that the time lag before you can zoom the lens or take the next picture is noticeable. There may be a way to compensate for these faults, but I haven't found them yet. On the other hand, the size is nice, build quality seems nice, pictures are generally excellent in both sharpness and color.
Delivered results, easy to use
Delivered results, easy to use, April 20, 2008
By Lynn H. Pierson "LHPierson,PhD." (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews
I bought the camera just 3 days before leaving for Spain. The directions were adequate and the camera is really easy to use. I not only shot photos on automatic but used the night and color options, as well as did a few movies. The software was essential because I prefer more contrast to my photos and the software allowed me to customize the images as I liked.
It was not clear to me on Amazon that the camera came with a recharger (it did) so I purchased a recharger. Turned out that was smart because canon powershot sd780is came with a European electrical outlet adapter that I used in Spain. I also purchased a 4G memory card. I took 535 photos and 5 movies, and there seems to be more room.
For it's size (I carried the camera in my front pants pocket) canon powershot sd780is takes amazing pictures. I definitely recommend the camera. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
A great compact P&S camera!, April 9, 2008
By D. E. Richards "image pro" (geneva, il) - See all my reviews
Got the PS SD1100IS to replace an older camera Canon digital. This is a big improvement since the other was about 3 years old, and tho canon powershot sd780is took great shots canon powershot sd780is was bulky and sometimes had a maddening delay when trying to shoot portraits. This new camera is much more compact, takes great pictures that download faster and is a joy to use. DIS was important to me and I am still testing this; but so far canon powershot sd780is seems to be an improvement over the older stabilization technology. I got about 200 shots before needing to recharge, and charging time is quick. canon powershot sd780is will still delay a little when shooting under low light conditions, but that is the nature of digital photography. And canon powershot sd780is has less flexible capabilities for manually making your own settings; but overall I am very pleased to have this sophisticated little camera that can go anywhere. canon powershot sd780is is smaller so you have to pay attention where you leave it! You will need to get a decent bag for canon powershot sd780is that straps to your belt or goes over your neck. Also will need a larger memory card. The ordering camera process went very smoothly and there were no surprises. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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36 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
Lens Error within 3 Weeks, July 13, 2008
By James Lomas (San Diego, ca) - See all my reviews
This was a great camera--until canon powershot sd780is stopped working completely within 3 weeks. There was no 'incident' or warning... but half an hour after making some movies, I went to turn the camera on and I got the message "Lens Error, Restart Camera." I've tried everything, and I can't even retrieve the photos onto my computer.
So even though I expect Canon to replace this camera, since I bought canon powershot sd780is for a trip and can't take any photos, I am really bummed that canon powershot sd780is stopped working. I think they must have been using a cheaper manufacturing process, and we are all paying for it. I've used Canon products for years, and I support the company... but I strongly recommend getting a more reliable camera than this one.
By Lynn H. Pierson "LHPierson,PhD." (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews
I bought the camera just 3 days before leaving for Spain. The directions were adequate and the camera is really easy to use. I not only shot photos on automatic but used the night and color options, as well as did a few movies. The software was essential because I prefer more contrast to my photos and the software allowed me to customize the images as I liked.
It was not clear to me on Amazon that the camera came with a recharger (it did) so I purchased a recharger. Turned out that was smart because canon powershot sd780is came with a European electrical outlet adapter that I used in Spain. I also purchased a 4G memory card. I took 535 photos and 5 movies, and there seems to be more room.
For it's size (I carried the camera in my front pants pocket) canon powershot sd780is takes amazing pictures. I definitely recommend the camera. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
A great compact P&S camera!, April 9, 2008
By D. E. Richards "image pro" (geneva, il) - See all my reviews
Got the PS SD1100IS to replace an older camera Canon digital. This is a big improvement since the other was about 3 years old, and tho canon powershot sd780is took great shots canon powershot sd780is was bulky and sometimes had a maddening delay when trying to shoot portraits. This new camera is much more compact, takes great pictures that download faster and is a joy to use. DIS was important to me and I am still testing this; but so far canon powershot sd780is seems to be an improvement over the older stabilization technology. I got about 200 shots before needing to recharge, and charging time is quick. canon powershot sd780is will still delay a little when shooting under low light conditions, but that is the nature of digital photography. And canon powershot sd780is has less flexible capabilities for manually making your own settings; but overall I am very pleased to have this sophisticated little camera that can go anywhere. canon powershot sd780is is smaller so you have to pay attention where you leave it! You will need to get a decent bag for canon powershot sd780is that straps to your belt or goes over your neck. Also will need a larger memory card. The ordering camera process went very smoothly and there were no surprises. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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36 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
Lens Error within 3 Weeks, July 13, 2008
By James Lomas (San Diego, ca) - See all my reviews
This was a great camera--until canon powershot sd780is stopped working completely within 3 weeks. There was no 'incident' or warning... but half an hour after making some movies, I went to turn the camera on and I got the message "Lens Error, Restart Camera." I've tried everything, and I can't even retrieve the photos onto my computer.
So even though I expect Canon to replace this camera, since I bought canon powershot sd780is for a trip and can't take any photos, I am really bummed that canon powershot sd780is stopped working. I think they must have been using a cheaper manufacturing process, and we are all paying for it. I've used Canon products for years, and I support the company... but I strongly recommend getting a more reliable camera than this one.
Fun little camera!,
Fun little camera!, March 12, 2008
By Swedishwonderchild (God's Country, MN) - See all my reviews
I am definitely an amateur, not as savvy a user as canon powershot sd780is sounds like a lot of the other reviewers are. But, from the other extreme of "photographer-smartness", this is a great little camera to use. It's easy, yet has a lot of functionality, which the user guide manages to clearly explain. I needed something very small, which canon powershot sd780is is, that takes awesome pictures, which canon powershot sd780is does. Battery life seems very good, so far. My husband likes the manly brown color, too. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
So good, my head exploded, March 28, 2008
By Gordon Ewasiuk (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(NOTE: I've had the camera for two days.)
This camera is nothing short of amazing. something First, the size. canon powershot sd780is literally fits in your hand! The size means the camera can slip into a shirt pocket and go ANYWHERE. I wear an orange safety vest at work and this camera fits neatly into a pocket. In the two days I've had this camera, I've taken almost 150 pictures! Entirely due to the size of the camera. canon powershot sd780is goes everywhere with me now.
Features? How did Canon pack so much into such a tiny package? The controls are intuitive and easy to use. Most people won't crack the manual until they start taking more advanced shots. For the rookie (read: me), this camera is a true point-and-shoot. The optical image stabilization is wonderful and works like a champ. The 8MP pictures look HUGE. There are two different zoom modes on this camera. A 3x regular zoom plus another 6-7x optical.
The battery for this camera charged in less than something 90mins. Camera came with a 32MB SD card which goes very fast at 8MP. Still, the fact that Canon included one at all speaks volumes about the company. Lots of accessories are available too.
There are a bunch of more advanced features that I can't speak about. Different shooting modes, ISO settings, and other neat things. There is even a movie mode!
Images look great to this untrained eye. Your mileage will vary.
Highly recommend for people who just want to take lots and lots of pictures!
By Swedishwonderchild (God's Country, MN) - See all my reviews
I am definitely an amateur, not as savvy a user as canon powershot sd780is sounds like a lot of the other reviewers are. But, from the other extreme of "photographer-smartness", this is a great little camera to use. It's easy, yet has a lot of functionality, which the user guide manages to clearly explain. I needed something very small, which canon powershot sd780is is, that takes awesome pictures, which canon powershot sd780is does. Battery life seems very good, so far. My husband likes the manly brown color, too. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
So good, my head exploded, March 28, 2008
By Gordon Ewasiuk (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(NOTE: I've had the camera for two days.)
This camera is nothing short of amazing. something First, the size. canon powershot sd780is literally fits in your hand! The size means the camera can slip into a shirt pocket and go ANYWHERE. I wear an orange safety vest at work and this camera fits neatly into a pocket. In the two days I've had this camera, I've taken almost 150 pictures! Entirely due to the size of the camera. canon powershot sd780is goes everywhere with me now.
Features? How did Canon pack so much into such a tiny package? The controls are intuitive and easy to use. Most people won't crack the manual until they start taking more advanced shots. For the rookie (read: me), this camera is a true point-and-shoot. The optical image stabilization is wonderful and works like a champ. The 8MP pictures look HUGE. There are two different zoom modes on this camera. A 3x regular zoom plus another 6-7x optical.
The battery for this camera charged in less than something 90mins. Camera came with a 32MB SD card which goes very fast at 8MP. Still, the fact that Canon included one at all speaks volumes about the company. Lots of accessories are available too.
There are a bunch of more advanced features that I can't speak about. Different shooting modes, ISO settings, and other neat things. There is even a movie mode!
Images look great to this untrained eye. Your mileage will vary.
Highly recommend for people who just want to take lots and lots of pictures!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Very intuitive, April 20, 2008
By R. Thomas "The ImageArt Co." (Cameron Park, CA United States) - See all my reviews
I bought this camera for my 14 year old son to take reviews on school trips. His previous camera from another manufacturer lasted barely six months and took mediocre photos. This camera however is awesome! The pictures are sharp, perfectly exposed and the camera is really simple to use. Seems the menus camera are designed for regular people to understand. He appreciated that a lot.
The bottom line is he had one day to learn how to use the camera and then spent a week in Boston with his class. His photos were great and his camera experience was excellent...and I didn't break the bank for to purchase canon powershot sd780is either :) Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
Good Camera for Price, June 13, 2008
By K. Marquart "Katbookie" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
This is a good camera for the price. canon powershot sd780is is simple to use and takes clear, crisp pictures. Also, the battery life is good. And the reviews price makes canon powershot sd780is affordable to take good pictures.
Just keep in mind, that this camera works well if your subject is stationary. canon powershot sd780is is not for action shots. I have tried to take pictures of my kids playing in the yard and pictures usually come out blurry. Also, there is a bit of a lag time for the picture to be taken. Therefore, I have a tendency to miss the shot.
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42 of 47 people found the following review helpful: camera
it's a basic camera..., June 15, 2008
By michelle k. (donna, tx) - See all my reviews
i usually love canon cameras, but this camera i was not very happy with. i have no problem with the pictures coming out good. the color comes out very nice. the problem i have with canon powershot sd780is is the time that canon powershot sd780is takes to take one picture and then take another. if your batteries are not fully charged, the wait time to take another pic could be up to 10 seconds. the camera zoom can be blurry at times too. it's a good basic camera for someone who takes photos every now and then. but if it's for trips and you want to capture alot of moments, you're gonna miss out on alot by waiting for the reviews batteries to charge up again to take the next pic... Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Awesome!, May 5, 2008
By Yanna B. (BAY AREA, CA) - See all my reviews
While I love the Canon SD series, I was looking for a camera that used regular AA batteries. I actually bought the Canon A470 on a whim- I saw reviews canon powershot sd780is at a local store. canon powershot sd780is was within my budget and I thought canon powershot sd780is was cute. (I bought the blue one.) So far, I'm happy to say that I love this camera. I use canon powershot sd780is when I don't feel like carrying around my Canon Digital Rebel XTi. The menu and controls are easy to find and use. The pictures that canon powershot sd780is takes come out very nice! I don't use the flash camera very often, so the battery life is actually quite swell.
By R. Thomas "The ImageArt Co." (Cameron Park, CA United States) - See all my reviews
I bought this camera for my 14 year old son to take reviews on school trips. His previous camera from another manufacturer lasted barely six months and took mediocre photos. This camera however is awesome! The pictures are sharp, perfectly exposed and the camera is really simple to use. Seems the menus camera are designed for regular people to understand. He appreciated that a lot.
The bottom line is he had one day to learn how to use the camera and then spent a week in Boston with his class. His photos were great and his camera experience was excellent...and I didn't break the bank for to purchase canon powershot sd780is either :) Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
Good Camera for Price, June 13, 2008
By K. Marquart "Katbookie" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
This is a good camera for the price. canon powershot sd780is is simple to use and takes clear, crisp pictures. Also, the battery life is good. And the reviews price makes canon powershot sd780is affordable to take good pictures.
Just keep in mind, that this camera works well if your subject is stationary. canon powershot sd780is is not for action shots. I have tried to take pictures of my kids playing in the yard and pictures usually come out blurry. Also, there is a bit of a lag time for the picture to be taken. Therefore, I have a tendency to miss the shot.
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42 of 47 people found the following review helpful: camera
it's a basic camera..., June 15, 2008
By michelle k. (donna, tx) - See all my reviews
i usually love canon cameras, but this camera i was not very happy with. i have no problem with the pictures coming out good. the color comes out very nice. the problem i have with canon powershot sd780is is the time that canon powershot sd780is takes to take one picture and then take another. if your batteries are not fully charged, the wait time to take another pic could be up to 10 seconds. the camera zoom can be blurry at times too. it's a good basic camera for someone who takes photos every now and then. but if it's for trips and you want to capture alot of moments, you're gonna miss out on alot by waiting for the reviews batteries to charge up again to take the next pic... Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Awesome!, May 5, 2008
By Yanna B. (BAY AREA, CA) - See all my reviews
While I love the Canon SD series, I was looking for a camera that used regular AA batteries. I actually bought the Canon A470 on a whim- I saw reviews canon powershot sd780is at a local store. canon powershot sd780is was within my budget and I thought canon powershot sd780is was cute. (I bought the blue one.) So far, I'm happy to say that I love this camera. I use canon powershot sd780is when I don't feel like carrying around my Canon Digital Rebel XTi. The menu and controls are easy to find and use. The pictures that canon powershot sd780is takes come out very nice! I don't use the flash camera very often, so the battery life is actually quite swell.
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Great camera, had to flip the date/time battery for canon powershot sd780is to save date/time, June 14, 2008
By P. C. Farinella (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
For the total price of $113 plus $10 for a Kingston 2GB memory card, this was a great bargain. You will definitely want to purchase the memory card on amazon as well because the 32MB memory card that comes with this camera will hold maybe 15 pictures or so. The 2GB memory card for only $10 holds about 1000 pictures.
When this camera arrived to me, I turned canon powershot sd780is on and canon powershot sd780is asked for the DATE and TIME. But when I powered down the camera and then turned canon powershot sd780is back on later, canon powershot sd780is again asked for the date/time. So the camera was not saving the Date/Time. I opened the battery cover and their is a slot for the CR1220 Date battery which is as small as a watch battery. canon powershot sd780is WAS UPSIDE DOWN. The + symbol of the battery was facing up and in reality, the - symbol needed to be facing up. After I flipped around this 'watch battery', the camera was able to save the Date/Time and canon powershot sd780is never again asked me for the Date/Time each time I started canon powershot sd780is up. I wrote to Canon and requested they retrain their staff with this issue since canon powershot sd780is caused me alot of headache. Overall, the camera works great! Large LCD screen, easy to handle, uses only 2 AA batteries and has 5 different resolutions to choose from when taking pictures, including a widescreen resolution and a Date/Time stamp selection so the date/time get stamped onto each picture you take. Great camera, the blue color looks sharp! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
Preordered this one before canon powershot sd780is came out, looks really cool, April 14, 2008
By New York Bargain Hunter (New York NY USA) - See all my reviews
Simple, does what it's supposed to do and the best part is that canon powershot sd780is used AA batteries. I don't even use the highest setting when I take pictures so 7.1 MP is more than enough for my use. For those who want to blow up to poster sizes, you should get an SLR, but for a normal everyday use camera this is the one to get. You could get more features for the price they are asking for but this one looks too cool. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Very good camera for the price, May 28, 2008
By Beatle Fan (USA) - See all my reviews
Took about 600 vacation photos with the A470 about a week after I got canon powershot sd780is and I was very satisfied with the results. On a handful of shots canon powershot sd780is didn't seem to focus properly, but by looking the shot on the screen after I took it, I know that I wanted to snap another shot in those few instances. The image stabilization worked well - I didn't have too much trouble due to camera shake, despite having to hold canon powershot sd780is at arms length to take pix, rather than look through a viewfinder which I had been accostomed to. Shot almost everything at 5 Mpixel rather than 7 MP, though I did use the widescreen mode a couple dozen times, which I was very happy with. canon powershot sd780is came in handy for some wide landscapes & tall objects that I shot. Of course, it's easy to crop a digital image, but it's also nice to have the widescreen mode built in to the camera.
By P. C. Farinella (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
For the total price of $113 plus $10 for a Kingston 2GB memory card, this was a great bargain. You will definitely want to purchase the memory card on amazon as well because the 32MB memory card that comes with this camera will hold maybe 15 pictures or so. The 2GB memory card for only $10 holds about 1000 pictures.
When this camera arrived to me, I turned canon powershot sd780is on and canon powershot sd780is asked for the DATE and TIME. But when I powered down the camera and then turned canon powershot sd780is back on later, canon powershot sd780is again asked for the date/time. So the camera was not saving the Date/Time. I opened the battery cover and their is a slot for the CR1220 Date battery which is as small as a watch battery. canon powershot sd780is WAS UPSIDE DOWN. The + symbol of the battery was facing up and in reality, the - symbol needed to be facing up. After I flipped around this 'watch battery', the camera was able to save the Date/Time and canon powershot sd780is never again asked me for the Date/Time each time I started canon powershot sd780is up. I wrote to Canon and requested they retrain their staff with this issue since canon powershot sd780is caused me alot of headache. Overall, the camera works great! Large LCD screen, easy to handle, uses only 2 AA batteries and has 5 different resolutions to choose from when taking pictures, including a widescreen resolution and a Date/Time stamp selection so the date/time get stamped onto each picture you take. Great camera, the blue color looks sharp! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
Preordered this one before canon powershot sd780is came out, looks really cool, April 14, 2008
By New York Bargain Hunter (New York NY USA) - See all my reviews
Simple, does what it's supposed to do and the best part is that canon powershot sd780is used AA batteries. I don't even use the highest setting when I take pictures so 7.1 MP is more than enough for my use. For those who want to blow up to poster sizes, you should get an SLR, but for a normal everyday use camera this is the one to get. You could get more features for the price they are asking for but this one looks too cool. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Very good camera for the price, May 28, 2008
By Beatle Fan (USA) - See all my reviews
Took about 600 vacation photos with the A470 about a week after I got canon powershot sd780is and I was very satisfied with the results. On a handful of shots canon powershot sd780is didn't seem to focus properly, but by looking the shot on the screen after I took it, I know that I wanted to snap another shot in those few instances. The image stabilization worked well - I didn't have too much trouble due to camera shake, despite having to hold canon powershot sd780is at arms length to take pix, rather than look through a viewfinder which I had been accostomed to. Shot almost everything at 5 Mpixel rather than 7 MP, though I did use the widescreen mode a couple dozen times, which I was very happy with. canon powershot sd780is came in handy for some wide landscapes & tall objects that I shot. Of course, it's easy to crop a digital image, but it's also nice to have the widescreen mode built in to the camera.
(Just an amateur here), June 12, 2008
By C. McColl "genX Librarian" (Metro Detroit, Michigan) - See all my reviews
For the list price ($129.00) I really couldn't find a better camera. I work in a photo processing lab, where I also deal with and sell cameras for most of the day, so before purchasing my own I did a lot of hands-on research playing with and reading about all the cameras that were within the price I wanted to spend. I'm still learning as far as all the fancy features, but if you're like me and just need a good camera for everyday type stuff, this one is perfect. With its 7.1 mega pixels, canon powershot sd780is takes really sharp pictures and what I really like is how fast the shutter is. There's virtually no delay between the time you focus the camera and go to snap the actual picture. That was my biggest problem with my old camera-- I'd go to focus in and then by the time I actually snapped the photo, the delay was so annoyingly long that the moment was lost. The LCD screen is a great size, not camera too large and not too small. At 2.5", you get a really good idea of what you're shooting, even without a viewfinder. The only complaint I have is that it's not as great outdoors in bright weather. The screen gets really washed out and makes canon powershot sd780is kind of difficult to get a good shot. This is fixable though, as they sell pop-up shade clips (about $10) you can attach to the camera so as to correct that. I haven't tried them personally, but heard they work really well. I also really like the size of the camera itself. A lot of people are attracted to the super slim tiny cameras you can fit in a pocket, but that didn't appeal to me. I wanted something I'd be comfortable holding, fit well in my hands, and didn't feel like I was going to drop it. Its like the perfect size for me, because it's still really compact but not so small that canon powershot sd780is gives me anxiety over dropping it/breaking something. Alternately, its not so big that I can't easily camera carry canon powershot sd780is around with me.
I would consider this camera a step up from a lot of others in the price range. Along with the scene modes (which is pretty standard on most point and shoots anyway) canon powershot sd780is has a manual setting, which is fun to play around with and really easy to navigate. For someone like me who is still learning all the technical stuff it's a good first camera. You can customize a fair amount but its not overwhelming and hard to learn. At my job we are trained on what are the best selling points, features, etc, and whereas I take that into mind I also know that everyone is picky in their own way and some canon powershot sd780is people care about certain features more than others. Personally I just wanted something to use on vacations, to take pictures of friends and I, my camera cats, etc. If you want something for fast action scenarios, sporting events and the like, you might want to skip this camera. It's only got the standard 3.4 optical zoom, which really is not that far, and even though canon powershot sd780is zooms farther digitally...it will get more blurry the further in you go. That is one thing Canon needs to improve upon-- a lot of their lower end models like this one have poor image stabilizing.
Canon's face detection technology is pretty cool though. In Auto mode (and probably manual too, I'm not positive though) canon powershot sd780is actually locks onto a person's face and almost highlights it...like zooms just their face in so you can see if it's clearly focused before taking the pic. This is a feature you can turn on or off in the Menu settings. canon powershot sd780is throws you off a bit in relation to the rest of the photo, but once you get the hang of canon powershot sd780is it's really helpful (in group shots especially.)
Bottom line - great deal for the price! You see a lot of Nikon's (Coolpix series) in the $89-129 price range, but in my experience this newer Canon definitely surpasses them. I had a Nikon Coolpix 5600 (probably about 2 yrs old now), and whereas canon powershot sd780is took beautifully sharp photos, the lag time was incredibly slow and that's what made me like this Canon better. Faster shutter times make all the difference! Canon's photo software is easier to navigate as well, with more custom settings to play around with when you want to edit/share your pictures on your computer. Most people are surprised to learn what kind of camera I have after they've seen the photos canon powershot sd780is takes. I just think its really nice that you can get something of this quality for such a low price.
OH- And a note about the AA batteries for this canon powershot sd780is: Obviously if you use standard alkaline AA's your response time is going to be a lot slower. Investing in good quality rechargeables is more than worth the money, canon powershot sd780is makes all the difference. I myself prefer Energizer's Lithium batteries, the blue and silver ones, as oppose to the rechargeables...just because they are specially designed for high powered devices like digital cameras, and you don't have to mess around with a charger, or the whole rotating batteries in and out. I got a good couple months of use out of a set of two, while taking pictures frequently...on a trip, and even just in everyday daily use. It's about $5 for a two pack and $9 for 4.
By C. McColl "genX Librarian" (Metro Detroit, Michigan) - See all my reviews
For the list price ($129.00) I really couldn't find a better camera. I work in a photo processing lab, where I also deal with and sell cameras for most of the day, so before purchasing my own I did a lot of hands-on research playing with and reading about all the cameras that were within the price I wanted to spend. I'm still learning as far as all the fancy features, but if you're like me and just need a good camera for everyday type stuff, this one is perfect. With its 7.1 mega pixels, canon powershot sd780is takes really sharp pictures and what I really like is how fast the shutter is. There's virtually no delay between the time you focus the camera and go to snap the actual picture. That was my biggest problem with my old camera-- I'd go to focus in and then by the time I actually snapped the photo, the delay was so annoyingly long that the moment was lost. The LCD screen is a great size, not camera too large and not too small. At 2.5", you get a really good idea of what you're shooting, even without a viewfinder. The only complaint I have is that it's not as great outdoors in bright weather. The screen gets really washed out and makes canon powershot sd780is kind of difficult to get a good shot. This is fixable though, as they sell pop-up shade clips (about $10) you can attach to the camera so as to correct that. I haven't tried them personally, but heard they work really well. I also really like the size of the camera itself. A lot of people are attracted to the super slim tiny cameras you can fit in a pocket, but that didn't appeal to me. I wanted something I'd be comfortable holding, fit well in my hands, and didn't feel like I was going to drop it. Its like the perfect size for me, because it's still really compact but not so small that canon powershot sd780is gives me anxiety over dropping it/breaking something. Alternately, its not so big that I can't easily camera carry canon powershot sd780is around with me.
I would consider this camera a step up from a lot of others in the price range. Along with the scene modes (which is pretty standard on most point and shoots anyway) canon powershot sd780is has a manual setting, which is fun to play around with and really easy to navigate. For someone like me who is still learning all the technical stuff it's a good first camera. You can customize a fair amount but its not overwhelming and hard to learn. At my job we are trained on what are the best selling points, features, etc, and whereas I take that into mind I also know that everyone is picky in their own way and some canon powershot sd780is people care about certain features more than others. Personally I just wanted something to use on vacations, to take pictures of friends and I, my camera cats, etc. If you want something for fast action scenarios, sporting events and the like, you might want to skip this camera. It's only got the standard 3.4 optical zoom, which really is not that far, and even though canon powershot sd780is zooms farther digitally...it will get more blurry the further in you go. That is one thing Canon needs to improve upon-- a lot of their lower end models like this one have poor image stabilizing.
Canon's face detection technology is pretty cool though. In Auto mode (and probably manual too, I'm not positive though) canon powershot sd780is actually locks onto a person's face and almost highlights it...like zooms just their face in so you can see if it's clearly focused before taking the pic. This is a feature you can turn on or off in the Menu settings. canon powershot sd780is throws you off a bit in relation to the rest of the photo, but once you get the hang of canon powershot sd780is it's really helpful (in group shots especially.)
Bottom line - great deal for the price! You see a lot of Nikon's (Coolpix series) in the $89-129 price range, but in my experience this newer Canon definitely surpasses them. I had a Nikon Coolpix 5600 (probably about 2 yrs old now), and whereas canon powershot sd780is took beautifully sharp photos, the lag time was incredibly slow and that's what made me like this Canon better. Faster shutter times make all the difference! Canon's photo software is easier to navigate as well, with more custom settings to play around with when you want to edit/share your pictures on your computer. Most people are surprised to learn what kind of camera I have after they've seen the photos canon powershot sd780is takes. I just think its really nice that you can get something of this quality for such a low price.
OH- And a note about the AA batteries for this canon powershot sd780is: Obviously if you use standard alkaline AA's your response time is going to be a lot slower. Investing in good quality rechargeables is more than worth the money, canon powershot sd780is makes all the difference. I myself prefer Energizer's Lithium batteries, the blue and silver ones, as oppose to the rechargeables...just because they are specially designed for high powered devices like digital cameras, and you don't have to mess around with a charger, or the whole rotating batteries in and out. I got a good couple months of use out of a set of two, while taking pictures frequently...on a trip, and even just in everyday daily use. It's about $5 for a two pack and $9 for 4.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Canon PowerShot SD780IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD
Product Description
From the Manufacturer
It may be the slimmest Digital ELPH Canon has ever created, but the impact couldn’t be bigger. The PowerShot SD780 IS Digital ELPH captivates the senses with bold saturated colors and a daringly original design that matches the intensity of Canon’s most innovative camera technology. Even when picture-taking conditions seem pretty unforgiving, you’ve got Canon on your side. So the shots you used to miss are the images you’ll now be sharing, and the movies you never took before will be HD unforgettable. PowerShot SD780 IS Highlights 12.1-megapixel resolution, 3x optical zoom lens with Optical Image StabilizerCanon’s commitment to innovation defines the excitement of the PowerShot SD780 IS Digital ELPH. 12.1-megapixel resolution is more than a number, it’s your cutting-edge link to the outstanding clarity and quality you’ve always wanted in your images. Think bold and big, because razor-sharp oversized prints are a breeze. Get the picture? It’s absolutely brilliant.
The PowerShot SD780 IS Digital ELPH has a 3x optical zoom lens that makes it easy to get the inspiring, emotive close-ups that will make your images lasting keepsakes. This magnificent lens gives you the power to shoot distant subjects with razor-sharp precision and stunning lifelike color. So you can brilliantly capture a closer shot of a landscape, or a child’s big smile. The PowerShot SD780 IS Digital ELPH is equipped with Canon’s acclaimed Optical Image Stabilizer Technology that automatically detects and corrects camera shake--one of the leading causes of fuzzy or blurred shots. Even when zoomed in, you can get the steady, crisp, brilliant images you’ll be proud to shoot and share. And Canon’s Optical Image Stabilizer Technology is so convenient to use. It functions perfectly with or without a flash.
HD movie shooting capability plus HDMI outputThe PowerShot SD780 IS Digital ELPH lets you record video in beautiful high definition (1280 x 720 pixels). The camera also makes it easy to enjoy HD movies (and still photos) on your HDTV with a mini-HDMI connector for direct connection to a high-definition monitor. You’ll enjoy the HD experience with no degradation of image or audio in the signal, plus the ability to display up to 130 still images at once. Smart AUTO intelligently selects the proper settingsJust set the Canon PowerShot SD780 IS Digital ELPH to Smart AUTO and you’re ready for maximum enjoyment from your picture taking every time. It’s a relaxing and satisfying way to shoot because you can completely concentrate on your subject knowing that the camera has the technical details covered. Advanced Canon technology intelligently analyzes your situation and shooting conditions. Then it automatically selects an appropriate setting from 18 specially defined settings. So whether you’re photographing flowers, a captivating sunset, or your friends at the park, you can be confident that you’re getting dramatic, memorable images.
Shooting Modes Advanced presets for the best possible photos under certain conditions. With 20 Shooting Modes, you’re ready for whatever shot comes your way. 2.5-inch PureColor LCD II and wide viewing angleThe PowerShot SD780 IS Digital ELPH gives you a large 2.5-inch LCD screen for excellent control when framing your shots. Canon’s PureColor LCD II offers spectacular color, resolution and contrast even when viewed at an angle. The screen is highly durable and easy to see in any light with a scratch-resistant, anti-reflective coating. It also features Night Display for easy viewing in low light--a perfect feature for gathering friends and family around to see your images.
http://www.canon.com/
http://www.usa.canon.com/home
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ProductCatIndexAct&fcategoryid=113
http://www.canon.co.uk/
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ProductCatIndexAct&fcategoryid=111
From the Manufacturer
It may be the slimmest Digital ELPH Canon has ever created, but the impact couldn’t be bigger. The PowerShot SD780 IS Digital ELPH captivates the senses with bold saturated colors and a daringly original design that matches the intensity of Canon’s most innovative camera technology. Even when picture-taking conditions seem pretty unforgiving, you’ve got Canon on your side. So the shots you used to miss are the images you’ll now be sharing, and the movies you never took before will be HD unforgettable. PowerShot SD780 IS Highlights 12.1-megapixel resolution, 3x optical zoom lens with Optical Image StabilizerCanon’s commitment to innovation defines the excitement of the PowerShot SD780 IS Digital ELPH. 12.1-megapixel resolution is more than a number, it’s your cutting-edge link to the outstanding clarity and quality you’ve always wanted in your images. Think bold and big, because razor-sharp oversized prints are a breeze. Get the picture? It’s absolutely brilliant.
The PowerShot SD780 IS Digital ELPH has a 3x optical zoom lens that makes it easy to get the inspiring, emotive close-ups that will make your images lasting keepsakes. This magnificent lens gives you the power to shoot distant subjects with razor-sharp precision and stunning lifelike color. So you can brilliantly capture a closer shot of a landscape, or a child’s big smile. The PowerShot SD780 IS Digital ELPH is equipped with Canon’s acclaimed Optical Image Stabilizer Technology that automatically detects and corrects camera shake--one of the leading causes of fuzzy or blurred shots. Even when zoomed in, you can get the steady, crisp, brilliant images you’ll be proud to shoot and share. And Canon’s Optical Image Stabilizer Technology is so convenient to use. It functions perfectly with or without a flash.
HD movie shooting capability plus HDMI outputThe PowerShot SD780 IS Digital ELPH lets you record video in beautiful high definition (1280 x 720 pixels). The camera also makes it easy to enjoy HD movies (and still photos) on your HDTV with a mini-HDMI connector for direct connection to a high-definition monitor. You’ll enjoy the HD experience with no degradation of image or audio in the signal, plus the ability to display up to 130 still images at once. Smart AUTO intelligently selects the proper settingsJust set the Canon PowerShot SD780 IS Digital ELPH to Smart AUTO and you’re ready for maximum enjoyment from your picture taking every time. It’s a relaxing and satisfying way to shoot because you can completely concentrate on your subject knowing that the camera has the technical details covered. Advanced Canon technology intelligently analyzes your situation and shooting conditions. Then it automatically selects an appropriate setting from 18 specially defined settings. So whether you’re photographing flowers, a captivating sunset, or your friends at the park, you can be confident that you’re getting dramatic, memorable images.
Shooting Modes Advanced presets for the best possible photos under certain conditions. With 20 Shooting Modes, you’re ready for whatever shot comes your way. 2.5-inch PureColor LCD II and wide viewing angleThe PowerShot SD780 IS Digital ELPH gives you a large 2.5-inch LCD screen for excellent control when framing your shots. Canon’s PureColor LCD II offers spectacular color, resolution and contrast even when viewed at an angle. The screen is highly durable and easy to see in any light with a scratch-resistant, anti-reflective coating. It also features Night Display for easy viewing in low light--a perfect feature for gathering friends and family around to see your images.
http://www.canon.com/
http://www.usa.canon.com/home
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ProductCatIndexAct&fcategoryid=113
http://www.canon.co.uk/
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ProductCatIndexAct&fcategoryid=111
A camera that's powerful and a great value
A camera that's powerful and a great value, March 5, 2008 canon
I own a DSLR and consider myself a photography enthusiast. I wanted a small compact camera with me Canon Powershot SD780IS when I don't want to lug around my DSLR + lenses and equipment. After a previous good experience with the Canon Canon Powershot SD780IS A720 IS, the new A590 IS seemed like a good choice. Since I'm an advanced photographer, I'll focus on the advanced features of this camera. The auto modes work as well as any other camera in its class, but the extensive Canon Powershot SD780IS manual features is what sets apart the Canon A series. What I like about the camera: + Compact, stylish. It's smaller than older A Powershots, and the dark grey color gives it a seriousness Canon Powershot SD780IS compared to the typical bright silver finish. + Image stabilization works very well, it allows me to take blur-free photos 2-3 stops below the recommended shutter speed, that means at 35-50mm f2.8 1/10 sec shots are CONSISTENTLY Canon Powershot SD780IS possible indoors without using flash. + Good image quality. Expected from Canon, but even better is adjustable contrast, saturation, and sharpness settings, along with the typical JPG compression and resolution sizes. + Fast and responsive. I was Canon Powershot SD780IS surprised how responsive this camera is even compared with my DSLR. Shutter lag is very low for a compact digicam, and when I pre-focus with manual focus, it's even faster. + Manual modes. Aperture priority and shutter priority are great, the M mode is even better than other A Powershots such as the A720 because now there's a light meter on the right side that adjusts live based on what the camera thinks is the optimal exposure setting. And you can adjust aperture/shutter speed and see how it affects the final exposure. Canon Powershot SD780IS Ideally a live histogram would be even better, but this is very handy. + Manual focus. Although the LCD resolution is not good enough, even with the point zoom option, manual focus helps in close-up work and pre-focusing for action or creative photography. + Manual flash modes. In addition to Canon Powershot SD780IS automatic flash. The manual flash allows me to adjust the flash power in 3 levels, and prevents a pre-flash. This last part is important for using a remote optical slave flash. I can basically take professional looking studio pictures with this camera with my external flash equipment. + Optical viewfinder. I don't use this much yet, but can come in handy in Canon Powershot SD780IS bright sunlight conditions, or when battery canon conservation is needed. + Battery performance seems improved over previous A powershots too. The official specs give it 220 shots on regular alkalines and 500 on rechargeable NiMHs. Good news is they use common AA batteries that you can buy anywhere instead of proprietary models with specific chargers. Now the negatives. I hope Canon can Canon Powershot SD780IS improve these aspects in their future models. - Slow flash recycle times. This is to be expected from a camera that takes AA batteries. Would be nice if the LCD didn't blank out after a full flash discharge. Not a big deal since I use an external canon flash anyway, and the camera's flash is manually set to medium output as trigger (so recharge is faster). I would not want to give up the AA battery convenience for a faster flash recycle time though. - Higher resolution LCD. The 2.5" 115k Canon Powershot SD780IS resolution LCD is ok for framing and casual browsing, but higher resolution would be nice. -Live histogram while Canon Powershot SD780IS shooting. This feature is available when reviewing a photo, but not live. Other manufacturers have implemented this, and Canon should also, especially since the unofficial CHDK software mod allows such a feature. - Larger aperture would be nice. Such as f/2.0 (instead of f/2.6) at the wide end, and f/4.0 (instead of f/5.5) at the telephoto end. That way a lower (& less noisy) ISO can be used in dim conditions or when fast shutter speeds are needed to freeze action. All the electronics in the Canon Powershot SD780IS world can't replace a good large lens. Also allows more creative depth of field control. - A wider wideangle would be nice, 28mm instead of 35mm (35mm equiv). I'd rather see a wider wideangle than a longer zoom. - Video feature is not ideal. Optical zoom is not available during recording of video. And the more efficient MPEG4 Canon Powershot SD780IS compression is not used, so video files tend to be large. Also noticed at 640x480 resolution, the highest fps is now 20 instead of 30 from other A models. A definite step backwards. - Noise at higher ISOs. This is due to the smaller sensor on compact cameras. But 8 MP is probably the most pixels that can be crammed into a small 1/2.5" sensor. I'd rather have a cleaner picture Canon Powershot SD780IS at 6-7 MP than a noisy 8 MP picture. And if in-camera noise reduction is used, I'd like to see an adjustable setting for how much is being applied. - And if I were to be really critical: There's no indicator of what optical zoom level I'm at. Slight image noise is noticeable even at ISO 80 when I zoom in really close on a monitor view. When at the widest angle & aperture, there's slight barrel distortion and blurriness on the corners. Not many compact cameras can do better in terms of image quality, Canon Powershot SD780IS but I'm pointing them out here because even though this camera beats most of the competition, it still has room for canon improvement. So overall it's a great camera for the price. Offering great image quality with the auto settings for the casual user, but also a powerful set of features for the more advanced photographer.
I own a DSLR and consider myself a photography enthusiast. I wanted a small compact camera with me Canon Powershot SD780IS when I don't want to lug around my DSLR + lenses and equipment. After a previous good experience with the Canon Canon Powershot SD780IS A720 IS, the new A590 IS seemed like a good choice. Since I'm an advanced photographer, I'll focus on the advanced features of this camera. The auto modes work as well as any other camera in its class, but the extensive Canon Powershot SD780IS manual features is what sets apart the Canon A series. What I like about the camera: + Compact, stylish. It's smaller than older A Powershots, and the dark grey color gives it a seriousness Canon Powershot SD780IS compared to the typical bright silver finish. + Image stabilization works very well, it allows me to take blur-free photos 2-3 stops below the recommended shutter speed, that means at 35-50mm f2.8 1/10 sec shots are CONSISTENTLY Canon Powershot SD780IS possible indoors without using flash. + Good image quality. Expected from Canon, but even better is adjustable contrast, saturation, and sharpness settings, along with the typical JPG compression and resolution sizes. + Fast and responsive. I was Canon Powershot SD780IS surprised how responsive this camera is even compared with my DSLR. Shutter lag is very low for a compact digicam, and when I pre-focus with manual focus, it's even faster. + Manual modes. Aperture priority and shutter priority are great, the M mode is even better than other A Powershots such as the A720 because now there's a light meter on the right side that adjusts live based on what the camera thinks is the optimal exposure setting. And you can adjust aperture/shutter speed and see how it affects the final exposure. Canon Powershot SD780IS Ideally a live histogram would be even better, but this is very handy. + Manual focus. Although the LCD resolution is not good enough, even with the point zoom option, manual focus helps in close-up work and pre-focusing for action or creative photography. + Manual flash modes. In addition to Canon Powershot SD780IS automatic flash. The manual flash allows me to adjust the flash power in 3 levels, and prevents a pre-flash. This last part is important for using a remote optical slave flash. I can basically take professional looking studio pictures with this camera with my external flash equipment. + Optical viewfinder. I don't use this much yet, but can come in handy in Canon Powershot SD780IS bright sunlight conditions, or when battery canon conservation is needed. + Battery performance seems improved over previous A powershots too. The official specs give it 220 shots on regular alkalines and 500 on rechargeable NiMHs. Good news is they use common AA batteries that you can buy anywhere instead of proprietary models with specific chargers. Now the negatives. I hope Canon can Canon Powershot SD780IS improve these aspects in their future models. - Slow flash recycle times. This is to be expected from a camera that takes AA batteries. Would be nice if the LCD didn't blank out after a full flash discharge. Not a big deal since I use an external canon flash anyway, and the camera's flash is manually set to medium output as trigger (so recharge is faster). I would not want to give up the AA battery convenience for a faster flash recycle time though. - Higher resolution LCD. The 2.5" 115k Canon Powershot SD780IS resolution LCD is ok for framing and casual browsing, but higher resolution would be nice. -Live histogram while Canon Powershot SD780IS shooting. This feature is available when reviewing a photo, but not live. Other manufacturers have implemented this, and Canon should also, especially since the unofficial CHDK software mod allows such a feature. - Larger aperture would be nice. Such as f/2.0 (instead of f/2.6) at the wide end, and f/4.0 (instead of f/5.5) at the telephoto end. That way a lower (& less noisy) ISO can be used in dim conditions or when fast shutter speeds are needed to freeze action. All the electronics in the Canon Powershot SD780IS world can't replace a good large lens. Also allows more creative depth of field control. - A wider wideangle would be nice, 28mm instead of 35mm (35mm equiv). I'd rather see a wider wideangle than a longer zoom. - Video feature is not ideal. Optical zoom is not available during recording of video. And the more efficient MPEG4 Canon Powershot SD780IS compression is not used, so video files tend to be large. Also noticed at 640x480 resolution, the highest fps is now 20 instead of 30 from other A models. A definite step backwards. - Noise at higher ISOs. This is due to the smaller sensor on compact cameras. But 8 MP is probably the most pixels that can be crammed into a small 1/2.5" sensor. I'd rather have a cleaner picture Canon Powershot SD780IS at 6-7 MP than a noisy 8 MP picture. And if in-camera noise reduction is used, I'd like to see an adjustable setting for how much is being applied. - And if I were to be really critical: There's no indicator of what optical zoom level I'm at. Slight image noise is noticeable even at ISO 80 when I zoom in really close on a monitor view. When at the widest angle & aperture, there's slight barrel distortion and blurriness on the corners. Not many compact cameras can do better in terms of image quality, Canon Powershot SD780IS but I'm pointing them out here because even though this camera beats most of the competition, it still has room for canon improvement. So overall it's a great camera for the price. Offering great image quality with the auto settings for the casual user, but also a powerful set of features for the more advanced photographer.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
canon powershot reviews
Great TV for t was the Sony XBR. canon Pictures were very close, I'd be happy with either. The decider was $500+ less for the Samsung. One other thing- the Sony is much heavier. In my younger days, Canon Powershot SD780IS kind of assumed that heavier=better. Whether it's true or not, definitey appreciate the greater ease manipulating the TV now being lighter
Now, the DELIVERY:
canon There are a few rather worrisome stories in the reviews, but mine was nothing less than fantastic! First, was scheduled for "estimated" delivery June 9th. There was no rush for me so even a little late would have been fine. Well, Canon Powershot SD780IS got a call May 30th to see if they could deliver later that day. As much as I'd have liked to have had it, Canon Powershot SD780IS couldn't be home, so asked to reschedule. The man was very nice, said no problem and set up for the following Tuesday, between 1 and 4. Canon Powershot SD780IS called that day to dispatch and they confirm.
The delivery man was on time, unloaded the TV and brought Canon Powershot SD780IS in. helped get Canon Powershot SD780IS out of the box which was a piece of cake(remember the relative lack of weight). He then helped me move my old TV, about a 150# Sony tube set and then set the new TV up. Canon Powershot SD780IS connected the HDMI cable in about 20 seconds. Turned on and was good to go. He waited to make sure Canon Powershot SD780IS was working, did the paperwork and that was it! He asked if Canon Powershot SD780IS wanted him to take out the box, but Canon Powershot SD780IS figured I'd keep Canon Powershot SD780IS for a while, just to be sure.
By the way, the stand is already connected in the box. Canon Powershot SD780IS was planning on hanging Canon Powers hot SD780IS on the wall eventually, but Canon Powershot SD780IS frankly looks fine the way canon is with the stand.
The remote is a little different then I'm used canon to, but the backlight function is kind of cool
Anyway, I'm now a couple weeks in and still happy. Canon Powershot SD780IS could have spent more at Bestbuy, etc. but the delivery would not have been any better, except they'd have charged. Look, I'm sure, like me, a lot of people are a little anxious about buying something like this online. Don't be. Wait for what you like, wait for a good deal, free shipping, etc. and don't let the occasional story make you go out and canon spend more money.
I'm waiting for the newer Blu rays to come out to get a new one to pair with it.
Hope this soothes some worry canonpeople might have; Canon Powershot SD780IS don't write a lot of reviews, but this one needed to be done
Happy TV!
PS---if canon you're as happy with your delivery as was, please TIP the guy! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Report this Permalink
Comment (1)
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
An excellent TV at an affordable cost!, May 2, 2008
By Syed W. Ali (CA, USA) - See all my reviews canon
Pros: Perfect picture, 120 HZ is great. affordable
Cons: Body can be scratched with little effort, recent price drop by amazon looks suspicious.
canon
canon uk
Now, the DELIVERY:
canon There are a few rather worrisome stories in the reviews, but mine was nothing less than fantastic! First, was scheduled for "estimated" delivery June 9th. There was no rush for me so even a little late would have been fine. Well, Canon Powershot SD780IS got a call May 30th to see if they could deliver later that day. As much as I'd have liked to have had it, Canon Powershot SD780IS couldn't be home, so asked to reschedule. The man was very nice, said no problem and set up for the following Tuesday, between 1 and 4. Canon Powershot SD780IS called that day to dispatch and they confirm.
The delivery man was on time, unloaded the TV and brought Canon Powershot SD780IS in. helped get Canon Powershot SD780IS out of the box which was a piece of cake(remember the relative lack of weight). He then helped me move my old TV, about a 150# Sony tube set and then set the new TV up. Canon Powershot SD780IS connected the HDMI cable in about 20 seconds. Turned on and was good to go. He waited to make sure Canon Powershot SD780IS was working, did the paperwork and that was it! He asked if Canon Powershot SD780IS wanted him to take out the box, but Canon Powershot SD780IS figured I'd keep Canon Powershot SD780IS for a while, just to be sure.
By the way, the stand is already connected in the box. Canon Powershot SD780IS was planning on hanging Canon Powers hot SD780IS on the wall eventually, but Canon Powershot SD780IS frankly looks fine the way canon is with the stand.
The remote is a little different then I'm used canon to, but the backlight function is kind of cool
Anyway, I'm now a couple weeks in and still happy. Canon Powershot SD780IS could have spent more at Bestbuy, etc. but the delivery would not have been any better, except they'd have charged. Look, I'm sure, like me, a lot of people are a little anxious about buying something like this online. Don't be. Wait for what you like, wait for a good deal, free shipping, etc. and don't let the occasional story make you go out and canon spend more money.
I'm waiting for the newer Blu rays to come out to get a new one to pair with it.
Hope this soothes some worry canonpeople might have; Canon Powershot SD780IS don't write a lot of reviews, but this one needed to be done
Happy TV!
PS---if canon you're as happy with your delivery as was, please TIP the guy! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Report this Permalink
Comment (1)
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
An excellent TV at an affordable cost!, May 2, 2008
By Syed W. Ali (CA, USA) - See all my reviews canon
Pros: Perfect picture, 120 HZ is great. affordable
Cons: Body can be scratched with little effort, recent price drop by amazon looks suspicious.
canon
canon uk
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Canon Powershot SD780IS
A True Pocket Camera with HD Video, March 16, 2009
By U. Wilkins (San Jose, CA USA)
I just purchased this on a whim, earlier today at Best Buy. I have been tinkering with for the majority of the evening. My previous SD300 is still working like a champ, however I have been considering a video camera for some time...after some peering at the video camera counter I wandered over to the point and shoot table... what initially drew me in to the was its appearance on the display stand. The sleek matte-black body is very eye-pleasing...then I looked at the specs. and realized that shoots video in HD! (1280x720) Then all the other attributes made me realize that was time to update my "everywhere, anytime" camera.
I proceeded to check out some of the other SD cameras. The SD960 became the other candidate...it has a little more glass(4x)zoom, over the SD780's (3x)zoom. The SD960 has an appealing f2.8 apeture over the SD780's f3.2. The SD960's screen is more tailored for the HD video capture as has a 16:9 ratio LCD panel. (Kinda nice for instant viewing ON THE CAMERA)
After some thought I went with the SD780 for these reasons:
1. The HD video capability is awesome and comparible with the SD960. has a HDMI jack. The traditional 4:3 screen does not bother me, because the video is ultimately going to be viewed on a HD TV.(There will be an upper and lower bar on 16:9 playback through the SD780's LCD).
2.The weaker 3x zoom is not a big deal as this camera is for general shooting(out w/ freinds, bars, random afternoon at the beach, mountain biking, etc.)and with this camera EASLIY fitting in my jeans pocket or camelbak, the portability is what gives me the opportunity to document those moments, that would otherwise be missed. The SD960 is a little bulkier(but still small). I do also shoot with a 40D, accompanied with L optics, but the weight and bulkiness do not lend to certain shooting circumstances. (as mentined above)
3. The user interface on the is like most (if not all?) preceeding SD cameras. While there is not much control in the way of shooting settings, feature buttons like flash override, AE lock, AF lock, and exposure compensation are present on the camera body. The SD960IS has two buttons and a jog wheel, which lend to swims in the menu. I'm sure the new interface on the 960 is intuitive, but I liked the 780 due to its similarity to my old SD300.
I am very happy with the results produced thus far with the . The HD video is excellant, however should be known that once recording you can only zoom digitally. Low light cabilities and sound in video mode are excellent. The stills I have taken look great. Also, to the budget-minded who are upgrading from older digital point-and-shoots, a class 4 minimum 4GB or 8GB SDHC card would be well suited due to the demanding memory of the 12.1 million pixels, and HD video. Also, most old card readers will not process the the SDHC cards so you may have to purchase a new card reader as well.
I have to mention again...the small size of the is mind-blowing...and the functionality actually mirrors its beauty.
fine camera
By U. Wilkins (San Jose, CA USA)
I just purchased this on a whim, earlier today at Best Buy. I have been tinkering with for the majority of the evening. My previous SD300 is still working like a champ, however I have been considering a video camera for some time...after some peering at the video camera counter I wandered over to the point and shoot table... what initially drew me in to the was its appearance on the display stand. The sleek matte-black body is very eye-pleasing...then I looked at the specs. and realized that shoots video in HD! (1280x720) Then all the other attributes made me realize that was time to update my "everywhere, anytime" camera.
I proceeded to check out some of the other SD cameras. The SD960 became the other candidate...it has a little more glass(4x)zoom, over the SD780's (3x)zoom. The SD960 has an appealing f2.8 apeture over the SD780's f3.2. The SD960's screen is more tailored for the HD video capture as has a 16:9 ratio LCD panel. (Kinda nice for instant viewing ON THE CAMERA)
After some thought I went with the SD780 for these reasons:
1. The HD video capability is awesome and comparible with the SD960. has a HDMI jack. The traditional 4:3 screen does not bother me, because the video is ultimately going to be viewed on a HD TV.(There will be an upper and lower bar on 16:9 playback through the SD780's LCD).
2.The weaker 3x zoom is not a big deal as this camera is for general shooting(out w/ freinds, bars, random afternoon at the beach, mountain biking, etc.)and with this camera EASLIY fitting in my jeans pocket or camelbak, the portability is what gives me the opportunity to document those moments, that would otherwise be missed. The SD960 is a little bulkier(but still small). I do also shoot with a 40D, accompanied with L optics, but the weight and bulkiness do not lend to certain shooting circumstances. (as mentined above)
3. The user interface on the is like most (if not all?) preceeding SD cameras. While there is not much control in the way of shooting settings, feature buttons like flash override, AE lock, AF lock, and exposure compensation are present on the camera body. The SD960IS has two buttons and a jog wheel, which lend to swims in the menu. I'm sure the new interface on the 960 is intuitive, but I liked the 780 due to its similarity to my old SD300.
I am very happy with the results produced thus far with the . The HD video is excellant, however should be known that once recording you can only zoom digitally. Low light cabilities and sound in video mode are excellent. The stills I have taken look great. Also, to the budget-minded who are upgrading from older digital point-and-shoots, a class 4 minimum 4GB or 8GB SDHC card would be well suited due to the demanding memory of the 12.1 million pixels, and HD video. Also, most old card readers will not process the the SDHC cards so you may have to purchase a new card reader as well.
I have to mention again...the small size of the is mind-blowing...and the functionality actually mirrors its beauty.
fine camera
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