Customer Reviews

Canon PowerShot SD870IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)

5 star:		(309)
4 star:		(92)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(24)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

The SD870 IS is about everything you could want in a compact point and shoot digital camera. It offers excellent image quality, a large vivid LCD display, intelligent defaults, fine low-light sensitivity, a high quality movie mode (with sound), an outstanding wide-angle lens and (most importantly for me) a photo capture speed that leaves many other digital cameras in the dust.

I cover a fair amount of electronics trade shows such as CES and CEDIA for my home theater site (Big Picture Big Sound), so I need a camera that is quick on the draw, has a good macro feature for close-ups, and has good low light sensitivity and zoom for distance shots at press conferences. But portability is also key, as I need to carry the camera around in my pocket along with other gadgets for note-taking. I've owned a Canon S400 Digital Elph for a number of years, and it has served me well, but the lag time between pushing the shutter button and actually getting a picture (particularly indoors) was frustrating, and the low light sensitivity is also fairly poor.

The SD870 retains all of the positive features of the earlier ELPH models, yet improves on the weaknesses. You can go from power up to pictures snapped in about a second. And once the camera is powered up and ready, you can capture shots in 1/2 second or less (depending on lighting conditions). For taking pictures in low lighting, the "Night Scene" mode (along with built-in optical image stabilization) is excellent, enabling me to capture on-stage action at a press event from 20 or 30 feet away (ISO sensitivity on the camera goes all the way up to 1600, but you can expect some graininess when the camera goes above ISO 400). Other scene modes such as "portrait" are also handy when you're going in for a close-up shot and want to capture a posed or candid pic of a loved one with an "artistic" out-of-focus background.

In terms of size, the camera is very small, yet comfortable in the hand. The camera's aluminum frame feels solid without being weighty and controls are logically laid out so you can be up and running without cracking the manual. Unfortunately the small size means it does not take standard AA batteries, but the Lithium Ion battery that comes with it will last through a couple of hundred shots in normal use. You will want to buy a spare battery however, as there is not always a lot of warning between when the on-screen low battery indicator starts flashing and the camera powers itself down (hint, get the Lenmar NB-5L equivalent - it will last about as long as the Canon for about 1/3 the price).

All in all, I'm very pleased with my purchase of the SD870 IS and am looking forward to using it to snap high quality pics of the latest gadgets at next year's Consumer Electronics Show.

Update (2/23/08) - Coming home from a party one night, I was mortified to find that the SD870 lens was halfway extended inside its case, inside my pocket. Apparently the power button was activated while inside my pocket and the lens motor has no safety so it tried to extend itself and the mechanism broke when it met resistance. So the lens would no longer fully extend and the image was perpetually out of focus. Sending it to Canon, I got a letter back saying it would cost $100 (flat fee) to repair even though it was under warranty. I argued that the camera was not abused or dropped and eventually they relented and covered the repair.

However this design flaw in the lens motor would lower my score of the camera to 4 stars if I could edit the score. What good is a portable camera that can't be carried inside a pocket? My advice would be to take the battery out if you're going to pack this inside luggage or transport it somewhere it could be jostled about. And I hope Canon addresses this with a safety retract mechanism (or a recessed power button) in future models.

This camera replaced my trusty SD450. I loved the SD450, but I wanted to upgrade to something with image stabilization. To put it simply, the SD870 totally rocks! The 3" screen is beautiful to behold. It's even viewable outside with bright sunlight shining directly on it. And the pictures this thing takes are absolutely gorgeous! They are sharp as a tack, and the colors are spot on. I have to say, the image stabilization really makes a big difference, particularly when you are shooting in low light. I also like the new, wide-angle lens. It really comes in handy when taking group shots or shooting in close quarters.

The only negative I can come up with is the lack of an optical viewfinder. I guess this is a sacrifice you have to make in order to get a screen this big on such a small camera.

Pros:

Sharp photos with great color saturation
Optical image stabilization
Speedy shot-to-shot time for an ultra-compact
Bright 3" screen that's easy to view in all lighting situations
Great movie mode
28mm - 105mm (35mm equiv.) 3.8x wide-angle zoom lens
Easy to use controls with intuitive GUI

Cons:

No optical viewfinder
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Overall, I think the SD870 is just about perfect in every way, and I highly recommend it!

This is my 3rd digital camera and the first that didn't require studying the manual to figure out which buttons and submenus to use for various functions. I've had the 870 for a month and it's performed well in both dark rooms and in bright outdoor light. The shutter delay in daylight shots is negligible and a big improvement over previous cameras. The movie function is also pretty cool. Battery life is great and the intuitive menu and symbols on the large LCD don't require magnifying glasses to read. But my favorite feature is the wide angle lens--the advantage was really obvious when comparing group shots from other point-and-shoot ultracompacts at 2 birthday parties. My only disappointment are the flimsy plastic doors for the battery and USB port (why I only give it 4 stars). These items are what broke on my Optio S and forced me to retire it after 2 years of light use. I'll be babying these doors with the hope that I don't lose my $400 investment in the near-term.... The LCD and case also pick up micro scratches pretty easily so I wish Canon had provided some thin surface cover.

If you are looking for the best 28 mm p&s of it's class, you found it. If you are strapped for cash, you can opt for the SD800 which is similar but not the same. The SD800 is a smudge heavier, while having a smaller LCD. Image quality on the SD870 is on par with the 850, which in my humble opinion is pretty damn good. Despite the nay sayers, IQ is better than the 800. Barrel distortion/"soft corners" are present, as they are in all the p&s cameras with 28 mm, but it is hardly noticeable. They finally did away with the image finder as well. Why do consumers need it anyways? The 3 inch lcd is just beautiful to look at, and for all intents and purposes of a camera like this, it does a great job.

The thing is lighter than it's predecessors, but definitely not worse in build quality. They used heavy duty blast type plastic to reinforce everything. The thing is light. It's small. It's definitely easy to use. Image quality is great for a ultra compact. Definitely worth the money if you're looking for an upgrade to the SD800. I can't stress enough how very happy I am with the camera.

I had one of the A series Canon cameras before and it lasted about 3.5 years. When I decided to buy a new one, I looked at the A series again because the picture quality from these cameras is amazing. At the last minute I decided on the Elph series because I find that the more portable the camera, the more likely I am to use it, and the more I use it, the more likely I am going to get excellent pictures. This year's model does not have a viewfinder, but I *never* used the viewfinder on my A series. This one has a bright, big LCD that is easy to see even in direct sunlight. On the downside, you will still get fuzzy images when the camera is fully zoomed out. It has an image stabilizer, but I still get fuzzy images, even with what I think is a steady hand. I suggest you take one or two extra images when zoomed out to make sure one is clear. A couple of times I have had the message "memory card error" pop up on the screen. If I turn the camera off and on, it seems to fix it. Hopefully Canon will come out with a firmware update to fix this problem.

Pros

Excellent pictures and and the large LCD screen is crystal clear. load up time is significantly faster than the popular Sony cameras. It's a point and shoot, not load and wait then shoot. The cannon was fast in starting up and was able to point and shoot a picture within 2 seconds. A lot of useful features and some not so useful like the color replacements and enhancements but that might be good for the creative shooter. I normally shoot with a digital SLR and picked this one up for my wife. Actually, I have been using this camera because it was fast and easy while quickly producing excellent results! The printer I am using is the new Epson DASH printer because it produces excellent results and can easily print right formt eh camera using PictBridge.

Cons

Easy to get fingers in the way of the flash and the zoom button may take some while to get used to due to location. Produces a quite a bit of Red-Eye so be forewarned. I was surprised the flash is not a TTL (through the lens) as the flash can saturate pictures especially indoor shots. Would have been nice if the flash could have rotated upward to the ceiling.

This one is the BEST! First off, it is a point-and-shoot camera, so no matter what company or model you buy there is going to be a trade off for the size of the camera. I have tested the Canon SD950, SD750 and the Sony T-200. The Sony was cosmetically the coolest looking camera, but the picture quality was nowhere near any of the Canons. The SD950 was bigger and bulkier than the other Canons and 12MP is overkill for a point-and-shoot. I narrowed it down between the SD750 and the SD870. The 750 is a little smaller and lighter than the 870, and the 870 has an extra mega pixel, image stabilization and a little more optical zoom. However, the wide angle lens on the 870 made it an easy choice in my opinion. The 870 will fit in you pocket and take excellent quality pics.

Cameras typically boast 10x, 12x, 18x optical zoom and that's fine for birdwatching and the like (no don't take portraits with that unless you like flat faces) but few point-and-shoot cameras offer a 28mm-equivalent wide angle lens, with Image Stabilization to boot.

Buy this with a spare lenmar NB-5L equivalent battery, and a good capacity SD card - at least 2GB, and you won't be sorry at all. The 28mm wide lens can take excellent indoor shots.

Wide lenses bring in more light so you're more likely to get pictures at better ISO settings (less grainy) and the IS capability allows you yet a lower shutter speed since shake is eliminated.

With the massive 3" screen, you can pretty much view the shot as it will appear on your computer or in a print, and the 4x6 bars as well as the gridlines will assist you in getting nice printable 4"x6" shots. You won't miss the optical viewfinder. People complain, but I've never used the optical viewfinder when I've had this huge screen. Remember, the medium format Hasselblads boast of allowing you to look at your shot with both eyes and not force you to squint through a small hole. The spare battery will make up for any power consumed by the LCD.

A small room, a scenic view, people shots (especially if you don't want to get your subject conscious by pointing at him or her) all are possible with the wide view - the focus is intelligent enough to catch off-center subjects.

I particularly like IS for getting those artistic blurs. Normally if you take a picture with a low shutter speed, there's the blur from subject movement, and the blur from your camera shaking. Eliminate the camera shaking blur and you get wonderful, artistic motion captured in a still. A street in a busy city, with people moving and blurring just enough to suggest motion.

The diminutive size of the elphs helps in keeping them highly portable, always accessible (by the time you pull your DSLR out, your shot is gone) and the wide angle and IS features only make this camera well worth its modest price. 8MP is much more than enough, you don't need to squeeze more pixels than you will ever use. At 300dpi, an 8 MP image will get you a good poster print without a problem. The full-screen (640x480, 30fps) video capture rivals that of a decent camcorder, except you've already got your clip while your camcorder is still awaiting fumbling in your bag.

Suggestions: Don't use the flash in low light. Make do with IS and push ISO to 200 and you will still love the pictures. Turn off red-eye flash and digital zoom, both are bad ideas. Any computer can correct red-eye, which is better than using the blinking red-eye flash that renders subjects blind. Digital zoom? You can crop and enlarge on the download and storage software (e.g. iPhoto) instead of forever pixelating (= ruining) your image inside the camera.

This is such a great camera. The 3 inch screen stands out even outside. I love the wide-angle lense which allows you to get those people to the side when taking a group picture. There are many different shooting modes made for just about any situation. I have the SD550 and this is definitely a great upgrade to it. The image stabilization works even at full optical zoom and the face detection really does make a difference. I'm more than happy with the purchase. Definitely recommend to those who want the best for the money (IMO)

I recently purchased the sd870is for a vacation, based largely on the moderately good reviews that it gets. During my two weeks with the camera, I found it in some ways to perform better than any other digital camera I have ever used, and in some ways to perform very poorly.

Let's start with the good. Any shots in very bright light turned out great using both the manual settings and the camera's automatic settings. If you take all outdoor shots, this is just about the greatest point and shoot camera in the world. Video also looks pretty dang good, and while not a feature I considered when buying the camera, it was something I used quite often. The controls were all easy enough to use, and while the buttons and settings aren't the best designed things in the world, after playing around with the camera for an hour or so it's not too hard to figure out the main features and how to use them (although some features remain a mystery that even the manual couldn't solve).

And on to the bad. While all my outdoor shots were excellent looking, especially for a lower priced digital camera, the camera was really not up to par on indoor shots. On its automatic settings, I found the camera to be rather 'stupid' in determining how to process the shot. Even in moderately bright rooms with plenty of indirect sunlight in the middle of the day, the camera loves to flash the immediate subject and darken the background. Photos in a well lit restaurant would come out with the subject looking pretty good and the background looking like we were in a medieval dungeon. And we were in Florida, so when I say a well lit restaurant, I mean pretty dang sunny.

The manual settings performed much better indoors - many of the shots taken at 400 and 800 ISO on the manual setting turned out great. The only problem with these is that you experience quite a bit of blurring when there's not 100% sunlight outside, so for every good indoor photo there were 2 or 3 bad. And of course, if it happens to be dark outside, you get a huge amount of blurring. If one were to look at my photo of the Disney World castle at 7 pm, the automatic setting photo came out as a almost completely black photo with just the windows in the castle barely visible (and that thing is pretty bright). On manual, I had the choice of a blurry mess at 800ISO, or a moderately less blurry mess at 1600 ISO that was so grainy it looked rather like an old newspaper photo. The other digital cameras in the group were quite capable of taking a photo of people with the castle in the background and exposing them correctly while capturing the glowing castle, but the 870 was not.

Of course, no inexpensive camera is going to function all that well in darkness, and I wouldn't expect it to. What I do expect from a camera this price is to be able to point and shoot a photo of friends in a well lit hotel lobby without blurring everything or coming out with completely darkened backgrounds. The 870 did not seem to be able to handle this at all, and photos in any lobby or lounge came out like we spent our vacation in the most dimly lit place on earth.

As a side note, someone in our party brought their Fuji s700 digital camera, and in my opinion it outperformed the 870 in almost every aspect. The best 20% of the 870's photos looked a bit better than the Fuji's, but the other 80% didn't look anywhere as good. So, despite loving the size and features and most things about this camera, upon arriving home it was packed up and returned. I wouldn't pay more than $150 for something that performs the way the 870 did. Who wants a camera that becomes useless every day at 6:30 pm?