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179 of 184 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You say you want some resolution?, November 15, 2006
This review is from: Canon PowerShot SD900 Titanium 10MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Electronics)
The SD900 is my 6th digital camera, replacing a well-used Canon S400 workhorse. I wanted more pixels (10MP vs 4MP), a larger LCD screen (~3x larger than S400), faster powerup (>2x as fast), wider ISO range (ISO 3200 max vs ISO 400 max), faster shot-to-shot times, better user interface, scratch-resistant case material (titanium), same or smaller size/weight and SD memory cards (new laptop has an SD reader). The top-of-the-line Canon SD900 titanium-clad wundercam delivers the goods; but not without a few caveats. The titanium case is gorgeous and virtually scratch-proof; but it's quite slippery and provides no discernable perch for fingers. (I've gotten used to it.) On the first few powerups, it sounded like the lens gears were grinding and jumping teeth or something: The usual "whir" sound was very loud, with strange clicking sounds. I almost returned the camera; but it appears to work fine.
JPEG compression artifacts are quite visible, especially at the "Fine" quality setting (~2-3 MB file size). The huge 10.0 megapixel CCD produces oceans of detail; but it is very noisy at high ISO settings. At lowest aperature (f2.8), some lens softness and purple fringing is visible in certain scenes. At higher aperatures and longer focal lengths, images are razor-sharp. The SD900 has no image stabilization; but I was able to take handheld shots in extremely low light conditions with no problem. This camera is small enought to carry with you at all times, in the pocket, the purse, the briefcase, the glovebox, always at the ready when that perfect photo opportunity presents itself. It doesn't matter now great your camera is if you don't have it with you to capture those priceless photos. If you can only have one camera, get this one
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51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
strictly sony NO MORE!, February 20, 2007
I consider myself a photography enthusiast and a bit of an electronics geek. I love looking at the latest and greatest gadgets and often end up telling myself that I HAVE to have them especially when it comes to digital cameras. I've owned 3 sony digital cameras all of which were pretty popular models (p10, t7, n1). Although my sony cameras were always very sleek and stylish, they always fell short when it came to taking pictures of my cats and of the children I work with. If you know cats and kids, then you know they NEVER stay still. My pics often came out blurry and the settings always had to be adjusted to take a decent picture. A forced flash always had to be on in order to catch a decent pose and the color of the picture would never look natural. I also thought the newer sony models would solve these problems but after my 3rd sony, I only saw minimal improvement. I was a bit hesitant to switch brands but after fiddling with a couple of canon's from friends, I decided it was time to switch.
After having this camera for about a month and a half, I don't think I can ever go back to a sony. To say the SD900 is awesome would be an understatement. It is by far the most versatile camera I've ever used. It takes beautiful pictures in low light, indoor, and outdoor settings, but what sets this camera apart is that it takes great pictures of constantly moving objects like cats and kids in these backdrops as well! The colors are rich and natural, not washed out by the flash like my sony cameras. The images are crisp in detail and even in light distribution. With the high ISO setting on the camera, you can take beautiful indoor shots without a flash that no other camera can handle. The battery life is good and the lag between pushing the button and actually having the photo take isn't bad. There are faster cameras out there that are quicker in response time but the quality pictures I keep getting from this camera is more than enough to overlook this.
My sony n1 took great video but often had a hard time keeping focus on the subject matter. It would constantly go in and out of focus and make it difficult to watch sometimes. The SD900 totally blows the n1 out of the water when it comes to taking quality videos. The videos are crystal clear even when cats or kids are running around wild which is something I never experienced with a sony camera.
I still prefer the sony interface and screen layout. Maybe that's just because I'm so used to it. The canon doesn't have the battery indicator that tracks battery life down to the minute nor does it have the storage gauge to let you know how full the memory card is at all times like the sonys. It's a bit annoying at times to not have these features but its no deal breaker.
Overall, it's a great camera. It's a little bit on the expensive side because its canon's top of the line model. If you want something cheaper but don't want to give up the stellar performance, you should go with the SD630. I had that camera and after playing with it for a few weeks, I was thoroughly convinced that it was time to be a canon believer. I now see the light. If you want to see some of the awesome things the sd900 can do, view customer images and you'll see pictures of my cat that i took way up close. Keep in mind that these photos were not cropped or altered in any way by photo software. If you try to take a picture this close up with a sony, all you'll get is a blurry image. I hope this review was helpful and that you'll join me and all the other converts to the canon promise land.
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87 of 93 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
wow, November 3, 2006
This review is from: Canon PowerShot SD900 Titanium 10MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Electronics)
Well, I just got this camera and have only taken about 200 pics so far but am very impressed. I won't go over all the stuff that's already been talked about but I will say that it's a huge improvement. The 10 megapixels may at first seem like overkill but when you see the results you'll understand the potential of this tiny camera. It's great actually being able to take really nice photos with a digital zoom for once, not to mention how beautiful the regular 3X zoom is. Great optics and great color over the sd700 IS, which I'm upgrading from. Also much improved menus and useability. The digic III is awesome, it's fast and the facial recognition is really cool. There is'nt a whole lot of drawbacks, Image stabilization would be nice, but I never want those crummy sd700 is optics again. Flash is a little weak, but it always has been on these. Other than that I'm totally satisfied with this camera. It's one that I plan to hold on to for quite a while Which makes my wife happy, and me very happy!
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