Canon PowerShot SD870 IS

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
_________________________________________________

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.