Manufacturer Description
Manufacturer Description Discover a new inspiration. The PowerShot SD850 IS Digital Elph is a digital camera that will really get your creative juices flowing. It starts with a high-resolution 8-megapixel CCD, a 4x optical zoom with Canon’s exclusive UA Lens and an Optical Image Stabilizer for steady zooming. There’s also a DIGIC III Image Processor with Face Detection and red-eye correction, an ISO 1600 setting for sharper images in low light, 5 Movie Modes and a 2.5-inch PureColor LCD with scratch-resistant, anti-reflective coating for easy viewing. PowerShot SD850 Highlights 4x optical zoom in actionAdvanced 8.0-megapixel Digital Elph with 4x optical zoom and exclusive UA lens Count on the Po [Read More...]
Buy Canon PowerShot SD850 IS 8.0 MP Digital Elph Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom at Amazon
For a point and shoot camera, this little gem packs a lot of advanced features. It’s definitely not a DSLR but it’s sure convenient when you want to conceal it and carry it with you in your pocket.
Pros:
Auto White Balance is much improved over the older Digic II processors.
1) Red-eye correction. No more red-eyes! It automatically fixes them.
2) Image stabilization. Will correct your hand movements but will not stop action.
3) Face Detection. Automatically finds and focuses on faces, and sets the proper exposure.
4) LCD Screen. The 2 1/2 LCD screen is very high resolution.
5) Lots of choices concerning picture quality and color.
6) Image and video quality are very good for such a small camera.
7) Optical viewfinder. Many cameras do not have this. It comes in handy when you do not want to use the LCD screen such as in theaters.
9) There is a manual setting where you can treak your photo settings. My preference is “Positive Film,” “ISO 100,” “+1/3 exposure,” “flash on.” The photos look fantastic.
Cons:
1) Noisy pictures with ISO settings over 200. (Pretty much what you get with any point and shoot camera.) Auto setting usually selects ISO 200, which is a little noisy. You’re better off to go with ISO 80 or 100.
2) Lens is wide enough for most purposes but it’s definitely not a “wide angle” lens. There is some barrel distortion on the short end, meaning that straight lines, buidings, walls, etc, appear a little curved.
3) Battery/SD Card Door can slide out and pop open easily.
4) Cannot chose aperature or shutter speeds manually.
5) No battery life meter. The LCD screen only displays a “low battery” warning.
Bottom Line:
This camera is a great little convenient camera, which is able to be concealed easily, and taken about anywhere because it easily slips into a purse or pocket. It’s a great camera for taking indoor portraits with flash, as well as outdoor photos. It is not good at stopping action. Pictures of kids and pets running around will often be blurry because of the 1/60 sec. shutter speed. If you are needing to take low-light or action/sports photos, you would be better off purchasing a cheap DSLR. The only reason I don’t give this camera 5 stars is because of the noise at higher ISO’s.
Since October I have been researching to find the fastest (for fast moving small kids) low light (for evening indoor pictures) P&S camera. I also know 99.9% of my prints will be 4×6 or 5×7, never bigger. And I want the red-eye reduction to work! I refuse to do touch-ups. Before I review, let me say a THANK YOU, to all who do post their reviews, because I have read them ALL, and a really big THANK YOU to Steves-Digicams and the CNET staff, who test and provide shutter speeds with flash.
I have visited all local stores (BestBuy, CircuitCity, Target, Sears, Frys, Wolf, Office Depot & Max, Staples) multi-times to play with all cameras. Yes, I am retired and have the time. Plus I reviewed all CNET P&S reviews from 1/25/07 to 11/15/07. I documented speeds of low contrast shutter and shot 2 shot with flash. From my research, the final candidates, based on low light speeds, were Fuji F40fd, Canon SD 800, 850, 870(*).
* Interesting the Canon SD870 specs say it should be as fast as the 850, but comparing 850 vs 870 under store lights, at 2 different BB stores, the 850s were noticeable faster. I even had the salesperson swap the batteries, between the two, just to be sure.
I purchased(Nov. 20,2007) the Fuji F45fd and Canon SD850. I borrowed a CanonSD800 and had my Canon A610. Without question the Fuji was the fastest for evening indoors pictures. The Fuji was also the fastest for flash recharge. The Canons 800 & 850 did missed some small kids indoors action shots. All cameras had the same brand 2Gb 150x SD. After a week I printed all the shots, as 4×6s, from the same store, as different orders with different names, to ensure no pictures were mixed.
The Canon SD800 had too many red-eyes. My old A610 was to slow for evening indoor shots. For outdoor daylight shots, all 4 cameras had the same speed results.
Overall the 4×6s quality was the same between the Fuji F45 & Canon SD850. Comparing two very similar pictures, sometimes one would be a slight plus over the other, when you looked close up, then on another picture the other camera would be a slight better, but no real difference.
The Canons do have a better long range zoom, at MAX zoom. If your need is for enlarge crops, the Canon AUTO pictures are taken at lower ISO, then the Fuji, see comparison below. I also tested the Canon SD850 with different ISOs in low light conditions. It was at the manual ISO 1600, that the Canon was as fast as the Fuji AUTO(ISO800), but the Canon(1600) pictures had higher noise.
Here are the ISO results, taken with AUTO mode. I believe this to be very important to understand the results. The listed numbers will first be Fuji F40(F45) then Canon SD850.
AUTO mode:
Evening indoors F@800, C@200
Outdoors 10pm Christmas Lights F@800, C@250
Outdoors bright sun, at min zoom F@100, C@80
Outdoors bright sun, at max zoom F@100, C@160
Outdoors cloudy F@200, C@80
Conclusion:
NO one camera is perfect for all people or all conditions!!!!!
Fuji F40/F45 is for those who want a fast, low light, small simple P&S camera, whose prints will usually be normal size(4×6,5×7). It is the BEST P&S available today, to capture fast moving kids indoors. I also appreciate the battery indicator.
Canon SD850 is a great P&S choice for more outdoors(vs indoors) or indoor adults (vs kids) pictures, or if you usually print pictures bigger then normal size.