Canon has dominated the microcam market since the first ultra compact digicams hit camera stores. That's because the digital ELPH nameplate is synonymous with compact size, high style, impressive performance and leading edge technology. The newest digital ELPH, the Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera, easily demonstrates why that perception isn't likely to change. The SD700 IS features 6-megapixel resolution, a stylish tri-color "tough as nails" metal alloy body, a fully retractable 4X optical zoom, Image Stabilization (IS), and almost intuitive ease of operation -- all stuffed into a package small enough to be dropped in a shirt pocket (or small purse) and taken just about anywhere.
Like the rest of Canon's current crop of digicams, the SD700 IS is built around Canon's second-generation DIGIC (Digital Imaging Integrated Circuit) II processor. The DIGIC II processor combines power management, image processing, and most primary camera functions (Auto Exposure, White Balance, JPEG compression, and Sensitivity) on one chip. DIGIC II image files are optimized for sharp resolution, balanced contrast, lower noise, and bold bright colors.
NUTS & BOLTS LCD/Viewfinder The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera features a real image coupled (zooms with the lens) tunnel style optical viewfinder. The SD700's optical viewfinder is a bit squinty and only covers about 85% of the image frame, but it is fairly bright and eminently useable. There's no diopter correction for eyeglasses wearers.
The SD700's 2.5 inch wide viewing angle LCD screen is sharp, color correct, fluid, and gains "up" (automatically brightens) in dim lighting. The LCD info display provides shooting mode, exposure compensation setting, white balance setting, ISO setting, flash setting, the light metering option selected, and resolution/compression data.
The LCD screen (which shows almost 100 per cent of the frame) is more accurate for framing and composition than the tiny optical viewfinder, but full time LCD use will more quickly exhaust the SD700's battery. In Playback mode, a histogram display provides a graphic readout of the tonal distribution in captured images (to help evaluate dynamic range), which is useful in assessing over or under exposure (allowing the image to be re-shot), but a live histogram would have been preferable. The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera also provides a user selectable Grid Line Display (to help with composition) and Night Display mode, which enhances screen visibility in dim/low light.
The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera provides users with a new Widescreen 16:9 capture format (2816 x 1584) for viewing images on a widescreen TV/computer monitor.
Zoom Lens The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera features a brand new 4X Ultra-High Refractive Index Aspherical (UA) f2.8-5.5/35mm-140mm (35mm equivalent) optical zoom, the first 4X zoom to grace one of Canon's ultra compact Digital Elph digicams. When the camera is powered up, the lens automatically telescopes out of the camera body. When the camera is powered down the lens is fully retracted into the camera body and a built in lens cover slides into place to protect the front element of the zoom.
The SD700's new zoom is fast. Operation is smooth and quiet, but this optic does exhibit noticeable barrel distortion (straight lines bow out from the center) at the wide-angle end of the zoom, some minor softness in the corners, and very minor pin cushioning (straight lines bow in toward the center) at full telephoto. Chromatic aberration (purple fringing) is above average, especially at the maximum aperture. Colors are bold, bright, slightly over saturated, and hue accurate. Native contrast is just a bit on the hard side.
Image Stabilization (IS) Canon started by shrinking the optical Image Stabilization (IS) system used in their 35mm format professional lenses to fit the diminutive SD700 IS. The SD700's Image Stabilization system reduces blur caused by camera movement/shake by quickly and precisely shifting lens elements in the SD700's tiny zoom to compensate for camera movement/shake. IS allows users to shoot at shutter speeds up to 3 f-stops slower than would have been possible without image stabilization. For example, if a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second is required to avoid the effects of camera shake (without image stabilization) the SD700 IS can capture a reasonably sharp image of the same subject (everything else being equal) at 1/60th of a second – a great feature for photographers who like to shoot indoors (flash-free low light/natural light) subjects. Image stabilization combined with higher sensitivity (like the SD700's ISO 800 setting) dramatically increases exposure options in low/natural light and dimly lit indoor venues where flash is prohibited.
The Image Stabilizer can be turned off, or the lens can be stabilized continuously so the LCD screen can be used for confirmation (which uses a lot of battery power), or the lens can be stabilized just prior to exposure – (which uses much less battery power). The SD700's Image Stabilization system works well, but it won't neutralize sharp camera movements or reduce blur caused by moving subjects or rapid panning. Potential purchasers should also keep in mind that heavy IS use noticeably shortens battery life, so a back-up battery is a good idea.
Auto Focus The SD700's 9 focus point AiAF (Advanced intelligent Auto Focus) system quickly analyzes what's in front of the camera and automatically decides which of the 9 AF points is closest to the primary subject (utilizing closest subject priority) and then locks focus on that AF point. Savvy shooters can manually line up a specific AF focus point with the most important element in the image (like the face or eyes in a head and shoulders portrait). Users can turn AiAF off and the camera's AF system will default to the center AF point for traditional looking landscapes, classic portraits, group shots, etc. The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera also provides an AF assist beam for quicker and more accurate focusing in dim/low light.
Flash The SD700's built-in multi mode flash is fairly standard. Flash options include: Auto (fires when needed), On (fill flash), Red-Eye Reduction, Slow Synch, and off. Anything beyond 10 feet is going to be fairly dark unless shot against light colored backgrounds with lots of ambient lighting (or at the High ISO setting with IS engaged). Flash coverage is a bit uneven for macro/close-up shooting, which is bad news for bugs & flowers shooters. The flash needs 6-8 seconds to recharge after a full power shot. There's no hot shoe for external flash units, but Canon's optional HF-DC1 auto (slave) flash unit is compatible. The HF-DC1 extends flash coverage to 28mm and maximum flash range to about 30 feet.
Memory Media The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera utilizes SD (Secure Digital) memory media to save captured images. SD cards are substantially smaller (and generally faster) than the CompactFlash (CF) media used in earlier Canon micro-cams.
Image File Format(s) JPEG
Connectivity USB 2.0 (HS) out and A/V out
Power The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera draws its juice from Canon's new NB-5L 3.7V 1120mAh Li-ion rechargeable battery pack. Canon claims the NB-5L provides higher capacity with a smaller footprint than its predecessor, but realistically Micro-cam batteries (since they must be very small) can't store as much power as larger batteries. I didn't keep track of exposures (Canon claims 210 exposures) and we used both the LCD screen and optical viewfinder for compositional chores so I can't quibble with Canon's numbers, however based on my (admittedly unscientific) tests a fully charged NB-5L should realistically be good for 120 – 150 exposures (full time LCD use, occasional flash use, exposure IS, and moderate to heavy review).
Micro-Cam users rarely resort to the optical viewfinder and many insist on reviewing every image they shoot, so mileage will vary substantially. Shooters who plan on using the SD700 IS during extended trips or for daylong shooting sessions should purchase a back up battery. The included charger needs about an hour and a half to juice the NB-5L back to full power.
EXPOSURE The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera provides users with a remarkably simple and simultaneously highly sophisticated auto exposure system. Exposure options include Full Auto, Scene modes (Portrait, Night Snapshot, Kids & Pets, Indoor, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Underwater, etc.), Manual mode (which is actually Programmed AE mode since the camera always controls aperture and shutter speed settings), and Movie mode.
Canon's exclusive iSAPS (intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space) technology produces excellent images in all scene modes. The camera instantly matches the scene in front of the lens with an on board database of known scene types and then compares that information with the specific scene's subject distance, white balance, contrast range, lighting, and color (just before the image is recorded) to determine the best exposure. The SD700's auto exposure system (coupled with the DIGIC II processor and ISAPS Scene recognition technology) does much more than just average exposure data - so images are noticeably better than average.
Movie Mode Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera users can record video clips (with audio) at 640x480 @ 30 fps with duration limited to 1GB. The SD700 IS can also record up to 60 seconds of fast frame rate QVGA (60 fps) video clips and several lower resolution video options. The SD700 IS also provides a voice-notation mode that allows users to add audio notes (up to 60 seconds in duration) to their pictures.
Metering The SD700's evaluative metering system is consistently accurate in all but the most difficult lighting. Newbie photographers won't have to worry about metering at all (as long as they stay in Auto mode) and more experienced photographers can opt for either Spot metering or Center-weighted Averaging metering for more demanding/creative compositions.
White Balance (WB) Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera provides experienced users with more white balance options than many currently available micro-cams. WB settings include TTL Auto, Day Light, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Underwater, and a custom (manual) mode that allows savvy shooters to use a white card (or white wall or ceiling) to insure accurate color. At the auto WB setting the SD700's native color interpolation is bright, a bit warm, slightly over saturated, and consistently hue accurate.
Sensitivity The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera provides an excellent range of sensitivity settings including - Auto, High ISO Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, and 800 ISO.
In-Camera Image Adjustment In-camera image adjustment capabilities are often overlooked by casual digicam purchasers, but savvy users know the ability to make subtle color/contrast/sharpness/exposure adjustments is a very important creative tool and a simple and effective way to overcome minor exposure problems. The SD700 IS provides shooters with a very useful range of creative photo tweaks that can be applied in-camera with no need for post-exposure processing.
Very light or very dark subjects can trick light metering systems into underexposing or overexposing images. The SD700's Exposure Compensation mode allows users to subtly modify exposure parameters over a 4 EV range ( /-2 EV in 1/3 EV increments) to compensate for difficult lighting and subject/background reflectance/non-reflectance problems or to compensate for environmental exposure variables.
Canon's My Colors mode permits users to adjust color saturation, select Positive Film (mimics slide film color, saturation, and contrast), Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Color accent (shifts images to B&W, except for one user selected color), color swap (allows users to switch one color for another), custom color (users can adjust color balance for red, green, blue, and skin tones over /-2 step range in 1 step increments), and Photo effects mode (vivid or neutral color saturation, low sharpening, sepia, and B&W), and touch up images in-camera (post exposure).
DESIGN, CONTROLS, & ERGONOMICS Canon's digital elph series has been re-designed. The SD700's stylish tri-color metal alloy body looks and feels tough and durable, but it is a bit chunkier looking than its predecessor. The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera is very compact (3.56" x 2.22" x 1.04"/90.4mm x 56.5mm x 26.4mm) and there's no handgrip - so the wrist strap should be used at all times - because small smooth contour cameras are very easy to drop. All controls are logically placed and all shooting functions are easily accessed. Experienced photographers will have no problem using the SD700 IS right out of the box – beginners should be able to shoot consistently excellent images after a short familiarization and a quick scan of the user's manual.
Technical Specifications Resolution: 6 Megapixels (2815x2112)
Viewfinders: 2.5" LCD screen and Real Image coupled (zooming) optical viewfinder
Zoom: lf2.8-5.5/35mm-140mm (35mm equivalent)
Auto Focus: 9 AF point AiAF
Manual Focus: no
Flash: Built-in Multi-mode
Exposure: Auto and Program AE
Metering: Evaluative, Center-weighted, & Spot
Exposure compensation: Yes /- 2 EV in 1/3 EV increments
White balance: TTL Auto, and 6 user selected pre-sets
Sensitivity: Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, & 800 ISO (35mm equivalent)
Image Storage Media: SD/MMC
Connectivity: USB 2.0, AV/out, & DC in
Power: NB-5L 3.7V 1120mAh Li-ion rechargeable battery pack
MSRP - $499.00
Included 16MB SD card, NB-5L Battery, Charger Wrist Strap, USB & A/V cables, software CD's, user's and software manuals.
Optional HF-DC1 slave flash unit and Canon soft camera case.
In the Field/Handling & Operation I have an old friend who sells new and used (digital and film) cameras and photo equipment. He and I both enjoy playing with new digital cameras, so as soon as he got his hands on Canon's nifty new Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera he stopped by to see if I wanted to help him put the newest digital elph through its paces.
The first thing we did was to run our standard color test. We use a homemade macro stage and a selection of brightly colored (red, green, yellow, blue, orange, and purple) plastic children's beach toys arrayed on a white background. This test allows us to check color accuracy and the precision of the camera's white balance system (and compare the results from camera to camera). The SD700 IS did an excellent job. All colors were bright, slightly over saturated (reds are a bit warm and blues are bit bright), and hue accurate.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day (mid 70's and blue skies) so our first adventure with the SD700 IS was a trip to Cave Hill Cemetery. Cave Hill started out as a small farm on the outskirts of early Louisville and became the city's primary burial ground in the mid 1830's. The old cemetery is filled with exotic trees and bushes (in addition to thousands of 19th century grave markers, hundreds of mausoleums, and a rustic groundskeeper's cottage) so spring tends to start early at Cave Hill and linger there for week or two longer than it does in the rest of the Derby City. We drove around slowly, looking for interesting photographic subjects. We found lots of dandelions, violets, spring beauties, and Virginia Bluebells. We shot a couple of old weather-grayed and time-tilted native limestone grave markers completely surrounded by pink and white Spring Beauties.
After we finished up at Cave Hill we headed for nearby Cherokee Park and followed the scenic loop as it wound through a couple miles of steep hillsides covered with old growth trees. The area along Beargrass Creek was packed with runners, bikers, and dog walkers. It looked like everyone was out enjoying the beautiful weather. We spent about an hour just circling around and stopping whenever anything interesting caught our attention.
The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera does a fantastic job in good light, rendering virtually any sort of outdoor scene beautifully, but almost any digicam shines in good light. What's interesting is the SD700 IS ain't half bad in dim/low light – we shot an Eliot Porter style intimate landscape (Violets and Carpet Moss amid a twisted mass of tree roots) under the old growth trees and the SD700 IS (with IS and High ISO Auto sensitivity) did a creditable job, although the images were a bit noisy.
After we finished up at Cherokee Park, we headed for downtown Louisville's Waterfront Park to shoot
Thunder over Louisville (the single largest fireworks display in the United States). The afternoon was even prettier than the morning had been, which was good since last year's Thunder Over Louisville was very cold and rainy. The little Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera performed like a champ all afternoon, no matter what we tried. The record crowd (800,000 people) was in a very festive upbeat mood and that made for some very nice Kodak Moments. The lead up to the fireworks display is an all day air show featuring U. S. Air Force combat aircraft and the Navy's Blue Angels. We spent most of the afternoon shooting candids/street style shots of the crowd on the Great Lawn.
Once it gets dark more than 50,000 individual fireworks shells keep the sky above the Ohio River lit up constantly during the non-stop show. There's no better place country if you want to shoot really amazing fireworks shots. My friend has access to the roof of a four-story building near the riverfront so as soon as it started getting dark we headed for our elevated vantage point. The fireworks are set off from barges anchored in the Ohio River. We had a good view of the northern sky near the Second Street Bridge so getting frame filling shots of multiple fireworks bursts was just a matter of composition and whether the SD700's IS could get us into the sharp focus zone. We had some minor problems (the SD700's zoom isn't wide enough to show the Second Street Bridge, the city's skyline, and a broad expanse of sky filled with bursting fireworks – so we were forced to downsize our vision a bit. We managed to get several shots of really impressive multiple bursts. The colors were spectacular with good reflections from the water. The sky was clear with no clouds and there was just enough of a breeze to blow away the smoke that often shrouds the riverfront area during Thunder. We left before the fireworks show was completely finished to get a jump on the chaotic traffic jam that always follows Thunder over Louisville.
Sunday morning was even prettier than Saturday afternoon, so we headed downtown to shoot some action at Louisville's Extreme Park. Local skateboarders congregate at the park to hone their moves on the park's bowls, pipes, ramps, and rails.
We've been to the Extreme Park many times to shoot boarders and I knew we'd have to move in very close because the SD700's 4X zoom wouldn't give us enough reach to stand off (at a safe distance) and still get frame filling shots. The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera is very quick and that significantly simplified tracking and framing rapidly moving bikers and skateboarders.
Optimal framing/timing (centering the action in the frame AND stopping the action in mid air) is frustrating, but Skateboarders love to show off. Our local daredevils actually line up politely and zoom directly at you, one at a time. We spent about two hours trying to capture fearless young athletes in mid air. The SD700's 9-point AiAF auto focus system and DIGIC II processor are very fast, so we were able to capture a couple of decent mid air shots. What was even better, the SD700's IS kept most of our shots really sharp. Image Stabilization won't counteract sharp jerks or hard shifts and it can't defeat the blur inherent in rapid panning or trying to lock on to moving subjects, but it does beat most of the simple shakes and tremblies associated with shooting action.
When we reviewed the images we'd shot over the course of a very busy weekend (on a NEC 19" CRT monitor) both of us were impressed with just how good the pictures were. Most of our shots were very good with balanced contrast, and slightly punched up color. Most of our fireworks shots were fairly decent even though they were shot handheld, but those shot on High ISO Auto looked a bit burnt out in the bright areas.
PERFORMANCE Image Quality The SD700's daytime outdoor images were consistently well exposed (we didn't shoot anything indoors). Exposure is generally accurate, but highlights are sometimes blown out in contrasty scenes. Images were consistently sharp, even in dim/low light - and that wouldn't have been the case with the SD700's non IS digital elph predecessors. ISO 80 and ISO 100 images are essentially indistinguishable and both are basically noise free. Noise levels begin to rise noticeably after ISO 100 (for consumer digicams more megapixels plus higher ISO sensitivity settings usually equals more noise). ISO 200 images are still pretty decent, but show a visible loss of detail due to pattern noise. ISO 400 images are noisy and look a bit soft, but they do seem better than the ISO 400 images from earlier digital elphs. ISO 800 images are very noisy, but they should be OK for non-critical 3x5 or 4x6 prints and for e-mail photos.
Timing/Shutter Lag The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera is surprisingly fast, for a compact consumer digicam. The boot-up cycle, shutter lag, shot to shot times, and write to card times are all faster than average. With pre-focus shutter lag basically disappears and from scratch the SD700IS needs less than half a second to lock focus and trip the shutter.
A Few Concerns Chromatic aberration (purple fringing) is higher than average at the wide-angle end of the zoom range (especially at maximum aperture) and corners are a tiny bit soft across the board. The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera (like all micro-cams) has red-eye issues. With cameras this small it is not possible to physically separate the flash and the zoom sufficiently to avoid having the lens and flash on (basically) the same plane.
Conclusion Canon's Digital Elph cameras have always delivered impressive ease of use, exceptional performance, tough as nails durability, and excellent image quality. The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH / IXUS 800 Digital Camera continues that worthy tradition. If all that isn't enough, the SD700's image stabilization makes it possible to shoot pictures not only in dim light/indoors (without flash) -- it is also possible to shoot outdoor mages at lower ISO values than would have been possible without Image Stabilization - and that is really cool.
The SD700 IS is a great choice for anyone who wants a camera that can be taken along anywhere and used easily by just about anyone. This camera (like it's predecessors) should appeal to travelers, gadget guys/gals, hikers/bikers, casual snap shooters, and family photographers who value style, compact size, fast operation, and point & shoot ease of use. Recommended without reservation.
Links For definitive advice on How to Choose a Digital Camera please see my (updated) review:
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-2E46-17B174E2-39A418E3-prod1 If you would like to see a selection of images that are very similar to and typical of the sort of test pictures I shoot for my epinions digital camera reviews, click on the top link under Favorite Links on my profile page (to get to my EPS profile page from this review, just click on my name under about the author above). The Favorite Links link will take you to my forum page at DCR Click on the "Find all posts by Howard Creech" (under Forum Info). My DCR reviews each feature a selection of my images.
The observations, opinions, recommendations, and conclusions provided in my digital camera reviews are based on more than 30 years experience as a photographer and extensive hands on testing of each of the cameras reviewed. I receive no compensation from DCR.com for your visit or any subsequent purchase you may make. You can return to epinions at any time (either open the link in a new window or hit your back button). The Canon Powershot SD500 and the Canon Powershot A520 posts were submitted as text only reviews and the images that illustrate those two posts were shot by a DCR.com staffer.
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