Name: HIFI enthusiast
Location: Foster City, CA USA
Date: 2007-09-13
Customer Rating: -
Summary: great performer !!!
Comment: I had SD700IS for about a year until last month lost it during travel. It is great camera, great image quality, fast response. Base on that good experience I ordered SD800 without thinking. I'll have to say SD800 is severely flawed in its low light performance -- grainy, soft, dark.... to a point of unbearable to me since I use these point n' shoot cameras 80% indoor. Promptly returned it!
Then I scanned through reviews here on Amazon and on www.dpreview.com, seems SD850 is quite good. So I ordered from Amazon and got it today. Can't wait to test its low light performance and I'll have to say it beats my expectations -- fully exposed, brilliant AND natural color, tad sharp, smooth like silk. I am very happy with SD850.
Only thing SD850 lags behind SD700 seems the former takes a little longer between shots especially when using flash. But not so bad at all, it just SD700 is superb in this regard.
Highly recommended.
.
Name: Matthew Shinn
Location: San Francisco, CA USA
Date: 2007-07-18
Customer Rating: -
Summary: Good replacement for the SD700 IS
Comment: I've owned several Canon Powershots over the years. Most recently I owned an SD700 IS, which I loved. Unfortunately, it got caught by a wave at the beach so I had to replace it. The SD850 IS does not disappoint. It's essentially the SD700 IS with several added features including an extra 2 MP, support for SDHC cards, a new processor that automatically recognizes faces, time lapse video and some other cool lighting effects.
The image quality is great and I haven't had any problems with the camera so far. I really like the time lapse video feature. It's pretty fun to set it up in the corner of the room for a couple of hours and watch all the action replayed at high speed.
The camera itself is small enough to fit in my pocket and it feels sturdy. The large display is really nice and I've always found the menu system Canon has developed over the years to be easy to use.
I would recommend this camera to anyone.
Name: Richard Antczak
Location: Phila. area
Date: 2007-12-15
Customer Rating: -
Summary: As always...Canon is a winner !!!
Comment: Buy it ...You'll like it !!!
I've been a Canon Digital Camera user since November,1999 ( for those youngins out there, thats the first year digital cameras were availiable to the general public at a reasonable price )
Prior to that, I have had Canon SLR's since 1977 ( I remember because it was the first real camera I bought with the money I earned in the summer cutting lawns ...a lot of lawns ) The Canon AE-1 cost $300.00 which was a lot of chicken in those days...Still have it ...still works 100%
Anyway I digress.... plain and simple this is probably my 4th Canon point and shoot ( I also have the Rebel SLR which I bought for $999 when introduced a few years back ) My most recent digital Canon was the 430SD...Had that for a good 3 years as it wasn't lost, stolen or broken...and did the job with no complaints...Well let me tell you...I should have upgraded 2 years ago. The pictures on this camera are AWESOME..the videos are video camera quality..and the manual overrides are all you need for the perfect custom controlled picture. I am a camera buff and love my SLR, but this one is as close as I've ever been to an SLR with point and shoot portability.
I had been reading the Amazon reviews for months before buying the 850IS and was worried about some of the negative reviews on quality of hardware and true to sight imaging...but after having used it for a few months I can say there is nothing more I expect from a point and shoot...The reviews from the "techno" guys are very useful , but do not reflect what the "commom" guy needs day to day...I'm a mix of techno + common and will tell you this is the one. I just have to push myself in 2 years to buy the newest Canon availiable, even though I will have been totally content with my 850IS ....just because they keep getting so damn better !
Name: Thomas Grimes
Location: Fort Wayne, IN USA
Date: 2007-07-13
Customer Rating: -
Summary: Awesome Camera
Comment: This is my 5th digital camera and I can honestly say that its by far the best. I also own a SD800IS - but this one has more cool features (like being able to zoom in movie mode!). EXCELLENT in low light -- I was able to take pictures in the Sistine Chapel in Rome on my last vacation without flash in a dark room and the pictures are amazing. Great Camera!
Name: Artemaria
Location: New York City
Date: 2008-06-17
Customer Rating: -
Summary: Comparative Review: Canon SD850IS, Canon SD800IS and Panasonic Lumix TZ4
Comment: I decided to do a little test comparing the SD 800 IS (28mm to 105 mm), SD 850 IS (35mm to 140 mm) and the Panasonic Lumix TZ4 (28mm to 280 mm). I just wanted to make sure that I got the camera that was right for me.
As part of the test, I took about 70 photos with each camera in various lighting conditions, indoor lighting behind, indoor lighting in front, outdoor, zoom, wide angle, etc. Because I usually use only 4x6 prints, I printed all the photos in 4x6 prints at a local photo lab. There was no post photo processing on any of the photos. I just wanted to see the results right out of the camera so to speak.
Thus, to me, the test was as real world as possible because that is how people use the camera, you don't shoot screens of color swatches, you shoot people, things, landscapes, grass, etc. Printing it out at a photo lab let me see the pictures as best as they could be. All cameras were set on full auto and no special modes were used for any of the shots.
The results were very intersting but hardly surprising. With the exception of a somewhat noticeable difference in the telephoto and zoom ranges, at a 4x6 size, there is essentially no discernable difference in the pictures generated by the Canon SD 850IS and the Canon SD 800IS. There was no difference indoors, outdoors, or anywhere else. This is not surprising, because the cameras are very very similar, use the same processor, and only differ in the lenses.
The Panasonic was another story. It regularly failed to perform, had zoom hunting, poor focus, fringing, etc. on the indoor shots. Outside, with plenty of light, it performed very well and produced excellent photos, but because I don't shoot exclusively outside, that was a deal killer for me. You basically cannot shoot anything moving indoors with the Panasonic camera. Based on the reviews, I understood that the Panasonic had limitations, but did not realize how much the processor hobbled the camera's indoor performance.
Here's the review for the SD 850 IS:
PROS:
FAST: Very fast. Not quite as fast as the SD 800 IS, but faster than almost any other point and shoot digital camera you will find. Considerably faster than the Panasonic.
PROCESSOR: Excellent super sharp photos in a wide variety of conditions.
LENS: This is a very nice range lens with excellent edge to edge sharpness that performs very well in a variety of conditions.
SIZE: very small, fits anywhere. Marginally smaller than the SD 800 IS, which itself is a small camera. The SD 800 IS and the SD 850 IS take different batteries because the SD 850 IS is marginally smaller. Extremely pocketable.
VIEWFINDER OPTIONS: Optical viewfinder, the screen is so good that you don't use this that often, but it is nice to know it is there for those really really sunny days (and they come up every so often).
BATTERY: Battery life is exceptional. Camera seems to go on for months with one battery (I think it is rated for 400+ shots, which is an astounding battery life for such a small camera).
CONTROLS: I would say of the three cameras, this one had the best layout of controls. The half hidden wheel on the back is an excellent design touch and the on/off button, while not where you would expect it to be, prevents accidental on/off switching. A very well laid out camera from the ergonomic standpoint. Also, the four way control pad has an external touch sensitive ring which is pretty cool (when it works well) but Canon maintains its highly regarded and often imitated control layout on this little gem.
NEUTRAL:
APPEARANCE: The looks of the camera. I prefer black cameras as I used to own a film SLR and black cameras remind me of that beloved camera. However, my wife seems to like the looks of this camera.
CONS:
LIMITED ZOOM: Would like a drop more zoom range, perhaps a 5x - 6x would be preferable. The replacement model for this (890) has a 5x zoom, but from initial reviews, the 890's performance is not quite as good as that of this camera.
FLASH: Flash is a little weak, but this is par for the course on a point and shoot.
OPTICAL VIEWFINDER: Optical viewfinder is really small, is off center and not useful for every time composure on this camera, the camera is made to be used with the LCD on.
Can't go wrong with either this or the SD 800IS, as they are essentially the same camera with different lenses, it just depends on whether you want a wide angle lens or not.
Good luck with your shopping.
|
Larger image or other views
