Canon PowerShot SD800 / IXUS 850 Digital Camera

Way back in the dark ages, when photography was all about silver based film and chemical processing, camera choices were much simpler. Photographers who wanted an ultra-compact camera bought a Riga Minox or a Rollei 35S or they joined the CIA. The digital imaging revolution changed all that. Canon has long been the leading player in the ongoing ultra-compact digicam drama and their product development folks have consistently created tiny feature rich digital cameras designed to make taking pictures as effortless as possible. The new Canon Powershot SD800 IS continues that worthy tradition.

Canon newest Digital Elph features 7 megapixel resolution, a fully retractable 3.8X true wide-angle optical zoom with image stabilization, a fast 9 AF point AiAF auto focus system, a 2.5 inch LCD screen, an ISO 1600 sensitivity setting, and face detection AF - all stuffed into a stylish metal alloy body that's small enough to be dropped into a shirt pocket and tough enough to go just about anywhere.

NUTS & BOLTS

Viewfinder/LCD

The Canon Powershot SD800 IS's coupled (zooming) tunnel style optical viewfinder is sharp, fairly bright, and imminently useable - but it's a bit squinty and only covers about eighty per cent of the image frame. There's no diopter correction for eyeglasses wearers.

The SD800 IS's 2.5 inch wide viewing angle LCD screen dominates the camera's rear deck. LCD images are bright, sharp (207,000 pixels), hue (color) accurate, fluid, and the display gains "up" (automatically brightens) in dim lighting - users can also manually boost LCD screen brightness. The LCD screen shows almost 100% of the image frame and is useable (anti- glare coating) in bright outdoor lighting. The LCD info/status display provides all information the SD800 IS's target audience is likely to need.

In Playback mode, a histogram display provides a graphic readout of the tonal distribution range of captured image and that's helpful in determining over or under exposure (allowing the image to be re-shot), but a live histogram would have been better. The SD800 IS provides a user selectable Grid Line Display (to help with composition) and a new orientation sensor - rotate the camera during playback and the image remains upright - so photographers who shoot a lot of verticals (like me) can review their compositions full screen (instead of reduced in size and scrunched into the center of the screen).

Zoom Lens

The Canon PowerShot SD800 IS is equipped with an f2.8-f5.8/4.6mm-17.3mm Ultra-High Refractive Index Aspherical 3.8X optical zoom. That's from true (28mm) wide angle (great for group shots and traditional landscapes) to classic short (105mm) telephoto (the perfect focal length for portraits) in 35mm equivalence. 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 (iris style) lens cover slides into place to protect the front element.

The SD800 IS's 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 and very minor pin cushioning (straight lines bow in toward the center) at full telephoto. There is visible, minor softness in the corners, but no vignetting (dark corners). Chromatic aberration (purple fringing) is slightly above average, especially at the maximum aperture. Colors are bold, bright, slightly over saturated, and hue accurate. Native contrast is a bit on the hard side. Minimum focusing distance (in Macro mode) is 1.2 inches – close enough for frame filling bugs and flowers shots.

Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)

Canon shrank the Optical Image Stabilization (IS) system used in their larger lenses to fit the diminutive SD800 IS's zoom. The Optical Image Stabilization system reduces blur by quickly and precisely shifting lens elements (gyroscopically) in the tiny zoom to compensate for camera movement/shake. OIS allows photographers to shoot at shutter speeds up to three stops slower than would have been possible without OIS. For example, if a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second is required to avoid the effects of camera shake (without OIS) a digicam with OIS can capture a reasonably sharp image of the same subject (everything else being equal) at 1/60th of a second.

OIS provides an especially important benefit when shooting handheld outdoors in good light at full telephoto - where even the slightest camera movement is magnified exponentially. Image stabilization can also be very helpful when shooting indoors - where higher shutter speeds may not be possible or would result in dark images with poor shadow/highlight detail. In addition, Image stabilization combined with higher sensitivity settings (like the SD800 IS's 800 ISO and 1600 ISO settings) can dramatically increase exposure options in low/natural light and dimly lit indoor venues where flash is prohibited.

The SD800 IS provides three IS modes (plus off): Continuous (IS is on full time), 'Shoot only' (IS is only activated when the picture is taken) and Panning (IS only stabilizes up and down motion) for horizontally panned exposures. The SD800 IS's Image Stabilization system works very nicely, but it won't neutralize sharp camera movements or reduce blur caused by moving subjects or too 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 (AF)

The SD800 IS utilizes the same TTL Contrast Detection 9 focus point AiAF (Advanced intelligent Auto Focus) system used in Canon's larger digicams. The AiAF system analyzes the scene in front of the camera and then calculates camera to subject distance to determine which of the 9 AF points is closest to the primary subject and then automatically locks focus on that AF point (closest subject priority), even when the subject is not centered in the viewfinder.

The SD800 IS also features Canon's new Face Detection AF/AE technology – just point the camera at the subject(s) and press the shutter button halfway. Face Detection AF will locate, lock on, and track up to nine faces in the image frame. Face Detection AF selects the optimum subject based on Canon's ISAPS (Intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space) technology and then optimizes all exposure parameters to determine the best exposure, (just before the image is recorded). One problem with Face Detection AF is that it only works with faces looking directly toward the camera, so FDAF won't work with dramatic profile shots.

The Canon PowerShot SD800 IS also provides an AF assist beam for quicker and more accurate focusing in dim/low light.

Flash

The SD800 IS's built-in multi mode flash is very small and pretty weak. Flash options include: Auto (fires when needed), On (fill flash), Red-Eye Reduction, Slow Synch, and off. Canon claims the maximum flash range (at the wide angle end of the zoom) is about 13 feet, but realistically anything beyond 8-10 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). Canon's optional HF-DC1 auto (slave) flash unit works in combination with the built-in flash and extends maximum flash range to about 30 feet.

Like all ultra-compact digicams the SD800 IS's built-in flash is positioned too close to and on essentially the same axis as the lens, so redeye is an ongoing problem. SD800 IS users can defeat redeye by disabling the flash and relying on the IS system – a shake stabilized slower shutter speed will cover most lighting situations and naturally lit portraits always look better than harshly lit flash portraits. The built-in flash is essentially useless in-close (closer than 12 inches) and that may present problems for bugs & flowers shooters. Macro fans can shoot close ups (with flash) at the telephoto setting (minimum focusing distance at telephoto is 12 inches) or rely on the IS system to shoot (without flash) at slower shutter speeds. Recycle time for the SD800 IS's built-in flash (with fresh batteries) is between 5 and 7 seconds.

Memory Media

The SD800 IS saves images to Secure Digital/MMC (including SDHC) memory media. SD cards are substantially smaller (and generally faster) than the CompactFlash (CF) media used in earlier Canon micro-cams. Canon includes a 16MB starter SD card, but SD800 IS Purchasers should factor the price of a much larger SD card (512MB minimum) into their final cost calculations.

Image File Format(s)

JPEG only (with four compression options)

Connectivity

USB 2.0 (HS) out and A/V out

Power

The Canon PowerShot SD800 IS draws its power from Canon's NB-5L 3.7V 1120mAh Lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack. Canon claims a fully charged NB-5L is good for up to 270 exposures. I didn't keep track of exposures and o I can't quibble with Canon's numbers, however based on my use (full time optical viewfinder use, occasional LCD use, occasional flash use, full time shoot only IS, and moderate to heavy review) a fully charged NB-5L should realistically be good for 150 – 200 exposures.

Micro-Cam users rarely resort to the optical viewfinder, many insist on reviewing every image they shoot, and some will use the flash heavily and opt for continuous IS - so mileage will vary considerably. Shooters who plan on using the SD800 IS during extended trips or long weekends away should probably purchase a back up battery. The included charger needs about two hours to juice the NB-5L back to full power.

EXPOSURE

The Canon PowerShot SD800 IS provides users with a remarkably simple auto exposure system. Exposure options include Full Auto, 10 Scene modes (Portrait, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater, Indoor, Kids & Pets, and Night Snapshot), Manual mode (which is actually Programmed AE mode since the camera always controls aperture and shutter speed settings), and Movie mode.

Canon's iSAPS (intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space) technology produces dependably very good to 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 SD800 IS's integrated auto exposure system (iSAPS is coupled to the DIGIC III processor and AiAF auto focus system) does much more than just average exposure data - so images are noticeably better than average. The SD800 IS's auto exposure system is very accurate, but there is a slight tendency toward over exposure in bright outdoor lighting.

Movie Mode

SD800 IS users can record video clips (with mono audio) at 640x480 @ 30 fps up to 4Gb (with a high speed SD card) in duration. The SD800 IS can also record up to 60 seconds of fast frame rate (320X240) @ 60 fps video clips and several lower resolution video options. The SD800 IS provides a voice-notation mode that allows users to add audio notes (up to 60 seconds).

Metering

The SD800 IS's default evaluative metering system is consistently accurate in all but the most difficult lighting so casual photographers won't have to worry about metering at all. More experienced photographers can opt for either Spot metering or Center-weighted Averaging metering for more demanding/creative compositions. Like all Canon digicams, the SD800 IS's evaluative/default metering system is calibrated to preserve shadow detail at the expense of highlight detail. That built-in exposure bias results in occasional clipping (burnt out highlights).

White Balance (WB)

The Canon PowerShot SD800 IS provides users with an adequate selection of white balance options - WB settings include: TTL Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flourescent H, and a custom (manual) mode that allows shooters to use a white/gray card (or white wall or ceiling) to insure accurate color. At the auto WB setting the SD800's native color interpolation is fairly neutral (hue accurate) and slightly over saturated. At the Daylight and Cloudy settings colors are slightly warmer. I didn't try the other WB settings.

Sensitivity

The Canon PowerShot SD800 IS provides an excellent range of sensitivity settings including - Auto, High ISO Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600 ISO. The tiny high pixel density sensors found in digicams generate more image noise than larger less crowded sensors (like those found in dSLRs). Built-in noise reduction (NR) blurs away the worst image noise, but (depending on how aggressively NR is applied) it can also blur away important image detail. The SD800 has the most aggressive noise reduction I've seen in any Canon digicam to date - due (I suspect) to a combination of the new 1/2.5" 7MP sensor and the new DIGIC III processor.

Images shot at ISO 80 show extremely low noise levels (ISO 100 images are identical to those shot at ISO 80). At the ISO 200 setting noise levels begin to rise a bit, but the images are still very good to excellent. ISO 400 images are noticeably noisy, but still usable (up to 5x7 inches). ISO 800 images "look" softer than those produced by Canon's other digicams and ISO 1600 images are so noisy they're mushy looking - with flat pastel-like colors.

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 SD800 IS provides shooters with a useful range of creative photo tweaks that can be applied in-camera, as opposed to more complex post-exposure processing.

Very light or very dark subjects can trick light metering systems into underexposing or overexposing images. The SD800'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, back 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 a +/-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, ENGINEERING, & ERGONOMICS

The SD800 IS bears a strong family resemblance to the SD700 IS and to the other members of Canon's SD tribe, but it is a bit boxier looking than its siblings. The SD800 IS's shiny metal alloy body engenders the sort of confidence one expects when using a camera at the upper end of the micro-cam price range. Build quality is excellent and the SD800 IS exudes an aura of toughness and durability, but the wrist strap should be used at all times – small light-weight (6.3 ounces) cameras with rounded corners are easy to drop. All controls are logically placed and most can be easily accessed via the compass (4 way) switch. Canon's FUNC menu provides direct access to the most commonly changed/adjusted features/functions.

The brain of the new Canon Powershot SD800 IS is its third-generation DIGIC III processor. DIGIC (Digital Imaging Integrated Circuit) technology combines image processing, power management, and most primary camera functions (Auto Exposure, White Balance, Sensitivity, JPEG compression, and gain control) in one chip to more efficiently manage camera operation. DIGIC III images are optimized for sharp resolution, balanced contrast, lower noise, and bold bright colors. The heart of the new SD800 IS is a scaled down version of Canon's proven Optical Image Stabilization system - OIS provides users with the flexibility to shoot indoors (and in dim/low lighting) without flash and to thwart camera shake at the full telephoto setting outdoors.

Experienced photographers should have no problem using the SD800 IS right out of the box and beginners should be able to shoot decent images after a short familiarization run with the camera and a quick scan of the user's manual.

Technical Specifications

Resolution: 7.1 Megapixels (3072X2304)
Viewfinders: 2.5" LCD screen and Real Image coupled (zooming) optical viewfinder
Zoom: f2.8-f5.8/4.6mm-17.3mm (28mm to105mm - 35mm equivalent)
Auto Focus: Contrast Detection 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, High ISO Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600 ISO
Image Storage Media: SD, SDHC, & MMC cards
Connectivity: USB 2.0HS, AV/out, & DC in
Power: NB-5L 3.7V 1120mAh Li-ion rechargeable battery pack

MSRP - $399.00 Street Price Range - $399.00 to $359.00

Included

16MB SD card, NB-5L Battery, battery charger, wrist strap, USB & A/V cables, software CD's, printed user's and software manuals.

Optional Accessories

HF-DC1 slave flash unit, Canon WP-DC9 waterproof case, AC adapter, and Canon soft camera case.

In the Field/Handling & Operation

I often get together with an old friend who sells new and used digital and analog photographic equipment. He shares my passion for photography, between us we have more than fifty years of hands on experience with hundreds of cameras (digital and film), scores of lenses (zooms and primes), dozens of flash units, and a ton of filters, tripods, and other esoteric imaging accessories. He and I both enjoy playing with new digital cameras, so when he eventually managed to get his hands on Canon's nifty new Canon PowerShot SD800 IS 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 some color tests. 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 paper 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 SD800 IS did an excellent job. All colors were bold, hue accurate, and slightly over saturated. Reds are warm and snappy and blues are bright and cool.

After we finished our color tests, we headed for nearby Cave Hill Cemetery. Cave Hill is Louisville's unofficial arboretum and one of the country's best remaining examples of 19th century U. S. landscape architecture. Cave Hill's 300 acres are home to an amazing variety of exotic (and not so exotic) trees, bushes, and shrubs, thousands of old headstones, dozens of ornate mausoleums, a rustic old groundskeeper's cottage, and ducks, geese, and swans flock around the small lake at the center of the cemetery.
Our weather, here in the Ohio Valley, has been predictably horrid recently – lots of cold rain and dull gray skies. Louisville is absolutely gorgeous three seasons of the year, but during the winter this is one of the ugliest places on the planet – a pallid landscape of bare tress, mud, dead yellow grass, and drifts of wet brown leaves illuminated by flat oblique winter sunlight.

The old cemetery was absolutely deserted when we got there so we were able to shoot some native limestone 19th century headstones still dark from all the recent rain and surrounded by a brownish carpet of last year's fallen leaves. The sky was gray and the light was pretty diffused, making it easy to capture several almost monochromatic gothic looking graveyard images of tilted and timeworn hand-carved native limestone grave markers in the oldest section of the cemetery. We also took pictures of some of the hundreds of ducks and geese around the lake. The resident waterfowl don't migrate in the winter and they are fairly tame (since most of the folks they see have bags of stale bread in hand) making them pretty easy to photograph.

After the cold wind and intermittent rain finally drove us back to the car we decided to shoot some of Louisville's growing collection of bodegas, oriental grocery stores, and ethnic markets. These colorful and often exotic indoor venues (clustered along Preston Street and Dixie Highway) provide shutterbugs with some great opportunities to shoot what veteran photographers call SFPT (shape, form, patterns, and texture). Our ethnic markets are almost all small mom and pop operations, generally located in small poorly lit buildings. Colorful and exotic fruits and vegetables piled high along the walls and shelves of colorfully labeled cans, boxes, and bottles provide a plethora of shapes, forms, patterns, and textures. Ethnic markets are great places for testing digital cameras, not to mention providing a welcome opportunity to get in out of the cold and rain and sample a little world food. After we finished up with our ethnic markets adventure we called it a day and headed home.

For our second outing with the SD800 IS we got together on a cold, but bright and rain free morning and headed for Louisville's Extreme Park. We often test digital cameras at the Extreme Park because skateboarders, BMX bikers, and roller-bladers are drawn to the park 24-7 to hone their moves on the park's bowls, pipes, ramps, and rails. The kids at the Extreme Park make great action subjects because many of them are talented athletes and most of them love to show off for the camera. We had to move in pretty close because the SD800 IS's 3.8X zoom just didn't have enough reach to allow us to stand off at a safe distance and still get frame-filling shots.

We spent about three hours shooting (mostly) skateboarders. That may seem like a long time, but optimal framing/timing (centering the boarders in the frame and stopping the action in mid air) is very difficult. The SD800 IS's image stabilization really helped, allowing us to shoot at fairly high shutter speeds and use the IS to help (by countering camera shake) us freeze the action. Image stabilization isn't magic, if you shoot lots of action you'll still get lots of blurred images, but you'll also get some sharply focused images that you probably wouldn't have gotten without IS.

After we finished up at the Extreme Park we headed for nearby West Main Street, which is lined with three and four story warehouses sporting decorative cast iron fronts. We parked near the Louisville Science Centerand spent about an hour shooting tight architectural studies of the colorful cast iron building fronts, before the cold finally got to us.

By this time both of us were cold and hungry, so we decided to finish our camera test at Flabby's Schnitzelburg Tavern. Flabby's is a classic blue-collar tavern and has been a Germantown neighborhood landmark for almost fifty years. Old neighborhood bars are the perfect place to seek shelter from the cold winter rain. A bowl of home-made soup will take the chill right out of your bones. We ate, warmed up a bit, and snuck a few ISO 800 and ISO 1600 shots of a couple of Flabby's more interesting patrons. It was easy to keep the diminutive SD800 IS out of view while snapping some sneaky pics. After we finished up at Flabby's we called it a day.

PERFORMANCE

Image Quality

Image quality was assessed on a NEC 19" CRT monitor. Images were consistently sharp, even in dim/low light - and that wouldn't have been the case without the SD800 IS's Image Stabilization system. ISO 80 and ISO 100 images are essentially indistinguishable and both are basically noise free. Noise levels begin to rise 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 minor 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. ISO 1600 images are essentially useless as anything other than curiosities.

The SD800 IS's native colors are bold, bright, hue accurate, and slightly oversaturated. Chromatic aberration (purple fringing) is noticeably lower than average, but corners are a tiny bit soft across the board.

Timing/Shutter Lag

The Canon PowerShot SD800 IS is surprisingly fast for an ultra-compact consumer digicam and that's probably due (at least in part) to its third generation DIGIC processor. The boot-up cycle (about 1.0 seconds), shutter lag (1/10th of a second – according to Canon), shot to shot times (1.5 seconds), and write to card times are all noticeably better than average. With pre-focus AF lag basically disappears and from scratch the SD800IS needs less than half a second to lock focus and fire the shutter. Here's one timing caveat though - Continuous IS not only dramatically shortens battery life, it also stretches shutter lag – don't believe me? Just watch how long it takes for the image to stabilize on the LCD screen. It may not seem like a very long delay, but when shooting action that ? of a second could be the difference between capturing the peak action moment and missing it.

A Few Concerns

The SD800 IS (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 both on (essentially) the same plane. Battery life is improved over the SD700 IS, but further improvement is still needed. My major concern with the SD800 IS is the price. It's a nifty little camera and shooting pictures with it is lots of fun, but four hundred bucks is a lot of scratch.

Conclusion

The SD800 IS will appeal to travelers, gadget guys/gals, hikers/bikers, casual snap shooters, style conscious shutterbugs, and family photographers who value compact size and auto everything operation. Canon's ultra compact digicams have always delivered impressive ease of use, exceptional performance, tough as nails durability, and very good to excellent image quality. If all that isn't enough, the SD800 IS'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.

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. If you would like to see a selection of images that are 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 digitalcamerareview.com. Click on Find all posts by Howard Creech (under Forum Info). My DCR reviews each feature a selection of my images.

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

Canon Digital Rebel XTi/EOS 400D
http://www.epinions.com/content_257380814468

Canon Powershot G7
http://www.epinions.com/content_299245473412

Canon Powershot A640
http://www.epinions.com/content_265901870724

Canon Powershot S3 IS
http://www.epinions.com/content_232394624644