Canon PowerShot SD750 / IXUS 75 Digital Camera

This is one sleek-looking little camera that my parents bought about a year ago when they finally gave into the idea of purchasing a new digital camera. This is the first digital camera they ever bought and the one they chose is the Canon PowerShot SD750. This digital camera has a metal body which is dark gray in front and black in back. It is really compact and easy to hold or slip into a pocket or purse. That was one of the selling features for them because it is so easy to pack or carry along. It feels solid and well made. This camera is classified in the ELPH family, which basically means that it is a compact camera. Included is a wrist strap and a thick, soft case to protect it.

This camera features a nice 7.1 megapixels, which produces lovely clear photographs when used with standard settings not above ISO 400.  It also features a 3x optical zoom which is fine for the needs of my parents who are happy with the clarity. It also features a 3072 x 2304 max resolution, which is definitely more than adequate.  The battery is a Rechargeable Lithium Battery NB-4L. I found out that the glass that Canon uses for its lens is Canon glass, is used by NASA. The ISO speed can go up to 1600.

This camera also has a speaker and a microphone, an AF assist beam and a red eye reduction lamp. (I've gotten red eye results where I look like I'm possessed with other cameras I've used, so this reduction feature is terrific.) Of course, there is a flash feature, which covers 1.6-11 ft, and the lens is a 5.8mm to 17.4mm optical zoom lens, which is 35mm to 105mm equivalent in 35mm photography. The digital zoom is 4x. The normal focusing range is 1.0 ft./30cm-infinity.

The zoom operates smoothly and quietly. It extends out of the front of the camera automatically when the power is turned on. When you shut the camera off, the zoom folds back up into the camera, making it flat and able to be easily stored.

An orange light appears while the camera is charging, and it turns green when done about an hour later.  The amount of photos you can take varies depends on your usage, but we found that we were able to take about 80, more than enough for the amateur photographer. 


This camera features five movie modes including 30 fps VGA, time lapse and fast frame rate of 640 x 480. Compared with older digital cameras, the quality of a video has improved, but honestly, the quality is not as good as a camcorder. There is a built-in microphone to record sound with the movies you plan to put on the web. 


The shutter speed is more than acceptable. It focuses quickly depending on the lighting you are in, but no more than a few seconds. By simply pressing shutter button halfway to focus, and selecting a shooting mode, you can record a 'special scene mode' or movie. ISO 1600 and High ISO Auto help to reduce image blur and expand low-light shooting capability. We took a variety of photos ranging from daytime in bright sunlight to around dusk and evening time. We also had some of our dogs running around, which came out nicer than I anticipated. We got great results with vivid colors too. This camera also features something called face detection technology which allows the camera to auto-focus on a face rather than the background next to it.

It's really easy to print out pictures too just by downloading to your computer as wallpaper. So far, my folks have not printed out photos at home, but they have had them done at their local Walmart. I saw some that they had printed (4 x 6 inch), and to me, they looked quite sharp and clean.

The playback self-timer is pre-set to 10 seconds or you can custom set it for your own use. Digital macro is max wide angle 3-10 cm 1.2 to 3.9 inches manual or simply set to auto. Also, setting the date and time is easily done.

Just this last weekend, I was helping my Mom take some photos off of her camera to email to the rest of the family. She hadn't learned that yet, but it was really easy to show her how to do it. You simply plug the wire into the camera and to the tower and then transfer the photos from the camera to your email account. Canon invented the 'PictBridge' feature which allows you to simply press a button and download photographs straight to your printer.  

This Canon PowerShot SD750 digital camera does not feature an optical viewfinder; my Mom had to get used to looking through the LCD for all of her photos. This took a little bit of time because she was so used to using a viewfinder for years.  The LCD does a good job even on sunny days because it has a scratch-resistant coating and is anti-reflective.  The LCD features approximately 230,000 pixels and a wonderful, large, colorful 3 inch screen.

Of course, they love their new Canon PowerShot SD750  now and are really enjoying taking pictures with it. But, they also weren't sure how to use it at first and between my brother-in-law, and my sons, they were all able to help. But just in case they have other questions, a guidebook, which is included, will assist, since my folks are new to digital cameras.

This camera is indeed, very straightforward and yet, if you want to get more creative you have that choice also. It is extremely simple to use and understand. All one needs to do is to look over the owner's manual once or twice in order to master the basics operation for use. It does take very good quality photos too. My folks were amazed at how easy it was and how they were able to delete any photo they didn't want, on the spot.  (Those old days of driving to FotoMat and buying flash bulbs are over!)

 

~thanks for reading~


gkm.


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