Review based on a production Canon Digital IXUS 50
Announced in February 2005, the SD400 (which goes by the names of Digital IXUS 50 in Europe and IXY DIGITAL 55 in Japan) is the latest in a long line of ultra-compact 'ELPH' or 'IXUS' cameras stretching back to early 2000 (and a lot farther back than that in the film camera world). Like the SD300 before it, the SD400 incorporates two UA (Ultra-high Refractive Index Glass Molded (GMo) Aspherical lens) elements which has allowed Canon to produced its smallest cameras yet to feature a 3x zoom. It may be smaller than a credit card, but Canon has still managed to cram a fairly comprehensive range of features into the SD400;
Here for comparison is the SD400 (center) alongside the 7 megapixel SD500 (IXUS 700) and Fujifilm's new ultra-slim compact, the Z1.
| Street price | • US: $370 • UK: £230 |
|---|---|
| Body Material | Metal |
| Sensor | • 1/2.5" CCD, 5.3 million total pixels • 5.0 million effective pixels |
| Image sizes | • 2592 x 1944 |
| Movie clips | • 640 x 480 pixels @ 30fps or 15fps (clip length limited by card capacity) • 320 x 240 pixels @ 30fps or 15fps (clip length limited by card capacity) • 320 x 240 pixels @ 60fps (max clip 1 minute) • 160 x 120 pixels @ 15fps (max clip 3 minutes) • Motion JPEG (.avi) • Mono sound (.wav) |
| Lens | • 35 - 105mm equiv. (3x digital zoom) |
| Focus | • TTL autofocus • 9-point AiAF • 1-point AF (fixed to center) • 3cm macro mode (Wide), 30cm (Tele) |
| Shooting mode | • Auto |
| Sensitivity | • Auto • ISO 50,100,200,400 |
| Shutter speed | • 15 - 1/1500 sec • Slow shutter speeds of 1.3 seconds or slower operate with noise reduction |
| White Balance | • Auto • Daylight • Cloudy • Tungsten • Fluorescent • Fluorescent H • Custom |
| Image parameters | • Picture Adjust (Vivid, Neutral) • Sharpness (low or normal) • Color effects (Sepia, Black and White) • My Colors |
| Continuous | 2.1 fps approx |
| Flash | • Built-in flash • Auto, on, off, slow-synchro, Red-eye reduction: on/off • Range (normal, ISO auto): W: 0.5m - 3.5m (1.6 - 11.5 ft) T:0.5m - 2.0m (1.6 - 6.6 ft). • Range (macro, ISO auto): 30 - 50cm (1.0 - 1.6 ft) |
| Storage | • SD Memory Card • 16MB SD supplied* |
| Viewfinder | Real Image Optical |
| LCD monitor | • 2.0" TFT LCD • 118,000 pixels |
| Connectivity | • USB 2.0 High Speed • A/V out • DC-in |
| Power | • Rechargeable Lithium Ion battery (NB-4L) • (Optional AC adapter) |
| In the box* | • Canon PowerShot SD400 Digital ELPH (IXUS 50) |
| Other features | • Spot (center), Center-weighted & Evaluative metering |
| Weight (inc batt) | 130 g (4.6 oz) |
| Dimensions | 86 x 53 x 20.7mm (3.4 x 2.1 x 0.82in) Excluding protrusions |
* Supplied accessories may differ in each country or area
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital
Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help
you understand some of the terms used).
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Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C. |
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This article is Copyright 2005 and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author.
Canon Powershot SD400 5MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom | $488.88 |
Canon Powershot SD400 5MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom | $488.88 |
Canon Powershot SD450 5MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom | $549.99 |
Canon PowerShot SD850 IS 8.0 MP Digital Elph Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom | $325.00 |
Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Silver) | $166.99 |
Canon PowerShot SD1400 IS 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Black) | $180.00 |
Canon PowerShot SD1300IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Blue) | $129.95 |
Canon PowerShot A4000IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 8x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom 28mm Wide-Angle Lens with 720p HD Video Recording and 3.0-Inch LCD (Silver) | $89.99 |
Canon PowerShot A1400 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 5x Digital Image Stabilized Zoom 28mm Wide-Angle Lens and 720p HD Video Recording (Black) | Too low to display |
Canon PowerShot ELPH 115 16MP Digital Camera (Silver) | Too low to display |
Canon PowerShot SD780IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black) | $288.00 |
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