Review based on a production Canon Digital IXUS 860 IS (SD870 IS)
The SD870 IS (known in Europe as the IXUS 860 IS and in Japan as the IXY Digital 910IS), announced in August, is a replacement for the SD 800 IS (IXUS 850 IS), one of last year's most popular ultra compacts. It retains the SD800's optically stabilized 28-105mm (equiv.) zoom lens, making it one of the only cameras in this sector of the market with this useful wideangle capability, and throws a few new or upgraded features into the mix, including improved Face Detection AF and red-eye reduction in playback mode, and Auto ISO shift. The other changes are fairly predictable, with a larger screen and just under one million extra pixels. The highlights of the specification are as follows:
The SD 870 IS is a distinctly gentle revision of the SD800 IS, launched around a year ago. It offers a larger screen than its predecessor but it loses the optical viewfinder to keep the overall body size virtually unchanged. It also gains a higher resolution sensor but loses out in terms of continuous shooting speed, with the frame rate dropping from 1.7fps to 1.3, suggesting the buffer has not been increased. Other noticeable gains include a useful user-definable function button, a touch control wheel and Auto ISO-shift function.
| Street price | • $370 |
|---|---|
| Naming | • US name: Canon PowerShot SD870 IS Digital ELPH |
| Body Material | Metal and plastic |
| Sensor | • 1/2.5 " Type CCD |
| Image sizes | • 3264 x 2448 |
| Movie clips | • 640 x 480 @ 30fps |
| File formats | • JPEG Exif 2.2 • DCF • DPOF 1.1 • AVI Motion JPEG with WAVE monaural |
| Lens | • 4.6-17.3mm (28-105mm equiv) |
| Image stabilization | Yes (lens shift-type) |
| Conversion lenses | None |
| Digital zoom | up to 4x |
| Focus | TTL |
| AF area modes | • AiAF (Face Detection / 9-point) • 1-point AF (fixed center) |
| AF assist lamp | Yes |
| Focus distance | Closest 3cm |
| Metering | • Evaluative (linked to Face Detection AF frame) • Center-weighted average • Spot |
| ISO sensitivity | • Auto |
| Exposure compensation | • +/- 2EV • in 1/3 stop increments |
| Shutter speed | 15-1/1600 sec |
| Aperture | F2.8-5.8 |
| Modes | • Auto • Manual • Digital Macro • Color Accent • Color Swap • Stitch Assist • Movie • Special Scene |
| Scene modes | • Portrait • Night Snapshot • Kids & Pets • Indoor • Foliage • Snow • Beach • Fireworks • Aquarium • Underwater |
| White balance | • Auto |
| Self timer | • 2 or 10secs • Custom |
| Continuous shooting | approx 1.3fps until card is full |
| Image parameters | My Colors (My Colors Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, B&W, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom Color) |
| Flash | • Auto |
| Viewfinder | None |
| LCD monitor | • 3.0-inch P-Si TFT • 230,000 pixels |
| Connectivity | • USB 2.0 Hi-Speed • AV out |
| Print compliance | • PictBridge • Canon SELPHY Compact Photo Printers and PIXMA Printers supporting PictBridge (ID Photo Print, Movie Print supported on SELPHY CP printers only) |
| Storage | • SD / SDHC / MMC card compatible • 32 MB card supplied |
| Power | • Rechargeable Li-ion battery NB-5L • Charger included • Optional AC adapter kit |
| Other features | • Optional High Power Flash HF-DC1 |
| Weight (No batt) | 155 g (5.5 oz) |
| Dimensions | 92.6 x 58.8 x 25.9 mm (3.7 x 2.3 x 1.0 inch) |
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 2006/2007 dpreview.com and the review in part or in whole may NOT be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author. For information on reproducing any part of this review (or any images) please contact: Phil Askey
Canon PowerShot SD870IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) | $97.95 |
Canon PowerShot SD870IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver) | $58.15 |
Canon PowerShot SD870IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver) | $58.15 |
Canon PowerShot SD870IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) | $97.95 |
Canon PowerShot SD850 IS 8.0 MP Digital Elph Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom | $325.00 |
Canon PowerShot SD880IS 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver) | $45.00 |
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