Troyus
Well-known member
I bought the Canon SD700IS a week ago to take with me on my trip to the Mayan Riviera, Mexico, and I can now honestly say that it rocks! I did a lot of research (looking at early reviews, what users wrote in these forums...etc), and I'm very glad I went with the SD700.
In the week I was gone, I took 985 shots (the first few hundred were for test purposes), and so that you can check them out and see what you think for yourself, I've uploaded them to my gallery, here: http://marcustroiano.com/blog/v/mayan-riviera-mexico-spring-2006/
You'll find a variety of different images, taken in a variety of different conditions (sunny, cloudy, night time etc...), as well as some video clips.
The SD700IS is incredibly fast! Whether you're talking about flash recharge time, or shot-to-shot speads, I've never seen better. It turns on/off fast, switches modes fast, truly a pleasure to shoot with! 4X zoom is a really nice addition, as you have more to work with, it's not anything like a 10X, but 4X is definitely nicer than 3X.
The LCD is great, and easy to use even in direct sunlight! I do have one complaint though. I found the black anti-glare coating on the LCD to scratch, even though I was extremely careful with it. Has anyone else had this happen, and if so any solutions? It's still completely usable, and you can't see it much when its on (but you can if its sunny, when looked at on a certain angle). It's not a huge deal, it just irks me though.
The images and movies this camera takes are excellent! Even in hard to shoot environments it excels. I would avoid ISO 800, although if you use something like NeatImage, you can remedy the noise. I never had a real problem with noise at any other ISO's, and found the camera to take great shots even with no flash! I also found red-eye not to be a problem. The video's it takes are equally good too.
The scene modes can be really helpful, and I used them quite a lot (Night Mode and Beach Mode). I did's use the My Colors modes too much yet, but from what I can tell they work well and are pretty cool.
Physically, the camera is quite tiny, but manages to fit in your hands really well! It's build quality is also exceptional.
I was really surprised by this camera's battery life. I was looking forward (well, not really) to having 240 shots/charge, but I was very pleasently surprised when I got nearly 400 shots/charge!!! And, I was using it normally, with all the settings on default. So I'm definietly impressed! IS is a great feature as well, and it really saved a lot of my flash-free shots in the evenings. I use the shoot-only IS setting.
So I must say, I'm very impressed with this ultra-compact, and would definietly recommend it to anyone looking for a new camera. At first I was seriously considering the Sony DSC-T30, but boy am I happy I got this instead! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! I'd love to help you all, like I was helped
.
The following image is one I especially liked. It's a simple sunset shot, but I thought it looked great. I didn't do any post processing (besides removing one small speck in PS).
I have a ton more I'd like to show, but I don't want to lengthen this already long post. Just check out my gallery: http://marcustroiano.com/blog/v/mayan-riviera-mexico-spring-2006/
Also, one last thing. I noticed that at times when you use the flash in a dark area, you get circular, semi transparent artifacts added to the picture. I wasn't too happy with that, though it doesn't always happen.
--
My PhotoBlog: http://marcustroiano.com/pixelpost/
In the week I was gone, I took 985 shots (the first few hundred were for test purposes), and so that you can check them out and see what you think for yourself, I've uploaded them to my gallery, here: http://marcustroiano.com/blog/v/mayan-riviera-mexico-spring-2006/
You'll find a variety of different images, taken in a variety of different conditions (sunny, cloudy, night time etc...), as well as some video clips.
The SD700IS is incredibly fast! Whether you're talking about flash recharge time, or shot-to-shot speads, I've never seen better. It turns on/off fast, switches modes fast, truly a pleasure to shoot with! 4X zoom is a really nice addition, as you have more to work with, it's not anything like a 10X, but 4X is definitely nicer than 3X.
The LCD is great, and easy to use even in direct sunlight! I do have one complaint though. I found the black anti-glare coating on the LCD to scratch, even though I was extremely careful with it. Has anyone else had this happen, and if so any solutions? It's still completely usable, and you can't see it much when its on (but you can if its sunny, when looked at on a certain angle). It's not a huge deal, it just irks me though.
The images and movies this camera takes are excellent! Even in hard to shoot environments it excels. I would avoid ISO 800, although if you use something like NeatImage, you can remedy the noise. I never had a real problem with noise at any other ISO's, and found the camera to take great shots even with no flash! I also found red-eye not to be a problem. The video's it takes are equally good too.
The scene modes can be really helpful, and I used them quite a lot (Night Mode and Beach Mode). I did's use the My Colors modes too much yet, but from what I can tell they work well and are pretty cool.
Physically, the camera is quite tiny, but manages to fit in your hands really well! It's build quality is also exceptional.
I was really surprised by this camera's battery life. I was looking forward (well, not really) to having 240 shots/charge, but I was very pleasently surprised when I got nearly 400 shots/charge!!! And, I was using it normally, with all the settings on default. So I'm definietly impressed! IS is a great feature as well, and it really saved a lot of my flash-free shots in the evenings. I use the shoot-only IS setting.
So I must say, I'm very impressed with this ultra-compact, and would definietly recommend it to anyone looking for a new camera. At first I was seriously considering the Sony DSC-T30, but boy am I happy I got this instead! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! I'd love to help you all, like I was helped
.The following image is one I especially liked. It's a simple sunset shot, but I thought it looked great. I didn't do any post processing (besides removing one small speck in PS).
I have a ton more I'd like to show, but I don't want to lengthen this already long post. Just check out my gallery: http://marcustroiano.com/blog/v/mayan-riviera-mexico-spring-2006/
Also, one last thing. I noticed that at times when you use the flash in a dark area, you get circular, semi transparent artifacts added to the picture. I wasn't too happy with that, though it doesn't always happen.
--
My PhotoBlog: http://marcustroiano.com/pixelpost/