Canon PowerShot SD400 Digital ELPH / Digital IXUS 50 Review

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;
- 5.0 megapixel CCD
- 2.0-inch color TFT monitor
- 35-105mm (equiv.) F2.8 - 4.9, 3x optical zoom
- 640 x 480 movies at 30fps
- Print/Share button
- Fast Frame Rate movies (320x240 pixels @ 60fps)
- 'My Colors' feature
- Six special scene modes
- Custom white balance
- Spot, center-weighted and evaluative metering
- DIGIC II processor & iSAPS
- 9-point AiAF
Side by Side

Here for comparison is the SD400 (center) alongside the 7 megapixel SD500 (IXUS 700) and Fujifilm's new ultra-slim compact, the Z1.
Canon PowerShot SD400/Ixus 50 Key specifications
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
2048 x 1536
1600 x 1200
640 x 480
|
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)
F2.8 - F4.9
4x digital zoom |
Focus |
TTL autofocus
9-point AiAF
1-point AF (fixed to center)
3cm macro mode (Wide), 30cm (Tele) |
Shooting mode |
• Auto
• Manual
• Portrait
• Night Snapshot
• Kids & Pets
• Indoor
• Underwater
• Digital Macro
• Stitch Assist
AE compensation -2.0EV to +2.0 EV in 1/3EV steps
|
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)
NB-4L battery
Battery charger
Wrist strap
AV cable
Interface cable
16MB SD card
Software CD ROM (ZoomBrowser, PhotoStitch, PhotoRecord, ArcSoft PhotoSutdio)
|
Other features |
Spot (center), Center-weighted & Evaluative metering
2/10 sec self-timer
+ custom self-timer
PictBridge, Canon Direct Print and Bubble Jet Direct-compatible
Playback Histogram
Optional Slave Flash (HF-DC1)
Optional 3m All-Weather case (AW-DC30) |
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
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Aug 11, 2005
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Feb 17, 2005
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Jul 22, 2008
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Jul 8, 2008
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The Canon IXUS 50 (known as the SD400 Digital ELPH in North America) was one of a string of high-performing, pocketable PowerShots of the mid-2000s. In this week's throwback Thursday, Barney casts his mind back to 2005.
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