Compared to... Fuji FinePix F10

Below you will find a studio comparison between the Canon SD 700 IS and the Fujifilm FinePix F10 Zoom at ISO 800.

Studio scene comparison (@ ISO 800)

  • Canon SD700 IS : Program mode, ISO 800 , Default Image Parameters,
    Manual white balance, +0.67 EV compensation
     
  • Fuji FinePix F10 : Program mode, ISO 400, Default Image Parameters,
    Manual white balance, +0.67 EV compensation
     
  • Lighting: Daylight simulation, >98% CRI
Canon SD 700 IS (Ixus 800 IS)
Fujifilm FinePix F10
ISO 800, 1/636 sec, F4
ISO 800, 1/380 sec, F6.5
3,493 KB JPEG
2,876 KB JPEG

Although there is no doubt that a lot of Fuji's much-lauded high ISO performance is about noise reduction (as opposed to improved sensitivity), and the F10's ISO 800 output has some pretty obvious NR artefacts, there really is no comparison here. The SD700 IS result looks very noisy, and - though Canon has done the right thing by not blurring away all the detail - it's only really usable for small prints. That said, it's better than some cameras manage at ISO 400, and if you're shooting socially in low light it's nice to have an ISO 800 option, even if the results are noisy, especially when (as here) you're not losing all the detail from the scene.