Customer Rating: 
Summary: Lots of features, compact size, decent value.
Comment: We bought the SD870IS to replace an old 5MP Minolta SLR-style camera that had a dead CCD. The Minolta took great pictures, but it's bulky size made it impractical for carrying around and packing in a suitcase.
The SD870IS is a nice size and easily fits in your pocket, purse, laptop bag, backpack... whatever. Because of it's small size, most features can be accessed with one hand.
The unit comes with some great features such as photo-stitching for panoramic pictures, color replacement, burst mode, etc... The zoom is acceptable for small environments, but doesn't quite cut it for something like taking a picture of a bird in a tree.
The picture quality is good enough for casual pictures, but despite the 8MP CCD it pales in comparison to our old 5MP SLR-style camera. Lesson learned? It's about the lens, not the MP. Low-light performance leaves something to be desired, but this is probably another function of the lens size.
After about 6 months the unit became "twitchy" where we had to torque (twist) it to get anything but garble to show up on the LCD. We sent it in for warranty repair and got it back in about a week. The repair process was simple enough and they have an easy method for checking the status. Two minor complaints about the repair... 1) Our unit came back with a #4 permanently written in Sharpie on the case; it seems like they could have used tape for that instead. 2) It came back with the Korean language setting turned on and I had to dig through the manual to figure out how to set it back to English; this must be a running gag at the repair center.
Bottom line is it's a nice camera for casual use, but if picture quality is important then you should really be looking into an SLR-style camera... we'll be looking into getting our Minolta repaired.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Defective lense mechanism--don't buy a Canon camera
Comment: I bought a Canon SD 870 IS 8MP camera on July 23, 2008.
The camera lense quit working, with the consequence that pictures can not be taken in focus.
The camera has a 1-year warranty. Canon acknowledged having problems with their lenses. Nonetheless, they refuse to fix it under the warranty. I sent it in for a warranty repair, only to receive a response that I must pay $129 for the repair.
This camera is basically new--less than 6 months old. Canon knows they have a problem with the lense mechanism but refuses to repair or replace the camera.
I will not buy another Canon product.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Canon SD870IS is all it was touted to be
Comment: I did extensive research on "point-and-shoot" digital cameras before making a decision and have not been disappointed with my purchase of the Canon SD870IS. It's always challenging when doing product research online to separate what is important to you from the "expert" reviews (they complain about little things I would never notice and get excited about things - like color choices - which are meaningless to me.) And individuals' reviews are sometimes too simplistic and lacking substance or so extreme you wonder if they are biased for some reason other than the product itself. So I will try to keep it simple and factual ...
Size and weight of the camera are great ... will easily fit in most shirt pockets.
Have not had to recharge the battery yet after taking somewhere around 250 photos, most with flashes.
Photo quality is good and image stabilization does help - but you still need to try to hold it still.
I was very impressed with the quality of the video it shot (though this was unimportant in my purchasing decision) - nice to have!
Powers up and is ready to shoot quickly and can take multiple pictures fairly fast for a digital.
Quality and viewability of digital viewfinder is good, even in bright sunlight - surprisingly, I am not missing an optical viewfinder.
Very reasonably priced - only $240 in Dec 08.
I would highly recommend this camera to the "average Joe" like myself who wanted a good quality camera but didn't want to spend a lot.
Enjoy!
Customer Rating:
Summary: great camera
Comment: I really like this camera, it is compact , takes great pictures and i love the big screen and image stabilization features.
I do find the manual is not as easy to follow as I would like & why does it only come with a test memory card?
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Point-and-Shoot, but you still want to know how to use it
Comment: I have been using this camera for about a year and I love it. As far as point-and-shoots go, it's great, however, it's a point-and-shoot and has those limitations:
The good:
- Takes great quality photos for a point-and-shoot, even on the preset modes
- For someone like me, who doesn't know how to use an SLR, it's easy enough to use the manual features like exposure controls and long-shutter
- The wide lens is great for group shots or outside shots
- The stabilizer helps a great deal on taking shots; my previous camera didn't have one and I had way more blurry shots
- In proper light, the movie quality is pretty good at 640x480. With an 8 gig-card, it's not bad for a cheap video camera replacement, though by no means is it a camcorder
- It's tiny and can fit easily into jeans, which is great for guys, as we don't care purses (at least most guys)
- The wheel is actually touch sensitive, which I don't think Canon points out, but if you have a big memory card (I have an 8 GB), it's the best way to scroll through photos really quickly
- The LCD is great and I've never had issues using it, even outdoors in bright sun (and in California that is important)
The bad:
- It's a point-and-shoot so the flash sucks. I have the external flash add-on, but it's cumbersome to carry and kind of defeats the purpose of having a tiny camera. This is to be expected of a camera this size
- Because of the small size, there is slight barrel distortion, but it's really not a big deal
- The camera does scratch easily. While it fits in your pocket, if you have keys it will scratch the camera. My first one got really scuffed up after I left it in pocket one day. Now I don't put anything else in the pocket with it, or use the case, which is somewhat bulky
- Above ISO400 the image quality is really poor, so taking night photos without a tripod is not easy unless the subjects are close enough for the flash--but no point-and-shoot can really do this
After a year of using this camera I have to say I really happy with it, especially after learning more about how I, as a user, can take better photos in general. Here are some tips I've found:
- If you're taking photos with the flash, set your mode to macro if you're very close and infinity if the subject is more than 4 meters away, it makes a difference. For close shots, use macro mode and zoom into the subject so the light from the flash doesn't bounce off the object too quickly
- If you're taking night shots, use the red aimer thing to make sure there is somewhere to bounce the light off. If, for example, you are taking a picture of someone, the best thing to do outside is to flash the light towards a pole or object just behind, this way the flash doesn't go on their face (and have that whitening effect), and bounces back fast enough to take a clear shot
- For proper night shots you need to use a tripod. If the objects aren't moving that much long shutter is the best way to do this, but it takes a long time and any camera shake will screw it up. To get long shutter, go to the exposure setting and press display to get to long shutter
- Learn some basics about taking photographs, it really helps. Higher ISOs make it easier to take stable shots, but they make the photos grainier. Natural light, if possible, takes more accurate photos than the flash, as the flash whitens, don't stay too close to your subject, use the zoom (it will distort the faces, especially the nose as the light doesn't bounce back evenly). I never bothered to learn this things and 10 minutes of reading makes your photos so much better
- Take practice shots. Too many of my group photos (I take many) were dark or didn't have the right light in the past, and many times it is because I didn't want to take test shots to calibrate. If you're at a restaurant the waiter or waitress will take one or two shots, so if you want it to count have it set up beforehand, it's the only way to be sure
- Remember this isn't an SLR--it's a great point-and-shoot and takes great photos, but if you want that beautiful "pro" look you need an SLR and you need to know how to use it
Summary: Lots of features, compact size, decent value.
Comment: We bought the SD870IS to replace an old 5MP Minolta SLR-style camera that had a dead CCD. The Minolta took great pictures, but it's bulky size made it impractical for carrying around and packing in a suitcase.
The SD870IS is a nice size and easily fits in your pocket, purse, laptop bag, backpack... whatever. Because of it's small size, most features can be accessed with one hand.
The unit comes with some great features such as photo-stitching for panoramic pictures, color replacement, burst mode, etc... The zoom is acceptable for small environments, but doesn't quite cut it for something like taking a picture of a bird in a tree.
The picture quality is good enough for casual pictures, but despite the 8MP CCD it pales in comparison to our old 5MP SLR-style camera. Lesson learned? It's about the lens, not the MP. Low-light performance leaves something to be desired, but this is probably another function of the lens size.
After about 6 months the unit became "twitchy" where we had to torque (twist) it to get anything but garble to show up on the LCD. We sent it in for warranty repair and got it back in about a week. The repair process was simple enough and they have an easy method for checking the status. Two minor complaints about the repair... 1) Our unit came back with a #4 permanently written in Sharpie on the case; it seems like they could have used tape for that instead. 2) It came back with the Korean language setting turned on and I had to dig through the manual to figure out how to set it back to English; this must be a running gag at the repair center.
Bottom line is it's a nice camera for casual use, but if picture quality is important then you should really be looking into an SLR-style camera... we'll be looking into getting our Minolta repaired.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Defective lense mechanism--don't buy a Canon camera
Comment: I bought a Canon SD 870 IS 8MP camera on July 23, 2008.
The camera lense quit working, with the consequence that pictures can not be taken in focus.
The camera has a 1-year warranty. Canon acknowledged having problems with their lenses. Nonetheless, they refuse to fix it under the warranty. I sent it in for a warranty repair, only to receive a response that I must pay $129 for the repair.
This camera is basically new--less than 6 months old. Canon knows they have a problem with the lense mechanism but refuses to repair or replace the camera.
I will not buy another Canon product.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Canon SD870IS is all it was touted to be
Comment: I did extensive research on "point-and-shoot" digital cameras before making a decision and have not been disappointed with my purchase of the Canon SD870IS. It's always challenging when doing product research online to separate what is important to you from the "expert" reviews (they complain about little things I would never notice and get excited about things - like color choices - which are meaningless to me.) And individuals' reviews are sometimes too simplistic and lacking substance or so extreme you wonder if they are biased for some reason other than the product itself. So I will try to keep it simple and factual ...
Size and weight of the camera are great ... will easily fit in most shirt pockets.
Have not had to recharge the battery yet after taking somewhere around 250 photos, most with flashes.
Photo quality is good and image stabilization does help - but you still need to try to hold it still.
I was very impressed with the quality of the video it shot (though this was unimportant in my purchasing decision) - nice to have!
Powers up and is ready to shoot quickly and can take multiple pictures fairly fast for a digital.
Quality and viewability of digital viewfinder is good, even in bright sunlight - surprisingly, I am not missing an optical viewfinder.
Very reasonably priced - only $240 in Dec 08.
I would highly recommend this camera to the "average Joe" like myself who wanted a good quality camera but didn't want to spend a lot.
Enjoy!
Customer Rating:
Summary: great camera
Comment: I really like this camera, it is compact , takes great pictures and i love the big screen and image stabilization features.
I do find the manual is not as easy to follow as I would like & why does it only come with a test memory card?
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Point-and-Shoot, but you still want to know how to use it
Comment: I have been using this camera for about a year and I love it. As far as point-and-shoots go, it's great, however, it's a point-and-shoot and has those limitations:
The good:
- Takes great quality photos for a point-and-shoot, even on the preset modes
- For someone like me, who doesn't know how to use an SLR, it's easy enough to use the manual features like exposure controls and long-shutter
- The wide lens is great for group shots or outside shots
- The stabilizer helps a great deal on taking shots; my previous camera didn't have one and I had way more blurry shots
- In proper light, the movie quality is pretty good at 640x480. With an 8 gig-card, it's not bad for a cheap video camera replacement, though by no means is it a camcorder
- It's tiny and can fit easily into jeans, which is great for guys, as we don't care purses (at least most guys)
- The wheel is actually touch sensitive, which I don't think Canon points out, but if you have a big memory card (I have an 8 GB), it's the best way to scroll through photos really quickly
- The LCD is great and I've never had issues using it, even outdoors in bright sun (and in California that is important)
The bad:
- It's a point-and-shoot so the flash sucks. I have the external flash add-on, but it's cumbersome to carry and kind of defeats the purpose of having a tiny camera. This is to be expected of a camera this size
- Because of the small size, there is slight barrel distortion, but it's really not a big deal
- The camera does scratch easily. While it fits in your pocket, if you have keys it will scratch the camera. My first one got really scuffed up after I left it in pocket one day. Now I don't put anything else in the pocket with it, or use the case, which is somewhat bulky
- Above ISO400 the image quality is really poor, so taking night photos without a tripod is not easy unless the subjects are close enough for the flash--but no point-and-shoot can really do this
After a year of using this camera I have to say I really happy with it, especially after learning more about how I, as a user, can take better photos in general. Here are some tips I've found:
- If you're taking photos with the flash, set your mode to macro if you're very close and infinity if the subject is more than 4 meters away, it makes a difference. For close shots, use macro mode and zoom into the subject so the light from the flash doesn't bounce off the object too quickly
- If you're taking night shots, use the red aimer thing to make sure there is somewhere to bounce the light off. If, for example, you are taking a picture of someone, the best thing to do outside is to flash the light towards a pole or object just behind, this way the flash doesn't go on their face (and have that whitening effect), and bounces back fast enough to take a clear shot
- For proper night shots you need to use a tripod. If the objects aren't moving that much long shutter is the best way to do this, but it takes a long time and any camera shake will screw it up. To get long shutter, go to the exposure setting and press display to get to long shutter
- Learn some basics about taking photographs, it really helps. Higher ISOs make it easier to take stable shots, but they make the photos grainier. Natural light, if possible, takes more accurate photos than the flash, as the flash whitens, don't stay too close to your subject, use the zoom (it will distort the faces, especially the nose as the light doesn't bounce back evenly). I never bothered to learn this things and 10 minutes of reading makes your photos so much better
- Take practice shots. Too many of my group photos (I take many) were dark or didn't have the right light in the past, and many times it is because I didn't want to take test shots to calibrate. If you're at a restaurant the waiter or waitress will take one or two shots, so if you want it to count have it set up beforehand, it's the only way to be sure
- Remember this isn't an SLR--it's a great point-and-shoot and takes great photos, but if you want that beautiful "pro" look you need an SLR and you need to know how to use it
Canon PowerShot SD870IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver) Reviews: Page 1 of 84
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