Canon's new PowerShots: SD890 IS, SD790 IS, and SD770 IS
by Ryan Block 
posted Mar 12th 2008 at 11:49PM
- SD890 IS (above) - 10 megapixel sensor, 5x optical zoom, 2.5-inch display, sub 1-inch macro
- SD790 IS - 10 megapixel sensor, 3x optical zoom, 3-inch display
- SD770 IS - 10 megapixel sensor, 3x optical zoom, 2.5-inch display
[Thanks, Dave]
Filed under: Digital Cameras
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
darkroom @ Mar 13th 2008 12:12AM
tasty... i'm still quite fond of my silver+black 7.1mpx SD1000...
anyone else notice that these so-called "retro" styled (silver with black) match perfectly the current generation iMacs?
Aguiluz @ Mar 13th 2008 12:17AM
"anyone else notice that these so-called "retro" styled (silver with black) match perfectly the current generation iMacs?"
Yeah, with the curvy looking design too.
(unrelated) From the moment I clicked the article, I thought "First Guy" will be first. Man, he's so annoying! Who has the Banhammer?
BobTurbo @ Mar 13th 2008 12:22AM
I notice a lot of companies designing to fit in with Macs. I think it is great, I really want to see Microsoft challenged so the more momentum Apple has the better.
I have a sd850IS I think it is called in America... very nice camera. The SD1000/SD1100 don't have any where near as good a picture but they are more compact and fit in your pocket easier.
First Guy @ May 28th 2008 10:38PM
FIRST!
Aguiluz @ Mar 13th 2008 12:44AM
@First Guy:
You are 29 minutes late. Congratulations for being first to say "FIRST!" a little less than half an hour late...
James @ Mar 13th 2008 1:33AM
First guy isnt it past youre bed time? You have to get up early and catch the short bus to school in the morning.
JohnTitor @ Mar 13th 2008 1:47AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciG-Xs7mBwU
thethirdmoose @ Mar 13th 2008 1:49AM
Anyone else noticed how canon point and shoots have been looking like this for.... FRICKIN FOREVER?
Mehul @ Mar 13th 2008 3:18AM
@thethirdmoose
Why mess around with perfection? Canon follows the evolutionary design philosophy.
Johnny5 @ Mar 13th 2008 3:04PM
As FirstGuy continues, he is slowly gaining some type of comic timing. Maybe he/she is more than just a pretty face.
rhiz @ Apr 1st 2008 10:22AM
hi darkroom,
canon sd1000 is good? i am planning to buy a new camera cuz the lcd of my ixus 55 got broken (camera is still working but can't see what i'm shooting at) =(
i also have a budget to consider... =)
i just one a point and shoot camera that's easy to bring around with good features as well and affordable.
Darkroom @ Apr 1st 2008 10:29AM
yeah of course, the SD1000 is a great ultra compact camera. picture quality is great, and there's even a view finder (which is kinda rare on these cameras). never had any problems with it and i'd recommend it to anyone.
Ace b @ Mar 13th 2008 12:20AM
aww,i was totally almost first.I've been lookin for a good camera and my birthday's in april so i mite be getting one of these...
Kiwi616 @ Mar 13th 2008 12:21AM
I don't get why Canon switched their policy of the highest number is the best. Now we have the 7 Series higher than the 9 series, like the SD1000 era. Make a 2000 series with a 3 inch screen and all lower model numbers get worse (i.e. 2 1/2 screen and less MPs).
m @ Mar 13th 2008 1:18AM
i don't think canon would see it that way; the 1000 series feature small camera size over large feature sets. they're all equally well made. the more important distinction among top-end canon models these days is that some have wide-angle lenses. as you say, they don't make it super-obvious which is which. i'm going to stop now, and hopefully a real photographer will explain the potential pros and cons of wide-angle for us.
i hope engadget won't get mad if i plug another blog? when it comes to cameras, these guys really know their stuff:
http://dpreview.com/
they have NO sense of humor, however.
Adam @ Mar 13th 2008 12:26AM
I think that its a 5X optical zoom is the real story. I think that might further set this apart from the ultra-compact camera competition.
Taylor @ Mar 17th 2008 1:01PM
5x is nice, but compared to Panasonic's TZ5 with 10x optical zoom and HD recording in a pocket sized camera blows Canon out of the water. I've loved the Canon Elph for a long time, but they have nothing to compete with that.
jackbauer @ Mar 13th 2008 1:00PM
sony has been doing that for years, and the pictures usually come out pretty noisy when zoomed in. I'm assuming these won't be different
Craig @ Mar 13th 2008 12:37AM
I don't quite get Canon. I love my SD870 IS (and the SD800 IS we had until it was stolen), but why do they keep flip-flopping between with and without an optical viewfinder? I don't really miss the OV on the 870 -- the 3" LCD does a fine job for framing -- so why does the 890 now have one again?
Cole Mitguard @ Mar 13th 2008 12:57AM
They don't really flip flop, cannon seems to have established a new pattern where they will release one model in this series with a viewfinder, and a smaller LCD screen, and then one model with a large LCD and no viewfinder. Example the SD850IS with a viewfinder and a smaller screen than your SD870IS. Or now the SD770IS vs the SD790IS. The specs on the camera is the same, just a bigger screen. Wouldn't be surprised to see a variant of the SD890IS around Christmas with a bigger LCD and no viewfinder.
Craig @ Mar 13th 2008 1:02AM
^^^ Damn fine answer, sir.
cesium @ Mar 13th 2008 1:09AM
the 850is does not have the same specs as the 870is. 870 has a wide angle lens while the 850 does not
Ace b @ Mar 13th 2008 1:18AM
@Craig
Because they found out that they were stupid by not including it and are now trying to fix their mistake.
Craig @ Mar 13th 2008 6:49AM
@Ace b: Can't say I agree. Given the trade-off of LCD size and an optical viewfinder, I'll take a larger LCD every time. The only people I know who use their point-and-shoot's OV are all older folks who still haven't gotten used to the idea of digital cameras. Is catering to the retiree demographic what you're referring to?
dan g @ Mar 13th 2008 3:22PM
RE: OV vs LCD
Using LCD finder forces the camera further from your body. The lever effect of your arms makes the camera less stable (camera shake) Using the optical finder, the camera is much more stable. Less camera shake (OV) means sharper pictures. Canon (and others) compensate for this by using "digital shake reduction". It helps some, but the simple OV still results in sharper pictures. Not to mention the battery drain of using the LCD finder vs OV.
At higher resolution sensors (10MP!?!?) the photosites are so small and noisy that digital noise reduction is even more necessary. The combination of anti-shake+ digital noise reduction makes for some very non-sharp images.
One problem with the OV: what you see isn't always what the sensor sees, especially at wider angles.
Craig @ Mar 13th 2008 3:28PM
@Dan g: Plus, as the eye is more sensitive than the CCD, I don't get a reasonable exposure preview through an OV on a point-and-shoot. The LCD, while not perfect (it doesn't fully present shutter speed's impact on exposure while framing), it does help me get a feel for how hard the camera is having to work gathering light for the shot. While I agree about the benefits of OV (except for the power savings; nobody ever turns off the display when using the OV), point-and-shoot cameras are much more social devices, and showing off the pics (even not-so-great shots) on a high-res 3" LCD is much more gratifying than a smaller display. Plus, when framing shots, I often can't keep the camera in front of my face; having a large LCD to help in those situations is also valuable.
So, maybe it's six to one, half-dozen to the other, but the market seems to be picking the LCD over the OV by large margins (at least on higher-end cams).
kempcross @ Mar 16th 2008 2:26PM
^^^
FYI, I believe the saying is "six OF one, half-dozen of the other."
Anyway, I completely agree with you about point-and-shoots being a social tool as opposed to professional.
mr_mysterioso @ Mar 13th 2008 1:18AM
Canon makes great cameras. But 10 megapixels? I'd rather have a 10x optical zoom.
Mehul @ Mar 13th 2008 3:07AM
They got the SX100is for you. 8MP and 10X zoom.
I kinda like the 5X zoom on the slim body. That SD790's back looks good too. Maybe its time to upgrade my SD500...
Liam @ Mar 13th 2008 5:20AM
I'd rather have a bigger sensor with smaller photosites. No point having a bigger file if at 100% all you can see is noise.
Liam @ Mar 13th 2008 5:24AM
Correction- 'bigger' photosites.
Carl M @ Mar 13th 2008 1:18AM
Can any of these take decent indoor pictures with no flash?
(ie, are the high-iso settings worth anything?)
I was extremely disappointed when my new 8MP Canon camera
took worse indoor pictures than my old 4MP Canon camera.
Chris @ Mar 13th 2008 1:30AM
High-ISO noise for compacts is pretty much the rule, unfortunately, so I doubt it. Additionally, small aperture ranges like f/3.2-5.7 on the SD890 IS aren't helping things.
Wwhat @ Mar 13th 2008 1:01PM
The 'IS' part will help though, optical stabilization allows lower ISO (less noisy) settings in low light, it's a good thing they are making that standard now I think.
Incidentally, you can check out sample pictures people submit on http://www.pbase.com/cameras/canon (also has pages for all other brands) to get a feel of what it can do for you.
Kevin @ Mar 13th 2008 2:10AM
I love the canon digital cameras - but man... could they be any worse at naming them? It's pretty hard to tell which model is better than the other.
Wwhat @ Mar 13th 2008 1:05PM
Yeah and why not simply tag on an E for european models, the whole 'same camera different name' thing is a bit confusing.
I'm guessing the european models have crippled firmware to comply to getting in a lower taxbracket I guess, like in the EU a camera that can do video beyond a certain resolution gets taxed higher because it becomes a 'camcorder' and such nonsense.
And perhaps other things are crippled in the US version for the FCC compliance, who knows.
Sebastien @ Mar 13th 2008 3:13AM
Wide-angle and 5x zoom !! Hurray for the SD890IS that's a very good one : thanks Mr Canon.
(and I do like the optical viewfinder too, when there's too much light... or the battery is low)
Sebastien @ Mar 13th 2008 3:15AM
well in fact... it's NOT a wide-angle :( Why don't they provide a just 25-110mm equivalent?
Wwhat @ Mar 13th 2008 1:09PM
To get a non disforming and non fringing camera with ultra wide and zoom means a expensive lens assembly I guess, a good ultra wide fixed lens has always been damn pricey AFAIK, and a professional camera never had the option for a lens that can do both ultra wide AND zoom, so it doesn't seem a simple request even if money is no objection.
Liam @ Mar 13th 2008 5:35AM
I'd love it if these got full manual control like the bigger powershots. There's no real reason to not, besides keeping things 'simple'. It's not exactly difficult to stay out of a shooting mode, is it?
Jasper @ Mar 13th 2008 7:34AM
Disappointed. 3 new cameras, none with the features I hoped for. I just bought an SD870, but would really like a Canon ultra-compact with (1) a higher-res sensor (1/1.7") like the SD 950, and (2) wide angle (28mm) lens, like the SD 870 or SD 800. Actual megapixels completely irrelevant, as anything above 7 or so is just noise on these small sensors. Also don't too much care about maximum zoom, it's the wide angle close-range that I'm interested in.
Borrrrrring. Would be great if the company could focus on image quality in its compact range.
akratunis @ Mar 13th 2008 11:08AM
my dream camera is:
sd1000 size and key layout
IS
wide angle like 25or27mm
Zoom gets all the attention, but wide is better than zoom, for me. I take pictures of buildings and mountains on my vacations, not zoom in on people far away.
AlphaTeam @ Mar 13th 2008 12:22PM
Maybe now it's a good time to buy a new P&S
whatsdamattau @ Mar 13th 2008 1:06PM
I'm confused. Why is there a SD 890IS when there was a SD 950IS (that I just got)?
Wwhat @ Mar 13th 2008 1:11PM
Canon loves to go nuts with naming.
whatsdamattau @ Mar 13th 2008 1:10PM
It might have the 5x but at what cost? I'm sure the aperture range is 2.8 - probably 7 or 8. That's pretty darn slow even if it's 5.6.
whatsdamattau @ Mar 13th 2008 1:13PM
Craig,
You obviously haven't shot in bright sunlight or have your battery drained so much that your only hope of getting a picture is turning the LCD off. It's not just "retirees" or people that aren't used to digital that use the optical viewfinder.
im2late @ May 6th 2008 5:14PM
I wouldn't even consider a camera without an optical viewfinder. What follows are my main reasong for having this preference:
First, I can hardly see the image on the LCD in very bright daylight conditions.
Second, I need an optical viewfinder to shoot a picture in a dark theater without disturbing those around me (or incurring the wrath of the ushers.)
I average one or two concerts/events per month, so this is very important to me.
Third, my aging eyes cannot focus on my camera's LCD image at close range so that the optical viewfinder is often my only option for framing a photo.
Finally, when my batteries are low, I can get quite a few more images if I switch to optical viewfinder.
MIRA @ May 14th 2008 11:07PM
I am so confused. I have always preferred using an OV but was actually willing to try a camera with just an LCD. My big fear is battery drain. When I am travelling I can easily take a couple hundred shots on a days outing (shoot, delete, shoot delete etc).
I am also confused as to which gives better quality shots since I crop and blow up a lot, the extra MP's or less MP'S and the extra optical zoom. I keep reading reviews of cameras and changing my mind. Panasonic dmc-tz5 sounds great but no OV.
Nikon 5100 is in the range also.
Is there any point and shoot that doesn't have a noise problem? It seems that everyone does.
Any advise will be greatly appreciated!
canondude @ May 23rd 2008 11:50PM
I've owned several Canon P&S cameras (SD1000 currently) as well as an XTi and I wouldn't consider buying a p&s without the viewfinder. I don't think anyone has touched on this subject but main reason for me to have an OV is the fact that you can pan with (follow) your subject so the subject is sharp and the background is blurred... I find that it's much more difficult to do with a LCD especially because while the camera is taking the picture the LCD doesn't (cannot) display the real-time image. I do a fair amount of sports/action shots so its great when you can pan your subject. The OV is great for things like bright sunlight and battery saving but I haven't used it for these reasons a whole lot because the SD1000 has exceptional battery life and has a great daytime LCD.
Also on the topic of high-ISO noise... these cameras (and basically every other point and shoot under the sun) are basically useless after ISO 400... I find that with each successive model with higher MPs gets worse and worse with ISOs... Why can't they just stick to 6 and 7 MP? I don't see a need for 10 MP. My old 3 MP S30 takes better and clearer pictures than my SD1000 (albeit it has a better lens and slightly larger sensor, but it is, however, ~5 years older)