The PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH sets a new standard. The first Digital ELPH equipped with Canon's Image Stabilizer technology, its sleek, tri-colo
The PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH sets a new standard. The first Digital ELPH equipped with Canon's Image Stabilizer technology, its sleek, tri-color body is loaded with high-end features that make taking great pictures more stylish and convenient than ever.
Great little camera. I'm used to my film SLR for actually composing photographs. This camera takes great pictures, but no one's going to make a living using it. That said, it's not meant to do more than what it does very well, and that is take great pictures, and fit in your pocket. It's about the size of a deck of cards.
I like the view finder as it means that the display isn't necessary for extended trips without battery charging capabilities. (18 days on one battery, even with cold nights.)
Strengths:
Size, battery life, view finder, image clarity.
Weaknesses:
Flash (only good for very close pictures with no variance in depth of field)
Lacks advanced manual controls.
Low-light, high ISO noise.
Similar Products Used:
SD450 (very nice)
Casio something-or-other... about the same size, and terrible pictures.
This is an outstanding camera to carry around and to take beautiful pictures. It is small and fits easily into your pocket. The zoom lens is sharp and produce natural looking pictures. The IS works very well and the auto-focus locks on to the target quite quickly. These features make it very useful in low light conditions. The biggest downside is the lack of a wide angle lens (28mm), which will be wonderful for photographing street scenes in a PJ style. The meter has a tendency to overexpose. When photographing under bright sun, the flash must be set to ON in order to fire to remove shadows on the face of your subject. If the flash is set to Auto, strangely, it does not "automatically" do that, unlike many of my Nikon cameras. The camera has no really grip for the right hand and has too many very small buttons and control wheels that are hard to use.
Strengths:
Easy of use, IS, and size.
Weaknesses:
Lack of a wide angle lens for more creative use. No hand grip so it is strange to hold.
The best camera is the one you have WITH YOU. I wanted a camera that I would be able to carry with me everywhere. I also bike a lot and wanted something small enough to stash in the back pocket of my riding jersey.
So far I'm pleased with this camera and the quality of images it produces. First and foremost I wanted a point and shoot camera – something to take quick shots without having to do any manual settings in order to get a descent shot. This camera prevails!
Strengths:
- slick looking with superior Canon build-quality
- Good size LCD
- Image quality
- fast power up time
- Fast focus
- awesome macro shots
- fast shooting time
- good battery life
- 4x zoom
- Custom My Colors
Weaknesses:
- price. Compared to other cameras the SD700IS was a bit pricey
- no battery meter on the LCD
- heavy when compared to other SDXXX models.
- No aperture-priority or shutter-priority modes (at time I wish i had the ability to use those modes...but these I was willing to live without)
Similar Products Used:
SD600
S500
SD500
Customer Service:
When I first got my camera, I noticed that my AiAf was deffective. I would only get one AF point ant it was almost ALWAYS on the upper right hand corner (e.g. under the ISO and Metering icon).
I called Canon and they asked me to send it back. They acknowledged the problem and replaced the optical unit in my camera. Works as expected now but the entire process took quite some time.
For a point and shoot camera, this is definitely worth having. The IS definitely helps when zooming or shooting in low light conditions. I try to avoid any ISO setting that is 800 or higher with the SD700IS. The noise levels become very obvious when you start using Auto High ISO mode. Nonetheless, this camera does not have a true "Manual" mode. You really can't pick an f-stop to tinker with depth of field when taking pictures. It truly is just that: a great point and shoot camera. The camera does most of the decision making for you in regards to f-stop, shutter speed, etc. etc. etc. The picture quality is superb.
Strengths:
Great image quality. IS is very useful when zooming or taking pics in low light conditions. Menu interface is very easy to learn. Very sturdy. I've dropped my SD700IS so many times, it's a miracle that the LCD and camera are intact and still perform superbly.
Weaknesses:
No true Manual, Shutter, or Aperture mode. Very noisy once you go higher than ISO 400. Viewfinder is almost useless, you're better off just using the LCD to aim. It's just a little TOO expensive for a point and shoot. For almost $400, you could almost get an used entry level DSLR body.
I do a lot of mountaing biking, so I need a camera that's small, rugged, and fast. I have used a Kodak (don't remember the number), Canon A520 and HP 927. This is by far the fastest camera, and takes the nicest pictures.
The camera body is metal, it feels nice to the hand. It might be a little too small, but that's probably because I have big hands.
One of the things that caught my attention on this little gadget was the image stabilizing feature and Dig!c II image processor. Both really deliver on what they say. The camera is very fast taking pictures, image quality is very nice on this, and it really takes away most of the blurring in my photos because my pulse is like a jelly fish-steady.
I've been able to take out the camera and shoot very fast, so I can't say that I loose shots because the camera is slow ;) Actaully,while it's not DLSR fast, it is way faster than all the other camera's I've seen.
I don't hestitate on recomending this camera to others. If you want a little bigger camera, try the A710 IS, which I believe it's the same thing but with 6X zoom (vs 4X), and 7.0 Mp vs 6.0 Mp.
Strengths:
-Picture quality is very good.
-The image stabilization feature really helps, very nice pics :)
-Nice colors.
-Nice menu system, just the buttons are too small.
-Very short startup time.
-Very short time between shots (as long as you turn off the automatic image review)
-Very fast transfers to the computer.
-Very fast focusing time.
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Weaknesses:
-Buttons are too small, but I guess that comes with the camera being so compact. For some other users it might be a plus.
-You can't adjust the exposure speed and F values yourself, it's not that important too me, but if you're more advanced don't expect to find them here.
-The lid that you need to open to connect to the computer seems frail, but I haven't got time to test it.
-I would like to be able to recharge the battery while the camera is connected, or have a craddle, but it doesn't work that way.
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