Last year I purchased the SD700IS after having been a huge fan of the SD400 (see review at
http://www.epinions.com/content_213019233924). I didn t necessarily need the extra megapixels, but was wanted to try a camera with image stabilization. I was actually more interested in the IS for movie mode, which we have become quite addicted to, than for photos. Other advantages of this camera were the larger LCD, the 4X optical zoom and the high ISO setting. This is my third Digital Elph, and I continue to be a fan. Read on for details.
Form factor As with the other Digital Elph / IXUS cameras, one of the key reasons for choosing a camera like this is the small size. This camera is definitely pocket-sized, fitting nicely even in jeans pockets. However, it is worth noting that you really can notice that it s slightly larger and heavier than the boxier SD400 (and other like it). They soften this out a bit by making it more rounded. From reading the specs and seeing that it s only a tiny bit larger, I figured I d never notice, but I do. It just doesn t feel as much like a cool little camera in the palm of my hand as the SD400 did. It s funny too that I don t even hear people comment about the size of this one when they see me use it like they did the SD400. But for the larger screen and other extras, it s worth the small size increase. While Canon is certainly not the only manufacturer making ultra-compact digital cameras of this size and weight and even including a large LCD display, do take careful note that many of them lack an optical viewfinder, which is something I find invaluable for outdoor shooting on sunny days. The optical viewfinder is also nice when your battery life is getting low. Turn off the LCD and you ll get a lot more use out of the camera before the battery dies.
Ergonomics As you might guess, buttons are small on a camera like this. I don t have particularly large hands though, so it s never been a problem. Canon did a nice job with the layout, and I ve never found it difficult to navigate with the buttons. They are slightly closer together though than prior models. This is probably because they needed more room for the larger screen. I also found the slide switch to select playback, movie, or photo mode on previous models a little easier than the mode dial on this model, but I ve gotten used to it. I like that they moved the power button to the back, rather than leaving it on top, so I no longer deal with people worrying about pressing the wrong button when taking a photo for us. I also like the placement of the viewfinder and the shutter button. It s easy to hold this camera, and I ve never found myself getting my fingers in front of the lens, despite the small size of the camera.
Battery Battery life on the SD700IS seems to be good. I ve never really counted how many photos, but I ve never had any complaints, nor the desire to have a spare battery. Some people like cameras that take AA batteries, but not me! Not only to they take up more space, but then there are the huge chargers to carry with you. The SD700IS has a tiny battery and a tiny battery charger! The charger has the plug built right into it, and it can be flipped into the charger for easy storage. No cords and cables are needed. This is the perfect way to go, particularly when you re choosing a camera for its size in the first place. I have a larger zoom bridge camera that I also sometimes carry and it makes me appreciate the battery and charger of my SD700IS!
Photos General: I m very pleased with the photos I get from this camera. I take mostly family photos vacations, holidays, etc. I shoot both indoors and outdoors. While I didn t need the extra megapixels for making large prints or anything, it does make it possible to do a lot of cropping and still get a good shot.
Zoom: If you ve looked at compact digitals much, you ll probably notice that most tend to have a 3X optical zoom. I was so pleased to see that Canon squeezed a 4X optical zoom into the SD700IS, and I use it. It s perfect for a camera like this. Of course at 6MP you have plenty of room to do some cropping and still have enough pixels left for a good print. Note that Canon has released a new ultra-compact with IS, the SD800IS. However, with the 800, they went the other way with the zoom. It will do a wider-angle shot, but doesn t go quite a long as this one (it s a 28mm to 105mm, compared to the 35 to 104mm of the 700IS). Depending on the type of shooting you do, that might be a consideration.
Image Stabilization: This was one of the first ultra-compact digital cameras to have image stabilization. While it s true that IS is not as important until you get to long zoom cameras, it s still nice to have a little extra help with keeping things steady. However, my big interest in IS was to help with keeping things steady in movie mode. While we found ourselves leaving the video camera behind more and more as the size and quality of the movie mode on our digital cameras has improved, we ve also had to be very aware of keeping the camera very steady when taking clips. Thanks to IS, this is not as much of an issue. Do keep in mind though, that IS on a camera like this is not nearly as effective as they type you get on a real video camera, such as Super Steady Shot on a Sony camcorder. But it definitely does help.
Flash: As with all ultra-compacts, don t expect too much from the flash. It s not powerful enough to use from a great distance, and certainly not enough to use in a large venue, like capturing kids on stage. If your subject is not fairly close, you ll be better off setting the camera for non-flash mode (easy to do) and letting it up the ISO and reduce the shutter speed to compensate (although you ll pay a price by having lots of image noise). I also find that red eye is a big problem with this camera or any other ultra-compact where the flash is so close to the lens. There is a red-eye reduction mode and it does help a little, but, of course, you always run the risk of missing a shot while you wait for the pre-flash when you use it. It doesn t eliminate red-eye in many cases, but might help a little. Since I found that I still had to remove it later anyhow, I just stopped using that mode.
High ISO: Canon introduced a high ISO feature on this camera to allow you to take photos in lower light situations without a flash. I ve used it a few times with mixed results. When I do attempt to use it, I still try to take one shot with and one without. As mentioned earlier, you ll pay a price when using it of having higher noise content in the photo. But it can also be a way to at least capture a shot that you might otherwise not be able to get at all. It may not be the highest quality, but at least you ll have something for a memory.
Scene Modes: The SD 700 IS has some usable scene modes. In particular, I ve used the night snapshot and the portrait mode. Although the portrait mode makes only a minimal difference with this type of camera.
Movie Mode If you ve read my other reviews, you know I m a big fan of movie mode, and that I m particularly adamant about avoiding that awful QuickTime movie format that you find in use by most manufacturers other than Canon and Fujifilm. The QuickTime files are near impossible to do anything with on a PC, and you don t even get a nice thumbnail image of the first frame as you do with other formats, such as the AVI files from the SD 700IS. Sure, the AVI files are larger, but with large capacity memory cards this is no big deal. The SD700IS takes beautiful movies at 640 X 480 at 30 frames per second. Note that there are a few cameras on the market that allow you to use the optical zoom when taking movies, but this camera is not one of them. Actually, I don t think any of the ultra-compacts can do this. From what I ve read, it probably has a lot to do with the noise the zoom would make being picked up by the tiny microphone in the camera. You can use digital zoom when taking a movie clip, but I don t recommend doing it, unless just s small amount. The closer you try to zoom in using digital zoom the grainier and more pixilated your video. You can, however, zoom in with the optical zoom before you start taking your clip.
There is another difference between movie clips taken on this camera and those from a real camcorder the sound. The tiny microphone in this camera obviously can t capture good sound. It s not as bad as the sound on several Kodak digital cameras I tried. Indoors, it s pretty good. For outdoor use you need to remember to get close to your subject. Wind noise can be pretty bad. We found this with our beach clips. I ve also noticed on this camera and my SD400 that there s a low rhythmic noise in the background of most videos. It s not terrible, but it s there. It s sounds as if it must be coming from something inside the camera.
LCD Display and image playback The 2.5 LCD display is beautiful. It s a great size, making it easy to view your photos and show them to others. The camera will detect which way you are holding it and rotate photos to be in portrait or landscape view accordingly. This is particularly nice on the portrait shots. Canon made it very easy and intuitive to navigate between photos and zoom in and pan. You simply use the zoom lever (same one you d use for zoom when shooting) to zoom in and out, and the four way selector to pan the photo. If you zoom out all the way, you ll eventually get to the thumbnail display where you ll see 9 shots on the screen.
Conclusion I m as pleased with this choice as I ve been with my other Canon compact and ultra-compact digital cameras. Once again Canon has shown that they can add a significant number of new features to make upgrading worthwhile. I m glad to see that they continue to innovate rather than just increasing the number of megapixels and releasing a new model.
