The Canon PowerShot SD870IS is a wide-angled point and shoot camera with a 3.8x optical zoom, image stabilization and 3-inch LCD.
My friend recently purchased this camera out of my recommendation. Why did I recommend it before even trying it? Well in my opinion, Canon has been the leaders in point-and-shoot digital cameras for the past few years, and in dSLRs they are leading right now also. Her previous camera was the Canon SD450, which she was happy with, and she was really used to the menus. This was just to upgrade that camera by adding the optical image stabilization.
The PowerShot SD870IS has a very wide angle lens when compared to most cameras. It's 35mm equivalent 28mm, and is paired with a 3.8x optical zoom, with its long end at 105mm. Now the zoom I guess isn't that great but I like shooting at wide angle. I rarely zoom in really far anyways.
The price is about $280-$350, which is on the expensive side.
Specifications
- 8MP, 1/2.5 inch CCD Sensor
- DiGiCIII Image Processor
- Focal Length of 28-105mm (3.8x optical zoom)
- 4x digital zoom
- 3.0" LCD
- Minimum focus distance of 1.2"
- ISO 80 - 1600
- Shutter Speed of 15 sec to 1/1600 sec
- optical Image Stabilization
- 10 Scene Modes
- Color Accent
- Color Swap
- Stitch Assist
- NB-5L Battery
- Silver or Black frame aroudn the lens
- Dimensions - 3.65 x 2.32 x 1.02 inches / 9.26 x 5.88 x 2.59 cm
- Weight - 155g (body only)
- Uses SD/SDHC Memory Cards
In The Box
- Canon PowerShot SD870 IS Camera
- NB-5L Battery
- CB-2LX Battery Charger
- 32MB SD Card
- Wirst Strap
- USB Cable
- AV Cable
- Manuals and Software
Review
To be honest, I've never actually used a Canon PowerShot ELPH with a 3" LCD. I've usused 3-4 with 2.5" LCDs or smaller, and they've all been fairly similar. But the layout of the cameras that have 3" LCDs was a bit different. Not that it was bad, but I just wasn't used to it. First of all, the main difference was that the slider was now at the top, and that is now only used to choose between taking pictures or video. The Preview pictures button is now its open separate button on the back of the camera. You don't have to slide the bar to Preview and then turn the power on anymore. You can just simply press the Play button. I think this button placement should be implemented on all of Canon's digital ELPHs, but for some reason the newer cameras with smaller screens still don't have that button placement. They still have the 3-tier slider.
The size of the camera is a really big difference from the SD450. It's a lot bigger and a lot heavier. Of course it has a bigger lens, and bigger LCD, but the weight and size difference is definately noticeable. There is no more viewfinder as the LCD fills up the back of the camera from top to bottom. The buttons were large enough, and were curved a bit so they were easy to push. The buttons are not flush with the body like the SD1100IS.
The battery life seemed a lot stronger than the SD450 which would kill the battery after less than half a day of using the camera. The SD870IS lasted about two days of picture taking on our vacation before we had to switch batteries or recharge.
The difficulty I have with Canon's Image Stabilization is that I'm not sure when its on. Is it always being used, or just being used at a certain shutter speeds. When shooting in manual, and without flash a lot of the pictures turned very blurry even in well lit areas. Maybe it's just from a lack of experience, but the IS didn't seem to work all the time. Still, overall the pictures turned out pretty good.
Canon's face detection worked really well, and was able to track most of the faces when we were taking group pictures and it continued to track the faces even when they moved. Pretty cool feature. But aside from detecting the faces, what else is this feature good for? There is no automatic smile shutter or blink warning. I guess it just helps tell you what you are focusing on.
Another good feature that they finally added is a battery meter. The battery level has 3 bars. Now you don't have to be worried about how much battery you have, you will always know. I hated before, like on the SD450 that it would just flash red out of no where saying you are almost out of battery. A great addition.
Also, Canon's menu system and image filters are still the same old effects from years past. I wish they would upgrade and add more features. They still have same scene modes, photo-stitch, color swap, my colors, black & white, sepia, among others. One feature I would really like to be added to point and shoots would be to select a focus point. Sony has this in their cameras with the use of touch screens. It's even in my five year old Canon PowerShot G5. I would also like to see an improved Photo Stitch mode where you can go up and down, and also have transparent edges to easily match up your pictures.
Pros
- Very wide-angle lens for a slim point and shoot
- Good 3.8x optical zoom
- Image Stabilization
- Clear 3-inch LCD
- Good button layout
- 3 Level Battery Level indicator
- Good battery life
Cons
- No manual focus points
- A little big and heavy
- Same old Canon features
- The IS sometimes feels like its not there
Overall, for those who like Canon cameras and don't want lots of added features that you may or may not use, I would recommend the Canon SD870IS digital camera. The big factor for recommending this camera is the 28mm wide-angle lens. It's wider than most slim and light point and shoot cameras out there. It also has IS which is a big plus. It is a fair bit bigger than the other Canon ELPHs but that's because of its huge 3 inch LCD and 3.8x optical zoom lens. As I said earlier, I wish they would include more fun features and more customization in their cameras. That being said, the point and shoots from Nikon and Sony didn't have the color swap or my colors features. You just have to look for the camera with the features you want. No camera out there has everything yet. I'm glad to say that the Canon SD870 IS has a battery meter so you won't be left without a battery. You can see for yourself how much battery is remaining.
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