Canon PowerShot SD880 IS (silver)
Cameras Buying Guide
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October 25, 2008 06:21
3.0/5
In several respects I really like this camera. It's fast, focusing is never an issue, and colors come out really nice. The excellent controls make it fun to play with, check the results of your shots and enable you to display quick slideshows. It has a time-zone option, allowing your photos to be marked with the local time when you're travelling. It has improved face recognition, and an auto-shoot function that is triggered by the recognition of an additional face - nice when you need to make a photo that should include yourself. The timer can also be manually set from 1 to 30 seconds during which 1 to 10 (theoretically) shots can be made.
As far as actual picture quality is concerned, it seems that they improved the quality of the lense (less barrel distortion, less corner softness). I have no complaints there. The only problem (as usual nowadays) is noise performance. I don't have the old model but considering the reviews on the sd870 it must be a better performer than this camera. A crime shame. They only slightly increased the sensor size on this camera to increase the number of megapixels by 25%. I can easily see noise on indoor shots at ISOs as low as 250 without doing 100% crops.
They took off the time-lapse which may have to do with the fact that they put in the DIGIC4 processor. The time-lapse option was a neat movie-function that will be missed by many users. I hope they can put it back in with a firmware upgrade but I don't know if that will be possible.
Although Canon addressed some issues on the sd870 with this upgrade, I'm not sure if the sd880 is really an improvement over its predecessor. It probably may perform better under some circumstances, but noise issues make it less of an allrounder. I see the price of this camera drop really fast in online-shops and it's not even that much more expensive than the SD870 anymore. -
November 18, 2008 09:18
4.5/5
We bought the Canon SD880IS mainly for travel as we have and regularly use a Nikon D80 with 18-55, 55-200, and 70-300mm lenses. The SD880IS' screen is big and bright in all light levels and it is obviously much more portable than the D80 with 3 lenses, remote flashes, etc. To test it, we took both cameras to watch the recent Space Shuttle Launch. The photos produced with this camera were almost as good as those produced with the Nikon at the same focal length (about 110mm is full zoom on the SD880IS). That says a lot, considering the SD880IS doesn't have many adjustments beyond the 12 scene modes. All in all, this is a great Point and shoot camera. -
November 21, 2008 01:53
4.0/5
As far as bang for the buck, this camera is definatley worth a look. Granted it's not a high end SLR, but it is a solid camera that's easy to use for the beginners while having alot of adjustments for the advanced user. It's not as quick as my old SD700-IS mainly in dark light. It will focus then there is about a 1 second delay. I've seen similar results in some others in the SD series. In well lit areas there is very little lag from auto focus to exposure. Details suffer a little bit with the noise reduction software in the camera, but it is a 10 megapixel camera and those details would only matter when you are looking at it' 100% on you computer screen. It will take 4x6's and 8x10's without any problems. For the price, this camera is definately worth it. The only thing I see that my old SD700-IS had better than this camera is the slight delay in shots in darker light. As for everything else this camera has better features. It has face detection/AiAf, red eye reduction and fix inside the camera, and a really neat and useful feature is you can program the quick-print button to do a number of things. I set mine to video so I don't have to switch the programing switch at the top. It has been VERY useful to make a video right away without losing the seconds that I would have missed by switching the toggle switch. I recommend this to anyone. But I also recommend people doing their own homework because different cameras accompany different needs. As far as a good solid quick access camera that produces great photos, this camera accomplishes that. It's not a high end SLR, and to compare it to one would be rediculous. But this little guy can hold it's own against most point-and-shoots!! -
November 23, 2008 07:03
4.5/5
Excellent camera at a great price, bought it for a trip to Disney with the kids and it took great pictures in all lighting, day or night. I would by this one again. -
December 27, 2008 10:29
4.0/5
I have used Canons, Fujis, and Panasonics and I must say Canon never fails with their excellent picture quality, colour reproduction and night shots.
Panasonic may be good on paper (and good on price) but their colours and esp night shots are really much to be desired.
For now, I will be a Canon man -
December 12, 2008 05:18
5.0/5
I bought this camera to use while traveling. I got tired of lugging around a bag with my Canon S3 IS, lenses, filters and adaptors. The wide angle lens is much better for getting tall subjects, yet with 10 MP you can go past the 4X optical zoom and go up to about 7X with the digital zoom and still get a good shot. If you want a great shot and a camera you can drop into your shirt pocket, this is the way to go! -
December 6, 2008 10:57
5.0/5
My experience with this camera has so far been very positive. For the cost of this camera, the value is unbeatable. I would recomend this camera to anyone who wants to buy a new point and shoot. -
October 27, 2008 06:40
Good
1.5/5
In three days of non-stop use, including 20 or 30 shots taken at Game 4 of the World Series, I don't think I got one shot in focus. Not one clear crisp image. I sat next to a woman who works at the camera counter of a big retailer and she couldn't get the darn thing to focus on anything. I tried every menu on this camera and got nothing but frustrated. DON'T BUY THIS CAMERA! -
January 5, 2009 02:36
4.5/5
Most importantly the camera takes great pictures in all conditions (low light, indoor, florescent lighting, bright light, action shots, etc.). I have not taken a bad quality picture. I like the fact that it has so many preset picture modes. The major problem with this camera is that it is extremely slow for burst mode. It takes at least a few seconds between pictures, which for me really eleminates the point of this option. Overall I would highly reccomend this camera. -
January 2, 2009 06:23
4.0/5
I have owned several point and shoot digital cameras since they hit the market and this Canon by far has the best picture quality, features and video that I have seen. The prints I get are outstanding and for the price you just can't beat it. I find myself taking more and more pictures and tons more video since I bought it, I you're looking for a compact point and shoot camera with some GREAT picture modes and fantastic video then the Canon SD880 IS is for you.
