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(mini) Canon SD850is review

Posted on June 12, 2007 by Jeremy Toeman

canon sd850is first pix (1) - happy JTJust finished replacing my stolen hardware with the brand-spankin new Canon SD850is.  I had actually purchased the SD800is last week, but just before breaking the 15-day-return seal from Best Buy, I did a little homework to discover the 850 was showing up “mid-June”.  And with my typical “must-have-it-now” obsessive nature, I started calling CompUSA, Best Buy, Circuit City, and the local Wolf Camera every day until last night.

It’s a 8-megapixel point-and-shoot camera with 4x optical zoom, facial recognition, and image stabilization technologies.  In other words, it’s pretty much the top point-and-shoot camera on the market right now, and while I’m rarely one to get “the best”, I love the Canon SD line (ever since the SD100 I had, which was, also, stolen), and I figured I might as well pick up the latest & greatest since insurance is covering it anyway.  Not to mention the fact that it is the technical replacement for the SD700is I used to have (the SD800is is technically a separate line, as it features a wideangle lens instead).

canon sd850is first pix (2) - front viewSo far, the picture quality looks great, and like my old 700, it’s a very fast, very easy to use camera.  The speed in this case matters, as the total time from pushing power until taking a picture is under 2 seconds, and in continuous mode it seems to get up to about 4-5 shots per second.  Not like my first-gen Kodak digital camera, with 3+ seconds bootup plus a good second or two just to click and shoot. 

Eight megapixels is a grand amount for me, I can do all sorts of wonderful cropping and whatnot and still have printable photos.  Like the 700is, this unit also has 4x zoom, and again, I’m very impressed with the quality.  This is probably the point in the review where die-hard digital camera aficionados are rolling their eyes, so if that’s you, head on over to DPreview.com for a much more technical, in-depth overview.

canon sd850is first pix (6) - menu optionsAlso new to the 850 is a lot more options in the menus.  First up, the vestigial “Send-to-printer” button is now programmable – I set it to go straight into movie mode.  Next, there’s a lot of categorization, basic editing, and red-eye features built-into the unit – I haven’t tried them all out yet, but it seems like it’s fairly powerful, yet in Canon-style, not too complicated to use.

Last but not least is the continued inclusion of a viewfinder, which is really handy on very bright days.  I don’t mind sacrificing a little screen real estate for it.  I do really like the facial recognition technology.  If you haven’t seen it in action, it puts little white boxes around every face it “sees” and uses them for autofocus.  Very cool.  More of my pix are on flickr. So, to summarize:

canon sd850is first pix (6) - menu optionsPros

  • Lots of features AND…
  • Easy to use
  • 8 megapixels
  • 4x optical zoom
  • Fast shutter speed

Cons

  • Pricey
  • One of the larger point-and-shoot cameras

canon sd850is first pix (7) - 4xzoomIf you have $399 to shell out, I definitely recommend the SD850is.  If you want to save a little, pick up a 700 or 800 (although I’d avoid the 750, 900 or 1000 – terrible naming system) – you can still find them in plenty of spots (all links are to Amazon product pages).

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Posted in Gadgets, LD Approved, Product Reviews | 8 Comments
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8 thoughts on “(mini) Canon SD850is review”

  1. Greg says:
    June 12, 2007 at 12:54 pm

    Have you thought about investing in a digital SLR? Once you try it out, you can’t go back. I have had a Digital Rebel XT for about 2 years and it has totally changed how I take pictures. I’m glad to hear that you like the SD850 – now when people ask me what they should buy, I’ll have some solid background info to share with them.

    Reply
  2. Ben says:
    June 12, 2007 at 1:23 pm

    Good to hear you got the camera you had been “staking out”!

    Reply
  3. Jeremy Toeman says:
    June 12, 2007 at 1:25 pm

    Greg – yes I have, and my mom has one that I use intermittently. But it doesn’t fit in my pocket, which is a priority for me…

    Ben – hehe, I think the Best Buy guy recognized my voice

    Reply
  4. Pingback: Review: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS Digital Camera at Imaging Insider

  5. Roger says:
    June 25, 2007 at 10:11 am

    What was wrong with the SD800IS

    Reply
  6. Ryan says:
    September 29, 2007 at 12:38 pm

    (Greg)- How did the XT ‘change the way you take pics’?

    I’m considering buying an XT – any cons?

    Reply
  7. meggs says:
    October 9, 2007 at 5:32 pm

    Jeremy…..like you I am replacing my older camera it was a Konika /Minolta I purchased the SD850IS for $399.99 no case or second battery included and now my hubby tells me at Costco I can get the SD900 for 449.00 including a case and second lithium battery……but I read in your post do not purchase the 900 or the 1000…..so are you saying you find the 850 to be better? thanks for your time
    meggs

    Reply
  8. Gustavo says:
    October 26, 2007 at 8:01 pm

    I have the Canon Camera Model Sd850is and Always(Includes with flash without red eyes)take pictures with red eyes or sometimes when I Do the red eyes camera software the Eyes changes to White(Bad Photos).
    What Can I do?.Do you have a solution for this problem?

    Reply

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Jeremy Toeman is a seasoned Product leader with over 20 years experience in the convergence of digital media, mobile entertainment, social entertainment, smart TV and consumer technology. Prior ventures and projects include CNET, Viggle/Dijit/Nextguide, Sling Media, VUDU, Clicker, DivX, Rovi, Mediabolic, Boxee, and many other consumer technology companies. This blog represents his personal opinion and outlook on things.

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