This Post is Canon PowerShot SD780IS Review – Click below If you’re looking for:

My Overall Rating : ★★★★½

Canon PowerShot SD780IS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD Review

The Canon PowerShot SD780IS was introduced to the US market early March 2009 and has many great features. It is the slimmest digital ELPH Canon has produced so far but its small body packs a real punch. The term ‘ELPH’, before you ask, is a combination of the word ‘elf’ (for a camera that is small and magical) and the word ‘photograph.’ Besides being memorable marketing, the use of a non-standard spelling of ‘elf’ makes it a defensible trademark.

The camera comes in four colors, black, silver, gold and deep red. It is a 12.1 MP digital camera with a 2.5 inch LCD and a 3x optical image stabilized zoom. As already stated it is the slimmest ELPH Canon has produced with a width of 0.7 inches. Combined with a width and height of just 3.4 and 2.1 inches and weighing in at 4.2 ounces, it really is small.

Looking briefly at some of the highlights of this camera we can see that it has: HD movie shooting capability and HDMI output. This lets you record video in beautiful high definition (1280 x 720 pixels). You can then enjoy your movie, and still pics as well, on your HDTV by using the mini-HDMI connector with no degradation of the image.

By setting the Canon Powershot SD780 IS to smart auto the camera automatically selects an appropriate setting from 18 specially defined settings. You just have to concentrate on shooting the picture, Canon technology will take care of the rest.

A Face Detection Self-Timer automatically detects an increase in the number of faces and makes the appropriate adjustments. So if you are taking a group photo and want to include the yourself, just put the camera on a tripod and select Face Detection Self Timer. The camera will now wait for the your face to move into the frame before it takes the perfectly focused shot.

This is possible because of the advanced DIGIC 4 image processor on board the camera. This delivers evolved Face Detection Technology that keeps every face in every photo looking its very best. The technology finds and tracks the faces of moving subjects until you’re ready to shoot, then delivers perfect focus.

Ref eye correction is not new but the Canon Powershot SD780IS provides three options for removing red eye from your flash photographs. Firstly red eye is detected and corrected during shooting, secondly the camera can be set to automatically detect and correct red-eye during image playback. Finally you can manually locate any red eyes in a scene during image playback on the LCD screen, and command the camera to remove them.

Another piece of technology on board the PowerShot SD780IS is iSAPS. This is an original scene recognition technology developed for digital cameras by Canon. Using an internal database of thousands of different photos, iSAPS works with the advanced DIGIC 4 Image Processor to improve focus speed and accuracy, as well as exposure and white balance.

This camera has other great features apart from those touched on here. All in all Canon are doing their best with this camera to make it as easy as possible for you to take great photos and videos each and every time. It fits easily into a purse or shirt pocket ready to shoot video and capture images at a seconds notice.

Let’s take a look at all of the Canon PowerShot SD780IS features/specification:

  • 12.1-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality poster-size prints
  • 3x optical zoom lens with Optical Image Stabilizer
  • HD movie shooting capability plus HDMI output
  • 2.5-inch widescreen PureColor LCD II screen; Face Detection
  • Compatible with SD/SDHC, MMC/MMC Plus/HC MMC Plus (not included)

If you want to buy Canon PowerShot SD780IS, you can get it cheap online through Amazon.com here. They offer special discount price and reliable shipping service.

Let me show you what current owners have to say about it:

“…After researching ultra-compact cameras for 2 weeks, I had narrowed down my choices to this camera, the Canon SD880 IS and a couple of models from other manufacturers (though I knew in the end I’d choose a Canon). As with most electronic purchases I make, it was an agonizing process. Every camera had a feature that I wanted, yet none of them had everything that I wanted. I would have liked a bit more zoom, and other cameras have wider lenses. In the end, the three features that won me over were the amazingly small size, the ability to capture HD video at a resolution of 720p, and the HDMI out.

As for the performance, I couldn’t be happier. Many of the reviews I read before purchasing mentioned a high amount of noise, but in my experience it only occurs at higher ISO’s, is not very noticeable, and seems to be in line with other compact cameras that I’ve used, no more, no less. I would NOT let this be a determining factor if I were considering this camera.

This is my first camera with image stabilization and it’s works very well. On a recent trip I took over 500 pictures (and filled up less than 1/4th of my 8-gig card at the highest resolution), and not one of them ended up blurry. The AUTO feature has also proven to be much better than I had anticipated: it changes between 18 settings automatically, such as macro, bright sunshine, etc., and so far, it’s been right on the money. Another complaint that I’ve read is that viewfinder is useless. While it is quite tiny, I have actually used it, and I find it to be quite serviceable. At some point, a camera gets so small that it’s difficult to squeeze everything onto its surface area. Kudos to Canon for even including the optical viewfinder at all.

My complaints are few, and none would be a dealbreaker for me. The small size and smooth, symmetrical shape sometimes make it hard to tell which side I am holding onto when I take it out of my pocket. When attempting to push the power button, I will often realize I am pushing on the bottom of the camera. I have to actually look at it to tell what I am doing. Also, as stated previously, the HD video takes a pretty beefy CPU to play back smoothly. My PC is 4 years old and has a hard time keeping up. The easy solution to this is to play back directly to the monitor/TV with an HDMI cable. It seemed improbable to me that a video made with a camera this small would look good on a 55″ HD television. I was stunned at how sharp it looked.

The bottom line is that anybody looking for an ultra-compact camera is going to be extremely satisfied with this one. It doesn’t take the pictures that a digital SLR is going to, nor does it have the same features. But anybody looking at this camera realizes that already. I went to an arts festival last weekend and was AMAZED at how many people are lugging around DSLR’s these days. It seemed like every other person had one. When looking at performance vs. convenience and portability, I’ll take the SD780 any day…”

If you want more info on this Canon PowerShot SD780IS, I suggest you take a look at the Canon PowerShot SD780IS reviews on Amazon here. A lot of consumer positive response to this Canon PowerShot SD780IS here.

Here is why Canon PowerShot SD780IS is worth buying:

Canon PowerShot SD780IS 12.1MP Digital Camera : Pro

  • Seemingly indestructible build quality and fantastic styling
  • Impressively reliable metering/exposure
  • Bold, vibrant colors make outdoor shots ideal for from-camera printing
  • Video capture looks very nice
  • Smart Auto mode is effective and easy to use
  • Snappy, unflappable auto focus

Canon PowerShot SD780IS 12.1MP Digital Camera : Con

  • Noisy shots, even at low ISOs
  • Occasional flash quirks in Smart Auto mode
  • Screen and body stay clean, but scratch easier than previous SDs
  • Images get muddy on the telephoto end

Conclusion

Look at the SD780IS specs sheet basics – 3x zoom, 2.5 inch LCD, tiny viewfinder, and few controls designed to appeal to advanced shooters – and its list price of just a shade under $300 looks hard to justify. Shoot with the camera for a little while, though, and you’ll quickly figure out that this is a device that proves to be much more than the sum of its parts.

Streamlined in every sense to fit with the kind of casual, memory-capturing shooting that most of us engage in most of the time, the SD780 is a camera that churns out great pictures without fuss.

This Canon PowerShot SD780IS can be ordered directly from Amazon.com today. CLICK HERE for the best price and get your Canon PowerShot SD780IS today! They are 100% secure site so you can be rest assured that your details are protected when ordering.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • •

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!