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Canon PowerShot SD850 IS

Canon PowerShot SD850 IS Canon PowerShot SD850 IS Digital ELPH (IXUS 950 IS) Concise Review, January 2008, Lars Rehm

Review based on a production Canon Digital IXUS 950 IS (SD850 IS)The SD850 IS (IXUS 950 IS in Europe) was first announced in May 2007 as a replacement for the Powershot SD700 IS. It constitutes only a relatively subtle upgrade. Visually the SD850 is virtually indistinguishable from the older model (only the color of the camera back has changed, from black to gray), and there are only a handful of modifications to the specification of the camera. Most notably the sensor now records 8MP images instead of 6 and the resolution of the 2.5" screen has been increased to 230,000 pixels. The digital heart beating in the SD850 is now the latest generation of Canons imaging processor, the DIGIC III. With the new processor there come a couple of new features too: Face Detection and the useful Auto ISO shift option.The long standing tradition of the very successful series of IXUS/ELPH cameras started in 1996 when the first APS (Advanced Photo System) model was introduced. Every new generation got its innovations and found its followers but has the IXUS/ELPH series finally matured to perfection? Lets find out in our review, starting, as ever, with the headline features:8.0 million effective pixels4x (35-140mm equiv.) zoomISO 1600 and optical IS for flash-free indoor shootingCanons DIGIC III image processor, iSAPS, 9-point AiAF and Face DetectionWide viewing angle 2.5" LCD screen (230,000 pixels)16 shooting modesMy Colors photo effectsWidescreen (16:9) stills recording30fps VGA movies with time lapse modeNote: Some sections of text in this review are taken directly from the Canon SD 700 IS review as in many respects the cameras are functionally identical. All test images are from the SD850 IS. SD850 IS / IXUS 950 IS specifications Street priceNamingSensorImage sizesAspect ratioMovie clipsFile formatsLensImage stabilizationConversion lensesDigital zoomFocusAF assist lampFocus distanceMeteringISO sensitivityExposure compensationShutter speedApertureModesScene modesWhite balanceSelf timerContinuous shootingImage parametersFlashViewfinderLCD monitorConnectivityPrint complianceStoragePowerLanguagesOther featuresWeight (No batt)Dimensions

• US: $250• UK: £190

4:3 and 3:2 (3264 x 1832)

• Still: JPEG (Exif 2.2)• Movie: AVI (Motion JPEG compression)

Yes (lens shift-type)

None

up to 4x

• AiAF (Face Detection / 9-point) • 1-point AF (Fixed center)

Yes

• Normal: 1.6 ft./50cm-infinity• Macro: 0.79 in.-1.6 ft./2-50cm (WIDE), 1.3-1.6 ft./40-50cm (TELE)• Digital Macro: 0.79 in.-1.6 ft./2-50cm (W)

• Evaluative (linked to Face Detection AF) • Center-weighted average• Spot

• +/- 2EV• in 1/3 stop increments

15-1/1600 sec

F2.8-5.5

• Auto• Manual• Digital Macro• Color Accent• Color Swap • Stitch Assist • Movie• Special Scene

• Portrait• Night Snapshot• Kids & Pets• Indoor• Creative Light Effect• Foliage• Snow• Beach• Fireworks• Aquarium• Underwater

• 2 or 10secs• Custom

Approx. 1.3 fps until card is full

My Colors (My Colors Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom Color)

• Auto• Manual Flash On / Off• Slow synch• Red eye reduction• Flash exposure lock• Range: 50cm-3.5m (wide) / 2.0m (tele)

Real-image zoom optical viewfinder

• 2.5-inch TFT• 230,000 pixels

• USB 2.0 Hi-Speed• AV out

• PictBridge• Canon SELPHY Compact Photo Printers and PIXMA Printers supporting PictBridge (ID Photo Print, Fixed Size Print and Movie Print supported on SELPHY CP & ES printers only)

• SD / SDHC / MMC compatible • 32 MB card supplied

• Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery NB-5L• Optional AC adapter

English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Chinese (traditional), Japanese, Russian, Portuguese, Korean, Greek, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Thai, Arabic, Ukrainian, Romanian

165 g

90 x 57 x 26 mm

Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions.Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window.To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top.DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C.

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