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CNET editors' rating:
3.5 stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 17 reviews
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Product summary
The good: Great photo quality; interesting design.
The bad: Mixed performance; no optical zoom in movie mode.
The bottom line: For most people, the excellent photo quality of the Canon PowerShot SD790 IS will more than make up for any slight performance deficiencies or minor shortcomings.
Specifications: Digital camera type: Ultracompact; Resolution: 10 megapixels; Optical zoom: 3 x; See full specs
Price range: $212.01 - $349.81
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 07/08/2008
- Released on: 03/17/2008
The Canon PowerShot SD750 is one of the most popular cameras on CNET, so how do you top it? Well, with a couple of the standard enhancements, for one. For the PowerShot SD790 IS, Canon adds image stabilization and ups the resolution to 10 megapixels from 7, though it keeps the same f/2.8-4.9 35-105mm-equivalent lens. Oh, and it gets a complete redesign.
Of late, Canon seems to be experimenting a lot with the design of its point-and-shoot cameras. That seems to have worked out a little better in the case of the SD790 IS than with its higher-end sibling, the SD890 IS. Though I can't say I'm gaga over the new angular look and incised buttons, at least the camera remains stylish and functional. Not quite small enough to feel like an ultracompact, at 6.3 ounces and 2.2-by-3.6-by-0.8 inches, the SD790 will still fit in a jeans pocket, and it feels surprisingly well made and sturdy.
The camera has a typical control layout. On/off and zoom switches sit on top, while the display, menu, PictBridge, review buttons, along with a four-way-nav-plus-OK combo dial and movie/camera/program mode switch on the back. The new buttons sit flush with the body and don't move much, similar to the style that has become popular on cell phones. In the SD790's case, there are rubber guides to provide delineation between the buttons, plus the buttons are fairly large, both of which make a huge difference in usability.
You navigate via a combo control wheel/four-way switch that is differently designed but functionally equivalent to the one on the SD890 IS. The wheel scrolls through some of the modes that you used to pull up via the function (Func) button, such as Stitch Assist, Color Swap, Color Accent, and Digital Macro, as well as the scene modes. The Func button sits in the middle and calls up exposure compensation/long shutter, white balance, My Colors, metering (evaluative, spot and center), compression quality, and image size. Within this menu--and within the menu system in general--you can use either the nav switch or scroll wheel. A mode switch toggles among automatic/manual still photo, program exposure (scene), and movie-capture modes.
The scroll wheel doesn't behave quite as free-wheeling as the one on the SD890 IS, which makes a big difference. There are a couple of other minor quirks with the design, however. The thumb rest, designated by two rows of raised bumps on the back of the camera, isn't where your thumb falls naturally; that occurs on the PictBridge and Review buttons. Unless you've got a crushing grip it's not critical, since your thumb actually rests on the rubber divider between the buttons.
In addition, the placement of the pinhole-size microphone seems to exacerbate wind noise while recording movies; nor does the zoom operate during movie capture. During testing, however, I faced worse issues with movies than that. While captures looked good, in Windows Media Player and Ulead VideoStudio 11 they had a watermark from Pegasus Imaging, indicating Canon was using the company's PicVideo M-JPEG3 encoder; the watermark did not appear in files opened by Pinnacle Studio 12. As of June 7, 2008, Canon has not commented on this other than to admit there's an issue. I sense a firmware update in the SD790 IS' future.
Canon also provides an exposure lock, which is a nice idea, but you're supposed to press the ISO button--the up direction of the nav switch--while holding the shutter button down halfway; you press ISO to disengage the lock. It's a very tricky maneuver to perform single-handedly, though holding the shutter with your left forefinger and pressing the button with your right seems to work OK. It's probably not something you'll find comfortable using in the heat of the moment.
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Canon PowerShot SD790 IS:
