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"Do NOT buy the SD800 IS" on by the_viv
Pros: Nice size and look. Outdoor scenic shots look great.
Cons: Night pictures show circle halo's. Image stabalization fuzzy.
Summary: I got the Canon SD800 IS thinking this would be a great step up from my Canon 550. Wow, was I wrong. I took this on vacation and every night picture has 30 little halo circles all over the picture from reflections of water, light, disco balls...you name it. It's the reflection of light that gets in through the camera. I found this out later at a camera store. The way the camera is made is just how it is and the camera doesn't allow for a filter cover to solve the problem. However you can put a cup (with the bottom cut out) around the lens to solve the problem...but seriously who is going to carry that around. My scenic day pictures looked fabulous and bright. However, all of the face shots were fuzzy and blurry from the image stabalization. Isn't it supposed to be the opposite. I was very disappointed after thinking this was the best thing out there. I returned it and bought the Canon 900 instead. It is amazing!!! Night shots look great...no halos and pictures are brighter and clearer than my old Canon 550. I highly recommend it.
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"Get the SD850 IS Instead" on by CondensedMatter
Pros: Small, compact, has ok outside performance
Cons: Comes up short when compared against the competitors. Grainy pictures. Terrible low-light color interpretation
Summary: I own both the SD800 IS and the SD850 IS.
I also own an array of other cameras, from ulta-compacts up to SLR's, both digital and film.
The short of this review: get the 850 IS instead. When in AUTO mode, it uses much more sophisticated (and effective) algorithms to determine settings so that good color / light rendition are had. That is why people buy a point and shoot camera - so they can pull it out and snap a picture without manually setting everything. If you have to tweak the settings almost everytime before a snapshot, the snapshot is no longer a snapshot. You might as well be shooting with an SLR or compact, and you're losing out on the "point-and-shoot" aspect of it.
When zooming in on pictures, unnacceptable distortion can be seen (unacceptable for a camera in this price range). This is even after I spent much time tweaking settings.
The SD800 IS is not a good value for what you pay. Again, the SD850 runs circles around this. -
"This is one of the best compact camera in the market" on by newman415
Pros: Excellent optical image stabilization, stylish body
Cons: very few adjustment in manual mode
Summary: I normally don't spend that much on a DSC, specially compare to the reasonable, decent Sony camera cost less than $200. When I tried out this camera in Circuit City, I bought it.
There are few option when it comes to image stabilization: Sony, Panasonics and Olympus. The first one I tried out is Sony T50. It has a touch screen and very attractive look. However, when I tested the camera (I shake while taking picture), I found out the image is blur and fuzzy, even with the image stabilizer. Despite the touch screen and other functions, the Sony T50 was erased on my list.
Then I tried out Panasonic and Olympic. It has the same blur and fuzzy quality image. Finally the Canon SD800IS, I won't say it is perfect when when it reach the level when you shake too hard (normally you don't shake that hard unless you jump up and down), the image still blur. But it is still the best quality of them all. It is very easy to use.
The Cons is there are too few adjustment you can do with the manual mode. But for the rookie like me, it's not a big problem. -
"I recently replaced a Casio Z750 that I purchased last year, for the SD800" on by maynard79
Pros: face detection, stabilization, fast, widescreen mode
Cons: wish it had a 3 inch screen like the SD630, menu system could be better, as well as zoom gauge.
Summary: i already dropped this camera once from 4ft on a hardwood floor and it survived!!! After the using the Casio Z750 that are some minor trade offs. First the Casio, has by far an easier menu system, with lots of manual controls and a 2.7 inch LCD screen. This was a problem for me, because the Casio would not always take the shot, if the lighting and objects are not in place correctly. The Canon excels as a point and shoot camera, though I wish they would do away with the thumb switch to move between, manual, movie, and automatic modes. So far am I extremely pleased with the Canon in picture quality as well as performance. Best choice i made in switching. Word of note, Costco is a great place to consider buying your electronics, as they have the best return policy of all retailers.
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"Fast but grainy" on by z00mer
Pros: Great performance, easy, fun
Cons: Grainy and flat pictures in some situations
Summary: Maybe my expectations were too high. I have a Sony DSC-V1 and was always very frustrated by the low-light performance of that camera. We often missed shots due to the long shot-to-shot time when using the flash, but now that I compare results, the pictures that the Sony produced are really quite excellent.
So, when I tried the Canon SD-800 IS I was expecting the same image quality for outside shots plus better indoor performance, but I was really disappointed. Despite the face detection technology, faces seemed to come out looking fuzzy. We took a flash in an outside shot to wash away the shadows and it completely grained up a dark blue shirt my son was wearing. No reason for that.
Low light performance was pretty good, but the image looked 2D to the point where there was no depth to the picture.
I returned it and decided to stay with my Sony for the "small" camera and upgrade to a Nikon D80 digital SLR to be sure I would get quality images (and so far I love it).
I think it may be the right camera for someone if you want small and an overall decent camera for just catching daily shots, but don't expect beautiful jaw-dropping pictures.
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