- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 90 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
3.0 stars
"Alright, but not good enough to keep"
Pros: nice lcd, small
Cons: Weak flash, images not sharp, bad button/dial layout
Summary: After being disappointed by the SD750 image quality, I purchased the SD850 IS, hoping the IS part would help. Not so much. I took the SD850 IS and my old Sony all over the house and backyard all day in different lighting situations. The Sony outperformed the Canon in terms of sharpness and lighting indoors. The Canon outperformed the old Sony in terms of color balance. But I'd rather have a sharp clear photo with the color slightly off than a blurry photo with true color.
The indoor shots from the SD850 IS were pretty bad. The flash was way too weak. The top half of the photos are too dark. There was also not a way to force the flash on (only options are Auto or Off). If you take a photo with the flash indoors, it is too dark in parts of the photo. If you open the windows and let in lots of ambient light and take it with the flash off - the photo looks great color-wise, but it is blurry. I wasn't satisfied with either option.
Outside, the photos were better - but I was still getting some blur. In addition, in the bright sun - the background was way overexposed.
Also, my thumb kept accidentally hitting hte dial and popping up a menu. Very annoying.
Another annoying thing - when you plug the camera into the computer, you have to have it in playback mode to download the photos.
It took OK photos. But I'm looking for something that takes great photos. I also did not like the button layout at all. I took the camera back and the search continues...Updated
I'm sorry if I upset anyone with my post. I have been doing digital photography for almost 7 years now. I know how to use a digital camera and have read the manuals. Maybe I'm just pickier about image quality than most people care about (my cousin got the same camera and although she saw the same thing, she didn't care). I do almost insist upon SLR quality from whatever camera I purchase - even if it is a subcompact. Or maybe I got a bum camera. But either way, the quality of the images was not up to my standards. Maybe I'm being unrealistic in wanting superior color and clarity than what I'm getting - maybe I'll just need to get a bigger camera. But again, etiher way - this camera didn't cut it.
- 6 replies to this review
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I don't think I'm THAT picky myself, but I have similar feelings about my new 850. I'm considering returning it. The color is truer than my sony DSC-W80, but the images are so noisy! With the W80, when I zoomed in on my pictures, even several levels down, i could see crisp details, like stitches on a subject's t-shirt. With the 850, as soon as I zoom in once, all I see is noise. This camera has tons of neat features, but I bought it to take decent pictures. That's the bottom line. Maybe this reviewer and I got lemons, who knows?
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None of the sub-compacts will perform as well as the compact cameras because of the small sensor sizes used in the subs.
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While excellence is admirable in the pursuit of your art, expecting SLR performance from a point-and-shoot is just unrealistic. Physics alone rules that possibility out unless you're using a very low end SLR. A point-and-shoot is designed for just that. Keep shooting!
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You must not have taken the time to read the manual on your camera. These cameras are fantastic for a point and shot camera. Download the manual from Canon's web site, print it, put it in a binder. Have your camera with you and sit back and spend the time to learn it's features and settings and you'll love it-honest. It's going to take homework on your part but it will be worth it.
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Because this camera takes clear, color matched pics. Maybe you just don't have the right settings on..
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Actually, you can force the flash on. To do so, you have to change to the manual settings instead of the of the auto. The auto setting is designed for quick snapshots. You can only truly test out this camera's functions if you are on manual. You could've probably had better results on the picture quality.
As for the darkness on the top of the pictures, I've experienced it too. But this is because I took the pictures with two hands, my left hand actually shadowed the top of the flash.
Where to buy
Canon PowerShot SD850 IS:
$649.95
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$649.95 | Yes |
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