Canon PowerShot SD780 IS Review

September 6, 2009

Compact, stylish and equipped with image stabilization, Canon PowerShot SD780 IS is an amazing point-and shoot digital camera that despite its small size is capable of delivering great results. For both club goers and campers; Canon PowerShot SD780 IS is an ideal choice owing to the ease of use and handling that it offers. With a host of brilliant features and functions incorporated, the camera is fit for use in the most demanding of situations.

Camera Size

Having the honour of being the smallest Canon ELPH camera to date, SD780 IS is a novel addition to the compact point-and-shoot cameras designed for outdoor shootings. It is astonishingly slim with a thickness of only 0.7 inches which gives it an advantage to get fit into your shirt or jeans pocket or in your bag pack. So all you have to do is grab your SD780 IS and hit the road!

Built and Style

Canon PowerShot SD780 IS is unique in appearance, sleek and simple in style and strong and robust in built. Instead of using plastics in its built, the camera is made up of alloy materials that give it a solid look. No doubt, the camera is attractive in looks and is available in four elegant colours; silver, golden, red and black. However, the main highlight is its smooth finish which in my opinion is a downside for pocket cams. Since it is most carried around in pockets and bags, there are chances of getting the finish scratched and marked by coins and other stuff. So, it’s advisable to carry it in a small, form-fitting case or skin to keep it unscathed.

Image Stabilisation

Canon PowerShot SD780 IS is a smart12.1 megapixel ELPH camera with a 1/2.3″ CCD sensor. Supported by the DIGIC IV Processor, it is capable of handling various shooting situations with efficiency and produces images that are next to real especially when shooting in sunlight. With a number of movie and shooting options along with image stabilization, both stills and videos captured are simply wonderful.

Lens and Zoom

SD 780 IS proudly holds out a 3x (33-100mm) zoom lens, with an aperture size of f/3.2-5.8. Now most of you would argue that it’s not something extraordinary especially those who want to take telephoto shots indoors. But when one looks at the physical size of the lens and camera when it is fully extended, one would be ready to compromise on the aperture size. In ready-to-shoot mode, the lens only sticks out about three-quarters of an inch from the face of the camera while maintaining the compactness of the camera body.
The moderate-wide to moderate-tele zoom lens has a two segmented solid alloy barrel providing the lens the needed protection for rough and tough use.

Display and Viewfinder

Looking at the over all petite frame of the camera, one should not be surprised to find a 2.5” 230K-pixel PureColor II LCD screen instead of a 3” display usually seen in point-and-shoot cameras nowadays. It offers magnificent viewing angles and fine picture quality and colour accuracy is better than produced by most of the other models of the league.

Coming to the physical aspect; the screen has a newly developed finger print repellant coating which wasn’t available in the previous models. Though the screen is easy to get scratched, on the other hand, it’s easier to clean as well and in some cases, minor marks can be removed with a little effort. However, if you are obsessive about a smooth display then go for a screen protector to keep it safe.

SD780 IS has a small optical viewfinder as well which gives satisfactory performance. Being tiny in size, makes it difficult for those who wear glasses to view images through it but its quiet useful when you are shooting in scorching sunlight or taking action shots.

Image Stabilization

The SD780 offers Canon’s latest lens-integrated stabilization system, which via a shifting lens element compensates for unnecessary camera shakes and produces clear and crisp shots. The IS system uses four basic modes; Continuous, Shoot Only, Panning, and Off for different shooting situations and adjusts camera motion accordingly. For e.g. when shooting sports, the Panning mode will prevent the IS system from hindering the compulsory subject-following motion of the camera to take the shot. This system is also helpful in producing nice shots in case of low lighting conditions with 1/15 and 1/10 shutter-speed.

Video Recording

SD780 IS following the foot steps of various other models is capable of producing High Definition 720p movies at the rate of 30 fps and a maximum resolution of 1280×720 pixels. Besides HD video recording, the SD780 also offers the HDMI output to an HDTV so you can enjoy them with others. The Audio quality is less than impressive, just like any other still camera sound. The sound is also affected by the fact that the microphone situated beneath the lens is frequently and unintentionally covered by the user’s hand thereby, depressing the audio quality.

Shutter Speed

In the shutter lag mode, the camera takes just 0.02 seconds to capture the shot that is similar to the shutter lag time offered by the Sony Cyber shot DSC-T700 and less than the Nikon CoolPix S560.
In the Continuous shooting mode, the shutter speed is 0.8 fps and the fact that it can keep on shooting with the same sped until the memory card is all consumed, is simply commendable for a camera this size. In this area, it too very well competes with the top most models of the era including the Cyber Shot and Casio Exilim.

Other features

Features like Face Detection, Blink Detection and Self- timer may not be new to this camera but are no doubt very much needed. The DIGIC IV Processor tracks and prioritizes faces in a frame and gives them nice exposure whereas Blink Detection would take care of shots when the subject is blinking. Face detection self-timer will make the camera shoot again when it detects an additional face in the frame. So after taking a snap of your friends, you can join the group too.

Battery

Canon PowerShot SD780 IS is powered by an awfully thin and lightweight 760 mAh lithium-ion pack. The small sized battery gives a small output limit too; only 200 shots per charge so when on a trip, take extra batteries with you to avoid any disappointments.

Final Word

With a thin 0.7 inch body, Image stabilization, 2.5 inch LCD and a view finder and not to mention the 720p HD movie recording, Canon PowerShot SD780 IS is a smart combination of style and efficiency. Though, there are certain downsides to the deal like screen and body easy to get scratched or noisy shots; SD780 IS is an affordable point-and-shoot camera with ultra-reliable photographic performance and strong built.

Canon Powershot SD780 IS Specs

Sensor: 12.1 megapixels, 1/2.3″ CCD
Lens/Zoom: 3x (33-100mm) zoom lens, f/3.2-5.8
LCD/Viewfinder: 2.5″, 230K-pixel PureColor II LCD; optical viewfinder
Sensitivity: ISO 80-1600
Shutter Speed: 15-1/1500 seconds
Shooting Modes: Smart Auto, Program, Scene, Movie
Scene Presets: Portrait, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater, ISO 3200, Indoor, Kids & Pets, Night Snapshot, Color Accent, Color Swap, Digital Macro, Long Shutter, Stitch Assist
White Balance Settings: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom
Metering Modes: Evaluative, Center, Spot
Focus Modes: Face AiAF, Center AF
Drive Modes: Normal, Continuous, Self Timer
Flash Modes: Auto, Forced On, Forced Off, Slow Sync, Red-Eye Reduction
Self Timer Settings: 10 seconds, 2 seconds, Off
Memory Formats: SD, SDHC, MMC
File Formats: JPEG, MOV
Max. Image Size: 4000×3000
Max. Video Size: 1280×720, 30 fps
Battery: Rechargeable Lithium-Ion
Connections: USB 2.0, HDMI
Additional Features: Face Detection, Motion Detection, Optical Image Stabilization, DIGIC IV Processor