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The image stabilization feature is also quite good. I am a huge fan of Canon cameras. The optical viewfinder is also a big plus, as it seems like more and more manufacturers are eliminating them and there are times where they can come in extremely handy.All-in-all, it's yet another terrific camera from Canon and comes highly recommended. I recently took a boat ride to Mexico's Coronado Islands and in choppy waters with full zoom I was able to take terrific close-ups of the sea lions sunning themselves on the rocks.Battery life is also quite good and it's nice to be able to use SDHC memory cards with this camera. They are durable, well-designed and the photo quality is anywhere from very good to excellent. I believe that the Canon SD850is is my 5th Canon camera and so far it's my favorite.I do admit to preferring the size factor of the SD1100 and the like, but I prefer the photo quality of the SD850is, even if it is a touch larger.I've used the macro setting on this camera pretty extensively, and I've never used a similar camera which allowed me to get up so close in macro without blurring or distortion.
However, the lack of a manual mode is a problem at times and the flash could stand to use a bit more power. The IS really works well and provided you keep your ISO down, image quality is very good. But its a great supplement to an dSLR for those moments when you just want a pocket point and shoot. I bought this based on Ken Rockwell's recommendation ([.].). Its a great go anywhere camera.
I bought this camera due to positive reviews on Amazon, but I wish I had known earlier about this issue. I loved the camera, until this happened and Canon does not have a path to resolve the problem and will not fix it without paying an additional $250. I was thrilled with the camera until I encountered the E18 error that most people seem to have after about a year of owning the camera. You receive the error, completely unprovoked due to a design error in the retractable lens.
Every year I take my kids bowling and when I got the SD850, I decided to take this camera. I concluded it was impossible to get a good indoors picture in the evening with this camera.
If you want to use it at a wedding, at a bowling alley, or at night, indoors, without a flash, FORGET IT.Summary of bad things- poor low light performance- low-end of zoom (35mm) is too narrow- you end up backing into walls and missing pictures indoors.- my next Canon will have a 28mm low-end for the zoom.- LCD preview does not include +/- exposure compensation- So beautiful pictures on the LCD are changed to washed out or too dark.Summary of good things.- The compact size means it will get used TWICE as much.- My wife refuses to carry her G2 camera now.- Optical viewfinder - essential for capturing kids in sporting events.- YOU WONT miss a picture due to shutter lag.- Battery life is excellent.- Wall charger is convenient and fast- I recommend buying extra batteries ($5/ea) on ebay- I recommend buying a clear silicone case ($10) on ebay- The PC interface is a hard drive (more convenient than earlier canons).- Video mode is pretty good and you can do optical zoom in video mode.Beware of internet reviews that rave about great colors and sharp pictures. That is why I was disappointed at the Bowling alley - there was no supplement of outdoors light.I consider this an outdoors-only camera.
I am comparing this to a Canon G2 (4 MP) and an Olympus C-700 10x Ultrazoom (2 MP). I spent hours trying to reprocess the pictures to remove digital noise with noise reduction tools from the internet, to no avail.One evening I spent taking pictures of a door with calendars on it, 25 feet away, using the C-700 (10x) ultrazoom and the SD850, in bright indoors light (with not supplement from outdoors).
They are talking about PERFECT PHOTO CONDITIONS ONLY. Both the G2 and Ultrazoom take much better pictures in low light, probably 2 ISO's better.
Nearly all the pictures were ruined.
I take it all over to get good pictures and long battery life. I love this little camera. It gets the job done that I wanted it for.
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