Canon PowerShot SD4000 IS

Shooting Modes (12.50)

The first level of control for shooting modes is the mode switch on the top of the camera body, which has settings for full auto, shooting and movie mode. In the full auto mode, the camera takes control and the user only gets to set the self timer and the image size and compression.

In the shooting mode, the user gets much more control, including setting the shooting mode. As well as an aperture and shutter priority mode and the standard Program mode, the SD4000 offers a lot of scene modes, 17 in total. That is a good selection of scene modes, but some are rather gimmicky. The Distortion effect, for instance, produces images that are radically distorted, but with obvious artifacts from the distortion effect. One noticeable absence here is a full manual mode; there is no way to set both the shutter and aperture settings directly at the same time.

Auto Mode Features

Focus – Two focus modes are available; the standard AF frame in the center of the image or a face detection mode (Face AiAF) that prioritizes the faces. With the AF frame, you can change the size of the frame, but there is no way to change the location; you can’t shift the box to the edge of the frame to focus on. The Face AiAF mode also uses the detected faces for metering so they are correctly exposed.

The AF mechanism is reasonably fast, usually taking about half a second to find the focus point and snap to it. In low light situations, a red AF assist lamp comes on that helps the camera out, but this can be disabled if required. A decent macro mode is also offered, which can focus down to a distance of 1.2 inches (3cm) from the lens front.

Exposure – Up to 2 stops of exposure compensation both up and down can be applied, in 1/3 of a stop steps. There is no exposure bracketing or flash exposure compensation available.

Metering – The standard options of evaluative, center weighted and spot metering are available from the menu in program mode. In addition, putting the camera into the Face AiAF face detection mode directs it to use the detected faces as the main exposure points.

Self-Timer – A wide selection of options are available for the self timer. As well as the usual 2 and 10 second delays, there is a custom timer that can be set to take a shot between 1 and 30 seconds after shutter down, and to take up to 10 shots. In addition, a face detection mode will hold the shutter until it detects two faces, then pause for 3 seconds and take 3 shots, allowing you to set the camera, run over to your beloved and get in place for a nice couple shot.

Picture Effects (4.25)

The My Colors mode allows the user to apply a number of color effects to the image. Again, most of these modes are more gimmicks than useful tools, and it is unlikely that you would use most of them more than once.

Picture Samples
Off Vivid Neutral Sepia Black & White Positive Film Lighter Skin Tone Darker Skin Tone Vivid Blue Vivid Green Vivid Red Custom Color More...

Manual Controls (7.01)

As well as the usual auto setting, five white balance presets are offered. In addition, there is a custom white balance setting that uses a photo of a white object to judge the white balance.

The SD4000 IS has a decent aperture range, going from f/2.0 to f/8.0 at the wide angle setting and f/5.3 to f/8.0 at the telephoto end. The f/2.0 at the wide zoom setting is especially welcome, as it would allow the camera to gather lots of light, making low light shooting easier.

It is possible to set the aperture directly by putting the camera into aperture priority mode.

The shutter speed range of the camera is likewise pretty wide, going from 15 seconds down to 1/2000 of a second.

Drive/Burst Mode (5.00)

Only one burst mode is available for the full resolution of the camera: a continuous shooting mode that can keep going for as long as there is space on the memory card. A reduced resolution high speed mode is offered which can capture about 6.6 frames a second, but only at a reduced resolution of 2.5 megapixels. This mode also had no issues shooting continuously.

Shot to Shot (5.07)

We measured the speed of the continuous shooting mode at about 2.55 frames per second, which is a decent score for a compact camera. It was also able to keep shooting at this speed up to the capacity of the memory card and battery.