Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital Camera Review

by Emily Raymond
Published on May 30, 2006

Navigation
Intro	Testing / Performance
Physical Tour	Components
Design / Layout	Modes
Control Options	Image Parameters
Connectivity / Extras	Overall Impressions
Conclusion	Specs / Ratings
Photo Gallery

Likes

- Trendy, compact design - Wide viewing angle on the LCD screen - High quality 4x optical zoom lens - Effective image stabilization system - Fast burst mode with serious endurance - Jump feature makes navigating large memory cards simple - Cool My Colors modes

Dislikes

- Poor placement of the viewfinder and flash - Inaccurate viewfinder - Substandard LCD screen resolution - Can’t delete lots of pictures without deleting them all

Conclusion
The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS packs a solid set of components into its sturdy and trendy body. This 6-megapixel digital camera has a 4x optical zoom lens that is lengthier than the average and nicely complemented by an optical image stabilization system. The system has several modes optimized for different purposes like saving battery power and shooting horizontally moving subjects, but all of them work really well, both works when snapping still images and when recording video. While the Canon SD700 also has an optical viewfinder, it is more for decoration than anything else. Its inaccuracy and blurry view is nearly useless, but the 2.5-inch LCD screen is much more inviting to look at anyway, even with a disappointing 173,000-pixel resolution. A 100 percent accurate view and a wide viewing angle that can be seen in bright daylight or the dark of night are definite assets.

The new flagship of the Digital Elph series has a very attractive tri-color design that incorporates the “Perpetual Curve” design. This design element is meant to add some comfort to the relatively tiny camera, whose genre is generally difficult to handle because of its size. Not every design element had comfort in mind, though. The tiny zoom switch surrounding the shutter release button and the placement of the stiff mode dial cramp hands into stiff gang gestures. The left fingers have a little more freedom to roam, which gets the built-in flash in trouble sometimes. Several pictures came out dark because the flash fired through a fingertip or two. Still, the 1.04-inch-thick body looks good and is very portable.

The mode dial indicates the presence of a manual mode on the Canon PowerShot SD700 IS, but don’t be fooled. By “manual,” this camera means control over features like white balance, ISO, and exposure compensation – not over shutter speed or aperture settings. Still, the available options are fairly extensive: a custom white balance mode that keeps colors accurate, a wide ISO range from 80-800, and a standard exposure compensation scale to easily brighten or darken the image. This PowerShot has plenty of scene modes, including a MyColors mode available in playback mode as well as recording, unlike in previous Canon models.

However, the Canon PowerShot SD700 does have its quirks: it has a cool Jump feature to navigate large amounts of photos, but no deletion feature to scroll through and select a partial order of pictures to delete. The viewfinder is inaccurate and the handling is complicated by the small size. Perhaps the biggest impediment for the Canon PowerShot SD700 IS is its price. At a time when other manufacturers are offering similar features for $399 or less, the SD700 is being released at a retail price of $499. Sure, it has an awesome image stabilization system and takes excellent pictures…but it will sure hurt the pocket book.