Canon PowerShot SD700 IS

Manual Control Options
The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS has a camera icon with the letter ‘M’ next to it on its mode dial, which usually signifies the Manual mode. On this model, though, the designation is misleading. The SD700 is one of a growing number of compact models which try to redefine "manual" as free access to options blocked in the auto and scene modes, such as the full ISO range, exposure compensation, white balance, My Colors modes, metering, image size and file compression. Unlike cameras which fit the traditional definition of a "manual mode," the SD700 doesn’t allow manual control of shutter speeds or apertures.

Focus
Auto Focus (7.75)
Canon strapped in a Digic II image processor that virtually eliminates shutter lag on this camera unless shooting in low light. In dim places, the SD700 shoots out its orange auto focus assist beam. The through-the-lens system carries the AiAF name and can be turned on or off in the "manual" mode. When on, the camera guesses where the subject is and displays green boxes around its guess, which is only correct about 50 percent of the time. Otherwise, it focuses only in the center of the frame. The camera can focus from 0.79 inches in the macro mode and 1.5 ft otherwise.

Manual Focus (0.0)
This feature is not available on the Canon PowerShot SD700.

Metering (7.5)
This camera’s metering modes are typical for a compact model: Evaluative, Center-Weighted Average, and Spot. The first, default, mode measures from points around the entire frame for an average; the second choice shows the measurement source as a box in the center of the frame; and the last option is also fixed to the center, but uses a smaller area to measure. Most point-and-shooters don’t mess with this setting, but they’d be missing out on the SD700. The metering modes show live views in the menu, so picking the Spot option and pointing the camera at a black subject in a mostly white frame makes everything start looking blown out. Live view is great for users who don’t normally pay attention to metering effects.

Exposure (7.0)
The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS does not let users adjust the shutter speed or aperture individually, but it does allow a little tweaking of both with the standard exposure compensation scale. Also found in the Func. /Set menu, this option can go up or down two exposure values, with choices every third of a step.

White Balance (7.5)
The white balance option can be found in the Func. /Set recording menu. Scrolling right and left takes users through the following live options: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, and Custom. Setting the custom white balance is easy; a small bracket in the center of the frame shows the source of the SD700’s white measurements. Users need only to fill that tiny bracket with white and press the Menu button; instructions are on-screen. 

ISO (7.25)
With many of this year’s cameras introducing higher ISO sensitivities, Canon included a wider range on its recent Digital Elph offerings. The Canon PowerShot SD700 IS has the Auto, 80, 100, 200, and 400 options from previous models. It adds an 800 setting and a High ISO Auto setting. All of these options can be chosen by pushing on the multi-selector.

The wide manual range will be great for low light photography where users want to keep the flash out. The High ISO Auto setting is an interesting concept too, as most compact cameras have an Auto mode that only extends as far as ISO 200 and is useless in low light. As is generally true, increasing the ISO setting decreases the amount of accurate information recorded. To see how well the Canon SD700 performed, check out our testing sections. 

Shutter Speed (0.0)
Users cannot choose specific shutter speeds on the Canon PowerShot SD700 IS, but they can make selections to give the camera hints at what they want. An fireworks scene mode uses a slow shutter speed. Users can also select the Long Shutter option in the recording menu. The choices are only On and Off; when On, there is still only a slim chance that the camera will choose to go as slow as 1.3-15 seconds. With these slower speeds, the Canon SD700 uses a noise reduction system to keep pictures clean. The SD700 has a shutter speed range of 15-1/1600th of a second, but users will rarely see the outer limits of that range.

Aperture (0.0)
The Canon zoom lens uses an f/2.8 maximum aperture at its widest focal length. That shrinks to f/5.5 at the far end of that 4x optical zoom lens. The aperture cannot be manually adjusted.