Canon PowerShot SD700 IS

Auto Mode (7.0)
A red camera icon on the mode dial represents the SD700’s auto mode, which limits options to the bare necessities for point-and-shooters who don’t want to be hassled. It still allows users to select flash and macro modes, turn the ISO setting to Auto or High, and activate the self-timer, though the burst mode is unavailable. Once one of these options is selected, the camera saves the settings for later. For example, if the user activates the High ISO setting in the auto mode, then switches to a scene mode for a few shots, switching back to the auto mode will reactivate the High ISO setting. Some people love that the camera remembers its settings; others wish it had the memory of a goldfish so that it would reset to its defaults each time.

Movie Mode (7.0)
The Canon PowerShot SD700 has an easy to use movie mode with plenty of size options and good looking video capabilities. Movies can be shot at a full 640 x 480 pixels or the more email-friendly 320 x 240 pixels; both shoot at frame rates of 30 or 15 per second. The Motion JPEG movies can also record in a Fast Frame Rate mode that captures 320 x 240 pixels at a speedy 60 frames per second. A slower Video Mail option shoots 160 x 120 pixels at 15 fps. These latter two options have time limitations, though. The speedy Fast Frame Rate mode only operates for one minute at a time, and the Video Mail records only 3 minutes maximum. Other movies can record up to 1 GB of video.

Exposure options are already available on the SD700. Users can choose the white balance setting and My Colors mode, and can activate the image stabilization system. The system should always be activated, because it greatly reduces the natural jostling that plagues so many movie modes. While most footage from compact digital cameras looks shaky, the Canon SD700’s image stabilization keeps the picture steady even when the user is not. Image stabilization works continuously in movie mode, so the audience checking out the video later won’t get sick watching it.

The SD700 records monaural audio with the video; it is quite clear and free of excessive handling noise. Movie mode cannot optically zoom while recording, but the 4x digital zoom works. . This deteriorates the picture and looks awful, but some users still insist on using it. Overall, the movie mode on this PowerShot is the best we’ve seen in the Digital Elph series – mainly because the image stabilization system keeps videos steady and clear. The options are vast compared to most compact cameras’ movie modes, and the video footage itself looks great.

Drive / Burst Mode (7.5)
Pushing the bottom half of the multi-selector cycles through the self-timing options and the single and continuous shot options. This method can turn the self-timer on or off, but specifics must be set via a non-intuitive process in the recording menu. The options include selecting the self-timer to capture a shot 2 or 10 seconds after the shutter release button is pressed. A custom self-timer option also lets users set the camera to take 1-10 pictures after 1-30 seconds of waiting. The camera notifies the subjects of the upcoming exposure by flashing an orange LED and beeping.
The burst mode takes a quick 2.1 frames per second and goes for an insanely long time. I took 32 full-resolution shots before the burst stopped – and that was because my memory card was full. When the flash is activated, the burst mode slows down to about a frame a second, but even this is quite good for firing the flash so much. Many compact models have burst modes that shoot in the 2 fps range, but hardly any capture this many consecutive shots. All in all, the burst mode performs extremely well.

Playback Mode (7.5)
Switching the mode dial to the playback icon puts the camera into playback mode, where viewing and editing options abound. Pictures can be viewed individually and magnified from 2-10x to show even the smallest of details. The SD700 has an automatic rotation feature that flips the picture right-side-up, no matter which way the camera is held. Rotation can also correct the file itself.

Also available in playback mode is My Colors mode, which, unlike that offered in previous Digital Elph models, can change pictures after the fact. Options in both recording and playback mode include Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, and Vivid Red. A Custom Colors choice is also available in recording mode only.  In addition, users can view individual images with file information and histograms, record sound memos up to 60 seconds, and protect pictures from deletion. Deleting individual pictures is possible with the bottom portion of the multi-selector. The only other option is to delete all of the pictures from the playback menu; there is no way to scroll through screens and pick and choose which to delete. Although this makes it difficult to save a few files and delete the rest, it’s easy to get into a pattern, which makes deletion relatively quick.

The camera can display pictures on index frames of 9 like most models, but it also includes a “jump” feature that makes navigating a large memory card simple. Users can jump 10 images, 100 images, to the first image of each date on the memory, to the movie files, and to the first image in each folder. This is a great feature that would have been complemented by a nicer deletion function. Slide shows can play all images, all movies or stills, pictures from a certain date or folder, or the DPOF order. Images show for 3-30 seconds and can play on continuous loop. During playback, movies can be navigated with VCR-like controls at the bottom of the screen (when the Func. /Set button is pushed). Movies can also be chopped into two files, giving users the option of saving them as two separate files or keeping just one. While the lack of deletion selection is a bit bothersome, the playback mode is generally thorough and decent.

Custom Image Presets (8.0)
When the mode dial is switched to the “SCN” position and the Func. /Set button is pressed, the following scene modes appear as options in the menu: Portrait, Night Snapshot, Kids & Pets, Indoor, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Underwater, Color Accent, and Color Swap. All of the modes disable access to the white balance, My Colors, ISO, and metering options, but allow freedom with the exposure compensation and flash choices. The Portrait mode works well, softening the background and firing the flash to capture all the details in the face. Night Snapshot fires the flash, so the subject looks quite unflatteringly illuminated compared to the dark background. Kids & Pets throws in some fast shutter speeds that seemed to work on my speedy one-year-old. Indoor works similar to the Portrait mode, but keeps the background in sharp focus. The Foliage mode really stretches colors in strange ways, turning isolated green leaves bright green and giving those close to pink flowers a maroon-ish hue, Supposedly, this works really well for those New England walks in the fall. The Snow and Beach modes use quick shutter speeds and different white balance modes, while the Fireworks mode uses slower shutter speeds. The Underwater mode is only useful if users buy the optional underwater housing. The last two scene modes were once part of the My Colors menu, but have since migrated to this part of the menu system.

Color Accent lets users choose a single color to exaggerate. Users press the Disp. button to enter the mode, then push the left part of the multi-selector to select the color and press up and down to adjust its the intensity. This sounds quite complicated, but there are helpful on-camera arrows and icons to. The Color Swap mode also has instructions on how to switch the sky’s beautiful blue color with the subject’s hot pink shirt. In general, scene modes work well and the color modes are very interesting and fun to play with.

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