Manual Control Options
There is a “manual” mode but it is a bit of a misnomer. It isn’t really manual. Sure, users can still set the white balance, exposure compensation, ISO and metering modes. But they can’t adjust the shutter speeds and apertures like traditional manual modes, so this is more like a Program mode. The Canon SD700 IS isn’t the best camera for enthusiasts or photographers who want manual control over shutter speed and aperture.
Focus
Auto Focus
Canon uses its AiAF through-the-lens system on the SD700. The system can be turned on and off only; there are no auto focus framing or auto focus control modes. The auto focus mechanism makes itself known within the Canon lens. It makes a quick noise that sounds like television static, but at least it functions quickly.
Manual Focus
The Canon SD700 IS does not have a manual focus option.
Metering
The metering mode can be switched in the “manual” modes within the Func/Set menu. It shows a live view of the Evaluative, Center-weighted Average and Spot metering options. There are no brackets or boxes to show where the PowerShot is metering from though, so there’s no telling how large or small the metering area is. This would have been helpful for the spot metering, which is supposedly smaller than the center-weighted average mode and is always linked to the center of the frame.
Exposure
The exposure modes on the tiny dial include an auto mode, a “manual” mode, the scene position and a movie mode. The “manual” selection can also select Digital Macro, My Colors and Stitch Assist modes. In the manual mode and the scene modes, the exposure compensation can be set to +/- 2 EV in 1/3 increments. There is a live view so users can keep their images from looking blown out. There is also a live histogram that can be viewed when the Disp. button is pushed.
White Balance
The white balance options are located in the Func/Set menu, complete with live views. Here are the options: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, and Custom.
In the mixed lighting of the convention center, the automatic white balance mode didn’t fare well at all. The Canon booth had some big, lit up red signs along with other lights that moved around, so the auto white balance mode seemed to pick up some of the red tones. The manual mode worked much better. It was easy to set with the on-camera directions. Users need only to frame something white and press the Menu button. This sets the white balance, which looked much more accurate than the automatic mode.
ISO
The new SD700 publicizes its high ISO 800 rating as being part of the camera’s anti-shake capabilities. The high ISO can be set along with the image stabilization system to reduce blur in dimly lit photos. The ISO can be set by pressing the top portion of the multi-selector which cycles through the options: Auto, High ISO Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400 and 800. Previous Digital ELPHs have included standard ISO ranges to only 400, so it is nice to see the norm climb a little higher. The SD700 IS includes Canon’s newly developed 6 megapixel sensor, which is designed to suppress noise better than previous models. That is yet to be tested, so check back for the full review.
Shutter Speed
Despite the place on the mode dial with a camera icon next to an ‘M’, there is no true manual mode. The shutter speeds cannot be manually adjusted. Instead, the camera automatically selects them from the 15-1/1600th of a second range depending on the selected mode and the subject and lighting it meters. When the camera selects a shutter speed between 1.3-15 seconds, usually in the night scene modes, the camera also activates its noise reduction system.
Aperture
The Canon branded lens is a 4x zoom lens, which is a first for the Digital ELPH series. The small lens has a wide f/2.8 aperture at the wide 35mm end, but shrinks quite a bit to f/5.5 in telephoto. This can be somewhat offset by the image stabilization and high ISO, but is still unfortunate since using as low an ISO as possible is best for keeping noise down.
