Canon PowerShot SD750 and SD1000 First Impressions Review

by Emily Raymond
Published on March 20, 2007

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

 

The Canon PowerShot SD750 and SD1000 don’t have many manual controls, but what they do have is crammed into a few menus. The options are discussed below.

 

Canon’s through-the-lens auto focus system normally focuses from 1 ft, but can get as close as 1.2 inches in the macro focus mode. The SD750 and SD1000 come with Canon’s Digic III image processor that has face detection technology built into it. The face detection system can recognize up to 9 faces at a time, and it has done so on other PowerShot digital cameras. Previous models worked quickly and more effectively, but the SD750 and SD1000 seemed a little sluggish in this area. Once again, this could be an issue with the pre-production models that could be worked out by the time the final product is released. When the face detection isn’t on, the AiAF is. The auto focus system works well and quickly on these digital cameras as there is hardly any shutter lag; the face detection could be snappier on these though - we'll see if improvements are made on the final production models.  

 

Manual Focus
These models cannot manually focus.

 

ISO

The Canon PowerShot SD750 and SD1000 have the same wide ISO range. Manual ISO settings include 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600. There are two automatic settings: the standard auto and high ISO auto for lower light situations. These models also include a brand new feature on PowerShot digital cameras called Auto ISO Shift. This senses when images are vulnerable to blur and displays a blinking hand icon on the LCD screen. While that icon blinks, the print button’s blue LED blinks too: this signals that the ISO could be boosted to reduce blur if desired. The ISO only boosts if users push the blinking button. This is an interesting feature that ensures great shots even in less than perfect lighting. The ISO settings are located at the top of the multi-selector, while the Auto ISO Shift feature can be activated in the recording menu.

 

In the Func./Set menu with a large preview are the white balance options. These include Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, and Custom. The latter white balance can be set by framing something white in the tiny box that appears in the center of the screen and pushing the menu button, like on other PowerShots. There are on-screen directions to do this. The white balance presets cover the basics, but don’t get too elaborate: there are no underwater or flash settings.

 

The exposure settings cannot be manually adjusted, but there is a basic exposure compensation option with +/- 2 settings in 1/3-EV steps. There is a live view of this in the Func./Set menu as users scroll through with the multi-selector. Unfortunately, a live histogram isn’t available on the Canon SD750 and SD1000, but a histogram can be seen in the playback mode.

 

The metering mode is in the Func./Set menu, but it can only be adjusted when in the “manual” mode. Evaluative, center-weighted average, and spot metering modes are on hand. The spot mode is fixed to the center of the image, and the default evaluative mode measures from wherever the camera deems the focus to be. This means that the metering syncs with the face detection auto focus mode when that is activated to properly expose the faces.

 

Shutter speeds cannot be manually chosen on these PowerShot digital cameras, but the automatic adjustments range from 15-1/1500th of a second. The shutter speed appears in the file information that can be shown or hidden with a touch of the display button.

 

Canon’s 3x optical zoom lens has a standard, but still good, f/2.8 max aperture. When the lens is zoomed out, the max shrinks down to f/4.9, which isn’t great but is better than some competitors’ lenses.