Canon PowerShot SD780 IS

Auto Mode

Still photos can be taken in either auto or manual mode. In full auto mode, the user is prevented from making any adjustments at all: the entire quick menu is locked out except for changing the capture size. Even the scene modes are inaccessible while in easy mode, which seems a peculiar feature to hide from the easy mode user.

When you're shooting in Manual mode, you can select a Scene Mode, which will automatically tailor your photos to whatever specific shooting conditions you select. This will lock you out of making manual image adjustments, as the camera is attempting to do this for you based on the selected Scene Mode. (See Custom Image Presets, below.)

Movie Mode

The Canon SD780 records video at a 30 frames per second frame rate in one of three possible qualities: 1280 x 720, 640 x 480, and 320 x 240.

Several of the manual controls and special features available for still photography are also available in movie mode. For instance, you can choose between regular movie mode, color accent, and color swap. (See Picture Effects.) The most glaring absence for movie recording is the inaccessibility of the optical zoom. Only digital zoom can be used while recording video.

To enable automatic focus for capturing videos, you push the shutter halfway down. Once you've engaged the shutter button fully, video will begin recording. Brightness and tone will adjust automatically while recording, but focus will remain at the same level. There is also a small amount of on-board video editing available, including the ability to trim the beginning and end of videos in one-second increments.

Drive/Burst Mode

The SD780 doesn't offer much in the way of a Drive or Burst mode. There is a continuous shot, which will allow you to take approximately 0.8 images per second as long as the shutter button is engaged. Most cameras offer a bit more in this department.

As with most digital cameras, you also have a self-timer, which is one of the four functions easily accessed on the four-way directional control. You can customize the self-timer for 0-30 seconds and 1-10 shots. There is also a face detection self-timer, which will automatically take a picture when a new face enters the frame.

Playback Mode

Playback mode is accessed via the clearly marked button on the rear of the camera. The Canon SD780 uses typical four-way controller buttos during playback. Pushing the playback button will bring up the most recently captured image, while left and right on the control pad will cycle between images.

By pressing the Display button during playback, you can cycle between the isolated image, a simple information display, detailed photo data, and a focus check display. The simple information is limited to shot number, date and time, etc., while the detailed display includes an exposure histogram, size, and image settings, including aperture, shutter speed, and white balance. The focus check display allows you to evaluate the sharpness of your image by zooming in on a particular area.

In any display type, the zoom lever will allow you to zoom in on a portion of the image during playback. Simple rotating, resizing, and cropping options are also available. Though they may not see as much use from the average consumer, Playback mode also allows you to use iContrast dynamic range enhancement and red-eye removal in post-production.

In addition to the traditional method of cycling through photos, there are also a couple of different thumbnail views, including one that shows 100 images onscreen at once. There is filtered playback, which lets you sorts through images by date taken, categories, and folders. These filters can also be applied when putting together a simple slideshow.

As with most digital cameras, there is also an instant playback immediately after a photo is taken. You can increase the length of time for review and the amount of information displayed with the review.

Custom Image Presets

Judging on menu layout, it seems that Canon expects users to rely largely on the camera's built-in scene modes to make automatic image adjustments for them, rather than delving into the manual controls that give you finer control over your image. The primary scene modes available are: Portrait, Night Snapshot, Kids & Pets, and Indoor. There is a fifth setting, called Special Conditions, that allows you to select more specialized environments: Sunset, Fireworks, Long Shutter, Beach, Underwater, Aquarium, Foliage, and Snow. There's an eighth Special Condition called ISO 3200, which boosts the ISO beyond what is normally available. (See ISO.)

When any of these modes is selected, ISO, white balance, and other manual controls are disabled.