Canon PowerShot SD800 IS First Impressions Review

The Canon PowerShot SD800 IS does not offer full manual control over the exposure but operates with a few controls. Users cannot adjust the shutter speed or aperture but can set the white balance, ISO, and exposure compensation, among other things.

 

Auto Focus – A through-the-lens auto focus system provides a focal range from 1.5ft. to infinity normally. In the macro mode, the Canon lens can focus as close as 1.2 inches to 2ft. in wide and 1 - 2ft. in telephoto. The auto focus mode can be set to the default AiAF nine-point system or to the trendy new face detection auto focus mode. Both modes work very quickly and focus properly on subjects. The AiAF system shows brackets where the lens is focused when the shutter release button is pushed halfway. The face detection system superimposes white brackets around faces in the live preview; those brackets turn green when the focus is locked. Heads must be facing the camera for the SD800 to track them. The face detection system does not recognize profiles because it uses the composite of both eyes, nose, and mouth and the spaces between them to identify and track faces. In low light, the Canon PowerShot SD800 IS has an orange auto focus assist lamp.

Manual Focus – This Canon is not equipped with a mode to manually focus.

 

ISO

In the past year, Canon has included more and more manual ISO options on its PowerShot digital cameras. The Canon SD800 IS model is one of only four PowerShot cameras on the market right now to have the new Digic III image processor. The new processor is important because it comes with noise reduction technology that was not previously included on the Digic II. With this noise reduction technology, the SD800 can offer manual ISO options of 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600. There are also two automatic options: a standard Auto and a High ISO Auto for snapping shots in low light. The ISO options are found by pushing the top of the multi-selector.

 

The white balance options can be found in the Func./Set menu and come complete with a live preview. The options are not fully expansive, but the all-purpose and always accurate Custom white balance mode is offered on the SD800. Here’s the list: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, and Custom. Manually setting the white balance is not difficult, as there are on-screen directions and a small box to frame something plain and truly white.

 

The Canon PowerShot SD800 IS does not allow its users to adjust the exposure by manually controlling the shutter speed and aperture. Instead, it provides a more basic exposure compensation mode that has the standard +/- 2 EV scale with 1/3 steps; this is available from the Func./Set menu and comes with a live view. There is no live histogram to monitor the exposure at all times, but there is a live histogram in playback.

The metering mode options are available from the Func./Set menu: Evaluative, Center weighted average, and Spot metering. The last option is fixed to the center, unlike some other cameras that link the spot metering to the auto focus point. There is a live view when scrolled through, but it is a bit delayed so it takes about a half-second to get an idea of what the metering option will produce.

 

The shutter speed cannot be manually selected, but the camera will favor longer exposures if the Long Shutter option is activated in the recording menu. The shutter can flip as fast as 1/1600^th of a second and can open as long as 15 seconds. The Canon PowerShot SD800’s flagship image stabilizer feature claims to correct up to three shutter speed stops of blur. The IS capabilities could very hold true judging from the way it steadied the image in the movie mode; this should be tested in a full review though.

 

The aperture cannot be manually adjusted on the Canon 3.8x zoom lens. At the widest focal length, an f/2.8 aperture is available. That wanes significantly to a maximum aperture of f/5.8 at the most telephoto focal length. The minimum aperture of the SD800 is not published.