Auto Mode (6.75)
On most digital cameras, the Auto mode is easily located on a mode dial, but it’s a little more complicated than that on the Canon SD850 IS. The mode switch must be slid to the far right, where there is a camera icon. This icon is a position for several exposure modes: Auto, Manual, Digital Macro, Color Accent, Color Swap, and Panorama modes are found at the top in the Function menu. The Auto mode is the quickest to scroll to, but still requires entering a menu – which can be intimidating for beginners. In the Auto mode, only image size and compression options are available in the Function menu. On the multi-selector, the ISO can be changed from auto to high ISO auto, the Flash mode switched from auto to off, the single drive changed to any of the Self-Timer modes, and the Macro Focus mode enabled. The Auto mode works well as the almost-all-purpose mode, but the Manual mode is better for situations such as backlit subjects.
Movie Mode (8.25)
Movies can be recorded by pushing the mode switch to the left. There are several Movie modes available, outlined in the Function menu below. The menu offers live views, but is slower than the other menus on the camera. It takes a half-second before the camera registers that the multi-selector moved.
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Movie Mode
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Movie Mode
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Standard, Compact, Color Accent, Color Swap, Time Lapse
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White Balance
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Auto, Day Light, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom
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My Colors
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Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom Color (Contrast, Sharpness, Saturation, Red, Green, Blue, Skin Tone)
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Interval Time (if time lapse mode is selected)
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1 second, 2 seconds
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Video Size
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640 x 480, 640 x 480 LP, 320 x 240
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The size options are limited in the compact and time lapse Movie modes. Compact records 160 x 120 pixels at 15 frames per second for up to three minutes. The Time Lapse mode records at 640 x 480 pixels and can do so for up to two hours at 1 or 2 fps.
The 640 x 480 LP mode is a new addition on PowerShot digital cameras. It compresses the video more so longer videos can be recorded on smaller memory cards. The LP mode does introduce a few artifacts into the video, but these aren’t noticeable on online video sharing sites where the quality is a bit compromised anyway. Videos can be recorded for up to 4 GB or one hour, whichever comes first.
In Playback mode, users can watch videos like they would with a television and VCR. Users can rewind, fast forward, and scroll through videos frame by frame. They can also watch it in slow motion. Videos can be edited by cutting the beginning, end, or middle. The new files can overwrite the old ones or be saved separately to preserve the original.
The optical image stabilization is most noticeable in the Movie mode, when every jump and jitter is usually caught on camera. The optical zoom lens doesn’t function while the camera is recording movies, but the stabilization system still works – and works well. The Panasonic TZ3 has a widescreen 848 x 480-pixel Movie mode and an optical stabilization system along with its 10x lens, but its lens isn’t functional in the Movie mode, either.
After a few home videos and a strenuous circuit of testing in our imaging lab, this Movie mode came out on top. It is one of the best we’ve seen on a compact digital camera. For more details, check out the video performance section under
Testing/Performance.
Drive / Burst Mode (5.0)
The Burst mode on the Canon PowerShot SD870 IS is unchanged from its predecessor. There is a Single Drive mode that takes a picture about every 2 seconds, along with a 1.3 fps Continuous Shooting mode. The performance of the Burst mode is largely dependent on the card put into the camera. When I used a standard SanDisk 512MB SD card, the camera snapped four pictures at its 1.3 fps pace but then started stuttering along at a slightly slower pace. When a Kingston Ultimate 120X 2GB SD card was used for our more formal testing, the camera smoothly shot a picture every 0.75 seconds until the card was filled.
The Drive and Self-Timer modes are found on the bottom of the multi-selector. Two and 10-second self-timers are available along with a Custom mode that is chosen on the multi-selector but actually customized in the Recording menu. The custom self-timer can delay for 0 to 30 seconds and then take a succession of 1 to 10 pictures.
Playback Mode (7.5)
The SD870’s Playback mode is accessible from a button in the upper right corner of the back. It can be pushed even when the camera is turned off, and will turn on directly to the Playback mode in that case. The button access makes it easy to return to shooting pictures by pushing the playback button or the shutter release button.
Users can scroll through pictures one by one by navigating the traditional way pushing the right and left sides of the multi-selector. Pushing up on the multi-selector allows users to jump to a shot date, category, folder, movie, or every 10th or 100th image. The selector is sensitive to touch, so pictures can be scrolled through quickly by pressing on the multi-selector. It isn’t as flawless as touching the screen of an iPhone, however, and some pressure must be applied while circling the selector with the finger.
Pictures can be viewed in screens of nine images at a time and also chosen and magnified 2 to 10x. File information and histograms can be displayed along with pictures. And if the “focus check” feature is enabled in the Recording menu, users can view a magnified portion of the frame alongside the bigger picture on the nice 3-inch LCD.
The Playback mode’s features are outlined in the Playback menu, which has four tabs: playback, print, setup, and custom.
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Playback Menu
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Slide Show
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Start, Set Up (Play Time 3-30 seconds, Repeat On and Off), Play (All Images, Date, My Category, Folder, Movies, Stills, Custom 1 DPOF), Effect (Off, 1-3)
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My Category
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Select (People, Scenery, Events, Category 1, Category 2, Category 3, To Do), Select Range
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Erase
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Select, Select Range, Select by Date, Select by Category, Select by Folder, All Images
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Protect
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Select, Select Range, Select by Date, Select by Category, Select by Folder, All Images
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Red-eye Correction
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Start, Add Frame, Remove Frame, Cancel
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Resize
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1600 x 1200, 640 x 480, 320 x 240
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My Colors
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Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Red, Vivid Green
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Sound Memo (60 seconds)
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Exit, Record, Stop, Play, Delete
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Sound Recorder
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Exit, Record, Stop, Play, Rewind, Fast Forward, Delete, Protect
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Rotate
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Rotate be 90-degree increments
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Transfer Order
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Order, Mark All, Reset
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Set Play Button
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Playback, Slide Show, Sound Recorder
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Transition
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Off, Fade, Wipe
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The selection for erasing and protecting images has been updated on recent PowerShot digital cameras. Older models require users to check individual pictures before deleting them in batches. The Canon SD870, however, allows users to mark the first and last pictures in a series and delete them and everything in between. This is a much faster process.
There are a decent number of in-camera editing options, so users can resize pictures and quickly upload them to blogs or change the colors to black and white before printing, for example.
Overall, the Canon PowerShot SD870 IS’s Playback mode is thorough with lots of ways to view pictures, a decent array of editing options, and great slide shows coupled with the large 3-inch LCD screen.
Custom Image Presets (6.5)
The Canon PowerShot SD870 IS has a scene position in the middle of its mode switch. The individual Scene modes can be accessed in the Function menu or by pressing the multi-selector until the scenes appear on a virtual mode dial.
The following Scene modes are available: Portrait, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater, Indoor, Kids & Pets, and Night Snapshot. The Underwater mode is a plug for the optional underwater housing that can be purchased from Canon for those photo-worthy scuba diving trips.
When the mode switch is moved to the camera icon, there are a few preset modes available in the Function menu alongside the Auto and Manual modes. Color Accent and Color Swap require fiddling with the set button to select colors in the frame and either dull the other colors or switch them out.
This selection of Scene modes is decent, but some other point-and-shoot digital cameras have far more. For example, the Olympus Stylus 770SW has 22 Scene modes, including three underwater modes that highlight its sturdy waterproof body. The Panasonic TZ3, with its 10x lens and 28mm-wide angle, has 21 Scene modes.
