Canon PowerShot SD880 Digital Camera Review

Canon PowerShot SD880

Digital Camera Review

The Canon PowerShot SD880 IS is a 10-megapixel compact point-and-shoot. Small and cute with angular lines, large buttons, 4x optical zoom and a nice three-inch LCD display, the SD880 will appeal to many who want a fairly easy-to-use compact camera. The SD880 IS lacks the more advanced manual features found on the SD990 IS, and sacrifices its brandmate's optical viewfinder in exchange for a larger LCD. We're not sure the pluses and minuses balance out, however, especially when you consider the SD880 IS will come in at the same $399.99 price point as the SD990 IS when it becomes available in October of 2008.
Advertisement
Recently Viewed Products
$570
$361
$560
$353
Top Point & Shoot Cameras
Max Price: $1020
$0 $255 $510 $765 $1020
Filters
All
Canon
Casio
Fuji
Kodak
Nikon
Olympus
Panasonic
Pentax
Sony
All
Compact
High-End
Pocket
Ultra-Zoom
1.Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX1
Ultra-Zoom
$400
2.Canon SX1 IS
Ultra-Zoom
$527
3.Panasonic DMC-ZS3
Compact
$318
4.Samsung HZ15W
Ultra-Zoom
$280
5.Canon G11
High-End
$499
PowerShot SD880 Prices
Latest Camera Reviews
DSLR Point & Shoot
Panasonic
DMC-GF1
Canon
G11
Pentax
K10D
Panasonic
DMC-ZS3
Olympus
E-P1
Canon
PowerShot A650 IS
Canon
EOS 5D
Kodak
EasyShare Z950
Nikon
D3000
Nikon
Coolpix S630
External Reviews

Manual Control Options
The only manual mode the Canon PowerShot SD880 IS offers is Program mode. Unlike the SD990 IS you don't have a full manual mode where you can control shutter speed and aperture. To get to Program mode you set the mode switch on the top to the camera icon. You then rotate the dial to switch between Automatic and Program mode. The major difference between the two are the options available in the Function Set menu.


Exposure compensation is as advanced as it gets on the SD880 IS.

In Program mode you have access to all the menu features including exposure compensation, My Color and white balance. In Auto mode all you can do is change image quality and size. The other difference is ISO setting. In Program mode you can choose an ISO between 80 and 1600. In Automatic mode you can only choose from Auto or High ISO, which uses ISO-boosting to combat camera shake. One issue with the way you switch between Automatic and Program mode is that the dial is easy to hit by accident, so novices may find themselves switching back and forth between the two without realizing what is happening.

Focus
The Canon PowerShot SD880 IS does not offer manual focus. The auto focus seemed relatively quick, even after panning or zooming. It was not as quick as the auto focus on the G10, however.


ISO
In Auto mode your only ISO options are Auto and High. In Program mode you can choose an ISO between 80-1600. There's also a scene mode for ISO 3200, but photos taken with this scene mode are reduced in size to three megapixels.


ISO 3200 is only available as a scene mode
and will reduce your resolution to 3 megapixels.

White Balance
In Auto mode you don't have access to white balance settings. In program mode you can choose from Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H and Custom. The last allows you to manually set the white balance by shooting a white card.

Metering
Metering options are found under the Function Set menu, accessed by hitting the center button of the 4-way. Your options are evaluative, center-weighted and spot. These are only available in Program mode, however. In Auto mode metering is set automatically.

Shutter Speed
The Canon PowerShot SD880 IS offers shutter speeds from 1/660 to 15 seconds, same as the SD990 IS. The big difference between the two is that the SD990 IS has a Manual mode where you can set the shutter speed, while the SD880 IS does not.

Aperture
The Canon PowerShot SD880 IS's aperture ranges from f/28 at the wide end and 5/5.8 at the telephoto end. This is the exact same aperture range as the SD990 IS.

Image Stabilization
The Canon PowerShot SD880 IS does not include an image stabilization system beyond boosting ISO in Hi ISO mode.

Picture Quality / Size Options

Quality options are Normal, Fine and Superfine. Size options range from 3648 x 2736 down to 640 x 480 with three additional size options in between. There's also a widescreen capture mode that takes photos at 3648 x 2048.

Picture Effects Mode
Picture effects can be applied while shooting of afterward, in Playback mode, by choosing My Colors from the menu. The available effects include Vivid, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Custom


Advertisement