->Prices

I bought this camera 6 weeks back and have used it on 3-4 occassions. So far I haven't seen any issue. It shoots great pictures. I haven't had any problem with red-eye in 300-400 shots I have taken so far indoors, outdoors, during days and nights.

I love it and so does my wife.


->Deal

The image stabilization feature in this camera really helps when taking pictures in low-light conditions. I also find the custom shoot mode very useful since it allows me to set up a group shot, then have it take multiple photos after a 10 second pause. That way we get at least one where someone isn't blinking.

It improved over the SD600 model by moving the toggle switch from the absolute corner of the camera where it would occasionally get bumped into video mode.

And 3.8x zoom is pretty dang good for a point and shoot. Yes, you can zoom to 15x, but anything after 3.8x uses digital zoom, which tends to degrade quickly.


->Cheap

So far this has been a great camera for me, but I have one major complaint. The door to access the USB connection is hinged on a cheap plastic tab. I have a feeling that this tab will end up breaking, either from cyclic stress of opening/closing the hatch, or a sudden brittle failure if the tempearture happens to be too cold when I open the hatch. if they had a better hatch, I would have easily given this 5 stars. But when you pay over $300 for a digital camera, it is ridicoulous to have such a cheap hinge on an often used access hatch.


->Buy

This is a really nice camera and the pictures are excellent out doors and really good in low-light indoors. The size is perfect for taking it along every where you go. I have a digital SLR and I am happy with the results this camera is providing. Get the neck strap, a nice sd card and you are set!


->Sale

After a few months of use and 4000 pictures taken, I can say I am very happy with the SD800. The camera is pocketable, feels like it is of great quality, is very easy to use, the screen is big and easy to see, there are quick response and power-on times, and good times between flashes. The pictures taken are excellent, and the 7.1MP resolution is great for my needs. The image stabilization is great for preventing blurriness in general, and is expecially helpful for preventing blur with low light, nighttime, digitally zoomed and no-flash shots. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie mode, due to the great quality of both video and audio.

I have only one issue with the camera, and two very minor ones. My main issue is that there is no battery meter; you don't know how much power you have left until the red battery warning starts flashing, and you have only 3-5 shots worth of battery left. IT would be nice to know how much power I have left to some degree, such as a meter telling me the battery is full, 75%, 50%, 25% and redline. The battery life is good anyway, but I take a may take 200+ pictures on an outing, and this is a concern for me, though having only been a problem twice in 3 months. The minor issues are that you might have to retake some macro shots because there aren't any manual focus conrols (to my knowledge). Also, don't expect the face-recognition to be magical; it doesn't work too well if people are not facing the camera, though the camera focuses well in general anyway.

Despite the above small issues, I am very happy with the SD800 IS and I'll be using it for a long time. I recommend this camera and others in the Powershot series to friends, and I'll be looking into other Powershot models if i'm in the market for a new camera later down the line.


->Deal

Beware buying this product from Antonline, they have a very poor return policy.

Unfortunately, products with customer caused item, packaging or accessory damage; OR that are missing items, accessories or packaging; OR with activated software or intellectual property agreements; OR with missing packaging or accessories; OR that cannot be resold as new - exactly as you received the product are not eligible for return or refund.


->Sale

Two Points:
1- It isn't mentioned anywhere but this camera has a focus assist light
2- mpeg4 is the only missing feature on a camera of this caliber; It records video files in MJPEK format


->Buy Now

This is an easy camera to use; the controls are workable for large hands. In optimal lighting conditions it takes about 50% of the pictures in usable focus; the exposure is spot on nearly 100% of the time. But, compared with a lesser mp PowerShot, I have far more pictures that I discard. I find little evidence of the image stabilization effect. There is very little shutter lag which is a plus. The optional case is of little use as there is no room for an extra battery or flash card....and you NEED the extra battery. Today the camera simply stopped with no warning other than "replace the battery." There is no read out to tell how much battery power you have. They tell you to charge it before using it, but that's not practical. The movie feature with this is superb with excellent color balance. I love the compact size and probably am expecting too much as I have been using digital SLR's for several years.


->Deal

My previous PS camera was five years old, and it was time to update. I read dozens of professional and user reviews and decided on this camera for the following reasons:

Wide angle.
Both an LCD and a view-finder.
Image Stabilizer.
Small enough to go into my coat or pants pocket.
Canon quality optics.
Long battery life.
User friendly.

I would have given it a 5 point rating if Canon provided better quality doors for the battery compartment and the output cables. Same comment by many other reviewers. Hopefully canon will correct this in the next generation sd800. Just treat the camera as a precision instrument and you will have lots of fun taking pictures.
I have been using it for about two months and the pictures (in all modes) are magnificent.

BZ


->Lowest Price

In one word, this camera is: FAST

I got this camera for my wife on mother's day. We had a Canon S60 that had seemed to get slower and slower in taking pictures for our 1 and 3 year olds. This camera got excellent reviews on speed. My wife also wanted something that would fit in her pocket.

The SD800IS delivers on everything we needed. It takes extremely fast pictures in all light conditions. The size of the unit is great to carry in your pocket without being too bulky.

The image stabilization really delivers. This is the first camera that I use the digital zoom on. With the IS circuity, I can shoot long-distance pictures on digital zoom with good clarity and no camera shake. It also allows me to show lower light with no flash.

All around, this is the best digital I've used.


->Deals

This camera lives up to all its great reviews. I would have given it five stars except that we have had quite a few blurry pictures when zoomed all the way that I was really hoping the image stab would take care of. Also, more red eyes than I would be okay with. I don't expect perfection and other than that, I can not complain about anything!
Fast boot and quick lapse. Pictures are beautiful. Compact and lightweight. Easy to use.
A fun feature not found on comparable brands is the color swap.


->Deals

I am very glad about the reviews here on Amazon on this product, and I never regretted getting this camera! Image Stabilizer (same technology used by Canon on DSLRs), Wide-Angle Lens (rare on Point & Shoot cameras!), Sharpness even at Max Resolution, Manual Controls, and well-designed User Interface.

User Interface: Not much digging through menus, because the most-frequently-used features are exposed at the top level. Compare this to my previous camera, where menus to adjust ISO or Exposure are buried.

Thickness: This camera will appear bulky in my pocket compared to my previous camera, Casio Exilim EX-S500. I hope Canon will make this series more compact.

Picture Quality: I like the richness of tones (it shows! check the histogram), the sharpness of details even if you used the maximum image resolution.

Wide-Angle Lens: Very handy especially if you take family photos indoors in narrow rooms. Excellent for taking nature photos.

Macro Shots: I like the bokeh effects created by the macro mode! Depth of Field brings movie-like dramatic effect to your shots.

I have a lot more to say! All in all, I am very happy with this product.


->Best Price

I was looking for a compact, do everything camera. This seems to do it for me. I can turn it on and take a shot very quickly. Just push the button all the way down to and it takes the picture immediately. That comes in very handy around some of the more shy family members. The stabilization and focusing system are very good, as well stated by many others. I've been playing around with taking pictures without the flash. The high ISO and the stabilized optical zoom helps it in this area. I have a tendancy to want to take pictures indoors without a flash, again it's about the shy family members, so this was important to me. I bought a package of Fellows screen protectors and put one on the screen so I can carry it in my pocket without scratching up the view window. That seems to work out very good. It takes awesome closeup pictures and the zoom is great. I've even used the digital zoom and have not been disappointed. But then I don't expect much quality from the digital zoom. I'm not a photographer by any means. So I need a good all arounder that I don't need to think much about. I've had it about a month now and I can still say, so far - no regrets.


->Purchase


Having had an older Powershot, I was inclined to like this new one; however, it is so much better I can't believe it. Very easy to use & the pictures are incredible. Love the larger LCD screen & the option of a viewfinder.


->Compare

The camera delivers as promised!

Two small improvements would be helpful:
1. Cannot charge battery via USB.
2. Battery indicator starts flashing only it is too late.

Otherwise - Very Good! Strongly recommend.



->Cheap

My wife and I are photographers[..]. We usually shoot medium format Velvia 50 and scan the 6x7 cm transparencies. The files are processed through Photoshop and printed as 16x20 inch black and white and/or color on wide format Epson printers. I recently purchased the Canon PowerShot SD800IS for my wife for the following reasons: 1) It's very small, so she always carries it; not something that happens with a medium format camera. 2) The lens covers a wider angle (4.6 - 17.3 mm; 28 - 105 mm 35 mm equivalent) than the other Canon PowerShot SD cameras. 3) IS stands for image stabilization; very helpful for sharp images. 4) The camera accepts the new SDHC memory cards available now at 8 GB, and soon to be at 32 GB. With the 8 GB card the camera will take 2,584 photos at the highest resolution. If you prefer movies, an 8 GB card will record 1 hour and 6 minutes of movies with sound in the AVI format, which is easily edited, burned to a DVD, and shown on a TV. 5) Finally, the camera takes superb images that we often print at 16x20 inches. Overall, a truly remarkable ultracompact camera!


->Lowest Price

My wife and I are both completely in love with this camera. I did hours and hours of research before buying and it definitely paid off.

--- PROS ---

IMAGE STABILIZATION: The image stabilization (IS) works wonders, making many pictures that would have otherwise been blurry turn out just fine. Blur was the biggest problem we had run into while using our other cameras (Sony DSC-P72 & Sony T1).

WIDE ANGLE LENS: At first I was skeptical of getting a wide angle camera like this. I nearly got the SD700 instead, but now I'm very glad that I didn't. I had always wanted a point-and-shoot that would let me zoom in farther than the standard 3x, so with the SD700 I almost jumped at the chance. But then as I got to thinking about it I realized that the average point & shoot user (life myself) is more often in need of fitting more into the shot than of zooming in on some distant object. I think this wide angle lens is the way to go for most folks--though obviously not for everyone.

BATTERY LIFE: Excellent. It seems to never run out. I've taken 250+ photos / videos without even seeing the low battery indicator turn on.

RED EYE: We'va had very little red-eye problems with this camera, though I'm not sure what about this camera would make such an improvement over our old ones. Maybe it's just that we don't have to use the flash as much since our lower-light photos are saved from blur by the IS feature.

VIDEO: The videos look fantastic, though they eat up a LOT of memory. A 12 minute video I shot took up 1 GB. That could obviously be compressed with some post processing software, but most people don't have this type of software.

FOCUS CHECK FEATURE: There is a great option that--after snapping a picture--shows you a zoomed in view of the object you focused on and which allows you to see whether any motion or focus blur occurred. This feature is fantastic because it lets you snap a photo and then move on confident that it came out correctly. With our old Sony T1 we used to have to snap two or three shots of everything just to help increase our odds of taking a photo free of motion blur.


--- CONS ---

CANON SOFTWARE: With the exception of the cool photostich program, the canon software is horrible.

SCRATCHES EASILY: I made the mistake of storing the camera in a small waterproof camera case that I rented while hiking the narrows at Zion National Park. The case had a few stray grains of sand that had fallen into it that really did a number on my camera's finish. It's got hundreds of small scratches on it now, all from just a couple of grains of sand.

That's it. It's a great little camera.


->Deals

I love the Image stabilizer. It takes great pictures. This is my third Canon digital camera that I've ever bought, which means I'm always very happy whith their performance. I absolutely recommend it. -S-


->Deal

I'm technology handicapped so this camera is a blessing for me. I am taking great photos with the "auto" setting and the various controls are easy to understand. I like the video too, great quality for a "just for fun" user. Since I haven't tried any of the bells and whistles I can't comment on them but this camera was easy "out of the box" and the program download was too. I had pix e-mailed to friends and family in less than 30 minutes without assistance from my "geeky" Husband! As I get time I will play with the available options but if you need to be using it quickly this camera works exactly as I expected it to.


->Affordable

Great point & shoot. Fast turn-on and boom its ready to shoot. Battery lasted four days while on vacation. I am not a pro, but I thought the manual settings were adaquate to take excellent pics in varied light conditions. Hats off to Canon.


->Deals

The wide angle feature on this camera and the Image Stabilisation is worth the money. You lose a little at the high end zoom but for hiking in the outdoors it is perfect. We just did a tour of Crater Lake and Yosemite and this camera captured it all.


->Buy

First off, I am not a camera-person. I take lots of photos for powerpoint/keynote presentations...so I need lots of detail and bright colors.

This does an excellent job, fantastic photos and everything is just wonderful.

I cannot, no-way, give this 5stars. It does not charge though USB - you have to remove the battery and plug it into the wall. This really sucks. Secondly, it does not have blue-tooth file transfer. Further, the ergonomics are weird - I have small hands and its difficult to have a quick point and shoot without fumbling. This is even worse with larger hands.

Lastly, the camera plastic chrome is cheap, the snap where you connect the USB is flimsy and I know its only a matter of time before a cord is snagged and it rips the cover off from the camera.

Those are the flaws, thats about it. You will be blown away to how quickly the camera goes from power on to ready to shoot...its amazing. Also, it knows when you are shooting a face - too cool.


->Compare

I have been a Sony man for many years, and recently my 7.2mp Sony point-and-shoot broke (the lense got stuck and would no longer retract). I was hesitant to stray from Sony, but multiple reviews gave the Canon SD800 high marks. I want something I can put in my pocket that will take good pics that I can print out, maybe even at sizes up to 8X10, and this camera seems to deliver. I am not a big photo buff, and the auto function on tis camera seems to make most of the decisions for me, yet there are enough cool features like the many scene modes to make me feel like I know what I'm doing. It has a great feel, small but substantial, smooth functions, and even my wife (not tech savvy at all) got the hang of it quickly.

If you are stewing over this as much as I was, I think you will be happy with this choice. Any criticisms I read seemed to come from photo types who know way more than I do, and so far, I am very pleased.

(...)


->Sale

Pocket-sized, easy-to-used, wider angle than other camera in its class with 28 mm lens, excellent anti-shake system, long life battery, lower noise in high ISO (compare to my old panasonic FX-01) and reasonable price make me satisfied. But there are some points that could be improved such as it does not show aperture on screen although it's understandable that shutter speed and aperture are not adjustable this class of camera. It's size and weight is a little bit more than their competitors. And autofocus is sometimes not accurate so we need to keep re-focus especially when aiming to close object.

In conclusion, I think I love this camera and it's very worthy despite a little annoying things stated above.


->

The SD800-IS takes beautiful pictures. They are bright, colorful, and sharp. It is easy to use and understand. The menus and controls are logical. The optical image stabilization really works! Battery life is amazing. The "face finder" focus function does a great job. The range of lens system is terrific. It goes from wide angle to zoom equal to that of my 24-105mm lens. Very impressive. The optical view finder in addition to the LCD display make this the perfect choice for me. I love my SD800-IS!


->Lowest Price

great camera easy to use, takes great shots, just make sure to buy a case because it gets scratched easily




->Comparison

Great camera. IS works great, used to get 5-10% blurry shots with my SONY, now I get less than 1% blurry shots. Wide angle is something you only truly appreciate after you get it. Great for tight spaces, group shots, and taking pictures of buildings. I went to a museum which had a rocket which my old camera just couldn't fit; not problem for the 800IS. The facial recognition is really cool (it recognises faces and puts a box around them for focusing). Easy to use and takes great pictures. View finder is useful in bright sunlight, this camera has it all. I like the orientation feature that rotates the picture automatically depending on how you are holding the camera.


->Buy

The best point and shoot camera I have tried yet. Excellent product and service.


->Purchase

I have been using Canon Elph cameras since the first one appeared in 2000. I use digital cameras mostly for art reference photos, and need them to have quick point-and-shoot capability. After my first Canon Elph (the S110, I believe) fell into the Andaman Sea from a boat, I upgraded to the SD400, which I loved for its compact size and quick point-and-shoot feature. I had that one for 2 years, until it fell onto a rock and broke. I recently purchased an upgrade of that camera -- the SD800 IS -- after researching all the current digital cameras on the market. I wanted 5+ megapixels, good optical and digital zoom (4X), compact size, and quick response. I have been disappointed with the SD800 IS in nearly every way, except that it does take a good picture once it sets itself up. However, this is NOT a quick response camera. The on-off switch is very difficult to find without looking for it, as it is flush with the face. It also takes the camera a second to adjust to any setting changes; the SD400 was much quicker that way, and took pictures of the same high quality. I thought the image stabilization feature would make for clearer pictures, but I can tell no difference in quality between this camera and its predecessor, which did not have image stabilization. All in all, I wish Canon was still producing the SD400. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat!



->Affordable

I am enjoying this product, no issues with it , very handy and pictures are crystal clear.


->Best Price

I love the size and feel of this camera; I bought it to replace a too-large Kodak Easy-Share model. What really blew me away was when at a wedding this past spring I took a photo of a large landscape THROUGH A WINDOW and it came out so well that it is now my home PC screensaver. Recently, I shot a closeup of an item to sell on ebay, with the flash, and was a little disappointed that it did not come out clearer. Next-photo shot speed excellent, manual excellent, storage medium mainstream, has a USB port, fits into small pocketbooks, plus it satisfies my techno-ego! I chose this over the 10-megapixel model because of the image stabilization feature. I would recommend this camera wholeheartedly.


->Deal

I have been into photography for over forty years, starting with Pentax single lense reflex cameras. Image quality is the bottom line in photography. If you don't have crisp sharp detail all the megapixels in the world won't help. I have an Olympus C-750 Ultra Zoom, but I wanted a pocket camera for those times when I didn't want to lug around the Olympus. So I bought the Canon SD800. Physically it is a beautiful piece of work, with very intuitive software, a pleasure to operate. But aside from close-ups, the pics aren't crisp and sharp. I've returned the camera to Canon twice for repairs. The first time they made adjustments. The second time they returned it saying everything worked per specs. I would not buy this camera, if I had to do it all over again.


->Best Price

As a Florida travel photographer I spend a lot of time at Walt Disney World and Canon PowerShots are the most common cameras I see. Families on vacation seem to love them. Why? Because they're easy to carry and easy to operate. Each about the size of deck of playing cards, these "pocket cameras" really do slip right into the pocket of a shirt or pair of cargo pants, and their retro rectangular designs makes them easy to grip. And they take good photos. Here's my breakdown of the four top-selling PowerShot models:

4TH PLACE: Canon PowerShot SD700 IS 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 4x Image Stabilized Zoom was Canon's top-of-the-line ELPH in 2006. It takes good shots, but be careful with the flash. It's often too bright for indoor close-ups and low light outdoor scenes, and so close to the lens that people often end up with red eyes. With a list price of $350, it's the same price as the more advanced 2007 models:

3RD PLACE: Canon PowerShot SD750 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Silver) is the new Powershot flagship. And dang if it ain't almost perfect! It includes a light meter that adjusts for facial brightness, 17 shooting modes, some first-rate movie features and offers red-eye correction. But the entire back is an LCD display, which looks cool but means the camera does not have a viewfinder -- a must for shooting in bright sun! $450 list.

2ND PLACE: Canon PowerShot SD800 IS 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Image-Stabilized Optical Zoom attempts to add a wide-angle lens into the standard set of PowerShot goodies. The image stabilizer works well, but the lens doesn't focus well at its edges when set at its widest angle. Still, it's good training for someone who wants to compose like a pro. An Amazon best-seller, with a list price of $350.

1ST PLACE: Canon PowerShot SD1000 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Silver) is everything you need in a pocket camera. Better still, everything works well and it's a good value. The companion model to the 750, the 1000 trades in that giant LCD screen for a traditional viewfinder-and-LCD arrangement, with a 2.5-inch screen. It's also slightly thinner and lighter overall. With a list price of just $350, it doesn't waste a dollar. Often Amazon's top-selling camera.

-- By Mike Neal, photographer for The Complete Guide to Walt Disney World.


->Best Price

Just purchased and used this camera for our wedding. I was surprised how detailed the pictures were even after cropping and blowing up some pictures. Easy to use and the battery lasted for a long time. Software provided could use some better editing features but as a picture browser it is great. I got the 2mg Ultra card to go with this camera. I didnt notice any delay between shots even at high resolution.


->Wholesale

Great compact Digital Camera. Rated in latest Consumer Reports...only downfall is picture quality is rated as very good not excellent. Advantages = face recognition, image stabilization, wide angle zoom, 7 mp, 3.8 optical zoom, viewfinder.


->Buy

Been using it for 1 week. Only weekness is telephoto could be a little stronger. Very happy with the images & video clarity.Excellent camera for this type of camera.


->Compare

This camera takes great photographs and is very compact. The camera is so small that it can easily slip out of your hands. So I keep the lanyard that comes with the camera, on my wrist.


->Prices

I've had this camera approx. two weeks now and am very pleased with it. Don't expect to start snapping award winning pictures with it right away UNTIL you've read up on all of its features. If that means you need to get a book or two from the library and check out some sites on digital photography, like I did, I highly recommend you do so. You will be happy you did because then you can take advantage of all of the great features this little camera has! It takes EXCELLENT close-up pics, crystal clear! using the "portrait" setting along with macro - you can get some great portraits of people. I like using the foliage setting with the macro feature - I've taken some great close ups of flowers with it. I would recommend this camera to anyone.


->Affordable

This camera is so compact and easy to use. The battery recharges quickly and last a long time. The speed between pictures is good. The movie mode works well. If you need a lot of zoom, you may want a different model.
If you want something easy to cart around, this is a good choice.


->

Just bought another one of this camera for my mom (again from Amazon.com). Yes, I am that satisfied with it.

We do have a digital SLR and another point-and-shoot high-end digital camera, but there is always a need for a small one that can fit inside your purse.

As my partner is a professional photographer, and as I have been exposed to digital photography since the late 1990s, we were very particular about the quality of the photos. We've tested other point-and-shoots such as the Olympus, Kodak, Sony, etc., and yes, nothing beats the SD800 IS.

The image stabilization helps a lot. I have shot a lot of nice photos with this camera, and even some pleasing sceneries while inside a moving Amtrak train.

It's very easy to use. My 60-year old mom immediately got the hang of it (The 2nd camera I just bought is actually for her).

Battery lasts a long time. I didn't need to recharge even after shooting around 2 hours' worth of videos, and a couple of hundred photos. This is a nice surprise.

By the way, this is also the first user manual I have actually read from cover to cover (it did put me to sleep twice, though). There are a lot of nice tricks and shortcuts in there.


->Lowest Price

Strenths:
wide angle lense, 3.8X zoom, image stabilization, face detection, quality build, long battery life

Weaknesses:
no battery indicator (only indicates low when it almost runs out of juice)

Details:
I have been using the Canon PowerShot S40 for more than 5 years, and it still works fine, but it's too thick (nearly 2" in Depth) to carry in the pocket. So I decided to upgrade to an ultra-compact one. I chosed the Canon SD800 IS for the following reasons:

1. good review from most sites
2. ultra-compact size - 3.5" x 2.3" x 1" (W x H x D)
3. excellent picture quality, true vivid color
4. wide angle lense - 28mm (35mm equivalent), 3.8x optical zoom (most ultra-compact cameras are 3x)
5. optical image stabilization (works great, and only in few of the Canon point-and-shoot cameras)
6. face detection that works in wonder
7. decent movie quality (640x480) and length limited only by momory card size (I have a 1GB, which holds about 12-minute movie)
8. fast start up and shutter response time (great for catching kids in action)
9. long battery life
10. overall Canon quality and reliability


->Buy

This camera takes excellent photos at daylight and night. Its night mode is pretty Good but sometimes it gets a little fuzzy while taking indoor low light photos. IS is awesome and so are other options. But you cannot change settings such as aperture and other advanced settings...


->Wholesale

Very happy with the camera.


->Deal

There's really too many good things to say about this camera. I myself have sold almost a dozen of these little marvels just by showing people mine! That's how good the picture quality is, and how good it is at taking pictures on Auto Mode.

Size: 3.5"x2.3"x1.0". Easy to fit in a pocket/purse/backpack, etc. It's about the size of a pack of cigarettes, or a 1" thick credit card :)

ISO Quality: You can get away with a good quality print at ISO400 easily. Anything less will be beautiful. At ISO800, the noise increases and picture quality decreases, but it's still usable (more or less so, depending on your situation).

Color Accent: Not as much a gimmick as I once thought. You can get very creative and have beautiful pictures that don't look fake or overprocessed.

Auto Focus: Very quick and responsive, with minimal shutter lag. You will get the picture you were shooting, not a picture a second later!

Face Detection: Oddly enough, the software was advanced enough to pick up facial recognition on a 12" resin figure I have. It can occasionally not work, and doesn't pick up the faces of animals (it's not intended to, I'm just warning anyone thinking about it), but the feature is very effective.

Flash: Much more powerful than I expected. I encourage you to stand at least 4 feet away from your subject before using a flash, or else there will be excessive overexposure. The flash works a good distance away as well, able to light up a whole room. The flash's ability to make skin tone come out with beautiful and natural colors is phenomenal.

Video: In good light, the video on this camera competes with dedicated digicams. In low light, there is very noticeable pixelation. In less active scenarios, this won't be a problem, but if you're in low light and there's a lot going on, the compression algorithms will miss some of the detail.

Zoom: Amazing. The wide-angle lens is the buying factor for this camera and, if you want wide-angle (28mm) I'm telling you not to hesitate buying this camera. The 3x optical zoom on the far-end is also nice, but obviously nothing abnormal (all cameras this size have about a 3x optical zoom). In good light, the digital zoom works amazingly well. I was able to take a picture of a baby's face from across a living room with no more than one or two endtable lamps, and the picture came out clean and very usable. I also could zoom in on a sign from across the street (40 feet away) and have it completely fit on the screen. Again, the quality was impressive.

Image stabilization: What more can be said -- this camera has it, and it works well. If you intend to rely on lower ISOs to avoid grainy pictures (as I do), image stabilization is a must.

This camera also supports 4GB video recording, allowing you about 40 minutes of video at the highest resolution setting (640x480). The ability of this camera to handle almost every lighting condition flawlessly on auto is amazing to me. And the ability to manually change any setting (besides shutter speed and aperture -- if there is, I haven't read the manual well enough yet!) helps a lot.

I can go on and on about this camera, but you need to try it out for yourself to be a believer. You won't regret this camera.


->Deals

This camera is an upgrade for me from a Powershot S-400. I like the larger view screen and I can use the 800 without a problem. I'm really a point and shoot guy so don't use most of the features of this camera but have found it quite user friendly.


->Best Price

I did a ton of research looking for a small, lightweight, multi functional, not too expensive, ultra compact digital that I could carry with me all the time. I haven't had this camera too long so I haven't used all it's many features. Even though it is very user friendly, it does so many things that I have to study it further in order to know it all. My husband and I are very active and I wanted a lightweight camera for hiking, biking, skiing, kayaking (I plan on purchasing the waterproof cover), etc. with good zoom capabilities, image stability, easy to use, along with manual settings (for when I get more proficient with it) that I could grow into. I've been playing with it off and on for the last couple of weeks and have not had to recharge the battery from first time I charged it. Part of my decision to buy this camera was the viewfinder which makes the camera very versatile. The only thing I don't like about it so far is that the access doors are plastic (my husband says this is for weight) and hinge on flimsy plastic but I figure that if they break, it would be an easy fix. Also, you absolutely need to buy a larger capacity memory card. I could only take 8 pictures with the one it came with before it was full. I did buy a 2GB from Adorama for a very reasonable price.
All in all, I couldn't be happier with this camera and will update my review after I've delved deeper into it.


->Affordable

I had several other Canon cameras (s45, a400, s1IS) and, overall I was happy with them but there were a few limitations I wanted corrected. I sold them and picked up the SD800, as it has all the options now I wanted, from large LCD, image stabilizer, AF lamp, a wide angle lens, and a tiny, compact size. They threw in some extra stuff now I hadn't thought of.

The pics of people and scenery produce colors very accurate and "true to life". This has a nicely arranged menu interface. The flash is fine for lower light indoor and night shots. The image stabilizer really changes the quality of anyone's pics. It works great! Try it without it and you'll see a huge difference. I usually resort to using the full auto mode. Unless your a pro you don't need to switch to manual. The bigger 2.5" LCD is a welcomed feature and is very bright and sharp. The battery lasts much longer than the typical stock battery, before it needs re-charging. I haven't played with the facial recognition mode yet, but after reading other reviews, it seems to work fine. The movie mode is great for 2 minute candid shots. All you record is easily transfered over to your computer. The only drawback was the memory card. Upgrade that and you've got a great setup at a resonable price.


->Buy

This is my first digital camera. I have found the camera easy to use and the pictures to be crisp and clear. I am still in the learning phase with a digital camera, but have no complaints with this model at this time.


->Lowest Price

I recently purchased this camera after owning the SD200 for three years. The SD800 is such a delight to play with and offers cool features like the color accent and face detection. The color accent sporatically picks up colors that the sun is shining on mostly. I'm still learning to work it, but the screen is a little more grainy prior to pressing the shutter button, but it comes out 100x better once the picture is taken. The wide angle lens is an awesome plus. The size is a little thicker than my SD200 and maybe a little heaver, but I'm really pleased with it thus far.


->Price

This is a great little camera. It is very easy to use and the wide angle was great for architecture and large buildings...


->

Wow! This is a great camera. It's small and light weight and easily fits in your pocket. You can carry this camera with you at all times and capture moments that would otherwise be only a memory. I am pleasantly surprised at how good the video is and how much the 2GB memory card can hold. It's very easy to use (even my husband figured it out). If you are going on vacation and want to lighten your camera load (digital camera and video camera) this is the way to go. I highly suggest you buy an extra battery, especially if you plan on taking a lot of video.


->Sale

This is a great camera. However, I returned it after a week because when I take videos of my twins out in the sunlight there is a pinkish line that moves around when I move with the kids. I changed the setting to daylight but it still happens. Canon said you will get this with all camera with sun glare. My old Canon A85 did not do this hardly at all compared to this. Also the sound on the videos on the SD800IS is not as loud as my A85. The pictures download quick and take quicker with flash than my old camera.


->Price

Even though I own a CanonEOSD20, this is a great camera I would like to carry around always in my pocket, This camera is sleek and loaded with lot of features, especially I like the Focus and Exposure lock AND the handheld-shake free Image-stabilizer option. Kudos to the Design team. I love it.


->Purchase

It's a very good and reliable and performant camera.
Very easy to take without any quality issue or defect


->Comparison

I was very pleased with my purchase experience. The camera came sooner than I expected and I was happy to see that it was very well-packed and gently handled so it came in A-l condition.

I rarely buy anything online. My experience with Amazon.com was just great!


->Compare

I think that canon is the best make of cameras,i have had other ones but canon are far superior.this particular camera is of excellent quality.the only thing is that i would like a 3 inch screen but the photos come out great and i would recomend this canon powershot


->Lowest Price

i love my new camera. the only thing i regret is that we can't record only the sound, without the image.
otherwise, it's perfect! i recommend it!


->Price

I've used it only for 4 occasions and some thoughts are: Overall pretty good. The camera fits in your pocket, takes fairly good pictures, not good in lowlight tho, nice ipodish menu movement, but the menu is not intuitive. For example, to delete you set the camera into play mode, then figure out to hit the menu button not the function set in the middle of the wheel of choices, then select erase, then select the option to erased by selection/date/category/folder or all images. It's a few too many steps. Also, who had time to make folders and categories while taking the pictures?

Oh, despite its size, don't put it in your pocket as it will scratch up the plastic case.


->Price

I have had a couple of Canon sd cameras before this one and for the most part they are good cameras. I find them simple to use and very easy to carry. I had the sd200 for a long time and it was a great camera and I was very pleased with it. I just got the sd800 and I love it so far. It takes great pics and the lcd screen is clear and big. The video works great as well.




->Lowest Price

This camera takes great pics. It is also a great size - perfect for my jacket pocket or my wife's purse. Very easy to use with tons of advanced features.


->Discount

This camera is really stunning....Sleek.Elegant.Worth its money. Al feature modes make it an excellant option.


->Comparison

I was a pro photographer for 10 yrs - and I still shoot for real estate now. I love this little camera - and I am picky. Many of the images on kylandsales.com have been taken with this camera or the SD630. This is far supperior to the 630 on many levels. Great for pics of your kids AND commerce. I highly recommend this camera - I L-O-V-E it.


->For Sale

So far, I am liking the camera....It is exactly as advertised....


->Compare

If you are looking for a pocket size camera that produces excellent quality pictures, SD800IS is the best choice.


->

The 800IS is among Canon's best! I love the S3IS as well. They are making some great cameras! I started with the G2 and then the Digital Rebel....this is a great one. The Image stabilizer is great for keeping the pictures sharp...a great camera!


->Comparison

I wanted a small easy to carry and easy to use camera to replace my Olympus 4000 which I had for several years but found a little too large for easy carrying . I took the camera to France on a 2 week trip through Burgundy and Normandy and shot about 450 pictures. All of them came out fine and any problems were due to my composition and not the camera. It is very forgiving extremely small and handy and when carried on the belt with the leather case you buy separately for it, it is a dream to take out quickly, shoot and replace it it with little effort. The image stabilization works well.

I used it most of the time on automatic but the times I needed to take shots inside without flash the 1600 film speed eqivalent gave excellent results and suprised me how good the pictures were. Most large Cathedrals and Basilica in France have pretty low light but the camera always got an acceptable shot. I heartily recommend it, you won't be disapointed.


->Compare

After reading many reviews I had my camera choice narrowed between this and the Sony W90. I purchased the W90 and fought with it for 2 weeks before finally returning it and buying the 800IS. Although both cameras are capable of taking excellent pictures in a wide variety of lighting conditions, I found the 800IS to be significantly better with less grain and much better image stabilization.

I have taken about 800 pictures with this camera in many lighting conditions. Of course in bright daylight the camera takes excellent pictures in all modes. What really impressed me however, was the quality of pictures in very low light. I took many pictures of a dress rehearsal in very difficult lighting conditions. Every picture came out! The image stabilization worked perfectly even at full zoom.

It is extremely easy and quick to change ISO settings which is very handy for changing light conditions.

In terms of picture quality, ISOs up to 400 have little or no grain. Pictures taken in ISO 800 and 1600 have noticeable grain, but are very sharp and produced excellent 4x6 prints.

Overall I am VERY pleased with this camera and am glad I didn't settle for the picture quality of the W90.

UPDATE: June 10, 2007 I took this camera on a trip to Singapore a few weeks ago and had the opportunity to take some night shots along the river that runs through the city. I used a railing for stability and the 2 second timer to take the shots. The 2 second timer allows any shake to stop after the button is pressed. I took about 20 pictues using the nightshot setting. All 20 turned out with no bluring even when zoomed in. The 8x10 prints looked like they had been professionally taken.


->Deals

I've owned this little guy for about 4 days now and it is the most fun I've had with a digital point and shoot! I did some research before my purchase and was primarily interested in the Image Stabilization.
OH MY GOD!
All point and shoots should have this awesome Canon IS lens! I've taken over 700 pics so far and it's a rare case to have a blurry image. I can press the shutter button down half way to autofocus and then do the full step to take a picture and then release the button only half way to maintain the previous focus. Doing this, I can take almost 2 pictures a second! I've read about some people getting 'dust' or 'ghosts' with some high ISO shots, but so far I haven't noticed anything but incredibly clear pics. Night shots are just GORGEOUS. If you set it up on a little $10 tabletop tripod and aim it almost anything at night outside, then set it for 3 to 8 seconds of exposure, the PICTURES WILL LOOK FANTASTIC! Such a big aperture on this camera. Sounds great, yeah? Well, there's more! Canon's newest Digic III processor will boot this camera up and allow you to take a picture in about 1 second (I had my gf time it with a stop watch and it's factual). That is just amazing to me! My old Canon S45 took at least 5 seconds. When you aim at someone's face and the face detect is 'ON', it's really cool to watch, because it puts the subject's face in brackets so you KNOW that its working (up to 7 faces!). This is a quality product and I'm looking forward to capturing important memories on my trip to Holland in a week. When you do get this camera (not if!), you MUST get a case. And it MUST be hard or semi hard and leather.. well, its just a personal preference really. You also MUST get a screen protector. NOT OPTIONAL.
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS:
I am going to Holland in a week with my GF, so I got some extra SD cards for it: Transcend 4 GB 150X, Corsair 2 GB 133X, 3 Kingston 2 GB (not sure of the speed). With the Kingston cards, I can take almost 2 pictures a second without flash. NO JOKE. Same thing with the other cards, too, but I'm still in awe with how well this camera performs. I also ordered some extra chinese LN-B5's and they seem to work OK so far. I didn't want to chance it, though, so I also ordered the Tekkeon MP3300 and the Tekkeon MP1500, WOW! You could hook the 1500 up to your cell and get almost 6 hours of TALK TIME! Literally! IT USES 4 AA's! Look it up! If you're into digiscoping, you'll have to get a universal mounting bracket, cuz the SD800 doesn't have a thread mount yet (as far as I know).

I hope you get this camera, because you'll have a lot of fun! Your GF will like it, too!


->Deal

I was looking to camera that will be in the pocket to take the kids pictures.
So the main requirements were:
1. Fast startup
2. Fast picture taking
3. Good performance in slow ISO.
4. quality
5. lightweight

Great value for the money.
Highly recommended.



->Sale

I read a lot of reviews before buying this camera. It really is a great camera. I have owned several before this, and this one is the best. What I found is to use the scenery selection a lot, ie, indoor, beach, foilage, etc. They make a big difference. For outdoor general use, use manuel setting at ISO 80. Makes for very sharp photos. Also, you might have to turn off auto flash to get great shots. On my last trip to Japan and Australia, I took 610 photos using a 2 gig SD card, with plenty of room to spare. And don't waste your money on high speed SD card. I used a cheap, generic 2 gig SD card, and it worked fine. The videos are nice too. With a 1 gig SD card, count on a max of 8 minutes of video. Nice to have some cheap, spare 1 GB Sd cards for video taking.
Buy this camera. It is really that good of a camera.



->Purchase

I had two major requirements when I bought this camera -
1. A 28mm focal length on the wide angle side
2. It had fit easily into my pocket
This camera fits both requirements well.

The 28mm requirement is the result of many years of taking pictures of family, friends, scenery - having that extra angle of view compared with the 35mm or 38mm more generally offered opens up many possibilities. If you haven't experienced the difference, give it a try before you buy.
Another feature of a camera I discovered, when lugging a 35mm reflex with a big zoom lens on it (the proverbial potato masher) was that it didn't matter how good the camera was if it was at home when I wanted to take the picture. Thus the pocket-size requirement.
I have taken thousands of pictures over the years, moved from film to digital, and now see the cameras getting smaller and smaller - and doing more and more.
Happily, it all comes together in this package. It takes wonderful pictures - Canon seems to have figured out the software as well as anyone - and it's easy to use. Not lots of settings and adjustments, but I've had cameras with them available and never used them.
The anti-shake feature is a miracle. You can use any focal length in almost any light where the camera will work without flash, and not worry about the shakes.
One general comment - in the Auto mode, the camera will increase the ISO setting as the light falls, trying not to turn to flash. But at ISO settings much above 100, the resulting pictures are noticeably grainy, and at 800 and 1600, they are pretty ugly. I shoot in Manual mode, just to keep the ISO constant, set at 100. And the flash is really quite good for a little guy like this. In the rare case where a higher ISO is a better solution, you can set it at other values, up to 1600, and fire away - and accept the consequences. Sometimes a grainy picture is better than no picture at all.
I got a neat little case at Staples, made by Case Logic, which fits the camera snugly, and offers some foam protection. It has been dropped numerous times in the case, and it just happily bounces and comes back for more.
The camera spends a lot of time in my pocket, and having it handy enables taking lots more pictures, in fun circumstances. When people don't expect you to have a camera, you can catch them out better than when you have to do "Hey, hold that until I go get my camera", or "Dang, I wish I had brought my camera".
For comparison, Panasonic has just brought out this camera Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3S 7.2MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)which also has a 28m wide angle. The 10x zoom goes well beyond the 4x on the Canon, but the Panasonic is enough larger to make it a bit less of a pocket-fitter. The longer telephoto is attractive, though, and it has the required anti-shake.
For cameras of this pixel count, it's interesting to note that you can put almost 1500 pictures on a single 2GB SD card. On a trip? That's 100 pictures a day for two weeks - not bad. And the cards aren't expensive.
So, for my requirements, this camera is near ideal, and I'm very happy with it. No real gripes at all.


->Compare

This is my first camera. I reviewed this in many sites and SD 800 IS tops all the reviews. The Scene mode is very handy in many situations. You can take stunning pictures if you set the correct scene mode for the specific objects you are shooting. The Image Stability is simply amazing that you can take moving objects while walking. The interval between the successive shots is very quick. Its an above par camera for point and shoot.

Pros:

1. Image Stability
2. Wide Angle
3. Auto Rotate
4. Speed
5. Ease of use

Cons:

1. Bit costlier than its competitors, but worth of money


->

I got this camera based on amazon.com reviews. It's fantastic. Its very quick to turn on and take pics and everything. I saw the complaints about the on/off button and the little nob to turn, they have in no way been a problem for me, in fact I really like the power button.

I was torn because on amazon.com the next version up of this camera was only $20 more but it was 10MP and made of titanium, but it didn't have the wide angle or the IS lense... I'm very happy with my purchase, the wide angle is neat and just what I wanted! I also got the 2 gig super fast little card for it and it's great as well.


->Buy Online

This camera is so easy to use, my techno-phobe wife likes it. I'm pretty geeky and was a little concerned that the photos would not be up to snuff. I own two digital Nikons and bought this camera for my wife to use. I love it. She has to remind me that it is hers and she would like to be able to use it sometimes. To me the greatest feature is the image stabilization. I have shot great shots in museums with the flash turned off as they required. Without the stabilization, getting a good indoor shot that is clear without movement-caused fuzziness is extremely difficult without a tripod. Some museums won't let you use those either. But shots in the British Museum and in SF's Asian Museum were museum catalog material. A light-weight, compact camera that is really a point-and-shoot. I am extremely happy. Kudos to Canon for the camera - but the included software caused my wife's IBM laptop to repeatedly freeze up. After a process of elimination, I discovered that it was one of the 6-8 programs installed if you choose to let the software decide what to install. I deleted everything that the software CD installed and now the Windows XP camera wizard does it. Not as elegantly, but it does work.


->Sale

This camera works exactly like pro reviews say it will. The photos don't look the prettiest when zoomed in 100% because the sensor just isn't as good as the rest of the camera. As for the rest of the camera i want to stress a few things

You just CAN'T compare this camera to a 35mm or 38mm camera because the difference is huge. Some people get caught up in the zoom rating but here is basically all zoom is good for:

Sports (sort of)
Wildlife
Occasional random subjects that you can't get close too

Here is what wide angle is good for:
Group photos
Landscape (beaches, mountains, lakes)
Scenery (buildings, sports stadiums)

That latter category covers about 95% of most people's photos. And of course zoom can be accomplished after the fact (crop), but you can never go back and take a wider photo.

Secondly I want to say that IS is a fantastic feature. Every picture in marginal light will benefit and even many pictures indoors are possible without a flash now. If i concentrate on steadiness and use the 2 second delay I can get sharp photos all the way down to 1 second exposures.

The face feature on the other hand is somewhat gimmicky although its neat to watch it re-white balance and bring out the skin tone as soon as it detects a face.

As i mentioned earlier the image quality suffers from noticeable noise and average resolution. It looks somewhat muddy compared to the sharper, cleaner sony i just replaced. Color on the other hand always shines with canon and thats exactly what I've seen here. The wide lens also leaves its mark in the form of edge and corner softness.

So overall while the CCD is clearly lacking, the rest of the camera is still probably most well rounded and versatile compact on the market right now. And do not over look the 28MM LENS!


->Deals

At first I thought the camera was a little small for my hands, but I quickly became accustomed to its size and functions. I wanted a small camera that could take great pictures ... this is the camera! It quickly became comfortable in my hand and was great to store in a belt case for ease of access. It starts fast and operates smoothly. The scene modes work great, especially the kids & pets and fish tank modes. The standard mode is an easy flick of the switch and does a great job. I reviewed many reviews of the camera and did not agree with the negative comments I read, which were few. This camera is fun, versatile and takes excellent pictures. I was a little concerned about the lack of a battery indicator from the negative comments, but I had no problem with battery life for the entire day (I charged at night with no problem in less then 2 hours each night). I would also recommend purchasing the Sandisk 2 gig memory card (I got mine at Costco for about $40) as the memory cards are small, easy to store, and this camera takes fantastic videos which require additional memory. This is fun camera wich is easy to use and takes great pictures. It is nicely priced and has an optional undewater case which I intend to purchase. I recommend the camera highly.


->Buy

Upgraded from a S400 that had the memory card error. I've wanted a new one anyway. It's been great camera. IS seems to work fairly well. I've noticed some bluriness at the edges when full-wide, but it's tolerable.


->Best Price

I had had my heart set on getting a new Casio camera after seeing a friend with it, but on vacation at the Grand Canyon, the camera store didn't sell those. The clerk convinced me that this camera was the best one out there and she herself using this model. I have to say that she didn't steer me wrong.

The camera was so easy to use and took great pictures. Even my wife who hates anything electronic and didn't like using our last digital camera took to using the Canon.

Overall, I was very happy with the choice. Excellent features, but bottom line - it takes great pictures.


->Purchase

I was looking for a Canon Digital Camera. Looking at the new SD1000, SD900, SD800, and SD750, I decided to go with the SD800 for the features, especially the image stabilization and wide angle. With automatic setting, the pictures are great indoor or outdoor. With adjustments (ISO, White Balance), the picture is incredible and sharp, excellent color and picture quality. This camera is fast too. The SD800 is a bit hard to find (got mine on Amazon) since it has been replaced by the SD900, SD1000. Get this unit before it get sold out.
Note that this camera is heavier than the SD1000, but also has more features than the SD1000. It has the round corners and still light enough to fit in your pocket.




->Wholesale

This is my second Canon camera and will only own a Canon. The picture quality is excellent.


->Prices

This is my 3rd digital camera. I wanted one that worked great, has lots of features, and fits in my purse. This camera has all that and more. LOVE IT.


->Buy Today

My wife and I have been extremely satisfied with our first two Canon purchases over the years. Our main reasons for making the move to the SD800 was extra megapixels, size, and the image stabilizer. The latter being extremely important as we really love this feature on our old PowerShot. Our new SD800 has exceeded our expectations. It has more settings and features than we are ever likely to use. After a few weeks of use, the first two being at Disney World with our two kids, the SD800 has not disappointed. The pictures have been wonderful. I highly recommend this camera especially to those who don't have image stabilizing technology in their current cameras.


->Comparison

This camera packs alot in a small package. If you want a great point and shoot digital camera and not carry around another bag this is it. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles as the higher end digital SLR cameras but it has everything the casual photographer would want or need. My only concern is the door for the AV output is flimsy. I hope it doesn't break off.


->Compare

Pros:
Great features. Easy to navigate. Great resolution. 3.8x optical with wide angle. Great battery life. Big LCD screen. The AUTO ISO and Image Stabilizer take perfect pictures, in dark or light conditions.

Cons:
A lot of people complain about the battery/memory compartment door being a little flimsy. I think it's fine as long as you are aware of it and don't pull too hard.
I would also like to take underwater pics, but the case costs almost as much as the camera itself... not a biggie.

I used to have a Canon Powershot G3. It died on me when I tried to update the firmware. Be careful with trying to update firmware on Canon's I guess. This camera is simply fantastic though... and it weighs next to nothing.

Oh, also... make sure to buy memory that is SDHC (not just SD). The SD will work, but is a little slow. I bought this: SanDisk 2 GB Extreme III SD Memory Card ( SDSDX3-2048-901 ) . It is a lot faster, and totally worth it. Video is flawless and deleting pics is very fast.


->Deals

I own a Nikon digital SLR but wanted to find something lighter and smaller that I could carry while traveling this summer in Europe. After extensive research, I chose the Canon PowerShot SD800 IS. I have been using it for a month and am very pleased with the choice. At just 6 oz., it is easy to forget you are even carrying it in your pocket. (I recommend this small leather case to protect it. Canon Digital Elph Accessory Kit for Canon SD700 IS, SD800 IS and SD900 Digital Cameras)

This is truly a point and shoot camera. The manual capability is limited, but I have found it produces consistently excellent pictures in the automatic mode, even in low light conditions. My wife loves it because of the active image stabilization that effectively reduces blurring due to shaking.

Two big factors in my choice of the SD800 were its wide-angle capability (equivalent to 28mm) and the 3.8X optical zoom feature (equivalent to 105mm). The LCD is bright and easy to see, but the standard viewfinder also helps in full sunlight. The macro capability is easy to activate and provides great close-ups. The SD800 will serve the casual photographer well and would be a handy backup for advanced photographers.


->Deals

Easier to use than my Powershot S3-IS, and with far better ergonomics despite its much smaller size. Picture quality is superior as well -- a much sharper image, more than acceptable even at ISO 400 or 800. 28mm wide-angle capability simplifies composition in tight spaces. Face-recognition focusing produces superior portraits. Only "weakness" is a flash that poops out beyond about 10 feet, but still adequate for most purposes. If you are in the market for a legitimately pocket-sized, go-anywhere, durable camera that produces outstanding images, make sure you check this one out.


->Compare

I have only had the Canon 800 SD for a few weeks and so far I am thrilled with my purchase. Feature packed, I will probably never use alot of its capability. With all of its features, however, it does everything I wanted in an ultra compact. Picture quality is outstanding, which is the primary reason I chose this camera.


->Sale

My wife and I read a bunch of reviews on this camera before we purchsed it. Some people were saying bad things that we didn't even understand. Those people must be professional photographers because this camera is great if you are just a regular joe who wants a camera to take regular high quality pictures with. The image stablizer is amazing; not that we've had to use it yet, but it is nice to have. I can't say anything bad about this camera, good purchase so far.


->Deal

I had been debating on whether to get the sd900 or the sd800is. I ended up going with the sd800is instead because it had image stabilization and because I have heard that the 7 megapixel isn't to far of a difference from the 10. When I got home and used it, I was so surprised. The pictures come out super clear and are very excellent especially when doing close ups. I have a sony 7.2 camera and it could not even compare to the sharpness I saw in the sd800is. I am now a Canon fan!!


->Compare

So far, I love this camera. It has taken some great pictures, especially in low light with the Image Stabilizer. I love that it recognizes faces, too, as long as they're facing the camera. Since the camera is so small, the optical viewfinder is, too...I never use it. I think I'd rather see them do away with the viewfinder altogether and just have a bigger screen. Minor point, though. The included memory card is way too small (plan to buy another), but the battery life is great. These things don't really detract from my opinion of the camera.


->Lowest Price

This camera is awesome. It does everything that it advertises. Very easy to start taking quality pictures out of the box. Would recommend it to anyone looking for a compact digital camera that takes great pictures.


->Buy

Great little camera. IS works well, although it isn't surefire. Its always best to take at at least a few shots when you're in a dark area.
Has lots of little options - like color accent, and a plethora of different scene modes - that makes shooting fun.
Battery last a pretty long time considering the size and brightness of the screen (REALLY BRIGHT!!)
The extra mm on the wide end make this camera acceptable for taking pics of buildings on the run (check out Ken Rockwell's review of this guy for Adobe Photoshop lens distortion correction factors).
My main complaint is the tendency of this camera to overexpose. WIth an overcast day, it blew up tons of highlights. Manual mode comes in handy here - just take the exposure levels 2/3 to 1 full stop down.
Suggested accessories - full case or screen protectors. bigger screens means more area to scratch, unfortunately.


->Affordable

Great compact size...No problem in a pocket even while doing activites.
Excellent Image quality.
Easy to use...
Good battery life.
Navigating menus takes some geting used to.
Small viewfinder, but large flat screen...
I wish the zoom was larger.


->Lowest Price

Great Camera. My first real digital camera. Can't believe how such a small camera takes such great pictures. WOW!!! Would recommend to anyone tired of dragging around an old 35mm camera and all of those lenses.
Think shipment got caught in the Christmas volume or it would probably have arrived faster. Camera, battery charger, spare battery camera case and camera instruction manual all fit in a fanny pack.


->Discount

We have just recieved this camera and we wish we had it sooner. The This camera will do as much as you want it to. It is compact, very easy to use, and the pictures are beautiful. That is just using it in point and shoot style. It has alot of functions we have not even used yet.


->Deals

Good overall small camera.
I have Canon DSLR 20D and was looking for a very portable quality camera.
This is exactly what I got with this purchase.
I like the Scene selection which allows for settings to be very simple.
I like the face tracking capabiltiy and the good zoom for this kind of camera.
The menus are easy to follow.
The video Quality is also surprisingly good.
Battery life is good and charger is mutli-national
Overall very pleased.


->Compare

This is a great camera that sets itself apart from many other offerings for two reasons:
a) It has a wide-angle lens
b) Digic III processor is significantly faster than Canon's old Digic II

What do these two things do for you?

The wide-angle lens makes it easier to fit in more people in group shots without stepping "wayyyyy" back. For example, most old 35mm film cameras use a standard 50mm lens as their basic lens. To get a wide-angle, you might step up to a 28mm lens to get a wider field of view at shorter distances. This camera has similar capability compared to it's peers. You can't actually translate the lens equivalent written on the camera (I think it says 17mm) one-for-one with the 35mm example I used above. However, I believe this offers the equivalent of about a 24-28mm lens.

Speed. Ever get tired of missing the shot because your digital camera had either a) put itself in sleep mode or b) even worse, was ready to go, but took too long to focus on the subject. I've been disappointed with the delay in both Canon and Nikon cameras in the past. This camera is quick. It's closer to point and shoot (i.e., like film) than any digital I've used or picked up and played with in a retail store. The time to sleep can be set (trade-off really between battery power and readiness), but the key is the speed to photo while it's ready. Very short, nearly instantaneous focus time.


->Sale

This was my second Cannon camera the first being a Sure-Shot 95. I had bought the SD800 as a lightweight substitute to take with me when I go backpacking. The camera was easy to use, fairly intutitive controls and good quality pictures.I tried using it to take stop action tennis pictures and it did not do as well as the Cannon 95 with several blurry shots amongst those that were okay. Based on a recomendation from the Amazon reviews, I put it in the "Kid/ Pets" mode with minimal if any improvement in the fuzzy focus. That would be my only quibble with an otherwise easy to use lightweight camera that takes good pictures.


->For Sale

This is a great point and shoot camera. It is quick to power on and snapping shots. I love that it has low resoution movie setting for e-mail. The only thing I would like to see changed is the location of the zoom - it is almost part of the snapshot button so I feel that having to use the same finger to zoom and snap slows things down a bit.


->Purchase

This camera is great! Lightweight, easy to use, and takes a stunning image. The Image Stabilzation was the reason I went for it and it was well worth the added expense. Great pictures even from a moving car. I would highly recommend the SD800is. I have owned three other Elphs but this is by far the best....



->Buy Now

I really like this digital cam, it's so wonderful. I had PowerShot of 2MP before and it was cool too, but this one is the bomb. I love it; specially the quality and definition of the photos. If someones wants to buy a MEGA CAM i recomend Canon PowerShot SD800 IS 7.1MP.



->Prices

I really like this camera for simplicity and pictures that aren't blurry... I finally upgraded to the SD800 from the Digital Elph 230 and I can definitely tell a difference in the picture quality with the image stabilization... It's not perfect every time, but 95% of the time... The only bad part of the camera is the delay in shutter speed when using the automatic mode... I typically have to tell people using my camera to "press the button for at least a second" otherwise the picture doesn't take... Other than that, it's a great camera...


->Price

Is is a wonderful, easy to carry digital camera. After my Olympus, it is seem to me driving a Mercedes after an ordinary car. I recommend it to every digital camera users who want to carry camera in pocket and have professional like photos...


->

This was about $100 more than I was looking to spend, but it definitely was worth the extra bucks. Canon has always been high quality and dependable for me, so I stuck with them for another upgrade. Great ergonomics, compact, and easy to take quick shots. Nice wide angle lens, edits movies, has optical image stabilization, AF-assist lamp, good low light focusing, and has an optical viewfinder. Large, sharp 2.5" LCD display; easy to see in low light. Nice camera for me.


->For Sale

I gave this a 5 because it is a great camera loaded with extra and cool features. Stitch Assist is pretty cool for a novice like me. My wife and i wanted something small and easy to use. And that is what we got. She read the manual and was telling me everything it did. I was blown away (of course being a guy i had not read the user guide). the loss of 1/2 a star come from the inability to review previous picture and erase after the auto preview is gone. In order to look back at a picture or erase you must switch the camera to preview mode..Now with that said please if anyone is out there that has totally read the manual and knows that i am wrong please let me know


->Prices

Love the camera! Compact, fast, great quality, stabilized, easy to use and the awesome wide angle lens! What else can you ask for?

Perhaps you're looking for great battery life? You get that too...! I took an 11 day trip around the states and 800+ pictures later (including learning the differences from my previous cameras cause I bought it for the trip) I only had to charge the battery twice.

Some people are saying it comes with a small LCD. It's more than enough and it has great detail, much better than the SD630 with the huge screen when compared side to side. It seem LCD size is only good for bragging. I prefer quality.

WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT IT?

For those looking for a strong camera, look elsewhere! The SD series has turned plastic =( I loved my SD200 and how strong it felt. The 800 is completely plastic from what I can tell and very easy to scratch.

The mode selection knob (or whatever is called) is very weird for my fingers. I need to use my nail to move it around. Kind of uncomfortable when trying to switch to video mode or back quickly for example.


->Sale

The 800IS is a very nice camera, it takes steady shots, even in lower light conditions, is snappy starting up and takings pics is very quick. It also processes the pictures well, so that digital camera noise is filtered out quite nicely.

Unfortunately, you're stuck with a fairly small, low res 2.5" LCD screen. Once you've used one of the newer 3" screens such as on Panasonic's Lumix FX50, you'll never go back. As well, I had to eventually take mine back because there were about 5 dead pixels on the LCD. There's also a few options they could have dropped, such as the ability to pick and isolate a colour while shooting and bleed the rest to black and white. An additional gross oversight is the lack of automatic bracketing. This is where the camera will actually shoot three pictures, automatically over-exposing one and under-exposing the other, for situations where correct exposure is questionable.

Otherwise, though, it's not a bad camera.


->Best Price

I did my homework for a couple of months or more before deciding on the
Canon SD800, to find a digital camera with all the features I wanted.
I then started looking in all the stores in my area and found no one had it in stock, nor did they know when or even if they would have it at all.
I was leery of ordering it on the internet, but finally "bit the bullet" and checked out my options there and who had the best price.
I am very satisfied with the experience dealing with Amazon. I had a certain amount of money and was not going over that. With what I saved in
free shipping and no local tax, I was able to also purchase a 1GB card and
a 2 year protection plan.
It was a very pleasant experience dealing with Amazon and I would highly
recommend them to anyone. I might add my camera came in 2 days.
I have had a Canon SLR for 25 years and expect the same quality with this
digital.
I love my camera and am learning more about it every time I use it.


->Compare

I bought the Nikon first. It did not take good photos in dim light as reported in that section of the reviews. So I got rid of it and bought the Canon SD800. I just returned fom NY where I took photos of several one-act play scenes -- all with the flash turned off, using ambient light and using the auto setting. The quality of photos was great, even in the dim light -- not grainy and out of color balance as with the Nikon.


->Price

I did tons of research on digital cameras and came to the conclusion that this would be the best quality camera for it's size. Boy was I right! I have had the camera for a couple weeks and it is awesome! The image stabilization and wide angle lens are the two features that stand out about this camera. At my son's birthday party I was able to hold it with my left hand while using my video camera in my right and was able to take clear, crisp pictures from very close. Now if you are wanting a huge zoom for ballgames,etc. you better go with an SLR, but if you want a very compact camera that takes great pictures, this is the one for you.

I have had a Canon PowerShot S30 that lasted 4 years and it took great pictures. It started freaking out on me recently, which prompted the purchase, and boy am I happy with the technology improvement in the last few years in the SD800.

You will obviously need a bigger SD card, but you can pick up a high speed 1GB card for about $20.

Make sure you shop around for the best price, but Amazon had the best price when I purchased mine.


->Best Price

Easy to use, takes great pictures (i'm not a fancy picture taker, I just take pictures when out with friends, on vacations). I don't really use most of the functions, just automatic for me. My pictures look better than my girlfriend's Sony (forgot which model, its one of the really thin ones).

I think if you want a camera that's easy to use, takes great pictures, and don't really mess with any of the settings (i.e. ISO, exposure), but just want a point and click, this one is a great choice.


->

i used to have a sony, and this is 10x better than the cybershot! my favorite thing about this camera have to be its ability to take pictures indoors at dimly lit resturants. i am a total foodie and like to take pictures of all the fancy food (making my $ last longer than just one bite!). it white balances very nicely - so when the plate is white and large and the food on it is small, the picture still has accurate coloring. the one negative is that it does not tell you how much battery you have left until it is very low. i would like a little more warning, or is there's a progress bar, that would be best. if there is one and i just have not found it yet, please let me know!


->Price

Good performance. A little disappointed with the image stabilizer when in manual mode.


->

After buying the Olympus Stylus 730 ,to save some money, and almost crying over the horrible pictures, I returned it and splurged for the Olympus SD800.

This camera is awesome! Picture quality is superb and it's easy to use. Plus a viewfinder will come in handy on bright sunny days when the LCD is hard to see, which is typical of most LCD's on digital cameras. I put in a 1G card and it holds well over 530 photos at the highest pixel setting. The software loads easily and is easy to navigate and use. You really do get what you pay for and this camera is definately worth the extra price.


->Purchase

If you don't mind spending some money then this camera is the best small digital camera out there. After testing several cameras for months I found this to be best. Easy to hold. Great Pictures. Image Stabalization is a very good feature for any small camera. Easy to use.


->Buy

Takes superb pictures. Very well focused. Has facial recognition technology and 9 point autofocus. LCD is just the right size and the camera is packed with other features. Battery life is about 300 pictures. I recommend getting a case.


->Compare

i used this camera out of the box; you don't need to read the instructions to start taking photos (although it would help). the viewfinder is pretty easy to read, even in bright light, and the 28mm lens is the envy of anyone else who has a point and shoot like this. best of all, it's small! Highly recommend this product.


->Deals

For the type of camera that it is, 7.1mp and all, I say this is a pretty good camera. I bought the PANASONIC LUMIX 7.1MP and after testing it out I returned it. In exchange, I purchased the CANON POWERSHOT SD800 7.1 and I am much happier. The pictures are clearer and less grainy and noisy. It is not the best quality there is but it is pretty pretty good if you're on a low budget. The zoom function works pretty well also. I was impressed by the fact that pictures in which I had to zoom in all the way did not come out very blurry at all. In other cameras zooming in all the way will give you a blurry picture.

I'm definitely in love with my new Canon PowerShot. I think, however, Canon should rethink the design of the buttons and the way you navigate on the LCD screen but I can deal with that. I give it 4 stars because I know this is not the best camera out there and I don't print too many pictures so I don't really need the best. Still, the quality I see when I load the pictures onto my computer is very good. The pictures come out just fine. And all the features on this camera are great also. I recommend this camera, or something from Sony can be pretty good as well.

Canon and Sony are at the top of my list.


->Affordable

Awesome camera.. I changed to SD 800IS from Powershot A400. Low light pictures are amazingly good. Canon truly rocks.. I would say go and get one for yourself..


->Buy

The pictures from this camera are about as good as you're going to get from one this small. My husband has a full-sized professional Canon SLR and his pictures are always crisper and have brighter colors than mine, but if I had to carry around something that big I would never do it. This fits in almost any pocket, is there when I need it, and works very, very well. The face recognition does work, and I'm a lot more likely to have the face be in focus and not the post right behind them that my previous camera would choose to focus on instead.


->Best Price

We did a lot of research before buying this camera and we are so glad we went with this one. We love it just as everyone else seems to. I don't need all the bells and whistles, that is my husband's thing. To be honest, I found the manual a bit overwhelming. But the camera is easy to use and takes fabulous pictures. We are very happy with it.


->Sale

Great photos, little manual control but that's what this cameras excels at, ease of use. Check out my Flickr account by searching for "masmediaspace sd800" withing the Flickr search bar to see some real world examples. This camera is quite capable when used with the appropriate settings. I had an 5MP Canon S50 and must admit this is not any better with regards to image quality(that was an excellent camera and it is significantly bigger).

PROS
The lcd is large & clear, the user interface is intuitive, the wide angle is used more than you would think and it shoots really rapidly. The great thing about this size camera is you won't be afraid to take it with you because its so small. Also, the image quality is very good but don't be afraid to experiment as you can "help" the camera by composing your shots properly and using the settings appropriately. Stay in ISO 80 as much as possible.

CONS
There is slight corner blurriness noticeable at wide angles. Body is not metal, it just looks like it. Some custom setting don't save like focus priority even in Manual mode(flash, ISO, settings DO save).


->Price

No, this is no SLR, but it certainly fills a niche. Several things we really like about this camera. One, it's a Canon, a brand I've come to depend on for giving wonderful service. Secondly it's fast. I can turn this on, take a picture and turn it back off before our older Canon S30 would even be ready, so I can get shots with this right quick that otherwise would be missed. We like the large clear screen and that it has a viewfinder also. But one of the neatest features is the face recognition where it can track and focus on several faces in taking a portrait. Even if you move the camera it keeps up with the face. It is very small and compact and goes in a shirt pocket even in the Canon soft leather case. It is quick and easy to use, whether just point and click or whether you want to delve into your photography a bit. It has a nice wide angle lens and a good zoom to boot. This is a most enjoyable and fun camera that does a good job. Turns out it's just the ticket for use on the Harley while traveling, as well as the various sporting events we attend.


->Compare

This is my second Canon P+S digital elph. It is small enough and light enough that you don't have to think twice about taking it with you. I chose this model for the image stabilization and the wide angle. I'm happy that I chose this over the 900 or 700is. Picture quality is excellent. The only issue I've found is that it tends to overexpose near subjects when taking flash photos. Otherwise fabulous.


->Deal

Based on reading these reviews, I went ahead and purchased this camera. I am finding however, that I actually prefer my Kodak camera. It seems that as I look at the screen while taking a shot, the screen seems low quality. Once the shot is taken however, it looks fine. But my main concern is the picture quality I am receiving!! While on my camera (through the LCD) the picture looks good. However, when I try to print, (either at home or at the lab) the pictures all seem to have a "cast" over them. Almost like a grey coloring, and VERY digital looking! Also, any picture taken with red in it prints out horrible! Everything takes on a red hue! It very well could be me, or maybe my camera is defective, but I never had any problems with my Kodak. I just wanted to upgrade after having my baby. I am really considering returning this camera.


->Compare

Canon PowerShot SD800 IS 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Image-Stabilized Optical Zoom was indeed a very good choice at all levels: shutter speed, picture quality, manipulation and use of its different options...




->Comparison

Good camera, small, great pictures. Great carry around camera and the 28mm lens is worth the price right there. Enough manual settings to be creative and the presets are great. A small camera you will use.
Well worth the price.


->Prices

This camera normally takes great photos, but sometimes when using the flash there are small white circles all over the picture. This is supposedly due to dust particles in the air, but I never had this problem with my previous Kodak or Fuji cameras.


->Affordable

I'm positively affectionate about this charming little camera, which I've had for about four months. I bought my last digital camera, a Nikon Coolpix, five or six years ago. My new SD800 is about 1/5 the mass of the old one, and vastly more capable. I'm not a sophisticated photographer, but I travel regularly and take a lot of pictures. The features I appreciate most in this camera, apart from its compactness, are image stabilization, high resolution, big display screen, talking movie mode, deep zoom range (from wide-angle to 3.9X optical), large storage capacity (I use a 4GB card), and rechargeable battery. When I'm done shooting and power down, the extended lens retracts fully into the camera body and an iris closes over it. No bothersome lens cap! I just slip it straight into my pocket where it rests unobtrusively. Before, when I was amidst crowds abroad and carried my Nikon around my neck, my wife felt it was equivalent to wearing a sign that said "TOURIST. Please pick my pocket!" She's so much more comfortable with this inconspicuous little Canon. My only quibble with the SD800 is that the power button can be hard to find quickly because it's flush with the body. But if it protruded, it would probably be susceptible to being pressed accidentally. If I were a more demanding user I might be more critical, but for a casual photographer-tourist like me, this is a superb camera.


->Purchase

Okay, I gave this to my son for Christmas. He's the primary user so I've only had a chance to do a little with it. I have to say that the camera is a joy to hold, and all the function keys are excellent and intuitive. The photos are simply amazing. The image stabilization feature really works - you just about never get blurry pictures like you do from most cameras doing casual happy snaps.
We bought the waterproof housing. It too, is easy to get the camera in and out of, and the function keys seem pretty well thought out. We haven't used it scuba diving yet, so don't have anything I can report in that direction. I suppose we'll take it out in the rain this weekend and see how it does in that environment.
The only limitation that we've seen so far is that the video files are fat. If you want to get a point and shoot camera that really maxes out on the video side of the equation, probably should look at the pentax optio 6. That will take really long videos. BUT... not as nice a camera, and definitely does not produce stills that are as good.


->Deal

this is a very nice camera if you're looking for compact digital. i had the sd630 previously, which is also very nice, but you can definitely see the difference in upgrading to the 800IS. i recommend for everyone


->

This is my first digital camera. It works easily and takes good pictures. It's also a nice size and a fun object to play with.


->Cheap

The Canon PowerShot SD800 IS is a great point-and-shoot camera. It's small, it sports a stabilized, wide-angle lens, and it can pump out beautiful shots at a pretty rapid pace.Very good photo quality, low noise through ISO 800. Very easy to use, great night time shots.
Wide-angle lens
Optical image stabilization
Compact, super stylish metal body
Large, sharp 2.5" LCD display; easy to see in low light
Has an optical viewfinder (a rarity in this class)
Snappy performance
Face detection system works as promised
AF-assist lamp, good low light focusing
Excellent movie mode
Optional underwater case
USB 2.0 High Speed support -- Recommend 1GB SD card


->Deal

Bought this camera more than a month ago, I must say I'm quite disappointed with Canon. Prior to SD800 I've owned a S50 for almost 4 years and I must admit its still ways better than the new SD800. Now, I've paid only slightly less for SD800 than for my S50 in 2003 and have expected much better value per buck taking into account technology advances, yet I was miguided by many positive reviews of this camera. And it's not about the production quality but rather about the design of the camera itself.

Cons:
Automatic mode is useless, a lot of noise in the pictures taken indoors or when there is not su much natural light outdoors though Canon claims that there is a noice reduction filter built in. The only way to get around this is to overexpose the pictures using manual mode. Camera body is really crapy and is not resistant to scratches at all (ok, maybe I'm too demanding after havin titanium-body S50), yet my old good S50 has survived many travels, including taking it into the beach many times while SD800 has misteriously collected sand dust even after a single walk in the searshore (the sand managed to get into the background of the LCD screen with the dust visible as dead pixes when watching the shots).

Pros:
Wide angle is nice, yet not as useful as many claim in the reviews. The camera is light and performs relatively well when doing nightshots (in the manual mode of course). The handling is easy (until one goes to the manual mode), it is possible to zoom-in and out when taking video (which was not possible and was somewhat irritating in my old S50), the screen size and the battery life is also really good for the camera of such size.

Haven't tried new S70 but my guess is that it might have retained some of the good qualities of S50, so my recommendation would be to avoid Canon IS line if possible and look at Nikon, they have some real nice cameras nowadays.


->Compare

We got this camera for Christmas and it has been fantasic. Very easy to use and takes great pictures. I was particularly impressed with how fast it boots up. I was able to shut down and reboot my camera in the time it took my friend to boot her Nikon up once.


->Deals

This is about the best camera I've ever owned. I looked at others, but when I checked online reviews for specific Casio's, Sony's, Samsungs's and others all from average users like myself, they were very mixed. But just about every class of Canon seemed to have rave reviews. So I went looking for Canons. The SD800 IS seemed to have all the features I wanted. It's simple to pck-up, but sophisticated and capabable. It's light, compact, and easily travels everywhere. minial lag time between shots. Now, after two months of regular use, I find I can't wait to get it out and start taking photos. In auto mode, it takes sharp clear, crisp photos. The high-speed 1600 ISO ensures stability. It works well in low light situations. Manual mode offers great flexibility, and of course the ability to shhot movies at 30 fps for more than 30 seconds, and without having to worry about recharge batteries is great. I love having both the 2.8-in LCD screen and optical viewfinder.


->Price

This is a phenomenal camera. The display is large and clear crystal. The resolution very good (I don't want larger resolutions for what I want to print). It has a fast focus, and gets great color. I definitely recommend it to anybody. The camera's features are equivalent to Sony's T30, but I like the look and feel of Canon better...it feels much better in your hands than what looks in the pictures.


->Prices

I was planning on upgrading from my 3yr old Canon Powershot A80 4MP camera. Initially, I was only wanting more zoom than the A80 provided (3X). But when I saw the SD800 IS, I had to have it. The main attractions for me were the image stabilization, the compact size, wide angle & the quality of the LCD (very bright & sharp). The face recognition focusing was an added bonus. After using the SD800 for about 2 months now, I am very pleased. I think the single most valuable feature is it's ability to take such great pictures in low light situations without having to use flash--all due to the image stabilization allowing slower shutter speeds. This results in VERY natural (not flash washed-out) indoor photos, and combine that with wide angle, extremely fast shot-2-shot times (due to the Digic 3 processor) and you have a class-leading sub-compact camera. There is a little corner softness noticeable in wide-angle, but you really have to look close to even see it. In prints up to 8X11 you won't see it.

Throw in a very nice movie mode (even though you cannot use the optical zoom during filming--digital zoom only), and you have yourself quite a camera in a very compact package.

Yes, the USB port door is quite flimsy as everyone says, but with just a little careful handling, it's not likely to break--definitely not a deal breaker.

I still wanted more zoom, so I also bought the Canon Powershot S3 IS 12X zoom in addition to the SD800. But the SD800 is the camera that I carry with me everywhere I go. Highly recommended!


->Prices

I was looking for a camera that was easy to carry around and not as massive as our Rebel XTi, and did not want to give up the great picture quality. This camera has met all of my expectations. My only suggestion would be for Cannon to include a battery level indicator........


->Deals

The feature set on this is bare-bones compared to some similar sized and priced cameras I have used, particularly in regards to manual settings, but it takes very nice pictures in most settings on its own. The wide angle lens and 3.8x zoom are very handy and unusual features for a camera this size.


->Sale

After returning our Canon a610 to futureshop for repairs on the lcd (it went green) and finding out that it would not be back in time for the holidays (a long story, i'll say), we decided to pick up a new canon to take with us.

Being very happy with the performance and quality of the 610, as a camera and the pictures it took, we decided to go with another Canon. Looking at a few models, the sd800 looked like a good option, with a 7mp resolution vs. our 610's 6mp, IS, which came in very handy during the holidays (we took 1600 pictures in about 16 days), and a familiar user interface we were well used to.

Initial use of the camera was great. My wife was VERY happy with the form factor, being able to drop it right into a pocket, vs. the 610 being about double the size, considering all the dimenions.

Then about 5 days into our trip, as we were heading towards the active lava fields in hawaii for a hike out to the lava, and our camera died! Battery dead! Ugh! It was fairly late in the day, so we decided to head back to our cottage, recharge, and head back to the lava flows the next day. What had happened, was I had charged the camera the night before, then decided to transfer the pictures over to my laptop, and forgot to turn the camera off overnight, draining some of the power.

In any event, after that, we looked in the manual to see what the average lifespan/picture capacity was on a single charge. The manual said around 300 pictures w/ lcd, and 600 or so w/o. The battery pack being around 1100mah, I realized the difference. We normally use 4 AA 2300 mah energizer/dynacharge rechargables in our 610, which last -forever- and easily can take over a thousand pictures (i've never sat and tried to take that many), the sd800 has only 1/8th the battery capacity.

Overall, I would highly recommend the camera, as a great quick point&shoot, small compact you can toss in your pocket, purse, backpack, etc. If you decide to buy it, I highly recommend that you get a second battery pack for it. They swap in and out very easy, and will save alot of grief when you're vacationing somewhere and run out of battery power. The recharge time on the batteries is great too, around an hour or 2 to completely recharge.

dwight s.


ps: Just a quick note I forgot to mention in my review. After taking numerous pictures, I printed 62 5x7s, 10 8x10s and 3 11x14's from pictures taken with this camera, using walmart's online photo service (they are across teh road from my office).

It was the first time I had really printed large size digital pictures and I must say, i was -thoroughly- impressed with the quality of the shots printed at 11x14 and gave them to my wife for christmas. She was quite surprised and very happy to see the shots printed and framed.

We've got the two canon's now, the sd800 and an a610, and i would say we've completely switched to digital photography from 35mm film. I would suspect our next camera will be a canon digital slr - a friend of mine has one which i've used a few times, and I really like it.


->Deal

The SD800IS is an excellent sub-compact camera. Most importantly, the images are very sharp, especially for a sub-compact. It is very easy to use and I like the fact it still has a view finder when shooting in bright light. I also really enjoy the macro feature for real close-ups. I have not yet fully explored the most advanced features of the camera. The lack of full exposure control is the only limitation, but the auto modes are working for me pretty well.


->Compare

I've gotten great pictures. 3 of my friends have bought the same model after seeing my results.


->Cheap

Great Product.


->Cheap

Great camera! I shoot a lot of my pictures inside and really like the extra wide angle of the lens. PLUS it is a 3.8X xoom while most are only 3X. It starts up fast. shoots fast and the controls are easy to use. If you want a small (compact) camera the is EASY to carry with you all the time, this one is for you. I carry it with me whenever I am out of my house because I never know when I will see something I want a picture of. It really does the job. I own a D-SLR but this is the one I use the most.


->Best Price

I own a Canon Powershot G4 4 MP camera. At the time of purchase, it was the top of the line camera. I have been completely satisfied with this camera, but it was getting a bit dated and was larger than the newer cameras on the market.

When I decided that I was going to upgrade, Canon was my first choice....boy I wasn't disappointed. The SD800 IS is literally twice the camera at half the price and size as my G4. The LCD screen is "huge" in comparison. The 7.1 MP is more than enough resolution. It's small size makes it the perfect point-and-shoot pocket camera.

The image stabilization (IS) eliminated the blurred images from my pictures and now I can even record video!

I can't recommend this camera high enough.


->Lowest Price

This camera (and all Canon SDs in general) is perfect for a non-professional photographer. It produces great quality pictures, is easy to operate, and offers many features that are both useful and fun for the user.


->Wholesale

I've owned this camera for about 2 months now and am extremely happy with it! Prior to my purchasing this one, I had several other Canon cameras (s45, a400, s1IS) and, overall I was happy with them, but they had some limitations and downfalls as well. I decided to sell them all (while I still could!) and use the proceeds to upgrade to the SD800 because it had everything that I every wanted/needed (image stabilizer, AF lamp, large LCD, W-I-D-E angle lens, and very small, compact size) and more!

I frequently take pictures of various kitchen/bath remodeling projects that my company does and I found myself really needing a wide angle lens. The SD800's works GREAT! For instance: Previously, if I wanted to take a picture of something like a small bathroom, I was forced to try and take 3-4 pictures using stitch assist mode, and then spend 15+ minutes on my computer trying to cobble them together. My results were mediocre at best though because stitch assist is really only designed/suited for large, outdoor panoramas. Now that I have the SD800 with its 28mm wide angle lens, I can get the same type of shot in ONE picture and the resulting image is usually perfect, and requires no extra computer work on my behalf. I love it!

This camera also takes excellent pictures of people and animals, as well as outdoor scenery. It produces colors that are very accurate and "true to life". It powers on very fast and is easy to operate. The power and operational buttons, as well as the menu interface are arranged nicely (logically) and work well. The flash seems to be adequate for the lower light indoor and night shots that I've tried. The image stabilizer is a fantastic feature that works great! (I've tried turning it off/on for comparison and the difference really is "night & day"). The 2.5" LCD is a very nice/welcomed feature and is very bright and sharp, and the battery seems to last a very LONG time before it needs re-charging! (Without a doubt, the SD800's lower power consumption/battery life is a HUGE improvement over the previous models that I had).

I usually find myself using the full auto mode (which works beautifully), but I like the fact that I can switch to the manual or scene modes and adjust a few settings if I need to, or just want to play around a bit. I haven't experimented with the facial recognition mode yet, but from reading other reviews it seems to work very well. I don't really have any use for the movie mode, (yet) but from my limited experimentation, what I can tell you is that it works very well for short "candid" clips of a few minutes in length--precisely what its intended purpose is. (Not professionally videotaping a 2 hour concert!)

I've read some other reviews where people are complaining about this camera's "cheap appearance" or saying "it feels like it's going to break apart at any moment" ...or that (get this) "it's a piece of junk because it broke when they "accidentally" dropped it". I'm not sure what other cameras they've used, what they're comparing the SD800 to, or what they expected to happen when it fell to it's demise, but I would wager that those people are fairly inept, tend to find fault where there isn't any, and have no accountability for their own actions. The truth is, the Canon SD800 camera is very well made, looks great (I think anyways), and has a very "solid" feel to it. It's a precision engineered instrument though (read: computer with a lens) and if it were "dropped on the floor"...or "off a balcony" (accidentally or not) it would be only logical/reasonable to assume it WOULD break! (What would you expect? What camera wouldn't break?) Most, if not all camera manufacturers (including Canon) include a nice little wrist strap with their cameras (you can buy/make one also) that can be worn to prevent the camera from being "dropped on the floor"...or "off a balcony"! The wrist strap is a pretty simple concept, and it's really easy to use! Just attach one end of the strap to the camera, and place the other end of the strap around your wrist, Problem solved! Now, If these people can't understand that, they probably shouldn't be using a nice camera like this, and would be better off using disposable cameras...or, perhaps a box of crayons and some drawing paper. Also, I have yet to take any pictures using this camera that have any noticeable barrel distortion or pincushion (blurry corners/edges) using the wide angle or zoom. I don't see ANY problems with the location or operation of the on/off power switch. The battery doors construction is just fine, and the operation of it, and the round mode selector dial is easy if you use your thumb to slide or rotate them. (Respectively)

My only real gripe is that Canon (as well as other manufacturers) insists on providing a cheap, "throw away" memory card with their cameras. In this case, it's a puny 16MB card. What's the point? It's grossly inadequate. In order to get the most out of this camera, you will need to purchase a larger capacity card. I bought a 1GB Ultra II which works well, and seems to be very adequate for my needs. (I usually use the M2 setting and superfine mode)

Bottom line: This is a pretty remarkable camera that, if treated with reasonable care, (ie: kept in a "sunglass sleeve" or dedicated camera case when not in use, and used with a wrist strap when it is) should provide its lucky owner with years of service and very high quality pictures. It really is a top notch camera and easily earns my 5 stars. I love it and highly recommend it!


->Lowest Price

I've had this camera for a couple of weeks and I must say that it's as easy to use as any powershot camera from canon. It's fast, and pictures come out beautiful. Face detection is neat and works well for me. I love the fact that it's a 28mm lens. I can take a picture of myself at arms length and it looks like someone's taking a potrait shot of me :P (perfect for those parties where I would take pictures of me and my buddies at close range)


->Lowest Price

Takes great pictures and movies as long as you keep it in the fully automatic mode. In the mode where you can change some of the parameters, I have not been able to reliably take good pictures.


->Lowest Price

I bought this camera for my wife so she could easily take many of the typical family pictures that I traditionally have taken with my sophisticated and expensive Canon 5D and the like! I took pride in using all of the fancy things my "sophisticated" cameras could do along with their expensive lenses. Well, much to my surprise this little bugger can do just about everything I can do with my Canon 5D! OK, it won't do exactly what $2,000 to $5,000 worth of lenses does with the 5D, but it does a heck of a job for less than $400 in a package that fits in the palm of your hand!


->Lowest Price

This camera is an Excellent point & shoot performer. It is pocket size, very fast (very little shutter lag), and takes excellent photos. Image stabilization works great. It's hard to get a blurry shot. Coupled with a fast SD card, shot to shot times are very quick. This camera is worth the slightly high price.


->Wholesale

My decision to purchase a Canon product was strongly influenced by many years of good experience with earlier Canon cameras. I had owned an AE-1 35mm film camera for more than 20 years and a Powershot G-2 4 mpx digital camera for the past four years. When the G-2 was stolen I decided that I would replace it with a smaller, lighter, pocket type, point and shoot camera. Canon has a fairly wide selection of models in their Digital Elph line covering a range of prices and features. I selected the SD800 because it was the only one that featured a wide angle lense (28 mm equivalent) and an attractive 3.8x optical Zoom. The camera has an impressive number of features, some of which I am still learning about. In the two months I have owned it it has lived up to my expectations. It is small and light, fits easily in a pocket, appears to be of high quality manufacture is giving me excellent pictures.


->Lowest Price

I like this camera for great oportunity in it.Canon PowerShot SD800 is easy to use and makes nice pictures.I don't have any claims to it.


->Best Price

this camera is a good product with drawback on its plastic battery cover. The sliver plating wear out quickly, no very appealing!!


->Best Price

Very easy to use and high quality pictures.
Software is easy to use as well



->For Sale

I've now had this camera for about 6 weeks and I really love it. It came with me to Colorado for a world cup ski racing event in early December and I was very impressed with just about every feature. The first day we were there, it was minus 17 degrees, with the wind chill at minus 33, yes, below zero. After about 3 hours, my cell phone battery even died out, which really surprised me that the cold puts that much drain on a battery. However,my Canon stood through it all quite well and with power to spare at the end of the day, I'm happy to report.As a long time, avid skier, I have always taken along a camera to bring those shots back home from around the world and I'm glad that I did. However, when preparing for the day in the morning, laying out all the necessary stuff to take along ,I would dread carrying those few extra pounds of camera in my pocket and little by little, would eventually begin to leave it behind and then miss out of course on the best shots of the day. My last camera, a Canon power shot A 80, about 4 years old has been handed down to my 12 year old daughter as her back pack always has about 20 pounds of gear in it anyway and she doesn't seem to notice the difference.
I love the speed at which the camera "boots up".It's ready to shoot in about 2 seconds. I also take a lot of close up people shots, which the wide angle is absolutley perfect for. It virtually guarantees me a good shot with the wide angle lens. The video format is great too. Make sure you buy a 1 or 2 gig card. Night shots are also great with the image stabilization feature.Overall, a really well thought out design and a very functional all around camera for just about anybody, regardless of their camera experience. Great job Canon!


->Buy

I did a lot of research before purchasing this camera and I'm really glad I did. I wanted a camera that not only took fabulous pictures, but would last us for a very long time. So far, I am very pleased with the quality of pictures and the features the camera has!


->Compare

For someone who enjoys photography, but doesn't like to lug a big camera, the Canon SD800IS is an excellent choice. You can drop it in your pocket and take it with you on hikes, walks,etc.and it's always ready to capture that image you would otherwise miss. The images are sharp and it is ready to capture them immediately after hitting the power button. What it doesn't have is manual settings like apeture or shutter speed, etc., but save that for your "lugging" camera. I find myself using the SD500 more than my Canon S2is, which does have the manual settings.


->Lowest Price

the anti shake feature does not live up to expectations. Otherwise, a good camera.


->Purchase

For a compact camera this takes really great photos. While shopping for digital cameras some features you want are rechargeable battery pack and image stabilization. This has both.


->Sale

This is a great camera and has many unique features usually found on more expensive or larger digital cameras. The wide angle lens is fabulous and the overall feel and design of the camera is great. Setting the ISO above 800 leads to some noise in the picture, but the low light picture taking with this camera is superb. The image stabilization is a must have feature. I won't buy any camera in the future that doesn't have this. The learning curve for using this camera is a little daunting, but worth it.


->Price

I'm vary happy... have had no problems at all... the battery life is excellent... the operation is vary intuitive


->Compare

I used to have the 3.2MP Powershot. It was very good but is now un-retreavable at the bottom of Lake Superior. The SD800 Stability function makes for much clearer pictures, the camera is much faster. The older 3.2MP would miss action shots because it was slow not the case with the SD. The battery lasts twice as long.


->Best Price

I just got my new camera and I love it! It's very simple to use and the battery lasts for days. The picture quality is amazing and the time between taking one picture and being ready for the next is extremely fast. I'd suggest this camera to anyone looking for a new one.


->Cheap

Received this camera for Christmas 2006 and it works like a charm, large LCD makes it easy to see. This camera makes great pictures.


->Compare

This is the second Canon camera that I've owned. I've found it very easy to use and the picture quality is superb.


->Purchase

I just started using this camera, so I don't have much to give...but, from the little time I've spent with it, it's great. The image stabilization is fantastic, especially when you're zoomed in -- I have pretty shaky hands, and the picture came out perfect with the camera completely zoomed. The LCD would be cooler at 3" instead of 2.5", but it's big enough. I was a little thrown off by the LCD at first - it looks grainy, so I thought my pictures would come out that way - but no, the pictures are great quality. The only design feature I can complain about is the little (tiny, actually) knob that changes mode (play, shoot, etc.) -- it is very small, and a little hard to turn sometimes (especially when you're in a hurry to get that perfect shot in time!)...other than that, everything else seems excellent. The face detection feature is excellent - considering 99% of the pictures I take are of my son. I especially love the way you can turn the camera in play mode, and it will automatically rotate the picture so you're still looking at it right side-up. Very cool.


->Prices

What I want from a digital camera: High quality photos, wide angle capabilities, at least some manual controls, good build quality, compact size.

I bought this camera because I wanted a small wide-angle camera. My Canon S80 is great, but just too big when all I have is a little purse. I thought about the Panasonic/Lumix wide-angle cameras because they have slightly more manual controls than the Canons, but after trying one for a couple days, I wasn't happy with the picture quality. I tried the Casio Z850, which I loved, but no wide-angle. (But if you have to have manual controls and a tiny camera- that's the one for you).

So I've settled for this guy. I can't complain about picture quality, but I wish there were manual controls. Also, the design leaves much to be desired. The mode dial is difficult to use, the battery/SD door is difficult to open, and the door to the USB outputs, etc. is extremely difficult to close properly. All I can say is that I'm happy I'll never open that later door again.

So if you want wide angle in a small size, go with this. Otherwise, I think there are better options.


->Prices

This camera does everything I hopped it would. I just took it on vacation and couldn't have been happier. The battery lasted quite a long time. The photos look amazing!


->Deal

The wide angle is superb! Easy to use, good battery life as well....a little big, but takes great low light shots as well......just wish it had a 4X6 reslution format seeing that's the standard that all photos are printed at!


->Deal

The two main reasons I bought this camera were:
1. I wanted a camera with an optical view finder;
2. The 28mm (35mm equiv.) lens which allows easier indoor & outdoor scenery pictures.
The rest of the cameras features compare equaly or better to most in the price range. The build quality seems really good, and feels solid for a small camera.
In conjunction with my Dig. SLR I have all I need to get the pictures I want.




->Sale

Well, Image-Stabilized is a must feature for all the digital camera from now. This is a good beginning. I cannot live without this IS feature. I can shoot picture with 1/8 second with flash with my hands. Life is totally different and great with this camera. LCD screen is large, my wife loves to view all the pictures. Wide angle is the other must when you travel, trust me, you need it. However, you need to know how to use this camera "Right". Otherwise, you cannot feel this is an "Angel". I know it has soft corner issue. But so what, if you only print on 4x6 paper, you don't even see or feel it. If you want to print on something that is larger than 8x10. Then, get the Canon or Nikon pro camera, this camera is not fit for you anymore. So, just enjoy your life with this camera! By the way, Canon digital image processing beat the hell of every the other brands you know for sure because they are the pioneer of digital image processing. Don't expect any the other brand will out perform Canon in any near future. It is not easy to build up that system to be the pioneer in digital image. So, you won't go wrong with this camera. Why wait!?


->Deals

I upgraded to this from a Canon Powershot S40, and am impressed with everything I've used it for. The controls are easy to manipulate and understand, and the pictures are turning out great under varied conditions. The flash is powerful enough for all the shots I've needed it for, and I especially love how easy it is to vary the exposure so I can take pictures of people in front of bright backgrounds. I also appreciate the small size, and find that since it's easy to take it anywhere I'm taking many more pictures. Even so, the camera doesn't seem flimsy at all. Of course, the additional megapixels mean that I can crop my pictures and they're still big enough to print clearly.

The biggest surprise so far is how well it shoots video, something I hadn't even considered when I bought it. I took a short, impromptu video the other night, and it turned out better than my 5-year-old camcorder takes. Of course, it had to be short, but I was able to record the important part and even put it on YouTube. I've taken several short videos since, and they've been a great supplement to documenting our family holiday gathering.

I highly recommend this camera. Once you get it, make sure to study the user guide to learn about all of its amazing features.


->Deal

Great little camera. This is my third digital camera and my first Canon digital.

The image stabilization feature is what sold it for us. We purchased this as a replacement for our stolen Sony DCP-100. We liked that camera a lot and looked to Sony for a replacement. But after reading reviews and handling the Sony's we weren't impressed at all.

In looking back at the photos we had taken with the Sony we realized how many of them were blurry. So we went with the Canon as it was one of the only cameras in our price range that had Image Stabilization. We have already noticed a difference in our picture quality. IS is an excellent feature for a camera this small as the slightest movement of your hands passes directly to the camera.

Battery life seems good so far but we haven't really stressed it yet.
All of the hatches for the various compartments seem a little too delicate for my liking, but I thought the same thing about the Sony and it never failed.

I don't like the fact that I have to remove the battery from the camera to charge it. thats a lot of moving seemingly delicate parts just to charge the battery. Why can't it charge through the USB cable?

The other issue I have with the camera is the finish of the front of the camera. It is VERY delicate and scratches VERY easily. I suggest buying a case for this camera ASAP. I delayed purchasing a case and now have scratches on mine. Our previous Sony had scratches too but only after two years of use and still weren't as noticeable as these after just two days.

Overall we are very happy with this camera. The menu is easy to use and set up for your preferences. The big 2.5" screen is bright and works well even in bright sunshine. The buttons have a very solid quality feel.

It takes better pictures than the Sony it replaced and we were very happy with that. The macro mode could be better as it doesn't allow me to get as close to a subject as I would like but that inst a deal killer as I don't shoot that many macro images.

Overall a great point and shoot camera that anyone should be happy with...from first timers to professionals just looking for a pocket point and shoot to carry around. But then again it should be for $400. There are better values in this category (i.e. Panasonic) but this one had the best mix of features and quality for our needs and wants.

PROS:
Small size
Image Stabilization
LCD display
Fast start up and easy to use

CONS:
Delicate hatch covers
Must remove battery to charge
Delicate front surface finish scratches easily


->Best Price

I have had my SD800 IS for a couple of weeks now and after reading forum posts, I have finally learned to work well with the wide angle and you can't beat it. I also have an S230 which I still use and it still takes excellent pictures. I also have a Fuji F10 which I bought for the extremely long battery life and great night shots. All cameras have their pros and cons. I don't think you can beat the color quality of a Canon photo. The SD230 had a minor flaw where I had to check to see if it was in video mode or shooting mode, because the switch would easily flip from one to the other. They fixed that with the SD800 and now it stays in place. I like the size and portability of the SD800, it's as easy to carry around as a cellphone or drop into your purse if you are a female.

This is the only camera that I don't shoot in auto mode. I just think the pictures look much better if you shoot in manual and select an ISO like 80, or if you use SCN mode. At any rate I'm learning, and the more I fool with it the better the pictures look! For example at wide angle, some may be disturbed at the physics of perspective, buildings tilting inward, that kind of thing. It's sure easy enough to correct with any software that has perspective correction included. For me it's Paint Shop Pro. Many of my shots are indoors, at family and work events, and at least the wide angle gets everyone into the picture!

After having owned other digital camera brands, I do still come back to Canon for the beautiful color rendition of the pictures. I'm going to keep the SD800 IS!! Oh, and one more thing, I bought a 1gb SD card that folds in half and makes its own usb connector, eliminating the need for a card reader! That's great for traveling. I do any deleting, etc. from a card reader or the folding usb SD card, because it holds enough pictures to where I don't want to use extra battery power. I don't see where I am forced to use the date stamp, and don't, but then I'm still learning. I'm beginning to believe that one can't have too many digital cameras.




->Purchase

Mine had a minor defect, a loose "DISP." button, so I ended up returning it and getting an SD700 which I am very happy with. Some other things I didn't like about the SD800: the LCD screen does not fit tight against the back of the bezel, the battery door really is flimsy, too many chrome plated plastic pieces, is the image quality really as good as the SD700?. On the other hand, there are a lot of things to like about this camera: 28 mm (equiv) wide angle lens, face detection really works, good low light/high ISO performance, and many other great features. It's a nice camera, but nothing in the material world is perfect.


->Price

We bought this camera for a trip and I couldnt be happier. The features in this size camera are amazing. Granted I've been using a old Kodak DC280 2MP camera for the last 6 years and was happy with it for what it was, it was time time move up for higher resolution, low light capability, wide angle, and ability to do movies. I'm not a camera guru but have taken some nice pics with my old Nikon SLR.
I've only had the camera for a couple of weeks and have taken ~ 500 pics so I'm still learning all the features and quirks but here are some observations
The not-so-great:
1. zoom only moves in steps so it's sometimes hard to get it exactly where you want it.
2. Funky on/off button
3. No button for playback... you have to rotate the not-so-easy functon dial.
4. Function dial is small and it seems like it couldn have been designed better ( Although I love the small size of the camera ).
5. I havent owned a Canon before but other reviews point out the fact that earlier models were all metal. This one is metal on the front and plastic on the back. Not a big deal to me but the plastic will probably have worn off paint after some use around the corners
6. Plastic battery/memory card door probably could be better designed.
7. Other reviews said pictures look "soft" and I'd agree with that. Not quite as crisp as I wouldn have hoped for. But editing the pic's a bit can help that.
8. Photo stitch software isnt as easy to use as I'd like and doesnt work perfectly... some pic's the border between pics is blurry.
9. Plastic door cover over USB jack feels a little flimsy and I worry that the plastic piece that holds it on might break someday after continued opening and closing.
10. The camera is a little slippery without any type of textured gripping surfaces and I worry a little about dropping it.
11. To delete all pics on the memory card at once, you need to go into the menu system and select that feature but cant do it easily from the review mode.
12. When taking video's, the focus seems to be locked at the beginning of the shot.. if you zoom while taking a video things will be out of focus unless you return to the original zoom level when you started the video.

Pro's
1. Size matters... Easily fits in a pocket and thats worth it when traveling.
2. Image stabilization seems to work well.
3. Fast start up... turn it on and you can take pictures immediately
4. Great pictures and great in low light.
5. Feels solid and optical viewfinder works with the zoom (although with the LCD display I rarely use the optical viewfinder)
6. Beautiful LCD display... very detailed and crisp.
7. Auto image orientation works great.
8. Color accent feature is fun to play with
9. Having up to ISO 1600 availible is nice although you definately notice more picture noise at ISO 800 and 1600.. especially noticable at 1600
10. Face detect feature works great. I'm amazed how well it works.
11. Battery life is good and the compact charger travels well and works european voltages just fine.

Overall, I'm not disappointed in this purchase and would buy it again.
Battery life is good. I bought an extra battery off amazon for less than $20 just in case but never ended up using it on our trip.. as long as you charge the battery every day one battery got us through 1 day... although we didnt shoot much in the way of video's and that might drain the battery quicker. It's a little expensive with so many other options out there but for the size and features it was worth it to me.


->Price

I think this is a great camera for its size and price. But don't expect it to do the job of a larger and more expensive camera.

I consider myself to be serious about photography, and I have an EOS 20D as my main camera. But I'm not going to take that everywhere, so I need a small point and shoot camera for snapshot occasions. I've taken this approach since film days, when I had a Leica Mini (way bigger than this camera) for my "little" camera.

I was in the market for a new "little" camera, and the key things I wanted--beyond taking good pictures--were a 28mm equivalent wide angle capability, a viewfinder, small (but not necessarily tiny) size, and an underwater housing. Then this camera came out with all of those!

Another feature I like is that it can mask the LCD screen to show a 3:2 aspect. I normally crop to this aspect in Photoshop, and while I generally take pictures through the viewfinder there are occasional shots where this ability to check the framing is useful.

Some reviewers have complained about softness at the edges at the extreme wide angle. I haven't noticed this, but I haven't used it for the sort of picture where it would be critical. (I'd choose my 20D for that sort of situation.) If you want wide angle photos that are uniformly sharp across the frame you probably shouldn't be using a pocket camera. There is only so much manufacturers can do with optics that will fit in a camera this size.

I think the construction of the camera is fine. There is always a compromise among weight, toughness, and price. Canon has made reasonable choices here. This camera may not be the best choice for every photographer, but it isn't reasonable to ask one camera to be the best choice for every situation.

Judging this camera against previous small cameras I've had and my expectations for it I am very happy. Judging it against my 20D it does better than I might have expected, but I never intended to judge it that way. Expecting a camera that costs less than 400 dollars and fits in your pocket to do what an expensive SLR with an expensive lens can do is silly. Even comparing it to a camera that costs twice as much and weighs three times as much is silly. But what you get for the size and price is terrific.

If you want a small camera that takes great pictures and can go wide this is the one!


->Affordable

This was my first digital camera upgrade from an old Olympus circa 2000--maybe I'm easily impressed. This camera worked out great for a recent vacation... and I'm glad we didn't lug around the old camera.

The biggest concern I had was the shutter delay. Apparantly all non-SLRs have some delay but I couldn't find any definitive information about this particular camera. Again, perhaps all modern cameras are similar to this Canon--but I can say without a doubt, that if you pre-focus you can take action pictures with this camera. I am impressed.

My ultimate reasons to choose this camera were:
--wide angle lens
--size


Surprisingly useful features:
--image stabilization (one of those rare features that actually has great utility and not just marketing value).
--video capture (I just didn't expect to ever use it and it's quite fun).
--"scenes" for auto-settings. The aquarium setting worked great for example.

Negatives:
--corners of wide angle lens are definitely soft and off color sometimes... but, really, it's minor and the primary drawback found in any wide lens. I find the gripes about this issue a bit unwarranted because I think all similar cameras have (effective) 35mm lenses. Bottom line: I love the look of wide angle that I'm glad to sacrifice a tiny bit of quality to get the great shots.

--Flash is not that great. Personally, I found myself using the "AUTO HI" ISO setting (where it's still auto-ISO, but tends to use higher values) in order to take low-light photos. They're grainy, but if you have at least some light I still like the results better. I don't know if the flash is just poor at picking the right power for the subject's distance or what--but the flash pictures just didn't turn out that great.

Regarding the review comments about the flimsy battery cover... When I first saw this I thought, "oh, is that all they're talking about? who cares" The door cover on the battery is fine. It's not metal like the rest of the camera case but it's fine. However, the cover for the AV and USB cable hook up is totally flimsy. It has this plastic tether/hinge thing that makes me very concerned... however, it seems to be well designed and simply "feels" cheap. Even if this fell off I wouldn't be terribly concerned. I guess my point is that the battery/SD cover is fine!

Finally, something I noticed as I was optimizing a bunch of vacation photos today...the exposure and color balance is awesome in this camera. Again, maybe I'm just easily impressed but if I had gone through 30 images as I did today with photos from that old camera I know I'd be using Photoshop's Auto-colors or Auto-levels to improve at least half of them. I barely touched any of the photos from this camera. They really are quite close to perfectly balanced.


->Buy

I was looking to replace my Cannon Digital Elf S300. I've had it for 5 years and was looking for something better. I was originally going for the Cannon SD630 but decided to upgrade to the Cannon Powershot SD800IS. After getting it home and trying all of its features this is what I found.

1. The pictures have alot more "noise" (grainy) in them than my old camera's pictures even on the automatic setting. And of course the higher you manually set the ISO the more noise you'll get. The pictures looked flat with no depth to them and sometimes the colors were a little more washed out than my old cammera (which by the way was the same price as the SD800IS 5 years ago.)

2. I bought this camera for low light pictures. It doesn't really do much better than the other camera's because they all have the same small flash size. I tested with over a hundred pictures and different settings and it still didn't impress me.

3. As far as the color swap feature, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I tried replacing red with blue and all's I got was a blue tint over the whole picture. I also tried color swapping my daughters shirt from pink to black and I just got the same thing - black tint over the whole picture.

I have to be fair and say that other than these issues the cammera seemed to be fine. But I'm taking it back because for that kind of money I expect it to take better pictures than my old cammera and it didn't. The only advantage it has is a bigger LCD screen and I care more about the quality of pictures it takes. I think Cannon went cheap on this product. They don't even use the Carl Zeiss lens anymore. He switched to Sony.


->Sale

I've had the SD800is for about two months now, and it is definitely the best 'grab and shoot' camera out there. We took it out of the box, charged the battery, and started taking pictures in full auto mode. Out of 100 pictures we took the first day, all were usable. The handling takes a little getting used to because it's so small.

I purchased this model specifically for the wide angle lens and because it has an optical view finder (which helps when shooting outdoors in bright sunlight.) My priority was to find a camera that I can carry with me at all times and will always get the shot. This one does not disappoint. For situations where I want the best possible picture quality, I carry my bigger camera.


->Prices

I read so many positive reviews of this camera that I decided that it was time to replace my beloved KonicaMinolta Dimage X. I'm glad I did. I just got back from Israel and Jordan. I took my new SD800 as well as my Nikon D70. The SD800 more than held its own. The colors are fantastic, and the image-stabilization works very well. The wide angle lens produced superb landscapes. I like the fact that it is one of the few of the newer compact cameras that retains an optical viewfinder. This camera is worth every penny.


->Comparison

I just spent a good 1/2 hour here reading reviews on the SD800 IS, and didn't agree with many of them so I had to write one myself. I have previously owned Canon's S400, S500 and SD550. I usually pass my previous cameras on to family so I can get the latest and greatest, and once again I am not sorry I did. I am extremely happy with my 800 IS. I quickly charged my battery, then took 60 photos or so using every feature I could find in the camera. Macro, flash, no flash, wide, telephoto, B/W, sepia, vivid, you name it. I couldn't take 1 bad photo even if I tried! I loved the results in all of them. My only complaints were test shots at ASA 800 and up. Yes, those will be very noisy and unusable, but when printed in a 4x6 size how bad will it be, really. Not much worse than film cameras at ASA 400 or 800. How many situations will you find yourself in needing that high an ASA rating? This camera is beautifully built, it looks and feels expensive and I think it's a quality built camera. It is not a tank like my old S400, and it's lighter than the SD550 but it does not feel or look cheap. This is an outstanding small camera. As for soft or blurry edges at the wide angle setting, NONSENSE. I just can't see it in my photos. If you are a previous Canon Digital elph owner and want to upgrade, go for the 800 IS. I picked this one over the 900 because I didn't like the looks of the 900, didn't care for 10 megapixels (when is it enough?), and the 900 did not have the IS feature, which is outstanding on my 800 IS. It really works! I took many photos indoors without flash, hand held and they were unbelievable, with excellent color balance. My flash photos seemed to cover the room just nicely too. I just loved every photo I took today with this camera. So, I don't know what all the whining and bickering is about, but this is one fine piece of camera engineering. As for the battery/SD card cover, yes, it's light and plastic, so open it carefully the way you should handle a $400 camera. There must be many clumsy people out there who break things. I never have, especially with my cameras. So, do I regret giving up my SD550 for this 800 IS? NOT ONE BIT! Both are outstanding cameras. I did a lot of research before forking over the cash for my next camera, and I'm glad it led me again to the Canon line. If you want one, treat yourself. I also hope I have made your selection easier for you. Between my wife and kids, my siblings, my nephews, brothers-in-law, you name it, they all have digital cameras now. We see many crappy photos, but almost never from those who went with the Canon Powershots. What does that tell you?

I have had my camera for more than one month now and I am still very happy with it. My wife has my previous SD550 so I've got the best of both worlds. That SD550 is also a great little camera, so I'm glad we've kept it. It just doesn't have Digic III or the IS feature, but that hasn't been a big issue. What I have now noticed is that for some reason I'm getting more red eye shots with these cameras. I have been taking a lot of photos of my young daughter and her dance class partners, and it seems to be more of a problem with children than adults for some reason. I have read that because of the small camera size, the flash is just too close to the lens and that is the reason. I don't really know but it could be true. I use a software program provided by Kodak Gallery to upload many photos at once, and it fixes that very quickly and easily so it is not a big issue to me. Also, some have written about the white spots that show up on photos. That I believe are dust particles in the air that come out magnified in photos, which is another common thing with these small digital cameras. Remember, at 7.1 MB you will see incredible details in your photos. If you have a digital camera, trying taking shots outdoors at night around a camp fire and you'll see what I mean. As for the round dust spots that show up, I just copy and paste a surrounding area without the spot and paste it over the spot and it's gone. There are many software programs that let you tweak your photos, so it's easy and fun to make corrections, which was virtually impossible with film photos.


->Compare

I upgraded to this model from the Power Shot A80. I have been a loyal Canon fan for years, and I was excited at the glowing reviews the SD 800 IS was getting. I was mainly drawn to the SD800 for (1) its small size (it easily fits into a shirt pocket); (2) the image stabilization, which everyone has been raving about; and (3) the 9-point autofocus and face detection.

I've been using the camera for a month now, and the results have been largely disappointing. The photo quality just isn't very good. The photos I have taken are not noticeably better than - and sometimes worse than - ones I took with my 4-megapixel A80. Everything looks gorgeous on the LCD screen when you first take the shot, but when you pull them up on the computer, you have noise, noise, and more noise, especially if you shot in Auto mode. You can reduce the noise in manual mode, but it's still noticeable. And the lens has a very low depth of field, even when you have autofocus turned off.

Friends have told me I'm expecting too much from a point-and-shoot. Maybe I am. I have concluded that if you go with a camera this small you need to be willing to sacrifice optical quality. And I am not.

Whether this camera is right for you depends on what your needs are. If you're looking for a convenient and feature-laden camera to basically capture snapshots, maybe this camera is for you. But if you're interested in creating crisp, publication-auality photos, look elsewhere. I'm going with a digital SLR instead.


->Prices

I have the SD700 IS and decided to "upgrade" to the SD800 IS. While the new processor seems to help focus speed a little bit, the pictures (especially) indoors are worse than the 700 and are very grainy. I wish Canon would focus picture quality instead of technology features. We seem to be going on a downhill slide in that area.


->Compare

I've had older Canon models, but this is a quantum leap. Extremely easy to use (without even looking at the manual) taking great pics right out of the box. Controls and options are way better than on older models. One of the reviewers complained about the design (small buttons etc.) which I can see as an issue only if you're Shaquille O'Neil. All the buttons are very well laid out, simpler and easier to access menu options than with previous generations of cameras.

Stunning picture quality (Canon was always one of the best) and great image stabilization feature. Check out reviews on dedicated digital camera web sites and look at some of the competitors' reviews. You'll have hard time finding anything better in this price range that combines all of these qualities in one single camera - size, ease of use, options/features, battery life and picture quality.

Just get a nice, fast SD card at least 1-2Gb and enjoy. This camera is a lot of fun and a keeper.


->Comparison

Picture this... front row, first U2 concert in town for 8 years, I'd been in line in blistering heat since 7am in the morning for an 8.30pm start, saw an awesome opening show and took a stack of shots of the band on my trusty OLD Canon IXUS II that looked great... until I got home!

I couldn't believe that 80% of the shots I tooked looked rubbish, were blurred despite my extremely stable hands and looked like they were taken from 50 metres away from the stage rather than 5. To say I was gutted was an understatement. I felt like throwing my IXUS II into the bin... right after dropping it 3 stories out my window and going down to jump on it a good half dozen times.

I quickly did a search of the web and found that problems like this are common with digital cameras and that others too had taken 80% of blurred shots under similar conditions with older models of this camera. Some suggested using the timer so that the hand pressing the shot button didnt cause the blurriness but that wasnt what I wanted to do. A little more web research and I came across the 800 IS... and I'm pleased to say it worked a treat for the other U2 shows I saw.

I wanted to go with Canon as my friend (a professional photographer) suggested that they were an excellent brand and top quality cameras. After reading several glowing reviews on Amazon UK and other internet reviews, I purchased this model. I'm so glad I did. The image stabilizer works well under night time concert conditions. Moreover, it has a function so that repeated shots can be taken with very little delay between shots... fantastic! Also, it allows manual adjustment in ISO speed up to 800.

The image quality of this camera is light years ahead of the others - the shots are clear, sharp, crisp and clean, not to mention CLOSE, with only the occasional blurred shot, but the ratio of good to bad is well in favour of the good. Great for low light photography. The video function works well also taking great little videos although the amount of space it takes up can be huge (400mb for 4 minutes or so), although that's probably me just not understanding the settings all that well. The camera also has a wonderful zoom function including a digital zoom. Its LCD screen is large and image clear (unlike the older model I had). The functions are easy to understand and use. Personally, I find the desing attractive, although not as nice as the 900.

I'm still exploring the camera's other features although I have to say that I'm more than happy with my purchase. The one obvious downside is no battery monitor... i found with my other camera after a while the battery life ran down so that I could no longer go out for a whole day of traveling and take photos on the one battery and with this model you'd not get any warning that your batter was going flat.

Other than that, I enjoy using it and it's small and compact, which I love for traveling as I can just put it in my pocket and take good shots on day trips. I'm sure the Canon 800 IS will provide me several years of good use.



->Compare

I got this camera about a week ago to replace my old SD200 that died and I am having a ball with this little thing. I do a lot of photography so I need a camera that takes good, sharp pictures consistently and this camera really delivers. I'm absolutely in love with the image stabilizer. I can actually use the digital zoom and still get a sharp picture. I'm amazed. Another plus about the image stabilizer: you can take low light pictures much easier. I took a picture recently of a carosel at dusk and its completely clear.

Another criteria of mine is a very minimal delay between pressing the button and taking the shot. Most of the other cameras I tried out had at least a half second delay. This camera doesn't have a delay. At all. You press the button and it takes the shot that second. The only exception is in low light when the shutter stays open longer but thats a different matter all together.

I also love all the little features. I haven't quite figured out all of them yet but this camera has a color accent feature that will pick out one color and put the rest of the picture in black and white. Its really fun to play with. There seems to be a setting for everything, so you can get the perfect shot every time and not botch the special moment.

The LCD screen is amazing. Its so clear and has awesome colors. It also flips the pictures for you so no matter what orientation the picture is you can see it full screen. The buttons and menus are really easy to figure out, but then again its identical to all the other elphs so i already knew how to work it.

I haven't printed any images that I've taken yet but I'm pretty sure that they'll be good. Overall, i just love this camera. I was sold the moment I saw how clear the pictures were, even on 10xs digital zoom. Everything about it is just perfect for every use.



->Price

It is a big design flaw. The camera only allows you to stamp the date on the pictures for postcard mode only (1600 x 1200). Is there a way to work around this issue?


->Purchase

I was in the market for a new camera with more megapixels, smaller in size and weight and a larger lcd screen. I already had a Canon Powerpoint A400, and it is a great camera, so I wanted to stick with Canon.
A friend told me about the SD800 IS so I read some reviews and checked it out and I went with it. I absolutely love it! Easy to use, clarity is fantastic, and it is really light, even with the battery. Overall, I really like the camera and I recommend that one should get this camera if they're thinking about it...you won't be sorry.


->Best Price

I just got this camera today. I'm no expert on cameras but what little time I've played with this thing I really like it. I started looking for a new camera about two weeks ago. When I started I was overwhelmed. I think I read every review on every camera. Then I got really confused. So I went with my gut and got the SD800. I was very impressed with it. I think anyone looking to buy a camera would enjoy this one. I got mine from Amazon and was very pleased with the service.


->Deals

I just upgraded from the Canon s400. Amazing camera and has been very good to me over the years. I wanted some new technology, Digic III and the IS system. This camera so far is perfect. I do not have the 'crappy' door issues that some other users have as I am used to it with Canon products. The door on my s400 was the same and NEVER broke as a result. This camera is small and light, just about perfect.

If you are upgrading you will be amazed how quick this camera is. Starts up fast, takes pictures quickly, just excellent. The 207k res. LCD is excellent as well. From my other Canon to this, the screen is light years better.

Need an upgrade? Buy this 800IS.

Need a new camera? Buy this 800IS.


->Prices

In my opinion, this camera is worthy of a 5 star rating, one of the few I've ever given.

My experience with cameras in this class started with a Canon S-100, which I upgraded later to a Canon S-400, both of which proved to be excellent for my on-the-go photography needs. My only criticism with this class of cameras was that they lacked two features I really wanted:
1. wide angle lens
2. image stabilization
I guess the Canon folks read my mind with the introduction of the SD-800, and after reading a number of positive technical reviews for the camera on the web, I purchased one as an upgrade for my beloved S-400. I was particularly suspicious regarding image stabilization, since my only prior experience with a camera using this technology had been disappointing (Canon S-1, a larger 10x zoom model).

As might be expected with the advances in memory technology, the SD-800 takes movies at a higher resolutioni (640x480) than the S-400 (320x240) and has a higher maximum pixel count (7.1 vs 4.0). It also uses the smaller SD memory cards as opposed to the bulkier CF cards for the S-400, and the lithium battery pack has a different form factor (which means you can't reuse stuff from an earlier model).

What I consider to be the 2 real upgrade features for this camera, the wide angle lens and the image stabilization, are what truly distinguishes it from its competition. I've had this camera for about a month now and can happily report it is a significant advance over the S-400. The image stabilization is a dream. With the S-400 I had to rely on bracing the camera in many circumstances where with the SD-800 I can count on sharp images just holding it out, composing, and taking the shot. In a recent work session where my group had accumulated a great deal of writing on a wide white board along the side of a narrow conference room, I was able to capture in a single, sharply focused shot the entire board, something the S-400 would have taken 2 shots to achieve followed by a photo stitch. There is some distortion at the outer edges, but I personally don't see this as a drawback given the advantages to getting the whole image (after all you can crop the picture if the rather small amount of distortion truly bothers you).

What else? Well, the camera is lighter and more comfortably contoured than the S-400. It does retain the view finder (thank heavens ... there are simply circumstances where this is the only reasonable way to compose a shot). A single door is used for both memory and battery (vs. 2 doors on the S-400). As others have reported, the door has a flimsy feel, but my first camera in this line (the S-100) had a similar door and I never broke it. Anyway, the USB-2 picture download pretty much eliminates needing to pop out memory cards to get a faster download speed via a card reader. I did invest in a 4Gb high speed SD card since maximum movie length is 4Gb at 640x480, 30 frames per second, or about 25 minutes worth of pretty darn good movie taking. My experience to date is that with this level of capability and convenience I doubt I will every use my cam corder again for family movies.

Out of the box I found the controls and interface to be easier and more intuitive than the S-400. I have all the capabilities I had with the S-400, plus some "gee-whiz" features I've had fun with but I doubt I will use routinely (e.g., color swap). I can also recommend Canon's leather case for this camera. It provides an extremely easy way to carry the camera on your belt (it uses a belt loop, which I think is far superior to a belt clip). I was initially put off by the magnetic flap used with this case, but now agree it's a superior design (their earller cases used Velcro).


->Best Price

This is a nearly perfect camera -- it's feature-packed with excellent photo & movie quality. An important feature that is a "step-up" from the SD700 is the DIGIC III system (SD700 has DIGIC II). This means better quality photos & movies, AND the movie limit goes up from 1 GB (just 8 min. in hi res) to 4 GB using the SD800. The SD800's DIGIC III also incorporates facial recognition & intelligent focus (not the gimmick I thought it would be, really useful!) Battery life is better by 12%, among other improvements. Not to mention the bump up to 7.1 MP from the SD700 (6 MP), this camera is definitely worth the extra $. (NOTE: The SD900 is basically a 10 MP version of the SD550, and doesn't even utilize the new DIGIC III system)


->Deal

I chose this camera for the same reason most did, 28mm wide, great IS, and all the little things (in-camera stiching, color changing, other things). Seems Canon has finally made a camera that can focus in low light as well as a Sony. You can pretty much turn that stupid focus assist light off. While you're at it you might as well turn off the Red Eye lamp because it doesn't do anything but annoy your subjects. The 28mm wide works really nicely indoors and there aren't many that have that. Unfortunelty, they had to give up a little sharpness over the sd700 to do this, but it's a fair trade. Almost wish when you turned the camera on it started around 32mm and you had to de-zoom because the widest setting isn't used that much, and it's less sharp, but nice to have. One thing that seems off is how low the volume is even at max when you are playing back a video. And, there seems to be a lot of camera noise or something going on, although I've only watched and listened straight from the camera, I haven't downloaded a play one on a tv or pc/mac to hear if it sounds the same. I hate how much work you have to do to delete a picture or even view the last one you took. Sure, you can set the post view long but to see it later you have to go to Play. If yo don't hit Disp to delete right away you have to go to Play mode then press Menu, select it, then hit the set button, then press Menu again to exit, what a pain! Canon, just copy Sony and be done with it. Sony uses a button to show the last picture at anytime, then another to quickly delete it. But this isn't about Sony, this is about Canon. I don't think the bottom door is that bad, haven;t heard of one breaking yet. The face recognition stuff and area focus is hit and miss, you may just want to stick with center focus. The colors are pretty true and it's amazing how dark it can be and still get a picture in without flash. Overall it's an improvement over my last pocket camera (W1) but not in sharpness. Overall it's the features and not the image that led me to this one. Favorite color setting is Vivid because Normal is just too flush.


->Deals

This is my third Canon Powershot (the others are the 110 and the 260). I like all three of them and have been very satisfied with the image quality and the reliability of the older two, which played a large role in choosing this model. Digital camera technology has advanced so rapidly that this model has capabilities far beyond those of the earlier two.

Pros:

Image stabilization: works well, makes it possible to take hand-held photos of still subjects in low light without flash.

Autofocus on faces: I thought this would turn out to be a useless gimmick, but (surprisingly) it actually works. When enabled, the camera looks for faces and draws rectangles on the LCD viewfinder around those it finds; it then focuses on those portions of the image.

Excellent 30 fps 640x480 movies, which can be as long as memory allows.

Can also film 60 fps at 320x240, for slow-motion playback.

Truly pocket-sized ("the best camera is the one in your pocket, not the one you left at home")

Replaceable rechargable battery with compact multivoltage charger included.

Larger-than-usual zoom range, including medium-wide angle.

Long exposures possible for nighttime photography (not long enough for most astronomical photography, though).

Fast boot time, unnoticeable shutter latency, short recycle time -- the first digital camera I've had that doesn't keep me waiting.

Cons:

No raw mode (JPEG stills and AVI movies only).

Battery and charger are not compatible with older Canon Powershot cameras.

Controls are small and a bit awkward for adult-sized fingers. The very lucky kid who gets one of these would probably not have a problem.

I would love to see a compact digital camera with a bounce flash ... the flash on this camera (like others) produces harsh, flat light and red eye and has a very limited range. A wireless slave flash is available but (according to what I've read) only works when the builtin flash is on.

An underwater housing (Canon WP-DC9) will be available soon (yay!) but at a price not much below that of the camera (boo!). I would love to see a rainproof compact digital camera that could survive an occasional dunking, without an expensive and bulky housing.

Most of the case is metal, but one end (including the battery/flash card cover) is plastic, and in my judgement, this will require careful handling to avoid breakage. This is a step back from the earlier Powershots I've used, which have robust metal cases that can tolerate occasional clumsiness.


->Deals

What a great camera!

I am an ex-wedding photographer and am very picky about the equipment I buy. This camera produces beautiful images and downloads them very quickly to your computer using the included Canon software. Be sure and get a 1GB fast SD card...it pays off in fast image save times as well as image upload times.

The 28MM eq. lens is very rare in this size camera as is the optical image stabilization system. The portrait mode does a great job of eliminating red eye, unlike many other cameras. There are even a few manual settings available for those so inclined. Try using the exposure compensation to darken up a shot to add some drama.

The only con is that the zoom switch is a bit jerky, but that's a nit. Another great camera choice in this category is the Casio Ex-Z850 which I have used and also love. The Canon 800IS beats the Casio for 2 reasons, 28MM eq lens and true optical image stabilization vs. the digital kind.

I am completely satisfied with this camera and Highly recommend it to anyone.


->Comparison

I have owned several PS didgicams, all having strengths and weaknesses. The sd 800 is no different. It takes very good photos if exposed correctly . Colors are rich and well saturated, maybe a tad over , but not too far done like my former lx-1 by pani. I bought it for the features, wide angle, IS andcompact as compared to LX-1. The SD800 takes pictures far better than the LX1 as far as color and sharpness, all in a small package. I use a Nikon D200 w/ over $5K in lenses, but have found that while my pictures from the sd800 are no wear near the quality of the D200, they are more numerous, meaning it comes w/ me everywhere and i never miss a shot, unlike the large D200 which sits at home most of the time. I brought the sd800 on my recent trip to PR and it was great. 600+ pix on a 2g card, no need even to bring the laptop as the file sizes are small enoug and the 2g card big enough for a weeks worth of keepers ( itossed several hundered bad photos). While most will complain about, the corner softness, the design, the this the that, remember this, it is about getting the shot and the sd800 is always thier when needed and performs in 80% of all situations (low liight is ok, lots of noise at iso 200 +, but better than the LX1, flash is weak and recycles slow, and high contrast is tricky but use AE compensation and AE lock to get it right). Bottom line, if you pixel peep at 100% and make your decision on this camera, you are stupid. It is a PS digicam w/ great features and very good photo quality. As far as some design problems and cheap plastic material, it is metal and the Sd door is cheap, but when the sd700 came out it was $499, the sd 800 is $360 from amazon and has better features in the wide lense. Get this camera, if photo quality is poor it is a poor sample, exchange until you get a keeper, you won't regret it.


->Deals

Pros: This camera replaced a dropped SD300, the choice was between the SD900 at 10 MP and the SD800IS with 7.1 MP. This camera has an impressive macro ability and the image stabilizer lets me shoot without flash in dim light. I shot a handheld 1/4 second photo at 2x zoom resting my arms on my knees and it was perfectly clear, something I've never done with an SLR. Movies are drastically more watchable with IS than without. Wide angle is wider than most point-and-shoot cameras and it is very helpful. Underwater case is good to deep water and is cheap for such things. Highly recommended. (Other camera is 300D).

Cons: you can't control much. The camera is a bit larger than the earlier models in this series, and is curvy. I found the earlier design easier to hold and use. The power button is just goofy, an odd-shaped plastic insert in the top of the camera.


->

I have had this camera for about two weeks and i have definitely put it through a thorough test. The day i got it, i went to a party and took over 200 pictures.

Picture Quality = Awesome! Most of my pictures were indoor pictures for the first night with NO lights on except orange "christmas" lights. Let me say, the quality was awesome for the amount of light it had to work with. Another person there had a fuji film camera and it didn't even come close to the quality of these pictures. Outside pictures taken the next day came out so crisp. You RARELY have to retake a photo.

Image Stablization = Again, Awesome! I did a lot of research between this camera and the SD700 and i eventually picked this one b/c of the image stablization. Boy am i glad i did. Of the 200 photos, i think maybe 5 were blurry. I was so impressed.

Wide Angle Lens = Good! Yes, there are blurry edges once in a while when you are taking pictures with no zoom. I probably would have never noticed it, but sometimes when you are viewing it 100% you notice them. The blurriness is such a small thing, the great things about this camera outweigh it.

Video = Awesome! It does a great job. I have not noticed any feedback from the microphone either.

Time Between Photos = Great! As soon as you turn this camera on, it is ready to go. I am taking pictures in literally a second. After you take a picture, i think the longest thing, is displaying the picture for two seconds. I think it is like 2 seconds betweeen taking pictures, literally. That is such a great improvement over my old nikon camera.

Construction = Good! What can i say, its a small camera. If you want easy to use buttons and a more durable frame, get a bigger camera. If you want a camera this small, you are going to have to make some sacrifices. The design of this camera is definitely not a deal breaker.

Overall = I am glad i made the choice i did! I am so glad i got this one versus the SD700 or another brand. The pictures are great and the small quirks about the camera are not enough to outweight the great things about it. If you want an easy camera to use that works when you need it, you will not be disappointed with this one. Don't get me wrong, you still need to read the manual b/c it has cool stuff like "scenes" modes that you can use to improve your pictures even more. But after you know how to use it, this camera does all the work for you; you just worry about taking pictures!




->Deal

We bought the Canon SD400 for a trip to Peru last year because of it size and features. We loved it! Unfortunately, it now lives in Mexico as it did not make it home from our last trip. So, we repalced it with the SD800 IS. We love this one even more! The size is still great even though it is a little bigger. The wider angle lens is one of the main reason we chose it because we also shoot alot of in door photos. The 7.1MP's more than make up for the slightly shorter zoom IMHO. With the extra battery and leather case you are go to go around the world.


->Lowest Price

Ok, first of all, I am not a professional photographer. I just want a camera that I can point and shoot and get good photos regardless of the conditions. I also want something I can carry in my pocket so that I actually have it handy when my kid does something cute!

I bought the Canon Powershot SD800 with these things in mind. The outdoor pictures looked great, but the problems started when I went indoors. Taking pictures in a conference room, some of the pictures were very dark and grainy, even with the flash. Yes, the flash was on automatic. So I retook the picture and this time it looked better. With several repeats, results were inconsistent, even with the flash on. As the day progressed, I handed the camera to others to take some shots, and they came out grainy and dim as well, or overexposed by the flash.

I can understand poor performance in poor conditions, but I cannot understand inconsistent performance in the same conditions.


->Buy Online

When comparing the elph IS features, if all other things are roughly equal except what I mention here, it was tough, but I chose the 700. I bought the 700 for it's longer than average 4x zoom on a point & shoot. Then I thought maybe I should try the 800 because of the wide angle, new processor, and higher ISO and megapixels. But, even with the 3.8x zoom, because the 800 lens starts off lower already (28mm eqv.) to get the wide angle, it's max range of 4.6-17.3mm zoom does not even come close to the 700's 5.8 -23.2 max opt. range..plus though somewhat useless, the digital range is less too and the small bump up in MP doesn't compensate. If you find you are always wanting to get more in a shot, get the 800 with the wideangle; as the other features are better. For the shots I usually take, I find I crave the higher zoom so much that the other upgrades were not as important to me. If, like me, you think you'd be bothered by not being able to zoom in as closely, get the 700. If I want more in the shot, I can just stich assist.


->Comparison

Generally, this is a fine camera. I bought it, even though I already owned an Olympus digital with similar resolution and a bigger viewing screen (3" vs. 2.5" on the Canon), but without an optical viewfinder. I was disappointed that there is no ready way to shut off the flash on the Canon, other than going to manual settings. But, even more disappointed when I attempted to take pictures in full sunlight, and found that the sunlight streaked, and in some cases totally obscured, the photo when the camera was pointed even about 45 degrees from the direction of the sunlight. Sometimes, one just cannot help shooting toward the sun. I have not experienced such a "leak" with any other digital camera I have ever owned, including Canon, Minolta and Olympus. I did get some relief by using my other hand as a sun shield, but even that was dicey. Other than that, the overall viewability of the screen and quality of the pictures were superior.


->Deal

I just have this gadget yesterday and my first impression with this camera is high. I bought this over SD700 mainly because it has image stabilizer, new DIGIC III processor, and wide angle lens. Build-in quality is decent, despite of plastic battery door that many other reviewer complaint, I found this is not a great deal. This camera made in Japan, so you can be sure the quality of this camera is strong.
Picture was great. I try macro shot and the picture comes up better than my Nikon D50 camera. There are many other features like color swap, color accent, multi-shooting modes that you need to play with more to get familiar with this. I will give you more updates after downloading the pictures. Highly recommended!

Updates 11/7/06
I downloaded the pictures and it comes up beautiful, crisp, natural color. Didn't notice any corner softness.
Stabilizer works great. Now I can take low-light photograph without worry of getting blurry pictures. Pictures without flash also come in great shape. For me just unbelievable! Macro shot also excellent. I can take very2 close pictures while my Nikon DSLR unable to focus within very close distance. One thing that I really enjoy is color accent feature. Just pick any color from your object: live! , and the camera will automatically select only the color you choose to be taken. Other than that, will be black & white. For example you want only flower shown in color on your picture. Or maybe you want to swap the color of your flower from red to yellow? isn't that cool? not to mention it has great movies features which allowing you to take high quality video at 30 fps!
Other advanced features that you might be able to find only in proffesional camera also available such as:
- Exposure Lock(AEL)
- Flash Lock(FL)
- Focus check mode

I really recommend this camera for everyone. Even great backup for amateur/professional user.


->Deal

I had a Canon powershot A75, and this camera its amazing with the new features, the IS , the wide-angle lens, excellent pictures, the zoom evens is great

I recomended this camera for everything, its amazing choice!!!


->Prices

Although I had disappointing results after purchasing (and returning) the Canon SD700IS then the SD600, I knew I wanted to stick with the Canon line of cameras because of the distinct features Canon offers that many others do not - like its awesome Accent Color and B&W features. That's when I saw that Canon came out with two new models, the SD800IS and SD900. While the SD800 had image stabilization and a wide angle lens and the SD900 just has more pixels with no image stabilization, I decided to go with the better features found on the SD800. BOY was I glad I did!!

Putting each camera I purchased to the test, I'd take it home and make lots of "test shots"... To test the Image Stabilization, I would bounce the camera up and down and take a picture -- and most if not all pics would come out blur-free. The Macro Function is MOST EXCELLENT... And the Accent Color feature is SUPER COOL... For all intents and purposes, all three cameras (SD600/SD700IS/SD800IS) were just what I was looking for in a compact camera. That is, until I decided to take some indoor (average to low light) pictures without using the flash... For the Canon SD600 and SD700IS -- I have one word to describe it -- BLUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRY.... Whereas the Canon SD800IS passed muster! This was an important factor for me since I take a lot of indoor photos of my pets and they don't care too much for the flash.

So if you like to take a lot of indoor (average to low light) photos without the flash, look no further... And just think - if this camera can take photos in low light conditions really well, you DEFINITELY WON'T BE disappointed with any its other capabilities!!


->Deal

I bought this camera to replace a 4MP 10x zoom Olympus C-750. I have spent the last several weeks playing with the different settings on my new Canon SD800 IS.

Pros:
* Photos turn out extremely sharp, true color, and it handles white balance (shooting under different types of bulbs) well.
* I love that it has a viewfinder although I must say I'm finding the large display to be very useful.
* The image stabilizer works very well, especially when I set it to "shoot only".
* I can take very close range photos (a few inches away) in the "macro" mode" that come out perfectly.
* This camera takes photos in the dark (using flash and the AF-assist beam) that come out looking as if the lights were on. I took a photo of my dog using the zoom from 20 feet away with the lights out, and the photo came out nicely.
* The camera turns on instantly when I press the power button. Furthermore, the "continuous" shooting takes a photo every .6 seconds with the memory card that comes with the camera (apparently a high speed memory card will yield even better results).
* In playback mode, the camera will (optionally) rotate the image when you turn the camera.
* Lots of other cool hidden features if you read the manual, such as hold down the shutter button to immediately view a photo you just took.

Cons
* There is some distortion in the wide angle shots, as if they were taken in macro mode or something.
* The buttons are fine for me (a woman with small fingers) but very difficult for my husband (who has larger fingers) to use.
* The shiny finish around the lens and on the side of the camera smudges easily.
* The door covering the USB port feels flimsy but has not given me any problems.
* I wish it had an optional "lots of help" mode or a help button that would explain settings so I don't have to consult the manual.
* If it were a little more user friendly I'd give it 5 stars.

Overall I'm VERY pleased with this camera.


->Prices

This is my third digital camera, after the PowerShot S400 and the Sony DSC-T9.

The Sony had been holding focus worse and worse, and colors -- at default settings -- were blown out, with reds completely exaggerated, and white (even with the "correct" setting, or even "auto") was closer to yellow.

The Canon's color is much, much more accurate, and it handles tricky lighting with extremes in brightness better than the Sony. The wide-angle lens is nice, and for my purposes (wallpaper on a 30" monitor and small images for a website), I see no problems with soft focus in the corners. (I don't deny it might be there, but I'm not printing any posters anytime soon, and if you aren't, either, I doubt you'll see any soft corners.) I admittedly haven't used it in very dark settings, but I haven't taken a single blurry shot yet due to hand shake. The image stabalization seems great.

Finally, I mostly take pictures of food, and generally use the close-up macro for it, and the Canon does a spectacular job. You can't get quite as close as the Sony allows, but within 2" is fine for my purposes. (I'm taking pictures of food, not bugs. Hopefully.)

It's a great little camera. Highly recommended.


->Price

This is my 3rd Canon camera, 2nd Elph. I am the epitome of an amateur photographer, and my attempts with prosumer cameras have all failed. At the end of the day, I need a simple point and shoot that produces high-quality images that are capable of being enlarged to 16x20 photographs. The SD800 meets all of the criteria and more.

The SD800 excels in low-light environments, producing stunningly clear photos indoors. The 7MP images coupled with the 3.8x zoom provide a great baseline to Photoshopping and online manipulation.

My only criticism is that outdoor images can tend to over saturate the Blues and indoor images over saturate the Yellows, but overall the image quality is excellent.

The camera is amazingly small, and travels well. The flash is powerful.


->Buy

The people rating this camera low are the ones who know their stuff about photography and bought the wrong camera. If you are knowledgeable about photography, you should not be buying a point and shoot camera. This camera is amazing for the average user, the image stabilization works great and helps improve low light photos. The pictures come out very nice. The wide angle lens is nice to capture scenery, the face detection feature also seemed pretty reliable. Only downsides I saw were the scroll wheel for controls was a little slippery and the battery door seems cheap. Battery life is good, screen is big and bright.


->Deal

Yesterday, I got home with my new sd800. And due to the scrutiny of the forums, I immediately had to test it. I compared exact duplicate shots from my SD550 to this "upgrade" sd800. I am very sad to say that in normal shooting conditions, this model just couldn't keep up. The main things I saw the sd800 losing horribly to the sd550 in were: picture clarity, sharpness (edge to edge) and color accuracy (the sd800's produces a very warm shot, too much yellow & red). This was a disappointment indeed when you compare the fact that my sd550 is almost a year old.

Now, on the flip-side, and should you ever find yourself in "overhead fan lighting," this will be where the true benefits of the sd800 become VERY clear. If this is how you shoot, the IS will become a lifesaver for every single shot. But aside from a museum or other "no flash," location, RARELY am I not using the flash on my camera. And I found the trick to not having over-saturation or too much flash contrast (whatever the model) is to just lower the brightness setting prior to shooting and use a bit of Photoshop shadow highlight love. (Although this can never fully prevent your shot from the flashlight effect left on objects from shooting, but it helps). This camera is only ideal for shooting in an IS situation. Period. Or at least IMHO, but it is my review right? lol

My solution was simple. I ended up taking a risk against better judgment, returned the sd800, and got the sd900. Let me just say that the quality from this camera will NEVER be achievable from an SD800. So make the call. If IS is your "make or break feature," go for the 700is, or800is. However if its quality you want from your shots, and you aren't found in low light situations often, the 550 or 900 are the way to go! Price per mega pixel being the only difference.


->Deals

I've gotten this camera to replace a Canon S45 that I bought in January 2003 and this review is meant as a contrast to that type of camera (i.e., this review may not be too useful if you're coming to this camera from another point of view). I chose the S45 at the time over the top ELPH model back then (S330, I think) because I expected that it would be my only camera for a while and so wanted manual control, RAW support, etc. As it happens, the Digital Rebel came out in September that year and when I got one, the role of my S45 changed: A take-anywhere camera for taking snapshots and video clips. The latter came a bit as a surprise, because I thought I'd prefer using my more full-featured miniDV-based video camera. However, it turns out that "compact" often beats "full-featured" (the S45 is not as small as the SD800, but it's still pretty small compared to my video camera).

In its new role, the weaknesses of the S45 were (a) not compact enough, (b) poor low-light performance, (c) limited, low-quality movie recording functionality, (d) relative slow response times. (That's all relative, of course: At the time, it was a reasonably good compromise in those areas.) On the plus side, the S45 is sturdy, I really like its user interface, and I got some really nice pictures out of it.

How does the SD800 stack up in that context? Very well, but not perfectly. I like its build quality and the subcompact size (though it's a bit on the large end of its class; not a bad thing per se). The plastic parts are no worse than the similar parts on the S45, but I get slightly anxious at the thought of scratching the shiny surfaces. The 2.5" screen make for bright and sharp previews (it feels more fragile than that of the S45, however). Image quality is a step above that of the S45 in general, and easily two steps above for low-light work (where the image stabilization function and better ISO 400 performance really shine). ISO800 seems somewhat usable, beyond my expectation.

I don't care much about some of the more exotic features like "swap colors", but one feature I've unexpectedly come to appreciate is the face-recognition contribution to focus and exposure: It works, and it works really well! (It also ties into a built-in categorization feature, in that the label "People" will automatically be assigned to pictures containing faces; that's clever too, but I don't think I'll use it.)

Unsurprisingly, the wider-angle lens is a boon to many snapshot situations. (It was one of the factors that prompted me to order the SD800.) There is considerable corner softness at the wider end, but for this type of camera it doesn't bother me too much. I wish the long end were a little longer of course (and slightly less compact models from Panasonic do better in this regard), but again I don't feel strongly about that considering the camera's size. This also appears to be one the most responsive subcompacts out there: It's certainly a whole lot faster at starting up and zooming than the S45 (though it still feels sluggish compared to a DSLR).

The movie clip recording mode is far better than that of the S45: The higher (VGA) resolution and the image stabilization are the main factors there. Still, I wish it could record a using a tighter codec (like H.264) and I wish the optical zoom could be used during shooting. A 1GB SD card will hold a little over 8 minutes of 640x480 30fps video, but once downloaded I can convert that to a H.264 file of about 70MB. The digital zoom in movie mode works well in good light (almost 5X for 640x480 clips), but in low light zooming in more than 3x or so results in exceptionally pixel-noisy clips.

Finally, the overall interface is relatively intuitive and generally well executed. My one beef is that "review" mode is part of the general mode dial. On the S45 (and Canon's DSLRs), "review" is entered using a separate switch (or button), which allows the general dial to indicate the recording mode: A half-press on the shutter and the immediately goes back to recording mode. On the SD800, if I'm reviewing images and suddenly see an opportunity (which happens all the time), I have to first fumble with the dial (being careful to select the right mode) and only then is the camera ready to shoot. On the plus side, when shooting a picture the camera automatically displays the image shot for a customizable amount of time (I set it to "until shutter pressed") and allows zooming into that picture.


->Price

First...A lot of other reviewers have talked about how 'cheap' or 'flimsy' this camera feels...I think I have a different take on this coming from a Mechanical Engineering background (and actually making similar products in consumer electronics)

I had an old SD100 and decided to upgrade, and indeed the old SD100 'feels' like a tank, and this new one 'feels' flimsier...but I dont think it ACTUALLY is. First off, the new camera is very lightweight, and from a customer usability standpoint, lighter is often confused with 'cheaper'. Second, this camera uses metal luster plastic parts...which scream 'plastic!' whereas the old camera used plastic that was matted and painted...so it looked like the metal surrounding it. People also complained about the 'inside' being plastic now instead of metal...this is actually a good thing, as the internal metal on the SD100 was punched sheet metal (aka bendable, warpable, not structural) whereas the SD800 has molded plastic that perfectly fits the desired shape, actually providing more internal support....These cameras get their extremely small size by using the case as its structural support anyways...and here like previously, the case is metallic (basically...the case is titanium to support the product, and marketing decided to sell that as a 'feature').

That all being said...it still DOES 'feel' cheaper or breakable, even if I dont think it is from the engineering standpoint...and part of product design is making something that 'feels' good...so I have to dock canon one star on this thing for not completely following through on the design front.

As for everything else....Amazing optics, this thing takes wonderful pictures...it is SUPER responsive, statup time is non-existent and focus etc time feels twice as fast as the SD100. The IS feature works wonderful (its hard to see it work I must admit...but then you turn it off and take another picture and WHOA...huge difference, one is nice and the other is blurred crazily..[...]


->Best Price

When i read in The New York Times "Circuits" that the Canon SD800IS has face-recognition focusing and wide angle optics, I immediately went to Amazon to order it. The reviews about the plasticy body and wide-angle optic problems gave me pause, but i figured I could learn to live with the problems. Not so much.

My first major disappointment was with the face-recognition focusing feature, the main reason I bought this camera. The little brackets scoot around on the LCD and settle on faces all right--that part is cool. But much less cool is the fact that out of scores of photographs, with both natural light and flash, I have yet to capture ONE photograph in which ALL the faces are in focus. Objects near, but behind the faces, are often sharply in focus, but not the faces themselves. Bad news. Face-recognition focusing is a great idea, but Canon has not yet perfected it.

My second disappointment was the obvious loss of sharpness at full wide. I went to a local camera store to compare my SD800 with a SD700. Same loss with the SD700. Clearly Canon rushed the SD800 to the marketplace without addressing a prevous problem.

Another optical problem is pronounced CA (blue fringing) in high contrast area (especially at intense white boundaries), a major issue since fringing is almost impossible to remove. The SD700 also had this problem, but it seems worse in the SD800. I'm also getting far too many overexposed photographs.

The flash also varies all over the place, and too often doesn't properly illuminate the subject. I've fiddled with exposure controls, read the user's manual closely, and still haven't figured out a solution to this problem.

Other reviewers have addressed the camera's flimsy body, and those reviewers are correct. I still can't believe Canon would release a $400.00 camera whose battery compartment alone is so inadequate.

In sum, I strongly advice cosumers considering the SD800IS to check it out IN PERSON at a camera outlet. My sense is that Canon rushed out this camera for reasons of marketing, without addressng the problems of the SD700 and without adequate testing the SD800's new features. I'm sending back my SD800IS and will wait until Canon (or another company) works out the glitches of face-recognition technology and all the other problems of the SD800IS.

By the way, the one feature that works great is Canon's Image-stabilization, but I already have a pair of binocs that do that.


->Buy

I have owned several SD cameras. I am replacing the SD700 with this one. In fact I upgrade each model unless it's only a minor change. Like the previous reviewer has stated though, I was wanting to return this one and stick with my SD700. If it was not for a trip to New Zealand in December and a desire to get nice wide landscape shots, I would have.

Upon opening the battery bay door, I noticed immediately that the metal substructure and spring mechanism were gone. Just cheap plastic parts now. In fact a piece of plastic that had clearly snapped off from somewhere fell out of the camera, so I am now awaiting a replacement from Amazon.

The camera is much taller than the SD700 and only just fits in my old case.

Clearly this model is a major step backwards for Canon's usually excellent quality. The optics though seem good with little aberration even in the corners at full-wide. Let's hope the camera lasts long enough to be able to enjoy the nice glass!

UPDATE: Oh dear! My replacement arrived fast, thanks Amazon. Unfortunately it was even worse. The polished silver surrounding the lens had not been glued in place correctly and was sitting 5mm away from the front of the camera with the adhesive clearly holding it on. Or not. I think it's best to avoid this camera and wait for the next revisions to appear. Clearly Canon thought they would make some fast money on these ones. It shows.


->Compare

This is my fourth camera from the Canon Digital Elph line (previously, I had an S330, S400 and SD400). They have always taken great photos, and Canon has truly earned my repeat business (I also had a Digital Rebel and now I have an 20D).

I've had the SD800 for a few days now. Like its predecessors, it takes fantastic photos. The image stabilizer works wonderfully, and the camera functions quite well (and faster than most compact cameras). Other reviewers have spoken about the photo quality, and you can also get detailed technical reviews elsewhere on the internet, so I won't get into that here. What I want to focus on is the functionality of the design of this camera.

Digital Elphs used to be chunks of stainless steel. I dropped my S330 from a 12ft balcony, and it emerged unscathed. This is the first camera I've had that felt like it is going to break at any moment. It is larger and clunkier than the previous generation of Elphs (e.g., it is 36% larger than the SD200/300/400), and feels "plastic-y" and cheap (despite the fact that it looks nice). The buttons are small and offer minimal feedback, so it is easy to press the wrong button, especially if you have large fingers (and even if you have only average fingers). The "mode select" dial switches between Auto, Manual, Scene, Movie and Playback modes, but it is difficult to move. The dial is stiff and has only a small raised ridge on one side, making it difficult to set the dial to the proper mode on the first try. In sum, the design of this camera makes it operation more difficult than necessary; not something I expected from a camera from Canon, espectilly one at this cost.

This camera takes amazing photos, but Canon needs to brush up on their design. For a brief moment I considered returning this camera and keeping my SD400, but this camera's features are too good to pass up. I suppose everyone will get used to the poor design, but for this amount of money, none of us should have to.


->Comparison

So I have been scouring the web looking for opinions about SD800 IS. Since there were no pro-reviews coming out soon and I needed a camera for the weekend trip, I took the plunge and picked up SD800 IS three days ago.


BACKGROUND:

Before I jump into the review, I want to mention that I have been using full-manual film SLRs since I was 18. My current camera collection includes Optio 43WR (to take rafting / skiing / adventure sports pics), Digital Rebel XT, and now SD800 IS. I have also spent some time with T10, SD630 and an assortment of cheaper models.

I have realized over the years that the smaller camera are way more useful for someone with an active lifestyle. I have put my Optio 43WR through some tough times with skydiving, falling down ski slopes, and using it underwater (no, it is not recommended by Pentax) and it came up with amazing pictures. Also imagine a cute girl at a party asking you "Is that a SLR in your pants, or ..." you get the picture (pun intended!).


WHY NEW CAMERA?

I needed to replace my aging primary companion Optio 43wr with a new ultracompact model with underwater housing which allows me to dish out the abuse I need to get great shots. Money was not an object, so I was looking only at top-of-the-line models from ALL brands. The other note-worthy contenders were Sony T-30 Black, Sony DSC N2, Fuji F30.

I was also very unhappy with the pictures in low-light conditions by 43WR. I spend a fair amount of time snapping low-light pictures, so that was a top priority for me as well.


SD 800 IS:

So here is what I have found about SD800 IS...


Gizmo factor:
- This one has to be one of the most tricked out cameras I have ever used. You can edit movies, auto-rotate pictures depending on how you hold the camera, and do many other neat things. However what appeals me most is that these tricks are not flashy or distracting: they are seamlessly integrated in the user experience.
I think this shows the maturity in Canon models, compared to some fresh brands.
- The slide-show is very classy, not cheesy as you see on most other cameras.


Creative Controls:
- No full manual here, but it has Auto-Exposure lock and Auto-Focus lock. These two controls with some creative thinking will allow you to take any shots you may need. I didn't know about these features till I bought the camera, and I am very happy to find them there!
- Color-Accent and Color-Swap are more addictive than a videogame. I have so far seen my car in multiple colors, visualized what my garden will look like in fall, and help people bring out the blue color in their eyes.


Appearance:
- Personally, I am not very impressed by the looks but everyone else seems to love the understated jewelery thing going on with it.


Lens:
- Yes, it is true. Lots of blurry corners at full wide. Lots of distortion too. I think Canon is skimping on the optics here. That's what happens when you try to stuff a 3.8x zoom in a tiny body. They should have stuck to something like 28mm to 60mm zoom, and it would have been fine.

But from a practical point of view, I don't notice the corners in a picture. Naturally I stare at the subject, and move on to the next pic. So the corners bothered me in test-shots, but not in real-life shots.

TIP: Just zoom out to 35mm equivalent and the blurry corners disappear.


Optical Stabilizer:
- Extremely effective. Worth its weight in gold. I am still gloating over the vibration-free pictures I have been taking recently.


CCD:
- Images are softer than my liking. Don't know if it is the low-quality lens, or the CCD.
- Gets very noisy after ISO 400. Fuji F30 will beat the CCD hands down.


RECOMMENDATION:
Depends on what your needs are. Look at the above facts, think about your needs, and make your own decision. I will give you three options based on my reasoning:

It is the only 28mm lens out there, and you will love it despite the lens limitations. I have numerous examples in only THREE days, where I was able to get a shot like never before. So if you feel like fitting more in a frame, get SD800 IS.

If you print all your pictures, and are a family man, DSC N2 is the way to go because of 10 megapixels and touch screen. However the images are overprocessed in camera, a Sony trademark.

If you do lots of low-light photography ala Paris Hilton, wait for Fuji to release optically stabilized camera. I couldn't wait, because I have a trip this weekend!


->For Sale

I do not own this particular camera myself, but if you are interested in portable digital point and shoot cameras, since Canon discontinued the Power Shot S-80, this one is one of THREE digital point and shoot camera on the market that I know of that has a "true" WIDE ANGLE lens of 28mm! (The other is: The Panasonic DMC-FX01
for $250---and one more is the Kodak EasyShare V570 with a 23mm lens for about $250)

So, you ask, "who needs a 28mm lens?" You do! Most people concern themselves with how LONG is their telephoto lens. But, most people who "know" know that it is the WIDE ANGLE lens that is most important---most of the "best shots" are made with a WIDE ANGLE lens. For example, you're in Europe and you are trying to "get a shot" of that Cathedral of Notre Dame over there. You NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. You are in the California Poppy Fields and you want to get the expanse of the golden-yellow poppy flowers with the huge blue sky filled with white clouds above---you need a WIDE ANGLE lens. You are sitting at thanksgiving dinner and you want to take a photo from the foot of the table with everyone sitting on the left and right---you NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. You are in the garden of the California Mission and you want to take a photo of the ENTIRE garden surrounded by the mission walls---you NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. It's Christmas day and you want a photo of the ENTIRE GROUP of visitors in front of the Christmas Tree---you NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. This is where the 28mm lens on THIS camera comes in! So, you NEED THIS CAMERA! Otherwise you'll be cutting off heads and leaving Aunt Sylvia out of the "Christmas Group Photo" this year---and as a result of not having a wide angle lens she'll disinherit you and you'll live a life of poverty and misery everafter! :o) If you agree or disagree or know of ANY other digital point and shoot camera that has a WIDE ANGLE lens please write, Email:boland7214@aol.

Here's one more wide angle candidate: Kodak EasyShare V705 7.1MP Digital Camera with a 23mm wide angle lens plus a 5x Ultra-Wide-Angle Dual-Lens Optical Zoom that goes out to 180mm!

ADDENDUM: I have become aware that this is possibly the ONLY point and shoot camera with both a 28mm wide angle lens AND an "optical viewfinder". I DO like the "optical viewfinder" because the Panasonic Lumix and Kodak cameras do NOT have them and if you are like me you don't want to waste battery power looking at an LCD screen constantly. Thus, THIS is my "fave" in 28mm wide angle point and shoot cameras!



->Lowest Price

I went to a local electronics retailer with a good return policy and bought the best camera form all the major brands. The Canon had the best picture quality by a long shot in this class. Also, the time from turning on the camera to taking a picture was one of the fastest which has allowed me to catch pictures of my son that other cameras would have missed.


->Buy Now

I bought this camera 6 weeks back and have used it on 3-4 occassions. So far I haven't seen any issue. It shoots great pictures. I haven't had any problem with red-eye in 300-400 shots I have taken so far indoors, outdoors, during days and nights.

I love it and so does my wife.


->Compare

The image stabilization feature in this camera really helps when taking pictures in low-light conditions. I also find the custom shoot mode very useful since it allows me to set up a group shot, then have it take multiple photos after a 10 second pause. That way we get at least one where someone isn't blinking.

It improved over the SD600 model by moving the toggle switch from the absolute corner of the camera where it would occasionally get bumped into video mode.

And 3.8x zoom is pretty dang good for a point and shoot. Yes, you can zoom to 15x, but anything after 3.8x uses digital zoom, which tends to degrade quickly.


->Buy

So far this has been a great camera for me, but I have one major complaint. The door to access the USB connection is hinged on a cheap plastic tab. I have a feeling that this tab will end up breaking, either from cyclic stress of opening/closing the hatch, or a sudden brittle failure if the tempearture happens to be too cold when I open the hatch. if they had a better hatch, I would have easily given this 5 stars. But when you pay over $300 for a digital camera, it is ridicoulous to have such a cheap hinge on an often used access hatch.


->Discount

This is a really nice camera and the pictures are excellent out doors and really good in low-light indoors. The size is perfect for taking it along every where you go. I have a digital SLR and I am happy with the results this camera is providing. Get the neck strap, a nice sd card and you are set!


->Prices

After a few months of use and 4000 pictures taken, I can say I am very happy with the SD800. The camera is pocketable, feels like it is of great quality, is very easy to use, the screen is big and easy to see, there are quick response and power-on times, and good times between flashes. The pictures taken are excellent, and the 7.1MP resolution is great for my needs. The image stabilization is great for preventing blurriness in general, and is expecially helpful for preventing blur with low light, nighttime, digitally zoomed and no-flash shots. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie mode, due to the great quality of both video and audio.

I have only one issue with the camera, and two very minor ones. My main issue is that there is no battery meter; you don't know how much power you have left until the red battery warning starts flashing, and you have only 3-5 shots worth of battery left. IT would be nice to know how much power I have left to some degree, such as a meter telling me the battery is full, 75%, 50%, 25% and redline. The battery life is good anyway, but I take a may take 200+ pictures on an outing, and this is a concern for me, though having only been a problem twice in 3 months. The minor issues are that you might have to retake some macro shots because there aren't any manual focus conrols (to my knowledge). Also, don't expect the face-recognition to be magical; it doesn't work too well if people are not facing the camera, though the camera focuses well in general anyway.

Despite the above small issues, I am very happy with the SD800 IS and I'll be using it for a long time. I recommend this camera and others in the Powershot series to friends, and I'll be looking into other Powershot models if i'm in the market for a new camera later down the line.


->Best Price

Beware buying this product from Antonline, they have a very poor return policy.

Unfortunately, products with customer caused item, packaging or accessory damage; OR that are missing items, accessories or packaging; OR with activated software or intellectual property agreements; OR with missing packaging or accessories; OR that cannot be resold as new - exactly as you received the product are not eligible for return or refund.


->Purchase

Two Points:
1- It isn't mentioned anywhere but this camera has a focus assist light
2- mpeg4 is the only missing feature on a camera of this caliber; It records video files in MJPEK format


->Prices

This is an easy camera to use; the controls are workable for large hands. In optimal lighting conditions it takes about 50% of the pictures in usable focus; the exposure is spot on nearly 100% of the time. But, compared with a lesser mp PowerShot, I have far more pictures that I discard. I find little evidence of the image stabilization effect. There is very little shutter lag which is a plus. The optional case is of little use as there is no room for an extra battery or flash card....and you NEED the extra battery. Today the camera simply stopped with no warning other than "replace the battery." There is no read out to tell how much battery power you have. They tell you to charge it before using it, but that's not practical. The movie feature with this is superb with excellent color balance. I love the compact size and probably am expecting too much as I have been using digital SLR's for several years.


->Comparison

My previous PS camera was five years old, and it was time to update. I read dozens of professional and user reviews and decided on this camera for the following reasons:

Wide angle.
Both an LCD and a view-finder.
Image Stabilizer.
Small enough to go into my coat or pants pocket.
Canon quality optics.
Long battery life.
User friendly.

I would have given it a 5 point rating if Canon provided better quality doors for the battery compartment and the output cables. Same comment by many other reviewers. Hopefully canon will correct this in the next generation sd800. Just treat the camera as a precision instrument and you will have lots of fun taking pictures.
I have been using it for about two months and the pictures (in all modes) are magnificent.

BZ


->Best Price

In one word, this camera is: FAST

I got this camera for my wife on mother's day. We had a Canon S60 that had seemed to get slower and slower in taking pictures for our 1 and 3 year olds. This camera got excellent reviews on speed. My wife also wanted something that would fit in her pocket.

The SD800IS delivers on everything we needed. It takes extremely fast pictures in all light conditions. The size of the unit is great to carry in your pocket without being too bulky.

The image stabilization really delivers. This is the first camera that I use the digital zoom on. With the IS circuity, I can shoot long-distance pictures on digital zoom with good clarity and no camera shake. It also allows me to show lower light with no flash.

All around, this is the best digital I've used.


->Prices

This camera lives up to all its great reviews. I would have given it five stars except that we have had quite a few blurry pictures when zoomed all the way that I was really hoping the image stab would take care of. Also, more red eyes than I would be okay with. I don't expect perfection and other than that, I can not complain about anything!
Fast boot and quick lapse. Pictures are beautiful. Compact and lightweight. Easy to use.
A fun feature not found on comparable brands is the color swap.


->Affordable

I am very glad about the reviews here on Amazon on this product, and I never regretted getting this camera! Image Stabilizer (same technology used by Canon on DSLRs), Wide-Angle Lens (rare on Point & Shoot cameras!), Sharpness even at Max Resolution, Manual Controls, and well-designed User Interface.

User Interface: Not much digging through menus, because the most-frequently-used features are exposed at the top level. Compare this to my previous camera, where menus to adjust ISO or Exposure are buried.

Thickness: This camera will appear bulky in my pocket compared to my previous camera, Casio Exilim EX-S500. I hope Canon will make this series more compact.

Picture Quality: I like the richness of tones (it shows! check the histogram), the sharpness of details even if you used the maximum image resolution.

Wide-Angle Lens: Very handy especially if you take family photos indoors in narrow rooms. Excellent for taking nature photos.

Macro Shots: I like the bokeh effects created by the macro mode! Depth of Field brings movie-like dramatic effect to your shots.

I have a lot more to say! All in all, I am very happy with this product.


->Buy

I was looking for a compact, do everything camera. This seems to do it for me. I can turn it on and take a shot very quickly. Just push the button all the way down to and it takes the picture immediately. That comes in very handy around some of the more shy family members. The stabilization and focusing system are very good, as well stated by many others. I've been playing around with taking pictures without the flash. The high ISO and the stabilized optical zoom helps it in this area. I have a tendancy to want to take pictures indoors without a flash, again it's about the shy family members, so this was important to me. I bought a package of Fellows screen protectors and put one on the screen so I can carry it in my pocket without scratching up the view window. That seems to work out very good. It takes awesome closeup pictures and the zoom is great. I've even used the digital zoom and have not been disappointed. But then I don't expect much quality from the digital zoom. I'm not a photographer by any means. So I need a good all arounder that I don't need to think much about. I've had it about a month now and I can still say, so far - no regrets.


->Discount


Having had an older Powershot, I was inclined to like this new one; however, it is so much better I can't believe it. Very easy to use & the pictures are incredible. Love the larger LCD screen & the option of a viewfinder.


->Sale

The camera delivers as promised!

Two small improvements would be helpful:
1. Cannot charge battery via USB.
2. Battery indicator starts flashing only it is too late.

Otherwise - Very Good! Strongly recommend.



->Compare

My wife and I are photographers[..]. We usually shoot medium format Velvia 50 and scan the 6x7 cm transparencies. The files are processed through Photoshop and printed as 16x20 inch black and white and/or color on wide format Epson printers. I recently purchased the Canon PowerShot SD800IS for my wife for the following reasons: 1) It's very small, so she always carries it; not something that happens with a medium format camera. 2) The lens covers a wider angle (4.6 - 17.3 mm; 28 - 105 mm 35 mm equivalent) than the other Canon PowerShot SD cameras. 3) IS stands for image stabilization; very helpful for sharp images. 4) The camera accepts the new SDHC memory cards available now at 8 GB, and soon to be at 32 GB. With the 8 GB card the camera will take 2,584 photos at the highest resolution. If you prefer movies, an 8 GB card will record 1 hour and 6 minutes of movies with sound in the AVI format, which is easily edited, burned to a DVD, and shown on a TV. 5) Finally, the camera takes superb images that we often print at 16x20 inches. Overall, a truly remarkable ultracompact camera!


->Sale

My wife and I are both completely in love with this camera. I did hours and hours of research before buying and it definitely paid off.

--- PROS ---

IMAGE STABILIZATION: The image stabilization (IS) works wonders, making many pictures that would have otherwise been blurry turn out just fine. Blur was the biggest problem we had run into while using our other cameras (Sony DSC-P72 & Sony T1).

WIDE ANGLE LENS: At first I was skeptical of getting a wide angle camera like this. I nearly got the SD700 instead, but now I'm very glad that I didn't. I had always wanted a point-and-shoot that would let me zoom in farther than the standard 3x, so with the SD700 I almost jumped at the chance. But then as I got to thinking about it I realized that the average point & shoot user (life myself) is more often in need of fitting more into the shot than of zooming in on some distant object. I think this wide angle lens is the way to go for most folks--though obviously not for everyone.

BATTERY LIFE: Excellent. It seems to never run out. I've taken 250+ photos / videos without even seeing the low battery indicator turn on.

RED EYE: We'va had very little red-eye problems with this camera, though I'm not sure what about this camera would make such an improvement over our old ones. Maybe it's just that we don't have to use the flash as much since our lower-light photos are saved from blur by the IS feature.

VIDEO: The videos look fantastic, though they eat up a LOT of memory. A 12 minute video I shot took up 1 GB. That could obviously be compressed with some post processing software, but most people don't have this type of software.

FOCUS CHECK FEATURE: There is a great option that--after snapping a picture--shows you a zoomed in view of the object you focused on and which allows you to see whether any motion or focus blur occurred. This feature is fantastic because it lets you snap a photo and then move on confident that it came out correctly. With our old Sony T1 we used to have to snap two or three shots of everything just to help increase our odds of taking a photo free of motion blur.


--- CONS ---

CANON SOFTWARE: With the exception of the cool photostich program, the canon software is horrible.

SCRATCHES EASILY: I made the mistake of storing the camera in a small waterproof camera case that I rented while hiking the narrows at Zion National Park. The case had a few stray grains of sand that had fallen into it that really did a number on my camera's finish. It's got hundreds of small scratches on it now, all from just a couple of grains of sand.

That's it. It's a great little camera.


->Cheap

I love the Image stabilizer. It takes great pictures. This is my third Canon digital camera that I've ever bought, which means I'm always very happy whith their performance. I absolutely recommend it. -S-


->

I'm technology handicapped so this camera is a blessing for me. I am taking great photos with the "auto" setting and the various controls are easy to understand. I like the video too, great quality for a "just for fun" user. Since I haven't tried any of the bells and whistles I can't comment on them but this camera was easy "out of the box" and the program download was too. I had pix e-mailed to friends and family in less than 30 minutes without assistance from my "geeky" Husband! As I get time I will play with the available options but if you need to be using it quickly this camera works exactly as I expected it to.


->Compare

Great point & shoot. Fast turn-on and boom its ready to shoot. Battery lasted four days while on vacation. I am not a pro, but I thought the manual settings were adaquate to take excellent pics in varied light conditions. Hats off to Canon.


->Buy Online

The wide angle feature on this camera and the Image Stabilisation is worth the money. You lose a little at the high end zoom but for hiking in the outdoors it is perfect. We just did a tour of Crater Lake and Yosemite and this camera captured it all.


->Comparison

First off, I am not a camera-person. I take lots of photos for powerpoint/keynote presentations...so I need lots of detail and bright colors.

This does an excellent job, fantastic photos and everything is just wonderful.

I cannot, no-way, give this 5stars. It does not charge though USB - you have to remove the battery and plug it into the wall. This really sucks. Secondly, it does not have blue-tooth file transfer. Further, the ergonomics are weird - I have small hands and its difficult to have a quick point and shoot without fumbling. This is even worse with larger hands.

Lastly, the camera plastic chrome is cheap, the snap where you connect the USB is flimsy and I know its only a matter of time before a cord is snagged and it rips the cover off from the camera.

Those are the flaws, thats about it. You will be blown away to how quickly the camera goes from power on to ready to shoot...its amazing. Also, it knows when you are shooting a face - too cool.


->Best Price

I have been a Sony man for many years, and recently my 7.2mp Sony point-and-shoot broke (the lense got stuck and would no longer retract). I was hesitant to stray from Sony, but multiple reviews gave the Canon SD800 high marks. I want something I can put in my pocket that will take good pics that I can print out, maybe even at sizes up to 8X10, and this camera seems to deliver. I am not a big photo buff, and the auto function on tis camera seems to make most of the decisions for me, yet there are enough cool features like the many scene modes to make me feel like I know what I'm doing. It has a great feel, small but substantial, smooth functions, and even my wife (not tech savvy at all) got the hang of it quickly.

If you are stewing over this as much as I was, I think you will be happy with this choice. Any criticisms I read seemed to come from photo types who know way more than I do, and so far, I am very pleased.

(...)


->Deal

Pocket-sized, easy-to-used, wider angle than other camera in its class with 28 mm lens, excellent anti-shake system, long life battery, lower noise in high ISO (compare to my old panasonic FX-01) and reasonable price make me satisfied. But there are some points that could be improved such as it does not show aperture on screen although it's understandable that shutter speed and aperture are not adjustable this class of camera. It's size and weight is a little bit more than their competitors. And autofocus is sometimes not accurate so we need to keep re-focus especially when aiming to close object.

In conclusion, I think I love this camera and it's very worthy despite a little annoying things stated above.


->Comparison

The SD800-IS takes beautiful pictures. They are bright, colorful, and sharp. It is easy to use and understand. The menus and controls are logical. The optical image stabilization really works! Battery life is amazing. The "face finder" focus function does a great job. The range of lens system is terrific. It goes from wide angle to zoom equal to that of my 24-105mm lens. Very impressive. The optical view finder in addition to the LCD display make this the perfect choice for me. I love my SD800-IS!


->Lowest Price

great camera easy to use, takes great shots, just make sure to buy a case because it gets scratched easily




->Comparison

Great camera. IS works great, used to get 5-10% blurry shots with my SONY, now I get less than 1% blurry shots. Wide angle is something you only truly appreciate after you get it. Great for tight spaces, group shots, and taking pictures of buildings. I went to a museum which had a rocket which my old camera just couldn't fit; not problem for the 800IS. The facial recognition is really cool (it recognises faces and puts a box around them for focusing). Easy to use and takes great pictures. View finder is useful in bright sunlight, this camera has it all. I like the orientation feature that rotates the picture automatically depending on how you are holding the camera.


->Comparison

The best point and shoot camera I have tried yet. Excellent product and service.


->Wholesale

I have been using Canon Elph cameras since the first one appeared in 2000. I use digital cameras mostly for art reference photos, and need them to have quick point-and-shoot capability. After my first Canon Elph (the S110, I believe) fell into the Andaman Sea from a boat, I upgraded to the SD400, which I loved for its compact size and quick point-and-shoot feature. I had that one for 2 years, until it fell onto a rock and broke. I recently purchased an upgrade of that camera -- the SD800 IS -- after researching all the current digital cameras on the market. I wanted 5+ megapixels, good optical and digital zoom (4X), compact size, and quick response. I have been disappointed with the SD800 IS in nearly every way, except that it does take a good picture once it sets itself up. However, this is NOT a quick response camera. The on-off switch is very difficult to find without looking for it, as it is flush with the face. It also takes the camera a second to adjust to any setting changes; the SD400 was much quicker that way, and took pictures of the same high quality. I thought the image stabilization feature would make for clearer pictures, but I can tell no difference in quality between this camera and its predecessor, which did not have image stabilization. All in all, I wish Canon was still producing the SD400. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat!



->Wholesale

I am enjoying this product, no issues with it , very handy and pictures are crystal clear.


->Best Price

This is a great little camera! I bought it to replace my aging Nikon CoolPix 950, and so far I am very pleased.

Pictures seem to be of very high quality, and the extra pixels are a godsend. At my recent high school reunion, I took a lot of pictures, some of people I couldn't recognize. Later, I was actually able to zoom in and read their name tags! (Good for the Image Stabilization too!)

The camera has way more features than I can possibly use. I love its video capabilities! The continuous shot capability allows me to "get the shot" even when things are moving fast. Also the auto-rotation saves a lot of time in transferring photos to my PC.

The Canon software is pretty useless, but it works fine with Picasa or Corel Photo Album.

The operation is pretty simple. I was surprised that several "normal" options were only available in "manual" mode- such as slow-sync flash and always-on (fill) flash, but I'm getting used to it.

So far, no major complaints, although the LCD screen does get smudged pretty easily, and the battery/card door is pretty flimsy as others have noted.

Going from a 256MB CF card to a 2GB SD card is really liberating- even at a higher pixel count, I never have to worry about running out of room, and extra cards and batteries are so small, they're a non-issue!


->Best Price

My 800IS takes excellent pics. But when I try to take pictures with non uniform brightness, like , a picture of a bright window from inside a dark room, I observe vertical streaks of pink lines on my LCD which do not reflect the true colors of the actual scene. The pictures come just fine, but I am not sure if I got a defective camera or this is a common issue with this model. Please post a reply if anyone have similar issues.


->Best Price

After tons of research and begging my parents for this camera I finally received it for my birthday. I just got back from a trip to Mexico and am extremely pleased how the pictures turned out. Close-ups, zooms, quick, random shots... it takes wonderful pictures! Plus, I have shaky hands and the IS really helps out with that. Thanks Canon!


->Comparison

It was a touch decision, especially between the sd1000, sd750 and SD800. The selling point for me was having image stabilization and the optical view finder, otherwise I would have probably purchased the sd750 for the 3" LCD screen. It takes great pictures, however like any small camera, low lighting can affect picture quality. People need to be aware of how to use the settings, The auto setting will force the ISO high thus a grainy picture. If you choose set the camera to a lower ISO, then you just need a stable surface to take the shoot.

I still kept the Canon G2 camera. For the most part, the SD800 takes as good of pictures and has faster response time. Only difference is that G2 has more manual controls. The SD800 would be a good replacement if the G2 had major problems.

The video setting is very good for the size camera. I purchased a 2GB SD card and should never have a problem with filling up the card, even on a long trip.

Lastly, I agree with the comments about the cheap battery cover. Like any small device, you just need to be careful. The G2 also has a plastic cover, but I have had that for 4 years, dropped it a few times and never broke anything.



->Wholesale


Product needed warranty repair for the lens zoom and auto focus after a few months of use. Feels far more flimsy and cheaply made than older models.


->Buy Now

I love the size and feel of this camera; I bought it to replace a too-large Kodak Easy-Share model. What really blew me away was when at a wedding this past spring I took a photo of a large landscape THROUGH A WINDOW and it came out so well that it is now my home PC screensaver. Recently, I shot a closeup of an item to sell on ebay, with the flash, and was a little disappointed that it did not come out clearer. Next-photo shot speed excellent, manual excellent, storage medium mainstream, has a USB port, fits into small pocketbooks, plus it satisfies my techno-ego! I chose this over the 10-megapixel model because of the image stabilization feature. I would recommend this camera wholeheartedly.


->Wholesale

I have been into photography for over forty years, starting with Pentax single lense reflex cameras. Image quality is the bottom line in photography. If you don't have crisp sharp detail all the megapixels in the world won't help. I have an Olympus C-750 Ultra Zoom, but I wanted a pocket camera for those times when I didn't want to lug around the Olympus. So I bought the Canon SD800. Physically it is a beautiful piece of work, with very intuitive software, a pleasure to operate. But aside from close-ups, the pics aren't crisp and sharp. I've returned the camera to Canon twice for repairs. The first time they made adjustments. The second time they returned it saying everything worked per specs. I would not buy this camera, if I had to do it all over again.


->

As a Florida travel photographer I spend a lot of time at Walt Disney World and Canon PowerShots are the most common cameras I see. Families on vacation seem to love them. Why? Because they're easy to carry and easy to operate. Each about the size of deck of playing cards, these "pocket cameras" really do slip right into the pocket of a shirt or pair of cargo pants, and their retro rectangular designs makes them easy to grip. And they take good photos. Here's my breakdown of the four top-selling PowerShot models:

4TH PLACE: Canon PowerShot SD700 IS 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 4x Image Stabilized Zoom was Canon's top-of-the-line ELPH in 2006. It takes good shots, but be careful with the flash. It's often too bright for indoor close-ups and low light outdoor scenes, and so close to the lens that people often end up with red eyes. With a list price of $350, it's the same price as the more advanced 2007 models:

3RD PLACE: Canon PowerShot SD750 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Silver) is the new Powershot flagship. And dang if it ain't almost perfect! It includes a light meter that adjusts for facial brightness, 17 shooting modes, some first-rate movie features and offers red-eye correction. But the entire back is an LCD display, which looks cool but means the camera does not have a viewfinder -- a must for shooting in bright sun! $450 list.

2ND PLACE: Canon PowerShot SD800 IS 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Image-Stabilized Optical Zoom attempts to add a wide-angle lens into the standard set of PowerShot goodies. The image stabilizer works well, but the lens doesn't focus well at its edges when set at its widest angle. Still, it's good training for someone who wants to compose like a pro. An Amazon best-seller, with a list price of $350.

1ST PLACE: Canon PowerShot SD1000 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Silver) is everything you need in a pocket camera. Better still, everything works well and it's a good value. The companion model to the 750, the 1000 trades in that giant LCD screen for a traditional viewfinder-and-LCD arrangement, with a 2.5-inch screen. It's also slightly thinner and lighter overall. With a list price of just $350, it doesn't waste a dollar. Often Amazon's top-selling camera.

-- By Mike Neal, photographer for The Complete Guide to Walt Disney World.


->Price

Just purchased and used this camera for our wedding. I was surprised how detailed the pictures were even after cropping and blowing up some pictures. Easy to use and the battery lasted for a long time. Software provided could use some better editing features but as a picture browser it is great. I got the 2mg Ultra card to go with this camera. I didnt notice any delay between shots even at high resolution.


->Compare

Great compact Digital Camera. Rated in latest Consumer Reports...only downfall is picture quality is rated as very good not excellent. Advantages = face recognition, image stabilization, wide angle zoom, 7 mp, 3.8 optical zoom, viewfinder.


->Comparison

Been using it for 1 week. Only weekness is telephoto could be a little stronger. Very happy with the images & video clarity.Excellent camera for this type of camera.


->Prices

This camera takes great photographs and is very compact. The camera is so small that it can easily slip out of your hands. So I keep the lanyard that comes with the camera, on my wrist.


->Sale

I've had this camera approx. two weeks now and am very pleased with it. Don't expect to start snapping award winning pictures with it right away UNTIL you've read up on all of its features. If that means you need to get a book or two from the library and check out some sites on digital photography, like I did, I highly recommend you do so. You will be happy you did because then you can take advantage of all of the great features this little camera has! It takes EXCELLENT close-up pics, crystal clear! using the "portrait" setting along with macro - you can get some great portraits of people. I like using the foliage setting with the macro feature - I've taken some great close ups of flowers with it. I would recommend this camera to anyone.


->Best Price

This camera is so compact and easy to use. The battery recharges quickly and last a long time. The speed between pictures is good. The movie mode works well. If you need a lot of zoom, you may want a different model.
If you want something easy to cart around, this is a good choice.


->Deals

Just bought another one of this camera for my mom (again from Amazon.com). Yes, I am that satisfied with it.

We do have a digital SLR and another point-and-shoot high-end digital camera, but there is always a need for a small one that can fit inside your purse.

As my partner is a professional photographer, and as I have been exposed to digital photography since the late 1990s, we were very particular about the quality of the photos. We've tested other point-and-shoots such as the Olympus, Kodak, Sony, etc., and yes, nothing beats the SD800 IS.

The image stabilization helps a lot. I have shot a lot of nice photos with this camera, and even some pleasing sceneries while inside a moving Amtrak train.

It's very easy to use. My 60-year old mom immediately got the hang of it (The 2nd camera I just bought is actually for her).

Battery lasts a long time. I didn't need to recharge even after shooting around 2 hours' worth of videos, and a couple of hundred photos. This is a nice surprise.

By the way, this is also the first user manual I have actually read from cover to cover (it did put me to sleep twice, though). There are a lot of nice tricks and shortcuts in there.


->Comparison

Strenths:
wide angle lense, 3.8X zoom, image stabilization, face detection, quality build, long battery life

Weaknesses:
no battery indicator (only indicates low when it almost runs out of juice)

Details:
I have been using the Canon PowerShot S40 for more than 5 years, and it still works fine, but it's too thick (nearly 2" in Depth) to carry in the pocket. So I decided to upgrade to an ultra-compact one. I chosed the Canon SD800 IS for the following reasons:

1. good review from most sites
2. ultra-compact size - 3.5" x 2.3" x 1" (W x H x D)
3. excellent picture quality, true vivid color
4. wide angle lense - 28mm (35mm equivalent), 3.8x optical zoom (most ultra-compact cameras are 3x)
5. optical image stabilization (works great, and only in few of the Canon point-and-shoot cameras)
6. face detection that works in wonder
7. decent movie quality (640x480) and length limited only by momory card size (I have a 1GB, which holds about 12-minute movie)
8. fast start up and shutter response time (great for catching kids in action)
9. long battery life
10. overall Canon quality and reliability


->Comparison

This camera takes excellent photos at daylight and night. Its night mode is pretty Good but sometimes it gets a little fuzzy while taking indoor low light photos. IS is awesome and so are other options. But you cannot change settings such as aperture and other advanced settings...


->Best Price

Very happy with the camera.


->Best Price

There's really too many good things to say about this camera. I myself have sold almost a dozen of these little marvels just by showing people mine! That's how good the picture quality is, and how good it is at taking pictures on Auto Mode.

Size: 3.5"x2.3"x1.0". Easy to fit in a pocket/purse/backpack, etc. It's about the size of a pack of cigarettes, or a 1" thick credit card :)

ISO Quality: You can get away with a good quality print at ISO400 easily. Anything less will be beautiful. At ISO800, the noise increases and picture quality decreases, but it's still usable (more or less so, depending on your situation).

Color Accent: Not as much a gimmick as I once thought. You can get very creative and have beautiful pictures that don't look fake or overprocessed.

Auto Focus: Very quick and responsive, with minimal shutter lag. You will get the picture you were shooting, not a picture a second later!

Face Detection: Oddly enough, the software was advanced enough to pick up facial recognition on a 12" resin figure I have. It can occasionally not work, and doesn't pick up the faces of animals (it's not intended to, I'm just warning anyone thinking about it), but the feature is very effective.

Flash: Much more powerful than I expected. I encourage you to stand at least 4 feet away from your subject before using a flash, or else there will be excessive overexposure. The flash works a good distance away as well, able to light up a whole room. The flash's ability to make skin tone come out with beautiful and natural colors is phenomenal.

Video: In good light, the video on this camera competes with dedicated digicams. In low light, there is very noticeable pixelation. In less active scenarios, this won't be a problem, but if you're in low light and there's a lot going on, the compression algorithms will miss some of the detail.

Zoom: Amazing. The wide-angle lens is the buying factor for this camera and, if you want wide-angle (28mm) I'm telling you not to hesitate buying this camera. The 3x optical zoom on the far-end is also nice, but obviously nothing abnormal (all cameras this size have about a 3x optical zoom). In good light, the digital zoom works amazingly well. I was able to take a picture of a baby's face from across a living room with no more than one or two endtable lamps, and the picture came out clean and very usable. I also could zoom in on a sign from across the street (40 feet away) and have it completely fit on the screen. Again, the quality was impressive.

Image stabilization: What more can be said -- this camera has it, and it works well. If you intend to rely on lower ISOs to avoid grainy pictures (as I do), image stabilization is a must.

This camera also supports 4GB video recording, allowing you about 40 minutes of video at the highest resolution setting (640x480). The ability of this camera to handle almost every lighting condition flawlessly on auto is amazing to me. And the ability to manually change any setting (besides shutter speed and aperture -- if there is, I haven't read the manual well enough yet!) helps a lot.

I can go on and on about this camera, but you need to try it out for yourself to be a believer. You won't regret this camera.


->Buy

This camera is an upgrade for me from a Powershot S-400. I like the larger view screen and I can use the 800 without a problem. I'm really a point and shoot guy so don't use most of the features of this camera but have found it quite user friendly.


->Discount

I did a ton of research looking for a small, lightweight, multi functional, not too expensive, ultra compact digital that I could carry with me all the time. I haven't had this camera too long so I haven't used all it's many features. Even though it is very user friendly, it does so many things that I have to study it further in order to know it all. My husband and I are very active and I wanted a lightweight camera for hiking, biking, skiing, kayaking (I plan on purchasing the waterproof cover), etc. with good zoom capabilities, image stability, easy to use, along with manual settings (for when I get more proficient with it) that I could grow into. I've been playing with it off and on for the last couple of weeks and have not had to recharge the battery from first time I charged it. Part of my decision to buy this camera was the viewfinder which makes the camera very versatile. The only thing I don't like about it so far is that the access doors are plastic (my husband says this is for weight) and hinge on flimsy plastic but I figure that if they break, it would be an easy fix. Also, you absolutely need to buy a larger capacity memory card. I could only take 8 pictures with the one it came with before it was full. I did buy a 2GB from Adorama for a very reasonable price.
All in all, I couldn't be happier with this camera and will update my review after I've delved deeper into it.


->Buy

I had several other Canon cameras (s45, a400, s1IS) and, overall I was happy with them but there were a few limitations I wanted corrected. I sold them and picked up the SD800, as it has all the options now I wanted, from large LCD, image stabilizer, AF lamp, a wide angle lens, and a tiny, compact size. They threw in some extra stuff now I hadn't thought of.

The pics of people and scenery produce colors very accurate and "true to life". This has a nicely arranged menu interface. The flash is fine for lower light indoor and night shots. The image stabilizer really changes the quality of anyone's pics. It works great! Try it without it and you'll see a huge difference. I usually resort to using the full auto mode. Unless your a pro you don't need to switch to manual. The bigger 2.5" LCD is a welcomed feature and is very bright and sharp. The battery lasts much longer than the typical stock battery, before it needs re-charging. I haven't played with the facial recognition mode yet, but after reading other reviews, it seems to work fine. The movie mode is great for 2 minute candid shots. All you record is easily transfered over to your computer. The only drawback was the memory card. Upgrade that and you've got a great setup at a resonable price.


->Compare

This is my first digital camera. I have found the camera easy to use and the pictures to be crisp and clear. I am still in the learning phase with a digital camera, but have no complaints with this model at this time.


->Lowest Price

I recently purchased this camera after owning the SD200 for three years. The SD800 is such a delight to play with and offers cool features like the color accent and face detection. The color accent sporatically picks up colors that the sun is shining on mostly. I'm still learning to work it, but the screen is a little more grainy prior to pressing the shutter button, but it comes out 100x better once the picture is taken. The wide angle lens is an awesome plus. The size is a little thicker than my SD200 and maybe a little heaver, but I'm really pleased with it thus far.


->Deal

This is a great little camera. It is very easy to use and the wide angle was great for architecture and large buildings...


->Lowest Price

Wow! This is a great camera. It's small and light weight and easily fits in your pocket. You can carry this camera with you at all times and capture moments that would otherwise be only a memory. I am pleasantly surprised at how good the video is and how much the 2GB memory card can hold. It's very easy to use (even my husband figured it out). If you are going on vacation and want to lighten your camera load (digital camera and video camera) this is the way to go. I highly suggest you buy an extra battery, especially if you plan on taking a lot of video.


->Deals

This is a great camera. However, I returned it after a week because when I take videos of my twins out in the sunlight there is a pinkish line that moves around when I move with the kids. I changed the setting to daylight but it still happens. Canon said you will get this with all camera with sun glare. My old Canon A85 did not do this hardly at all compared to this. Also the sound on the videos on the SD800IS is not as loud as my A85. The pictures download quick and take quicker with flash than my old camera.


->Lowest Price

Even though I own a CanonEOSD20, this is a great camera I would like to carry around always in my pocket, This camera is sleek and loaded with lot of features, especially I like the Focus and Exposure lock AND the handheld-shake free Image-stabilizer option. Kudos to the Design team. I love it.


->Compare

It's a very good and reliable and performant camera.
Very easy to take without any quality issue or defect


->Buy Online

This camera takes great pics. It is also a great size - perfect for my jacket pocket or my wife's purse. Very easy to use with tons of advanced features.


->Deal

This camera is really stunning....Sleek.Elegant.Worth its money. Al feature modes make it an excellant option.


->

I was a pro photographer for 10 yrs - and I still shoot for real estate now. I love this little camera - and I am picky. Many of the images on kylandsales.com have been taken with this camera or the SD630. This is far supperior to the 630 on many levels. Great for pics of your kids AND commerce. I highly recommend this camera - I L-O-V-E it.


->Deal

So far, I am liking the camera....It is exactly as advertised....


->Buy

If you are looking for a pocket size camera that produces excellent quality pictures, SD800IS is the best choice.


->Buy

The 800IS is among Canon's best! I love the S3IS as well. They are making some great cameras! I started with the G2 and then the Digital Rebel....this is a great one. The Image stabilizer is great for keeping the pictures sharp...a great camera!


->Purchase

This is the one to get!! I bought it with the Lenmar Extra Battery Canon NB-5L Equivalent Digital Camera/camcorder Battery (be sure to buy it from Amazon for the free shipping) and the Lowepro Rezo 10 Red Camera Carrying Case Red Rezo case which holds the extra battery and camera perfectly and is very cool looking.

This camera is
FAST! EASY TO CARRY EVERYWHERE! IN MANUAL GIVES GREAT, GREAT WIDE ANGLE RESULTS AT VERY SLOW SHUTTER SPEEDS USING THE IS.

For casual snaps of my kids it's also great!

It has a very nice LCD and no shutter lag (Wow is this a big deal). Before I bought it I also tried the sd700 and it wasn't as good. Buy it from Amazon for their great easy returns/no restocking fee policy if you aren't satisfied.





->Cheap

I bought the sd800 also, and have white spots on 50% of the pictures I take indoors with flash.. I got my lenses cleaned by a tech and still the same problem... It looks like it documents the dust in the air.. so if you have a very dusting place.. youll have more of these white spots.. I take pictures of dancers... so theres more dust sweept of the floor... this is my theory Im not too sure yet.. but whats really frustrating is that I paid 500$ for it and I had better results with a disposable cam!!! Im still in talks with the shop owner cause Im really not happy with this product!!! ONe thing is for shure is that I dont think its normal to pay that much and then having to deal with spots on pictures.


->Deal

When my wife and I went on our honeymoon, I noticed that she used the video recording feature of her then Canon A80 quite frequently. But the video was low resolution and only a choppy 15 frames per second.

We had the opportunity to go to China recently, so we decided on this camera for our trip. The video quality is excellent and helped capture some of our experiences you can only recreate with video.

Being small, we took it with us everywhere. I have never used an image-stabilized lens before, but now I'm a believer. This is a great family camera--something small that you'll want to take around. It'll get great snapshots and capture video that looks good enough for DVD.

Highly recommended.


->Sale

This is a very good camera when you're on the move and don't have the ability to pack a true SLR. I've taken it skiing in very cold tempertures, on vacation to Cancun and several places in between. It has performed flawlessly. The image stabilization feature really works, producing crisp shots over a wide range of zooms.


->Price

You can read the technical stuff in the other reviews. I bought this machine for the technical features. I didn't like the design that much. But I'm surprised to see that it's really much more beautiful than it appears in the pictures


->Best Price

I wanted a small easy to carry and easy to use camera to replace my Olympus 4000 which I had for several years but found a little too large for easy carrying . I took the camera to France on a 2 week trip through Burgundy and Normandy and shot about 450 pictures. All of them came out fine and any problems were due to my composition and not the camera. It is very forgiving extremely small and handy and when carried on the belt with the leather case you buy separately for it, it is a dream to take out quickly, shoot and replace it it with little effort. The image stabilization works well.

I used it most of the time on automatic but the times I needed to take shots inside without flash the 1600 film speed eqivalent gave excellent results and suprised me how good the pictures were. Most large Cathedrals and Basilica in France have pretty low light but the camera always got an acceptable shot. I heartily recommend it, you won't be disapointed.


->Sale

After reading many reviews I had my camera choice narrowed between this and the Sony W90. I purchased the W90 and fought with it for 2 weeks before finally returning it and buying the 800IS. Although both cameras are capable of taking excellent pictures in a wide variety of lighting conditions, I found the 800IS to be significantly better with less grain and much better image stabilization.

I have taken about 800 pictures with this camera in many lighting conditions. Of course in bright daylight the camera takes excellent pictures in all modes. What really impressed me however, was the quality of pictures in very low light. I took many pictures of a dress rehearsal in very difficult lighting conditions. Every picture came out! The image stabilization worked perfectly even at full zoom.

It is extremely easy and quick to change ISO settings which is very handy for changing light conditions.

In terms of picture quality, ISOs up to 400 have little or no grain. Pictures taken in ISO 800 and 1600 have noticeable grain, but are very sharp and produced excellent 4x6 prints.

Overall I am VERY pleased with this camera and am glad I didn't settle for the picture quality of the W90.

UPDATE: June 10, 2007 I took this camera on a trip to Singapore a few weeks ago and had the opportunity to take some night shots along the river that runs through the city. I used a railing for stability and the 2 second timer to take the shots. The 2 second timer allows any shake to stop after the button is pressed. I took about 20 pictues using the nightshot setting. All 20 turned out with no bluring even when zoomed in. The 8x10 prints looked like they had been professionally taken.


->Compare

I've owned this little guy for about 4 days now and it is the most fun I've had with a digital point and shoot! I did some research before my purchase and was primarily interested in the Image Stabilization.
OH MY GOD!
All point and shoots should have this awesome Canon IS lens! I've taken over 700 pics so far and it's a rare case to have a blurry image. I can press the shutter button down half way to autofocus and then do the full step to take a picture and then release the button only half way to maintain the previous focus. Doing this, I can take almost 2 pictures a second! I've read about some people getting 'dust' or 'ghosts' with some high ISO shots, but so far I haven't noticed anything but incredibly clear pics. Night shots are just GORGEOUS. If you set it up on a little $10 tabletop tripod and aim it almost anything at night outside, then set it for 3 to 8 seconds of exposure, the PICTURES WILL LOOK FANTASTIC! Such a big aperture on this camera. Sounds great, yeah? Well, there's more! Canon's newest Digic III processor will boot this camera up and allow you to take a picture in about 1 second (I had my gf time it with a stop watch and it's factual). That is just amazing to me! My old Canon S45 took at least 5 seconds. When you aim at someone's face and the face detect is 'ON', it's really cool to watch, because it puts the subject's face in brackets so you KNOW that its working (up to 7 faces!). This is a quality product and I'm looking forward to capturing important memories on my trip to Holland in a week. When you do get this camera (not if!), you MUST get a case. And it MUST be hard or semi hard and leather.. well, its just a personal preference really. You also MUST get a screen protector. NOT OPTIONAL.
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS:
I am going to Holland in a week with my GF, so I got some extra SD cards for it: Transcend 4 GB 150X, Corsair 2 GB 133X, 3 Kingston 2 GB (not sure of the speed). With the Kingston cards, I can take almost 2 pictures a second without flash. NO JOKE. Same thing with the other cards, too, but I'm still in awe with how well this camera performs. I also ordered some extra chinese LN-B5's and they seem to work OK so far. I didn't want to chance it, though, so I also ordered the Tekkeon MP3300 and the Tekkeon MP1500, WOW! You could hook the 1500 up to your cell and get almost 6 hours of TALK TIME! Literally! IT USES 4 AA's! Look it up! If you're into digiscoping, you'll have to get a universal mounting bracket, cuz the SD800 doesn't have a thread mount yet (as far as I know).

I hope you get this camera, because you'll have a lot of fun! Your GF will like it, too!


->Buy

I was looking to camera that will be in the pocket to take the kids pictures.
So the main requirements were:
1. Fast startup
2. Fast picture taking
3. Good performance in slow ISO.
4. quality
5. lightweight

Great value for the money.
Highly recommended.



->

I read a lot of reviews before buying this camera. It really is a great camera. I have owned several before this, and this one is the best. What I found is to use the scenery selection a lot, ie, indoor, beach, foilage, etc. They make a big difference. For outdoor general use, use manuel setting at ISO 80. Makes for very sharp photos. Also, you might have to turn off auto flash to get great shots. On my last trip to Japan and Australia, I took 610 photos using a 2 gig SD card, with plenty of room to spare. And don't waste your money on high speed SD card. I used a cheap, generic 2 gig SD card, and it worked fine. The videos are nice too. With a 1 gig SD card, count on a max of 8 minutes of video. Nice to have some cheap, spare 1 GB Sd cards for video taking.
Buy this camera. It is really that good of a camera.



->

I had two major requirements when I bought this camera -
1. A 28mm focal length on the wide angle side
2. It had fit easily into my pocket
This camera fits both requirements well.

The 28mm requirement is the result of many years of taking pictures of family, friends, scenery - having that extra angle of view compared with the 35mm or 38mm more generally offered opens up many possibilities. If you haven't experienced the difference, give it a try before you buy.
Another feature of a camera I discovered, when lugging a 35mm reflex with a big zoom lens on it (the proverbial potato masher) was that it didn't matter how good the camera was if it was at home when I wanted to take the picture. Thus the pocket-size requirement.
I have taken thousands of pictures over the years, moved from film to digital, and now see the cameras getting smaller and smaller - and doing more and more.
Happily, it all comes together in this package. It takes wonderful pictures - Canon seems to have figured out the software as well as anyone - and it's easy to use. Not lots of settings and adjustments, but I've had cameras with them available and never used them.
The anti-shake feature is a miracle. You can use any focal length in almost any light where the camera will work without flash, and not worry about the shakes.
One general comment - in the Auto mode, the camera will increase the ISO setting as the light falls, trying not to turn to flash. But at ISO settings much above 100, the resulting pictures are noticeably grainy, and at 800 and 1600, they are pretty ugly. I shoot in Manual mode, just to keep the ISO constant, set at 100. And the flash is really quite good for a little guy like this. In the rare case where a higher ISO is a better solution, you can set it at other values, up to 1600, and fire away - and accept the consequences. Sometimes a grainy picture is better than no picture at all.
I got a neat little case at Staples, made by Case Logic, which fits the camera snugly, and offers some foam protection. It has been dropped numerous times in the case, and it just happily bounces and comes back for more.
The camera spends a lot of time in my pocket, and having it handy enables taking lots more pictures, in fun circumstances. When people don't expect you to have a camera, you can catch them out better than when you have to do "Hey, hold that until I go get my camera", or "Dang, I wish I had brought my camera".
For comparison, Panasonic has just brought out this camera Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3S 7.2MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)which also has a 28m wide angle. The 10x zoom goes well beyond the 4x on the Canon, but the Panasonic is enough larger to make it a bit less of a pocket-fitter. The longer telephoto is attractive, though, and it has the required anti-shake.
For cameras of this pixel count, it's interesting to note that you can put almost 1500 pictures on a single 2GB SD card. On a trip? That's 100 pictures a day for two weeks - not bad. And the cards aren't expensive.
So, for my requirements, this camera is near ideal, and I'm very happy with it. No real gripes at all.


->Purchase

This is my first camera. I reviewed this in many sites and SD 800 IS tops all the reviews. The Scene mode is very handy in many situations. You can take stunning pictures if you set the correct scene mode for the specific objects you are shooting. The Image Stability is simply amazing that you can take moving objects while walking. The interval between the successive shots is very quick. Its an above par camera for point and shoot.

Pros:

1. Image Stability
2. Wide Angle
3. Auto Rotate
4. Speed
5. Ease of use

Cons:

1. Bit costlier than its competitors, but worth of money


->Best Price

I got this camera based on amazon.com reviews. It's fantastic. Its very quick to turn on and take pics and everything. I saw the complaints about the on/off button and the little nob to turn, they have in no way been a problem for me, in fact I really like the power button.

I was torn because on amazon.com the next version up of this camera was only $20 more but it was 10MP and made of titanium, but it didn't have the wide angle or the IS lense... I'm very happy with my purchase, the wide angle is neat and just what I wanted! I also got the 2 gig super fast little card for it and it's great as well.


->Buy

This camera is so easy to use, my techno-phobe wife likes it. I'm pretty geeky and was a little concerned that the photos would not be up to snuff. I own two digital Nikons and bought this camera for my wife to use. I love it. She has to remind me that it is hers and she would like to be able to use it sometimes. To me the greatest feature is the image stabilization. I have shot great shots in museums with the flash turned off as they required. Without the stabilization, getting a good indoor shot that is clear without movement-caused fuzziness is extremely difficult without a tripod. Some museums won't let you use those either. But shots in the British Museum and in SF's Asian Museum were museum catalog material. A light-weight, compact camera that is really a point-and-shoot. I am extremely happy. Kudos to Canon for the camera - but the included software caused my wife's IBM laptop to repeatedly freeze up. After a process of elimination, I discovered that it was one of the 6-8 programs installed if you choose to let the software decide what to install. I deleted everything that the software CD installed and now the Windows XP camera wizard does it. Not as elegantly, but it does work.


->Comparison

This camera works exactly like pro reviews say it will. The photos don't look the prettiest when zoomed in 100% because the sensor just isn't as good as the rest of the camera. As for the rest of the camera i want to stress a few things

You just CAN'T compare this camera to a 35mm or 38mm camera because the difference is huge. Some people get caught up in the zoom rating but here is basically all zoom is good for:

Sports (sort of)
Wildlife
Occasional random subjects that you can't get close too

Here is what wide angle is good for:
Group photos
Landscape (beaches, mountains, lakes)
Scenery (buildings, sports stadiums)

That latter category covers about 95% of most people's photos. And of course zoom can be accomplished after the fact (crop), but you can never go back and take a wider photo.

Secondly I want to say that IS is a fantastic feature. Every picture in marginal light will benefit and even many pictures indoors are possible without a flash now. If i concentrate on steadiness and use the 2 second delay I can get sharp photos all the way down to 1 second exposures.

The face feature on the other hand is somewhat gimmicky although its neat to watch it re-white balance and bring out the skin tone as soon as it detects a face.

As i mentioned earlier the image quality suffers from noticeable noise and average resolution. It looks somewhat muddy compared to the sharper, cleaner sony i just replaced. Color on the other hand always shines with canon and thats exactly what I've seen here. The wide lens also leaves its mark in the form of edge and corner softness.

So overall while the CCD is clearly lacking, the rest of the camera is still probably most well rounded and versatile compact on the market right now. And do not over look the 28MM LENS!


->Price

At first I thought the camera was a little small for my hands, but I quickly became accustomed to its size and functions. I wanted a small camera that could take great pictures ... this is the camera! It quickly became comfortable in my hand and was great to store in a belt case for ease of access. It starts fast and operates smoothly. The scene modes work great, especially the kids & pets and fish tank modes. The standard mode is an easy flick of the switch and does a great job. I reviewed many reviews of the camera and did not agree with the negative comments I read, which were few. This camera is fun, versatile and takes excellent pictures. I was a little concerned about the lack of a battery indicator from the negative comments, but I had no problem with battery life for the entire day (I charged at night with no problem in less then 2 hours each night). I would also recommend purchasing the Sandisk 2 gig memory card (I got mine at Costco for about $40) as the memory cards are small, easy to store, and this camera takes fantastic videos which require additional memory. This is fun camera wich is easy to use and takes great pictures. It is nicely priced and has an optional undewater case which I intend to purchase. I recommend the camera highly.


->Sale

Upgraded from a S400 that had the memory card error. I've wanted a new one anyway. It's been great camera. IS seems to work fairly well. I've noticed some bluriness at the edges when full-wide, but it's tolerable.


->Wholesale

I had had my heart set on getting a new Casio camera after seeing a friend with it, but on vacation at the Grand Canyon, the camera store didn't sell those. The clerk convinced me that this camera was the best one out there and she herself using this model. I have to say that she didn't steer me wrong.

The camera was so easy to use and took great pictures. Even my wife who hates anything electronic and didn't like using our last digital camera took to using the Canon.

Overall, I was very happy with the choice. Excellent features, but bottom line - it takes great pictures.


->Buy

I was looking for a Canon Digital Camera. Looking at the new SD1000, SD900, SD800, and SD750, I decided to go with the SD800 for the features, especially the image stabilization and wide angle. With automatic setting, the pictures are great indoor or outdoor. With adjustments (ISO, White Balance), the picture is incredible and sharp, excellent color and picture quality. This camera is fast too. The SD800 is a bit hard to find (got mine on Amazon) since it has been replaced by the SD900, SD1000. Get this unit before it get sold out.
Note that this camera is heavier than the SD1000, but also has more features than the SD1000. It has the round corners and still light enough to fit in your pocket.




->Prices

This is my second Canon camera and will only own a Canon. The picture quality is excellent.


->Lowest Price

The camera is just awesome. The vendor is awesome. Got it in time, everything was as described.


->Prices

As for my 'photography background', I almost decided to major in photography in college(didn't love the techincal aspect as much as the creative!) Its a big interest of mine and something Ive been doing for years. I use my camera both professionally(in my real estate career) and just for fun on vacations etc.

I just got this camera a few days ago. I have previously owned 2 other canon powershots, 1 of which broke and was more expensive to fix then buy new. But once I got over that, I bought the powershot a400. My problem with that was standing in a small room, it barely got any of the room in a photo. I've already used the SD800 in a couple of houses, and I'm in love with the wide angle lens. It gets a huge span of the room. Also used it for close ups and the macro feature is super. I've been taking pictures with one hand, and they always come out clear, so I'm attributing that to the image stabilization. The shutterspeed is SO much faster the the A400 and was one of the main reasons I wanted to get a new camera. There is no standing around while your camera "thinks" about the photo you just took and after you press the button it takes the photo immeadiately, theres no lag time.

The only con I found, which is really just a personal preference: I wish it took regular batteries, because it saves me if my battery dies to have some extras lying around. So now I just have to keep on top of charging the battery and maybe will get a second one as a backup.


->

5 stars means this camera is perfect, and it's certainly not that. Haven't these people ever used any other cameras?

Let's start with the good.

1)A 28mm lens is a great feature. The spotlight review says it's the only one. Wrong! Panasonic had one way before Canon. Ricoh too.
2) In good light the camera takes good pictures - colors are good, I haven't had too many blown highlights
3) Image Stabilization makes the videos nice and smooth
4) Design is nice, but that's subjective

The not so good
1) Average low light performance. OIS doesn't help much when you have to limit exposure to ISO200 without getting noisy/grainy pictures
2) Flash performance is terrible. Try a Fuji with intelligent flash and you'll know in an instant what I mean. The flash is weak and if you're close to someone they get blown away and the background is black. Red eye is pretty bad.
3) If you want to put it on Auto and shoot, you can - outdoors. Indoors you have to go to manual mode and limit the ISO to 200 max (I limit mine to 100). If you don't you are guaranteed to get grainy pictures.
4) Build quality. Came with 1 dead pixel on the LCD, after 3 hours of use it had two. We'll see how many at 11 months and 29 days when I call Canon. :) LCD is pushed in at the upper right corner. Came from the factory like that and is a common problem.
5) Picture sharpness. Pretty disappointing. Even in bright light many times the pictures just are that clear. This camera gets knocked for that. Go to dpreview dot com's Canon Talk forum and you'll see others complaining.

I actually tried to return this camera, but Dell messed up the order so I got stuck with it before I moved out of country.

The awesome feature is the 28mm lens. If you aren't interested in that get the SD700 if you can't get clear pics by hand holding a shot - if you can - get the SD900 (or SD750 and SD1000 are showing the same image quality as the SD800) or a Fuji F-series. (indoors Fuji will blow any Canon SD away)

Panasonic has the FX30 which matches this Canon for features, but it's low light performance might even be worse - but the video size is 33% bigger. Also worth checking out.

I guess I feel if I'm spending pretty much the most on a point-and-shoot I expect superior quality, and the Canon SD800IS fails to deliver. Good, not the best.


->Buy

the camera is a great one and as always one cant go wrong with a canon camera purchase. it was an upgrade to the sd 700 i purchased earlier. cant tell the difference really but it has more megapixels clarity. it doesnt tell you in advance how much battery power is left as all the earlier canon cameras, other than that a great product.


->Prices

I really had 1 important requirement when buying a new camera to replace a 4 year old Fuji A303, it had to be fast. This camera is very fast in all ways, very little shutter lag and preview mode is very fast. Image quality has been very good, night shots have been the toughest to get right. The Scene Mode selections are very good and have used them many times. Also battery life is very good getting a few hundred shots on a charge with the included battery, also the battery is re-charged in about 2 hours.


->Comparison

This is my 3rd digital camera. I wanted one that worked great, has lots of features, and fits in my purse. This camera has all that and more. LOVE IT.


->

My wife and I have been extremely satisfied with our first two Canon purchases over the years. Our main reasons for making the move to the SD800 was extra megapixels, size, and the image stabilizer. The latter being extremely important as we really love this feature on our old PowerShot. Our new SD800 has exceeded our expectations. It has more settings and features than we are ever likely to use. After a few weeks of use, the first two being at Disney World with our two kids, the SD800 has not disappointed. The pictures have been wonderful. I highly recommend this camera especially to those who don't have image stabilizing technology in their current cameras.


->Lowest Price

This camera packs alot in a small package. If you want a great point and shoot digital camera and not carry around another bag this is it. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles as the higher end digital SLR cameras but it has everything the casual photographer would want or need. My only concern is the door for the AV output is flimsy. I hope it doesn't break off.


->Discount

Pros:
Great features. Easy to navigate. Great resolution. 3.8x optical with wide angle. Great battery life. Big LCD screen. The AUTO ISO and Image Stabilizer take perfect pictures, in dark or light conditions.

Cons:
A lot of people complain about the battery/memory compartment door being a little flimsy. I think it's fine as long as you are aware of it and don't pull too hard.
I would also like to take underwater pics, but the case costs almost as much as the camera itself... not a biggie.

I used to have a Canon Powershot G3. It died on me when I tried to update the firmware. Be careful with trying to update firmware on Canon's I guess. This camera is simply fantastic though... and it weighs next to nothing.

Oh, also... make sure to buy memory that is SDHC (not just SD). The SD will work, but is a little slow. I bought this: SanDisk 2 GB Extreme III SD Memory Card ( SDSDX3-2048-901 ) . It is a lot faster, and totally worth it. Video is flawless and deleting pics is very fast.


->Sale

I own a Nikon digital SLR but wanted to find something lighter and smaller that I could carry while traveling this summer in Europe. After extensive research, I chose the Canon PowerShot SD800 IS. I have been using it for a month and am very pleased with the choice. At just 6 oz., it is easy to forget you are even carrying it in your pocket. (I recommend this small leather case to protect it. Canon Digital Elph Accessory Kit for Canon SD700 IS, SD800 IS and SD900 Digital Cameras)

This is truly a point and shoot camera. The manual capability is limited, but I have found it produces consistently excellent pictures in the automatic mode, even in low light conditions. My wife loves it because of the active image stabilization that effectively reduces blurring due to shaking.

Two big factors in my choice of the SD800 were its wide-angle capability (equivalent to 28mm) and the 3.8X optical zoom feature (equivalent to 105mm). The LCD is bright and easy to see, but the standard viewfinder also helps in full sunlight. The macro capability is easy to activate and provides great close-ups. The SD800 will serve the casual photographer well and would be a handy backup for advanced photographers.


->For Sale

Easier to use than my Powershot S3-IS, and with far better ergonomics despite its much smaller size. Picture quality is superior as well -- a much sharper image, more than acceptable even at ISO 400 or 800. 28mm wide-angle capability simplifies composition in tight spaces. Face-recognition focusing produces superior portraits. Only "weakness" is a flash that poops out beyond about 10 feet, but still adequate for most purposes. If you are in the market for a legitimately pocket-sized, go-anywhere, durable camera that produces outstanding images, make sure you check this one out.


->Sale

I have only had the Canon 800 SD for a few weeks and so far I am thrilled with my purchase. Feature packed, I will probably never use alot of its capability. With all of its features, however, it does everything I wanted in an ultra compact. Picture quality is outstanding, which is the primary reason I chose this camera.


->Prices

My wife and I read a bunch of reviews on this camera before we purchsed it. Some people were saying bad things that we didn't even understand. Those people must be professional photographers because this camera is great if you are just a regular joe who wants a camera to take regular high quality pictures with. The image stablizer is amazing; not that we've had to use it yet, but it is nice to have. I can't say anything bad about this camera, good purchase so far.


->Buy Online

I had been debating on whether to get the sd900 or the sd800is. I ended up going with the sd800is instead because it had image stabilization and because I have heard that the 7 megapixel isn't to far of a difference from the 10. When I got home and used it, I was so surprised. The pictures come out super clear and are very excellent especially when doing close ups. I have a sony 7.2 camera and it could not even compare to the sharpness I saw in the sd800is. I am now a Canon fan!!


->Deal

So far, I love this camera. It has taken some great pictures, especially in low light with the Image Stabilizer. I love that it recognizes faces, too, as long as they're facing the camera. Since the camera is so small, the optical viewfinder is, too...I never use it. I think I'd rather see them do away with the viewfinder altogether and just have a bigger screen. Minor point, though. The included memory card is way too small (plan to buy another), but the battery life is great. These things don't really detract from my opinion of the camera.


->Comparison

This camera is awesome. It does everything that it advertises. Very easy to start taking quality pictures out of the box. Would recommend it to anyone looking for a compact digital camera that takes great pictures.


->Best Price

Great little camera. IS works well, although it isn't surefire. Its always best to take at at least a few shots when you're in a dark area.
Has lots of little options - like color accent, and a plethora of different scene modes - that makes shooting fun.
Battery last a pretty long time considering the size and brightness of the screen (REALLY BRIGHT!!)
The extra mm on the wide end make this camera acceptable for taking pics of buildings on the run (check out Ken Rockwell's review of this guy for Adobe Photoshop lens distortion correction factors).
My main complaint is the tendency of this camera to overexpose. WIth an overcast day, it blew up tons of highlights. Manual mode comes in handy here - just take the exposure levels 2/3 to 1 full stop down.
Suggested accessories - full case or screen protectors. bigger screens means more area to scratch, unfortunately.


->Compare

Great compact size...No problem in a pocket even while doing activites.
Excellent Image quality.
Easy to use...
Good battery life.
Navigating menus takes some geting used to.
Small viewfinder, but large flat screen...
I wish the zoom was larger.


->Buy Online

Great Camera. My first real digital camera. Can't believe how such a small camera takes such great pictures. WOW!!! Would recommend to anyone tired of dragging around an old 35mm camera and all of those lenses.
Think shipment got caught in the Christmas volume or it would probably have arrived faster. Camera, battery charger, spare battery camera case and camera instruction manual all fit in a fanny pack.


->Deal

We have just recieved this camera and we wish we had it sooner. The This camera will do as much as you want it to. It is compact, very easy to use, and the pictures are beautiful. That is just using it in point and shoot style. It has alot of functions we have not even used yet.


->Buy

Good overall small camera.
I have Canon DSLR 20D and was looking for a very portable quality camera.
This is exactly what I got with this purchase.
I like the Scene selection which allows for settings to be very simple.
I like the face tracking capabiltiy and the good zoom for this kind of camera.
The menus are easy to follow.
The video Quality is also surprisingly good.
Battery life is good and charger is mutli-national
Overall very pleased.


->Price

This is a great camera that sets itself apart from many other offerings for two reasons:
a) It has a wide-angle lens
b) Digic III processor is significantly faster than Canon's old Digic II

What do these two things do for you?

The wide-angle lens makes it easier to fit in more people in group shots without stepping "wayyyyy" back. For example, most old 35mm film cameras use a standard 50mm lens as their basic lens. To get a wide-angle, you might step up to a 28mm lens to get a wider field of view at shorter distances. This camera has similar capability compared to it's peers. You can't actually translate the lens equivalent written on the camera (I think it says 17mm) one-for-one with the 35mm example I used above. However, I believe this offers the equivalent of about a 24-28mm lens.

Speed. Ever get tired of missing the shot because your digital camera had either a) put itself in sleep mode or b) even worse, was ready to go, but took too long to focus on the subject. I've been disappointed with the delay in both Canon and Nikon cameras in the past. This camera is quick. It's closer to point and shoot (i.e., like film) than any digital I've used or picked up and played with in a retail store. The time to sleep can be set (trade-off really between battery power and readiness), but the key is the speed to photo while it's ready. Very short, nearly instantaneous focus time.


->

This was my second Cannon camera the first being a Sure-Shot 95. I had bought the SD800 as a lightweight substitute to take with me when I go backpacking. The camera was easy to use, fairly intutitive controls and good quality pictures.I tried using it to take stop action tennis pictures and it did not do as well as the Cannon 95 with several blurry shots amongst those that were okay. Based on a recomendation from the Amazon reviews, I put it in the "Kid/ Pets" mode with minimal if any improvement in the fuzzy focus. That would be my only quibble with an otherwise easy to use lightweight camera that takes good pictures.


->Comparison

This is a great point and shoot camera. It is quick to power on and snapping shots. I love that it has low resoution movie setting for e-mail. The only thing I would like to see changed is the location of the zoom - it is almost part of the snapshot button so I feel that having to use the same finger to zoom and snap slows things down a bit.


->Deals

This camera is great! Lightweight, easy to use, and takes a stunning image. The Image Stabilzation was the reason I went for it and it was well worth the added expense. Great pictures even from a moving car. I would highly recommend the SD800is. I have owned three other Elphs but this is by far the best....



->Deal

I really like this digital cam, it's so wonderful. I had PowerShot of 2MP before and it was cool too, but this one is the bomb. I love it; specially the quality and definition of the photos. If someones wants to buy a MEGA CAM i recomend Canon PowerShot SD800 IS 7.1MP.



->Best Price

I really like this camera for simplicity and pictures that aren't blurry... I finally upgraded to the SD800 from the Digital Elph 230 and I can definitely tell a difference in the picture quality with the image stabilization... It's not perfect every time, but 95% of the time... The only bad part of the camera is the delay in shutter speed when using the automatic mode... I typically have to tell people using my camera to "press the button for at least a second" otherwise the picture doesn't take... Other than that, it's a great camera...


->Buy

Is is a wonderful, easy to carry digital camera. After my Olympus, it is seem to me driving a Mercedes after an ordinary car. I recommend it to every digital camera users who want to carry camera in pocket and have professional like photos...


->Prices

This was about $100 more than I was looking to spend, but it definitely was worth the extra bucks. Canon has always been high quality and dependable for me, so I stuck with them for another upgrade. Great ergonomics, compact, and easy to take quick shots. Nice wide angle lens, edits movies, has optical image stabilization, AF-assist lamp, good low light focusing, and has an optical viewfinder. Large, sharp 2.5" LCD display; easy to see in low light. Nice camera for me.


->Wholesale

I did tons of research on digital cameras and came to the conclusion that this would be the best quality camera for it's size. Boy was I right! I have had the camera for a couple weeks and it is awesome! The image stabilization and wide angle lens are the two features that stand out about this camera. At my son's birthday party I was able to hold it with my left hand while using my video camera in my right and was able to take clear, crisp pictures from very close. Now if you are wanting a huge zoom for ballgames,etc. you better go with an SLR, but if you want a very compact camera that takes great pictures, this is the one for you.

I have had a Canon PowerShot S30 that lasted 4 years and it took great pictures. It started freaking out on me recently, which prompted the purchase, and boy am I happy with the technology improvement in the last few years in the SD800.

You will obviously need a bigger SD card, but you can pick up a high speed 1GB card for about $20.

Make sure you shop around for the best price, but Amazon had the best price when I purchased mine.


->Comparison

Easy to use, takes great pictures (i'm not a fancy picture taker, I just take pictures when out with friends, on vacations). I don't really use most of the functions, just automatic for me. My pictures look better than my girlfriend's Sony (forgot which model, its one of the really thin ones).

I think if you want a camera that's easy to use, takes great pictures, and don't really mess with any of the settings (i.e. ISO, exposure), but just want a point and click, this one is a great choice.


->Purchase

i used to have a sony, and this is 10x better than the cybershot! my favorite thing about this camera have to be its ability to take pictures indoors at dimly lit resturants. i am a total foodie and like to take pictures of all the fancy food (making my $ last longer than just one bite!). it white balances very nicely - so when the plate is white and large and the food on it is small, the picture still has accurate coloring. the one negative is that it does not tell you how much battery you have left until it is very low. i would like a little more warning, or is there's a progress bar, that would be best. if there is one and i just have not found it yet, please let me know!


->Affordable

Good performance. A little disappointed with the image stabilizer when in manual mode.


->Cheap

After buying the Olympus Stylus 730 ,to save some money, and almost crying over the horrible pictures, I returned it and splurged for the Olympus SD800.

This camera is awesome! Picture quality is superb and it's easy to use. Plus a viewfinder will come in handy on bright sunny days when the LCD is hard to see, which is typical of most LCD's on digital cameras. I put in a 1G card and it holds well over 530 photos at the highest pixel setting. The software loads easily and is easy to navigate and use. You really do get what you pay for and this camera is definately worth the extra price.


->Discount

If you don't mind spending some money then this camera is the best small digital camera out there. After testing several cameras for months I found this to be best. Easy to hold. Great Pictures. Image Stabalization is a very good feature for any small camera. Easy to use.


->Best Price

Takes superb pictures. Very well focused. Has facial recognition technology and 9 point autofocus. LCD is just the right size and the camera is packed with other features. Battery life is about 300 pictures. I recommend getting a case.


->Deal

i used this camera out of the box; you don't need to read the instructions to start taking photos (although it would help). the viewfinder is pretty easy to read, even in bright light, and the 28mm lens is the envy of anyone else who has a point and shoot like this. best of all, it's small! Highly recommend this product.


->Sale

For the type of camera that it is, 7.1mp and all, I say this is a pretty good camera. I bought the PANASONIC LUMIX 7.1MP and after testing it out I returned it. In exchange, I purchased the CANON POWERSHOT SD800 7.1 and I am much happier. The pictures are clearer and less grainy and noisy. It is not the best quality there is but it is pretty pretty good if you're on a low budget. The zoom function works pretty well also. I was impressed by the fact that pictures in which I had to zoom in all the way did not come out very blurry at all. In other cameras zooming in all the way will give you a blurry picture.

I'm definitely in love with my new Canon PowerShot. I think, however, Canon should rethink the design of the buttons and the way you navigate on the LCD screen but I can deal with that. I give it 4 stars because I know this is not the best camera out there and I don't print too many pictures so I don't really need the best. Still, the quality I see when I load the pictures onto my computer is very good. The pictures come out just fine. And all the features on this camera are great also. I recommend this camera, or something from Sony can be pretty good as well.

Canon and Sony are at the top of my list.


->Lowest Price

Awesome camera.. I changed to SD 800IS from Powershot A400. Low light pictures are amazingly good. Canon truly rocks.. I would say go and get one for yourself..


->Price

The pictures from this camera are about as good as you're going to get from one this small. My husband has a full-sized professional Canon SLR and his pictures are always crisper and have brighter colors than mine, but if I had to carry around something that big I would never do it. This fits in almost any pocket, is there when I need it, and works very, very well. The face recognition does work, and I'm a lot more likely to have the face be in focus and not the post right behind them that my previous camera would choose to focus on instead.


->Best Price

Great camera; easy to use; I have been a Canon user for 30 years and this camera will keep me with Canon.


->Sale

I bought this camera looking for great picture quality in a small size and the SD800 meets my expectations. I am particularly impressed that it effortlessly takes great images under a wide variety of lighting conditions. It is especially good at taking indoor good quality available light shots.

The image stabilization feature is a major benefit in cameras as small as the SD800 which are hard to hold steady.

Also, the movie function works better than any other digital still camera I have used which mostly can only record for a short time.

The main disadvantage is no manual controls. However, this can be generally overcome by using one of the special modes such as beach, sunset, snow etc..

While I would like to stuff the camera in one of my pockets, it is common sense to first put it in a case to protect it against dirt, scratches etc.. It happens to fit perfectly in an old case left over from my film Elph.


->Sale

I previously used a Canon Powershot G1. Before buying the SD800 I tried an SD400 and SD900. I wanted a quality camera, a small camera, and one that had resolution high enough that I could take pictures of objects some distance away but be able to enlarge them without great loss of quality

The image stablization feature of the SD800 became an important feature. These small cameras do not have much heft and so I found that it was very easy to introduce body tremor and therefore blurring into the pictures.

I have found that I can take a picture of a bird 15-20 feet in the distance and enlarge the picture to the extent that I have a quality "portrait" of the bird. For me this is satisfactory.

Although the SD900 has higher resolution, the difference between it and the SD 800 was not sufficient to cause me problems. Camera motion seemed to be a greater consideration in taking pictures and then enlarging them.

The finish of the SD900 is of a higher quality than the SD800 and I feel this is something to consider. The price of the SD400 is less and of course this is something to consider as well.

I liked my old G1. It was a substantial camera. I liked the movable screen and the buttons and knobs were, of course with the larger camera, more substantial. But having a smaller camera enabled me to have it always at the ready when travelling. The lag time between depressing the shutter and the actual taking of the picture was slow with the G1 and seems very quick with the SD 800.

The SD800 has quite a few user controls but lacks the manual settings of larger cameras. Good photo editing will help compensate for some of this but, of course not all.




->

I bought this camera because of the size and wide angle lens. The first time I used this camera, I noticed many round glare spots all over my pictures. I have never experienced this with my previous digital cameras. This doesn't happened all the time. I also noticed clicking sound inside the camera.


->Buy

As a hobby my wife and I enjoy photography. Recently we took a cruise to the West Indies and took all my DSLR equipment with multiple lenses, flashes etc. My wife had just received her new Canon PowerShot SD800 IS 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera a couple of days before we went. Easy to learn she shot with this camera the whole trip. Having multiple automatic modes we are quite please with the high quality of the pictures. This camera is small enough to through in her purse and versatile enough to capture most situations. We also purchased and used the underwater housing in situations you might ruin your camera i.e. Rain, waterfall, Kayaking & snorkeling. We are very happy to add this Point & Shoot to our photography options.


->Wholesale

I did lots of research on cameras before making this purchase and I couldn't be happier with my selection. Takes outstanding pictures in nearly all situations and the wide angle and Image Stabilization are a huge plus!


->Buy

First bought SD900 only to realize that it had no stability. Then got the SD800 and the wide lens + stability is far better than the advantagous of the 10M pixel SD900. BUY THE SD800


->Discount

I'm a professional photographer who shoots with two Nikon SLRs and an array of Nikon lenses; some of the lenses alone cost five times the price of the Canon SD800. But I got tired of lugging heavy camera equipment around for family and travel photos and general grab shots. So when I'm not working, the SD800 is what I use.

It's not perfect for sure. To name just a few annoyances: it suffers from red-eye effect when you take flash pictures of people; like all point-and-shoot cameras, it has noticeable shutter lag; it has rather a lot of image noise at ISO settings over 200; and its 'manual' mode doesn't let you set an aperture value or a shutter speed. I also notice quite a bit of lens aberration, which becomes especially evident when pictures include straight lines, such as doorways; the SD800 gives them a slight curve.

But maybe all that is the wrong way to look at it. For a $375 featherweight camera, this thing can't and shouldn't be expected to deliver SLR-like quality or features. And what the SD800 DOES do well is more important: It takes lush, pleasing pictures with very good color fidelity (a Canon trademark) and with minimal thought and fuss required from the photographer.

It's also a very pleasant camera from a usability point of view, and not just because it slips easily into a shirt pocket or into the nicely made but optional Canon belt case ($15). The SD800 has only nine controls (buttons and dials), which is usually a recipe for confusion as functions either tend to get hidden deep inside menus, or require counterintuitive pushes of several buttons to access. But the camera is more logically laid out and designed than any compact I've ever shot with. I only had to crack the manual for a couple of advanced tricks, like photo-stitch and color-swap. The rest of the SD800's operation is pretty much self-evident.

I appreciate that the power button is recessed; whenever I tried to stuff my old Canon Powershot G6 into my pocket, or pry it out, that camera would turn itself on due to the poor placement and design of the power switch. It got annoying enough that I sold it. There are no such design goofs on or in the SD800.

The camera's proprietary battery provides lots of juice, the screen (which is as big as on my $1,600 Nikon D200) is bright and clear, the image stabilization works really well, and the range of the lens is just right (being able to shoot at 28mm -- respectable wide angle -- is a wonderful thing, very uncommon among point-and-shoots, whose lenses typically start at 35mm).

All told, I quite smitten with this nice-looking, well-thought-out little picture-taking machine. Considering that it also takes decent video footage, the combination of quality, features, and value is, in my book, untouched by any other digital compact currently on the market.


->Deal

I hate cameras. I hate wasting time taking pictures. But I hate NOT having any pictures of my vacation. The answer? Canon PowerShot SD800 IS. I love the ease of use this do-it-all camera affords! I point and shoot. It finds faces, focuses, stops jitter and has such a wide angle I never miss a thing! Do not hesitate buying this camera if you want to spend your vacation time vacationing and not playing photographer.


->Best Price

I own 5 digital cameras, and they all have their purpose, but I was looking to upgrade from a Pentax 3.2MP for travel. This camera got rave reviews everywhere I looked so I decided to try it and I have not been disappointed. I like the Canon features. I have been taking photos in different settings trying this little guy out. So far the results have been great.


->Compare

We did a lot of research before buying this camera and we are so glad we went with this one. We love it just as everyone else seems to. I don't need all the bells and whistles, that is my husband's thing. To be honest, I found the manual a bit overwhelming. But the camera is easy to use and takes fabulous pictures. We are very happy with it.


->Best Price

Great photos, little manual control but that's what this cameras excels at, ease of use. Check out my Flickr account by searching for "masmediaspace sd800" withing the Flickr search bar to see some real world examples. This camera is quite capable when used with the appropriate settings. I had an 5MP Canon S50 and must admit this is not any better with regards to image quality(that was an excellent camera and it is significantly bigger).

PROS
The lcd is large & clear, the user interface is intuitive, the wide angle is used more than you would think and it shoots really rapidly. The great thing about this size camera is you won't be afraid to take it with you because its so small. Also, the image quality is very good but don't be afraid to experiment as you can "help" the camera by composing your shots properly and using the settings appropriately. Stay in ISO 80 as much as possible.

CONS
There is slight corner blurriness noticeable at wide angles. Body is not metal, it just looks like it. Some custom setting don't save like focus priority even in Manual mode(flash, ISO, settings DO save).


->Discount

No, this is no SLR, but it certainly fills a niche. Several things we really like about this camera. One, it's a Canon, a brand I've come to depend on for giving wonderful service. Secondly it's fast. I can turn this on, take a picture and turn it back off before our older Canon S30 would even be ready, so I can get shots with this right quick that otherwise would be missed. We like the large clear screen and that it has a viewfinder also. But one of the neatest features is the face recognition where it can track and focus on several faces in taking a portrait. Even if you move the camera it keeps up with the face. It is very small and compact and goes in a shirt pocket even in the Canon soft leather case. It is quick and easy to use, whether just point and click or whether you want to delve into your photography a bit. It has a nice wide angle lens and a good zoom to boot. This is a most enjoyable and fun camera that does a good job. Turns out it's just the ticket for use on the Harley while traveling, as well as the various sporting events we attend.


->Prices

This is my second Canon P+S digital elph. It is small enough and light enough that you don't have to think twice about taking it with you. I chose this model for the image stabilization and the wide angle. I'm happy that I chose this over the 900 or 700is. Picture quality is excellent. The only issue I've found is that it tends to overexpose near subjects when taking flash photos. Otherwise fabulous.


->Buy Online

Based on reading these reviews, I went ahead and purchased this camera. I am finding however, that I actually prefer my Kodak camera. It seems that as I look at the screen while taking a shot, the screen seems low quality. Once the shot is taken however, it looks fine. But my main concern is the picture quality I am receiving!! While on my camera (through the LCD) the picture looks good. However, when I try to print, (either at home or at the lab) the pictures all seem to have a "cast" over them. Almost like a grey coloring, and VERY digital looking! Also, any picture taken with red in it prints out horrible! Everything takes on a red hue! It very well could be me, or maybe my camera is defective, but I never had any problems with my Kodak. I just wanted to upgrade after having my baby. I am really considering returning this camera.


->Best Price

Canon PowerShot SD800 IS 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Image-Stabilized Optical Zoom was indeed a very good choice at all levels: shutter speed, picture quality, manipulation and use of its different options...




->Compare

Good camera, small, great pictures. Great carry around camera and the 28mm lens is worth the price right there. Enough manual settings to be creative and the presets are great. A small camera you will use.
Well worth the price.


->Deal

This camera normally takes great photos, but sometimes when using the flash there are small white circles all over the picture. This is supposedly due to dust particles in the air, but I never had this problem with my previous Kodak or Fuji cameras.


->Comparison

I'm positively affectionate about this charming little camera, which I've had for about four months. I bought my last digital camera, a Nikon Coolpix, five or six years ago. My new SD800 is about 1/5 the mass of the old one, and vastly more capable. I'm not a sophisticated photographer, but I travel regularly and take a lot of pictures. The features I appreciate most in this camera, apart from its compactness, are image stabilization, high resolution, big display screen, talking movie mode, deep zoom range (from wide-angle to 3.9X optical), large storage capacity (I use a 4GB card), and rechargeable battery. When I'm done shooting and power down, the extended lens retracts fully into the camera body and an iris closes over it. No bothersome lens cap! I just slip it straight into my pocket where it rests unobtrusively. Before, when I was amidst crowds abroad and carried my Nikon around my neck, my wife felt it was equivalent to wearing a sign that said "TOURIST. Please pick my pocket!" She's so much more comfortable with this inconspicuous little Canon. My only quibble with the SD800 is that the power button can be hard to find quickly because it's flush with the body. But if it protruded, it would probably be susceptible to being pressed accidentally. If I were a more demanding user I might be more critical, but for a casual photographer-tourist like me, this is a superb camera.


->Buy

Okay, I gave this to my son for Christmas. He's the primary user so I've only had a chance to do a little with it. I have to say that the camera is a joy to hold, and all the function keys are excellent and intuitive. The photos are simply amazing. The image stabilization feature really works - you just about never get blurry pictures like you do from most cameras doing casual happy snaps.
We bought the waterproof housing. It too, is easy to get the camera in and out of, and the function keys seem pretty well thought out. We haven't used it scuba diving yet, so don't have anything I can report in that direction. I suppose we'll take it out in the rain this weekend and see how it does in that environment.
The only limitation that we've seen so far is that the video files are fat. If you want to get a point and shoot camera that really maxes out on the video side of the equation, probably should look at the pentax optio 6. That will take really long videos. BUT... not as nice a camera, and definitely does not produce stills that are as good.


->Deals

this is a very nice camera if you're looking for compact digital. i had the sd630 previously, which is also very nice, but you can definitely see the difference in upgrading to the 800IS. i recommend for everyone


->Discount

This is my first digital camera. It works easily and takes good pictures. It's also a nice size and a fun object to play with.


->Sale

The Canon PowerShot SD800 IS is a great point-and-shoot camera. It's small, it sports a stabilized, wide-angle lens, and it can pump out beautiful shots at a pretty rapid pace.Very good photo quality, low noise through ISO 800. Very easy to use, great night time shots.
Wide-angle lens
Optical image stabilization
Compact, super stylish metal body
Large, sharp 2.5" LCD display; easy to see in low light
Has an optical viewfinder (a rarity in this class)
Snappy performance
Face detection system works as promised
AF-assist lamp, good low light focusing
Excellent movie mode
Optional underwater case
USB 2.0 High Speed support -- Recommend 1GB SD card


->For Sale

Bought this camera more than a month ago, I must say I'm quite disappointed with Canon. Prior to SD800 I've owned a S50 for almost 4 years and I must admit its still ways better than the new SD800. Now, I've paid only slightly less for SD800 than for my S50 in 2003 and have expected much better value per buck taking into account technology advances, yet I was miguided by many positive reviews of this camera. And it's not about the production quality but rather about the design of the camera itself.

Cons:
Automatic mode is useless, a lot of noise in the pictures taken indoors or when there is not su much natural light outdoors though Canon claims that there is a noice reduction filter built in. The only way to get around this is to overexpose the pictures using manual mode. Camera body is really crapy and is not resistant to scratches at all (ok, maybe I'm too demanding after havin titanium-body S50), yet my old good S50 has survived many travels, including taking it into the beach many times while SD800 has misteriously collected sand dust even after a single walk in the searshore (the sand managed to get into the background of the LCD screen with the dust visible as dead pixes when watching the shots).

Pros:
Wide angle is nice, yet not as useful as many claim in the reviews. The camera is light and performs relatively well when doing nightshots (in the manual mode of course). The handling is easy (until one goes to the manual mode), it is possible to zoom-in and out when taking video (which was not possible and was somewhat irritating in my old S50), the screen size and the battery life is also really good for the camera of such size.

Haven't tried new S70 but my guess is that it might have retained some of the good qualities of S50, so my recommendation would be to avoid Canon IS line if possible and look at Nikon, they have some real nice cameras nowadays.


->For Sale

We got this camera for Christmas and it has been fantasic. Very easy to use and takes great pictures. I was particularly impressed with how fast it boots up. I was able to shut down and reboot my camera in the time it took my friend to boot her Nikon up once.


->Deals

This is about the best camera I've ever owned. I looked at others, but when I checked online reviews for specific Casio's, Sony's, Samsungs's and others all from average users like myself, they were very mixed. But just about every class of Canon seemed to have rave reviews. So I went looking for Canons. The SD800 IS seemed to have all the features I wanted. It's simple to pck-up, but sophisticated and capabable. It's light, compact, and easily travels everywhere. minial lag time between shots. Now, after two months of regular use, I find I can't wait to get it out and start taking photos. In auto mode, it takes sharp clear, crisp photos. The high-speed 1600 ISO ensures stability. It works well in low light situations. Manual mode offers great flexibility, and of course the ability to shhot movies at 30 fps for more than 30 seconds, and without having to worry about recharge batteries is great. I love having both the 2.8-in LCD screen and optical viewfinder.


->Compare

This is a phenomenal camera. The display is large and clear crystal. The resolution very good (I don't want larger resolutions for what I want to print). It has a fast focus, and gets great color. I definitely recommend it to anybody. The camera's features are equivalent to Sony's T30, but I like the look and feel of Canon better...it feels much better in your hands than what looks in the pictures.


->Purchase

I was planning on upgrading from my 3yr old Canon Powershot A80 4MP camera. Initially, I was only wanting more zoom than the A80 provided (3X). But when I saw the SD800 IS, I had to have it. The main attractions for me were the image stabilization, the compact size, wide angle & the quality of the LCD (very bright & sharp). The face recognition focusing was an added bonus. After using the SD800 for about 2 months now, I am very pleased. I think the single most valuable feature is it's ability to take such great pictures in low light situations without having to use flash--all due to the image stabilization allowing slower shutter speeds. This results in VERY natural (not flash washed-out) indoor photos, and combine that with wide angle, extremely fast shot-2-shot times (due to the Digic 3 processor) and you have a class-leading sub-compact camera. There is a little corner softness noticeable in wide-angle, but you really have to look close to even see it. In prints up to 8X11 you won't see it.

Throw in a very nice movie mode (even though you cannot use the optical zoom during filming--digital zoom only), and you have yourself quite a camera in a very compact package.

Yes, the USB port door is quite flimsy as everyone says, but with just a little careful handling, it's not likely to break--definitely not a deal breaker.

I still wanted more zoom, so I also bought the Canon Powershot S3 IS 12X zoom in addition to the SD800. But the SD800 is the camera that I carry with me everywhere I go. Highly recommended!


->Deal

I was looking for a camera that was easy to carry around and not as massive as our Rebel XTi, and did not want to give up the great picture quality. This camera has met all of my expectations. My only suggestion would be for Cannon to include a battery level indicator........


->Price

The feature set on this is bare-bones compared to some similar sized and priced cameras I have used, particularly in regards to manual settings, but it takes very nice pictures in most settings on its own. The wide angle lens and 3.8x zoom are very handy and unusual features for a camera this size.


->Best Price

After returning our Canon a610 to futureshop for repairs on the lcd (it went green) and finding out that it would not be back in time for the holidays (a long story, i'll say), we decided to pick up a new canon to take with us.

Being very happy with the performance and quality of the 610, as a camera and the pictures it took, we decided to go with another Canon. Looking at a few models, the sd800 looked like a good option, with a 7mp resolution vs. our 610's 6mp, IS, which came in very handy during the holidays (we took 1600 pictures in about 16 days), and a familiar user interface we were well used to.

Initial use of the camera was great. My wife was VERY happy with the form factor, being able to drop it right into a pocket, vs. the 610 being about double the size, considering all the dimenions.

Then about 5 days into our trip, as we were heading towards the active lava fields in hawaii for a hike out to the lava, and our camera died! Battery dead! Ugh! It was fairly late in the day, so we decided to head back to our cottage, recharge, and head back to the lava flows the next day. What had happened, was I had charged the camera the night before, then decided to transfer the pictures over to my laptop, and forgot to turn the camera off overnight, draining some of the power.

In any event, after that, we looked in the manual to see what the average lifespan/picture capacity was on a single charge. The manual said around 300 pictures w/ lcd, and 600 or so w/o. The battery pack being around 1100mah, I realized the difference. We normally use 4 AA 2300 mah energizer/dynacharge rechargables in our 610, which last -forever- and easily can take over a thousand pictures (i've never sat and tried to take that many), the sd800 has only 1/8th the battery capacity.

Overall, I would highly recommend the camera, as a great quick point&shoot, small compact you can toss in your pocket, purse, backpack, etc. If you decide to buy it, I highly recommend that you get a second battery pack for it. They swap in and out very easy, and will save alot of grief when you're vacationing somewhere and run out of battery power. The recharge time on the batteries is great too, around an hour or 2 to completely recharge.

dwight s.


ps: Just a quick note I forgot to mention in my review. After taking numerous pictures, I printed 62 5x7s, 10 8x10s and 3 11x14's from pictures taken with this camera, using walmart's online photo service (they are across teh road from my office).

It was the first time I had really printed large size digital pictures and I must say, i was -thoroughly- impressed with the quality of the shots printed at 11x14 and gave them to my wife for christmas. She was quite surprised and very happy to see the shots printed and framed.

We've got the two canon's now, the sd800 and an a610, and i would say we've completely switched to digital photography from 35mm film. I would suspect our next camera will be a canon digital slr - a friend of mine has one which i've used a few times, and I really like it.


->Comparison

The SD800IS is an excellent sub-compact camera. Most importantly, the images are very sharp, especially for a sub-compact. It is very easy to use and I like the fact it still has a view finder when shooting in bright light. I also really enjoy the macro feature for real close-ups. I have not yet fully explored the most advanced features of the camera. The lack of full exposure control is the only limitation, but the auto modes are working for me pretty well.


->Best Price

I've gotten great pictures. 3 of my friends have bought the same model after seeing my results.


->Purchase

Great Product.


->Prices

Great camera! I shoot a lot of my pictures inside and really like the extra wide angle of the lens. PLUS it is a 3.8X xoom while most are only 3X. It starts up fast. shoots fast and the controls are easy to use. If you want a small (compact) camera the is EASY to carry with you all the time, this one is for you. I carry it with me whenever I am out of my house because I never know when I will see something I want a picture of. It really does the job. I own a D-SLR but this is the one I use the most.


->Comparison

I own a Canon Powershot G4 4 MP camera. At the time of purchase, it was the top of the line camera. I have been completely satisfied with this camera, but it was getting a bit dated and was larger than the newer cameras on the market.

When I decided that I was going to upgrade, Canon was my first choice....boy I wasn't disappointed. The SD800 IS is literally twice the camera at half the price and size as my G4. The LCD screen is "huge" in comparison. The 7.1 MP is more than enough resolution. It's small size makes it the perfect point-and-shoot pocket camera.

The image stabilization (IS) eliminated the blurred images from my pictures and now I can even record video!

I can't recommend this camera high enough.


->Deals

This camera (and all Canon SDs in general) is perfect for a non-professional photographer. It produces great quality pictures, is easy to operate, and offers many features that are both useful and fun for the user.


->Prices

I've owned this camera for about 2 months now and am extremely happy with it! Prior to my purchasing this one, I had several other Canon cameras (s45, a400, s1IS) and, overall I was happy with them, but they had some limitations and downfalls as well. I decided to sell them all (while I still could!) and use the proceeds to upgrade to the SD800 because it had everything that I every wanted/needed (image stabilizer, AF lamp, large LCD, W-I-D-E angle lens, and very small, compact size) and more!

I frequently take pictures of various kitchen/bath remodeling projects that my company does and I found myself really needing a wide angle lens. The SD800's works GREAT! For instance: Previously, if I wanted to take a picture of something like a small bathroom, I was forced to try and take 3-4 pictures using stitch assist mode, and then spend 15+ minutes on my computer trying to cobble them together. My results were mediocre at best though because stitch assist is really only designed/suited for large, outdoor panoramas. Now that I have the SD800 with its 28mm wide angle lens, I can get the same type of shot in ONE picture and the resulting image is usually perfect, and requires no extra computer work on my behalf. I love it!

This camera also takes excellent pictures of people and animals, as well as outdoor scenery. It produces colors that are very accurate and "true to life". It powers on very fast and is easy to operate. The power and operational buttons, as well as the menu interface are arranged nicely (logically) and work well. The flash seems to be adequate for the lower light indoor and night shots that I've tried. The image stabilizer is a fantastic feature that works great! (I've tried turning it off/on for comparison and the difference really is "night & day"). The 2.5" LCD is a very nice/welcomed feature and is very bright and sharp, and the battery seems to last a very LONG time before it needs re-charging! (Without a doubt, the SD800's lower power consumption/battery life is a HUGE improvement over the previous models that I had).

I usually find myself using the full auto mode (which works beautifully), but I like the fact that I can switch to the manual or scene modes and adjust a few settings if I need to, or just want to play around a bit. I haven't experimented with the facial recognition mode yet, but from reading other reviews it seems to work very well. I don't really have any use for the movie mode, (yet) but from my limited experimentation, what I can tell you is that it works very well for short "candid" clips of a few minutes in length--precisely what its intended purpose is. (Not professionally videotaping a 2 hour concert!)

I've read some other reviews where people are complaining about this camera's "cheap appearance" or saying "it feels like it's going to break apart at any moment" ...or that (get this) "it's a piece of junk because it broke when they "accidentally" dropped it". I'm not sure what other cameras they've used, what they're comparing the SD800 to, or what they expected to happen when it fell to it's demise, but I would wager that those people are fairly inept, tend to find fault where there isn't any, and have no accountability for their own actions. The truth is, the Canon SD800 camera is very well made, looks great (I think anyways), and has a very "solid" feel to it. It's a precision engineered instrument though (read: computer with a lens) and if it were "dropped on the floor"...or "off a balcony" (accidentally or not) it would be only logical/reasonable to assume it WOULD break! (What would you expect? What camera wouldn't break?) Most, if not all camera manufacturers (including Canon) include a nice little wrist strap with their cameras (you can buy/make one also) that can be worn to prevent the camera from being "dropped on the floor"...or "off a balcony"! The wrist strap is a pretty simple concept, and it's really easy to use! Just attach one end of the strap to the camera, and place the other end of the strap around your wrist, Problem solved! Now, If these people can't understand that, they probably shouldn't be using a nice camera like this, and would be better off using disposable cameras...or, perhaps a box of crayons and some drawing paper. Also, I have yet to take any pictures using this camera that have any noticeable barrel distortion or pincushion (blurry corners/edges) using the wide angle or zoom. I don't see ANY problems with the location or operation of the on/off power switch. The battery doors construction is just fine, and the operation of it, and the round mode selector dial is easy if you use your thumb to slide or rotate them. (Respectively)

My only real gripe is that Canon (as well as other manufacturers) insists on providing a cheap, "throw away" memory card with their cameras. In this case, it's a puny 16MB card. What's the point? It's grossly inadequate. In order to get the most out of this camera, you will need to purchase a larger capacity card. I bought a 1GB Ultra II which works well, and seems to be very adequate for my needs. (I usually use the M2 setting and superfine mode)

Bottom line: This is a pretty remarkable camera that, if treated with reasonable care, (ie: kept in a "sunglass sleeve" or dedicated camera case when not in use, and used with a wrist strap when it is) should provide its lucky owner with years of service and very high quality pictures. It really is a top notch camera and easily earns my 5 stars. I love it and highly recommend it!


->Wholesale

I've had this camera for a couple of weeks and I must say that it's as easy to use as any powershot camera from canon. It's fast, and pictures come out beautiful. Face detection is neat and works well for me. I love the fact that it's a 28mm lens. I can take a picture of myself at arms length and it looks like someone's taking a potrait shot of me :P (perfect for those parties where I would take pictures of me and my buddies at close range)


->Price

Takes great pictures and movies as long as you keep it in the fully automatic mode. In the mode where you can change some of the parameters, I have not been able to reliably take good pictures.


->Cheap

I bought this camera for my wife so she could easily take many of the typical family pictures that I traditionally have taken with my sophisticated and expensive Canon 5D and the like! I took pride in using all of the fancy things my "sophisticated" cameras could do along with their expensive lenses. Well, much to my surprise this little bugger can do just about everything I can do with my Canon 5D! OK, it won't do exactly what $2,000 to $5,000 worth of lenses does with the 5D, but it does a heck of a job for less than $400 in a package that fits in the palm of your hand!


->Deal

This camera is an Excellent point & shoot performer. It is pocket size, very fast (very little shutter lag), and takes excellent photos. Image stabilization works great. It's hard to get a blurry shot. Coupled with a fast SD card, shot to shot times are very quick. This camera is worth the slightly high price.


->Buy

My decision to purchase a Canon product was strongly influenced by many years of good experience with earlier Canon cameras. I had owned an AE-1 35mm film camera for more than 20 years and a Powershot G-2 4 mpx digital camera for the past four years. When the G-2 was stolen I decided that I would replace it with a smaller, lighter, pocket type, point and shoot camera. Canon has a fairly wide selection of models in their Digital Elph line covering a range of prices and features. I selected the SD800 because it was the only one that featured a wide angle lense (28 mm equivalent) and an attractive 3.8x optical Zoom. The camera has an impressive number of features, some of which I am still learning about. In the two months I have owned it it has lived up to my expectations. It is small and light, fits easily in a pocket, appears to be of high quality manufacture is giving me excellent pictures.


->Cheap

I like this camera for great oportunity in it.Canon PowerShot SD800 is easy to use and makes nice pictures.I don't have any claims to it.


->Compare

this camera is a good product with drawback on its plastic battery cover. The sliver plating wear out quickly, no very appealing!!


->Prices

Very easy to use and high quality pictures.
Software is easy to use as well



->Discount

I've now had this camera for about 6 weeks and I really love it. It came with me to Colorado for a world cup ski racing event in early December and I was very impressed with just about every feature. The first day we were there, it was minus 17 degrees, with the wind chill at minus 33, yes, below zero. After about 3 hours, my cell phone battery even died out, which really surprised me that the cold puts that much drain on a battery. However,my Canon stood through it all quite well and with power to spare at the end of the day, I'm happy to report.As a long time, avid skier, I have always taken along a camera to bring those shots back home from around the world and I'm glad that I did. However, when preparing for the day in the morning, laying out all the necessary stuff to take along ,I would dread carrying those few extra pounds of camera in my pocket and little by little, would eventually begin to leave it behind and then miss out of course on the best shots of the day. My last camera, a Canon power shot A 80, about 4 years old has been handed down to my 12 year old daughter as her back pack always has about 20 pounds of gear in it anyway and she doesn't seem to notice the difference.
I love the speed at which the camera "boots up".It's ready to shoot in about 2 seconds. I also take a lot of close up people shots, which the wide angle is absolutley perfect for. It virtually guarantees me a good shot with the wide angle lens. The video format is great too. Make sure you buy a 1 or 2 gig card. Night shots are also great with the image stabilization feature.Overall, a really well thought out design and a very functional all around camera for just about anybody, regardless of their camera experience. Great job Canon!


->Deals

I did a lot of research before purchasing this camera and I'm really glad I did. I wanted a camera that not only took fabulous pictures, but would last us for a very long time. So far, I am very pleased with the quality of pictures and the features the camera has!


->Deal

For someone who enjoys photography, but doesn't like to lug a big camera, the Canon SD800IS is an excellent choice. You can drop it in your pocket and take it with you on hikes, walks,etc.and it's always ready to capture that image you would otherwise miss. The images are sharp and it is ready to capture them immediately after hitting the power button. What it doesn't have is manual settings like apeture or shutter speed, etc., but save that for your "lugging" camera. I find myself using the SD500 more than my Canon S2is, which does have the manual settings.


->Deal

I just got my new camera and I love it! It's very simple to use and the battery lasts for days. The picture quality is amazing and the time between taking one picture and being ready for the next is extremely fast. I'd suggest this camera to anyone looking for a new one.


->Price

Received this camera for Christmas 2006 and it works like a charm, large LCD makes it easy to see. This camera makes great pictures.


->Compare

This is the second Canon camera that I've owned. I've found it very easy to use and the picture quality is superb.


->Comparison

I just started using this camera, so I don't have much to give...but, from the little time I've spent with it, it's great. The image stabilization is fantastic, especially when you're zoomed in -- I have pretty shaky hands, and the picture came out perfect with the camera completely zoomed. The LCD would be cooler at 3" instead of 2.5", but it's big enough. I was a little thrown off by the LCD at first - it looks grainy, so I thought my pictures would come out that way - but no, the pictures are great quality. The only design feature I can complain about is the little (tiny, actually) knob that changes mode (play, shoot, etc.) -- it is very small, and a little hard to turn sometimes (especially when you're in a hurry to get that perfect shot in time!)...other than that, everything else seems excellent. The face detection feature is excellent - considering 99% of the pictures I take are of my son. I especially love the way you can turn the camera in play mode, and it will automatically rotate the picture so you're still looking at it right side-up. Very cool.


->Buy Now

What I want from a digital camera: High quality photos, wide angle capabilities, at least some manual controls, good build quality, compact size.

I bought this camera because I wanted a small wide-angle camera. My Canon S80 is great, but just too big when all I have is a little purse. I thought about the Panasonic/Lumix wide-angle cameras because they have slightly more manual controls than the Canons, but after trying one for a couple days, I wasn't happy with the picture quality. I tried the Casio Z850, which I loved, but no wide-angle. (But if you have to have manual controls and a tiny camera- that's the one for you).

So I've settled for this guy. I can't complain about picture quality, but I wish there were manual controls. Also, the design leaves much to be desired. The mode dial is difficult to use, the battery/SD door is difficult to open, and the door to the USB outputs, etc. is extremely difficult to close properly. All I can say is that I'm happy I'll never open that later door again.

So if you want wide angle in a small size, go with this. Otherwise, I think there are better options.


->

This camera does everything I hopped it would. I just took it on vacation and couldn't have been happier. The battery lasted quite a long time. The photos look amazing!


->Discount

The wide angle is superb! Easy to use, good battery life as well....a little big, but takes great low light shots as well......just wish it had a 4X6 reslution format seeing that's the standard that all photos are printed at!


->Buy Now

The two main reasons I bought this camera were:
1. I wanted a camera with an optical view finder;
2. The 28mm (35mm equiv.) lens which allows easier indoor & outdoor scenery pictures.
The rest of the cameras features compare equaly or better to most in the price range. The build quality seems really good, and feels solid for a small camera.
In conjunction with my Dig. SLR I have all I need to get the pictures I want.




->Comparison

Well, Image-Stabilized is a must feature for all the digital camera from now. This is a good beginning. I cannot live without this IS feature. I can shoot picture with 1/8 second with flash with my hands. Life is totally different and great with this camera. LCD screen is large, my wife loves to view all the pictures. Wide angle is the other must when you travel, trust me, you need it. However, you need to know how to use this camera "Right". Otherwise, you cannot feel this is an "Angel". I know it has soft corner issue. But so what, if you only print on 4x6 paper, you don't even see or feel it. If you want to print on something that is larger than 8x10. Then, get the Canon or Nikon pro camera, this camera is not fit for you anymore. So, just enjoy your life with this camera! By the way, Canon digital image processing beat the hell of every the other brands you know for sure because they are the pioneer of digital image processing. Don't expect any the other brand will out perform Canon in any near future. It is not easy to build up that system to be the pioneer in digital image. So, you won't go wrong with this camera. Why wait!?


->Best Price

I upgraded to this from a Canon Powershot S40, and am impressed with everything I've used it for. The controls are easy to manipulate and understand, and the pictures are turning out great under varied conditions. The flash is powerful enough for all the shots I've needed it for, and I especially love how easy it is to vary the exposure so I can take pictures of people in front of bright backgrounds. I also appreciate the small size, and find that since it's easy to take it anywhere I'm taking many more pictures. Even so, the camera doesn't seem flimsy at all. Of course, the additional megapixels mean that I can crop my pictures and they're still big enough to print clearly.

The biggest surprise so far is how well it shoots video, something I hadn't even considered when I bought it. I took a short, impromptu video the other night, and it turned out better than my 5-year-old camcorder takes. Of course, it had to be short, but I was able to record the important part and even put it on YouTube. I've taken several short videos since, and they've been a great supplement to documenting our family holiday gathering.

I highly recommend this camera. Once you get it, make sure to study the user guide to learn about all of its amazing features.


->Deals

The camera takes great photos, and I can easily download to a Mac. However, ZoomBrowser Ex 5.7 will not install on Windows 2000. It's supposed to, but it generates a useless error message and bails. I have several older Canon cameras, but the older version of ZoomBrowser Ex (5.6) refuse to acknowledge the PowerShot SD800. I'll be returning my camera - it's obviously useless if I can't get the photos off of it.


->Deals

I have had my SD800 IS for a couple of weeks now and after reading forum posts, I have finally learned to work well with the wide angle and you can't beat it. I also have an S230 which I still use and it still takes excellent pictures. I also have a Fuji F10 which I bought for the extremely long battery life and great night shots. All cameras have their pros and cons. I don't think you can beat the color quality of a Canon photo. The SD230 had a minor flaw where I had to check to see if it was in video mode or shooting mode, because the switch would easily flip from one to the other. They fixed that with the SD800 and now it stays in place. I like the size and portability of the SD800, it's as easy to carry around as a cellphone or drop into your purse if you are a female.

This is the only camera that I don't shoot in auto mode. I just think the pictures look much better if you shoot in manual and select an ISO like 80, or if you use SCN mode. At any rate I'm learning, and the more I fool with it the better the pictures look! For example at wide angle, some may be disturbed at the physics of perspective, buildings tilting inward, that kind of thing. It's sure easy enough to correct with any software that has perspective correction included. For me it's Paint Shop Pro. Many of my shots are indoors, at family and work events, and at least the wide angle gets everyone into the picture!

After having owned other digital camera brands, I do still come back to Canon for the beautiful color rendition of the pictures. I'm going to keep the SD800 IS!! Oh, and one more thing, I bought a 1gb SD card that folds in half and makes its own usb connector, eliminating the need for a card reader! That's great for traveling. I do any deleting, etc. from a card reader or the folding usb SD card, because it holds enough pictures to where I don't want to use extra battery power. I don't see where I am forced to use the date stamp, and don't, but then I'm still learning. I'm beginning to believe that one can't have too many digital cameras.




->

Mine had a minor defect, a loose "DISP." button, so I ended up returning it and getting an SD700 which I am very happy with. Some other things I didn't like about the SD800: the LCD screen does not fit tight against the back of the bezel, the battery door really is flimsy, too many chrome plated plastic pieces, is the image quality really as good as the SD700?. On the other hand, there are a lot of things to like about this camera: 28 mm (equiv) wide angle lens, face detection really works, good low light/high ISO performance, and many other great features. It's a nice camera, but nothing in the material world is perfect.


->Affordable

We bought this camera for a trip and I couldnt be happier. The features in this size camera are amazing. Granted I've been using a old Kodak DC280 2MP camera for the last 6 years and was happy with it for what it was, it was time time move up for higher resolution, low light capability, wide angle, and ability to do movies. I'm not a camera guru but have taken some nice pics with my old Nikon SLR.
I've only had the camera for a couple of weeks and have taken ~ 500 pics so I'm still learning all the features and quirks but here are some observations
The not-so-great:
1. zoom only moves in steps so it's sometimes hard to get it exactly where you want it.
2. Funky on/off button
3. No button for playback... you have to rotate the not-so-easy functon dial.
4. Function dial is small and it seems like it couldn have been designed better ( Although I love the small size of the camera ).
5. I havent owned a Canon before but other reviews point out the fact that earlier models were all metal. This one is metal on the front and plastic on the back. Not a big deal to me but the plastic will probably have worn off paint after some use around the corners
6. Plastic battery/memory card door probably could be better designed.
7. Other reviews said pictures look "soft" and I'd agree with that. Not quite as crisp as I wouldn have hoped for. But editing the pic's a bit can help that.
8. Photo stitch software isnt as easy to use as I'd like and doesnt work perfectly... some pic's the border between pics is blurry.
9. Plastic door cover over USB jack feels a little flimsy and I worry that the plastic piece that holds it on might break someday after continued opening and closing.
10. The camera is a little slippery without any type of textured gripping surfaces and I worry a little about dropping it.
11. To delete all pics on the memory card at once, you need to go into the menu system and select that feature but cant do it easily from the review mode.
12. When taking video's, the focus seems to be locked at the beginning of the shot.. if you zoom while taking a video things will be out of focus unless you return to the original zoom level when you started the video.

Pro's
1. Size matters... Easily fits in a pocket and thats worth it when traveling.
2. Image stabilization seems to work well.
3. Fast start up... turn it on and you can take pictures immediately
4. Great pictures and great in low light.
5. Feels solid and optical viewfinder works with the zoom (although with the LCD display I rarely use the optical viewfinder)
6. Beautiful LCD display... very detailed and crisp.
7. Auto image orientation works great.
8. Color accent feature is fun to play with
9. Having up to ISO 1600 availible is nice although you definately notice more picture noise at ISO 800 and 1600.. especially noticable at 1600
10. Face detect feature works great. I'm amazed how well it works.
11. Battery life is good and the compact charger travels well and works european voltages just fine.

Overall, I'm not disappointed in this purchase and would buy it again.
Battery life is good. I bought an extra battery off amazon for less than $20 just in case but never ended up using it on our trip.. as long as you charge the battery every day one battery got us through 1 day... although we didnt shoot much in the way of video's and that might drain the battery quicker. It's a little expensive with so many other options out there but for the size and features it was worth it to me.


->Prices

I think this is a great camera for its size and price. But don't expect it to do the job of a larger and more expensive camera.

I consider myself to be serious about photography, and I have an EOS 20D as my main camera. But I'm not going to take that everywhere, so I need a small point and shoot camera for snapshot occasions. I've taken this approach since film days, when I had a Leica Mini (way bigger than this camera) for my "little" camera.

I was in the market for a new "little" camera, and the key things I wanted--beyond taking good pictures--were a 28mm equivalent wide angle capability, a viewfinder, small (but not necessarily tiny) size, and an underwater housing. Then this camera came out with all of those!

Another feature I like is that it can mask the LCD screen to show a 3:2 aspect. I normally crop to this aspect in Photoshop, and while I generally take pictures through the viewfinder there are occasional shots where this ability to check the framing is useful.

Some reviewers have complained about softness at the edges at the extreme wide angle. I haven't noticed this, but I haven't used it for the sort of picture where it would be critical. (I'd choose my 20D for that sort of situation.) If you want wide angle photos that are uniformly sharp across the frame you probably shouldn't be using a pocket camera. There is only so much manufacturers can do with optics that will fit in a camera this size.

I think the construction of the camera is fine. There is always a compromise among weight, toughness, and price. Canon has made reasonable choices here. This camera may not be the best choice for every photographer, but it isn't reasonable to ask one camera to be the best choice for every situation.

Judging this camera against previous small cameras I've had and my expectations for it I am very happy. Judging it against my 20D it does better than I might have expected, but I never intended to judge it that way. Expecting a camera that costs less than 400 dollars and fits in your pocket to do what an expensive SLR with an expensive lens can do is silly. Even comparing it to a camera that costs twice as much and weighs three times as much is silly. But what you get for the size and price is terrific.

If you want a small camera that takes great pictures and can go wide this is the one!


->Buy

This was my first digital camera upgrade from an old Olympus circa 2000--maybe I'm easily impressed. This camera worked out great for a recent vacation... and I'm glad we didn't lug around the old camera.

The biggest concern I had was the shutter delay. Apparantly all non-SLRs have some delay but I couldn't find any definitive information about this particular camera. Again, perhaps all modern cameras are similar to this Canon--but I can say without a doubt, that if you pre-focus you can take action pictures with this camera. I am impressed.

My ultimate reasons to choose this camera were:
--wide angle lens
--size


Surprisingly useful features:
--image stabilization (one of those rare features that actually has great utility and not just marketing value).
--video capture (I just didn't expect to ever use it and it's quite fun).
--"scenes" for auto-settings. The aquarium setting worked great for example.

Negatives:
--corners of wide angle lens are definitely soft and off color sometimes... but, really, it's minor and the primary drawback found in any wide lens. I find the gripes about this issue a bit unwarranted because I think all similar cameras have (effective) 35mm lenses. Bottom line: I love the look of wide angle that I'm glad to sacrifice a tiny bit of quality to get the great shots.

--Flash is not that great. Personally, I found myself using the "AUTO HI" ISO setting (where it's still auto-ISO, but tends to use higher values) in order to take low-light photos. They're grainy, but if you have at least some light I still like the results better. I don't know if the flash is just poor at picking the right power for the subject's distance or what--but the flash pictures just didn't turn out that great.

Regarding the review comments about the flimsy battery cover... When I first saw this I thought, "oh, is that all they're talking about? who cares" The door cover on the battery is fine. It's not metal like the rest of the camera case but it's fine. However, the cover for the AV and USB cable hook up is totally flimsy. It has this plastic tether/hinge thing that makes me very concerned... however, it seems to be well designed and simply "feels" cheap. Even if this fell off I wouldn't be terribly concerned. I guess my point is that the battery/SD cover is fine!

Finally, something I noticed as I was optimizing a bunch of vacation photos today...the exposure and color balance is awesome in this camera. Again, maybe I'm just easily impressed but if I had gone through 30 images as I did today with photos from that old camera I know I'd be using Photoshop's Auto-colors or Auto-levels to improve at least half of them. I barely touched any of the photos from this camera. They really are quite close to perfectly balanced.


->Best Price

I was looking to replace my Cannon Digital Elf S300. I've had it for 5 years and was looking for something better. I was originally going for the Cannon SD630 but decided to upgrade to the Cannon Powershot SD800IS. After getting it home and trying all of its features this is what I found.

1. The pictures have alot more "noise" (grainy) in them than my old camera's pictures even on the automatic setting. And of course the higher you manually set the ISO the more noise you'll get. The pictures looked flat with no depth to them and sometimes the colors were a little more washed out than my old cammera (which by the way was the same price as the SD800IS 5 years ago.)

2. I bought this camera for low light pictures. It doesn't really do much better than the other camera's because they all have the same small flash size. I tested with over a hundred pictures and different settings and it still didn't impress me.

3. As far as the color swap feature, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I tried replacing red with blue and all's I got was a blue tint over the whole picture. I also tried color swapping my daughters shirt from pink to black and I just got the same thing - black tint over the whole picture.

I have to be fair and say that other than these issues the cammera seemed to be fine. But I'm taking it back because for that kind of money I expect it to take better pictures than my old cammera and it didn't. The only advantage it has is a bigger LCD screen and I care more about the quality of pictures it takes. I think Cannon went cheap on this product. They don't even use the Carl Zeiss lens anymore. He switched to Sony.


->Comparison

I've had the SD800is for about two months now, and it is definitely the best 'grab and shoot' camera out there. We took it out of the box, charged the battery, and started taking pictures in full auto mode. Out of 100 pictures we took the first day, all were usable. The handling takes a little getting used to because it's so small.

I purchased this model specifically for the wide angle lens and because it has an optical view finder (which helps when shooting outdoors in bright sunlight.) My priority was to find a camera that I can carry with me at all times and will always get the shot. This one does not disappoint. For situations where I want the best possible picture quality, I carry my bigger camera.


->Purchase

I read so many positive reviews of this camera that I decided that it was time to replace my beloved KonicaMinolta Dimage X. I'm glad I did. I just got back from Israel and Jordan. I took my new SD800 as well as my Nikon D70. The SD800 more than held its own. The colors are fantastic, and the image-stabilization works very well. The wide angle lens produced superb landscapes. I like the fact that it is one of the few of the newer compact cameras that retains an optical viewfinder. This camera is worth every penny.


->Comparison

I just spent a good 1/2 hour here reading reviews on the SD800 IS, and didn't agree with many of them so I had to write one myself. I have previously owned Canon's S400, S500 and SD550. I usually pass my previous cameras on to family so I can get the latest and greatest, and once again I am not sorry I did. I am extremely happy with my 800 IS. I quickly charged my battery, then took 60 photos or so using every feature I could find in the camera. Macro, flash, no flash, wide, telephoto, B/W, sepia, vivid, you name it. I couldn't take 1 bad photo even if I tried! I loved the results in all of them. My only complaints were test shots at ASA 800 and up. Yes, those will be very noisy and unusable, but when printed in a 4x6 size how bad will it be, really. Not much worse than film cameras at ASA 400 or 800. How many situations will you find yourself in needing that high an ASA rating? This camera is beautifully built, it looks and feels expensive and I think it's a quality built camera. It is not a tank like my old S400, and it's lighter than the SD550 but it does not feel or look cheap. This is an outstanding small camera. As for soft or blurry edges at the wide angle setting, NONSENSE. I just can't see it in my photos. If you are a previous Canon Digital elph owner and want to upgrade, go for the 800 IS. I picked this one over the 900 because I didn't like the looks of the 900, didn't care for 10 megapixels (when is it enough?), and the 900 did not have the IS feature, which is outstanding on my 800 IS. It really works! I took many photos indoors without flash, hand held and they were unbelievable, with excellent color balance. My flash photos seemed to cover the room just nicely too. I just loved every photo I took today with this camera. So, I don't know what all the whining and bickering is about, but this is one fine piece of camera engineering. As for the battery/SD card cover, yes, it's light and plastic, so open it carefully the way you should handle a $400 camera. There must be many clumsy people out there who break things. I never have, especially with my cameras. So, do I regret giving up my SD550 for this 800 IS? NOT ONE BIT! Both are outstanding cameras. I did a lot of research before forking over the cash for my next camera, and I'm glad it led me again to the Canon line. If you want one, treat yourself. I also hope I have made your selection easier for you. Between my wife and kids, my siblings, my nephews, brothers-in-law, you name it, they all have digital cameras now. We see many crappy photos, but almost never from those who went with the Canon Powershots. What does that tell you?

I have had my camera for more than one month now and I am still very happy with it. My wife has my previous SD550 so I've got the best of both worlds. That SD550 is also a great little camera, so I'm glad we've kept it. It just doesn't have Digic III or the IS feature, but that hasn't been a big issue. What I have now noticed is that for some reason I'm getting more red eye shots with these cameras. I have been taking a lot of photos of my young daughter and her dance class partners, and it seems to be more of a problem with children than adults for some reason. I have read that because of the small camera size, the flash is just too close to the lens and that is the reason. I don't really know but it could be true. I use a software program provided by Kodak Gallery to upload many photos at once, and it fixes that very quickly and easily so it is not a big issue to me. Also, some have written about the white spots that show up on photos. That I believe are dust particles in the air that come out magnified in photos, which is another common thing with these small digital cameras. Remember, at 7.1 MB you will see incredible details in your photos. If you have a digital camera, trying taking shots outdoors at night around a camp fire and you'll see what I mean. As for the round dust spots that show up, I just copy and paste a surrounding area without the spot and paste it over the spot and it's gone. There are many software programs that let you tweak your photos, so it's easy and fun to make corrections, which was virtually impossible with film photos.


->

It is a big design flaw. The camera only allows you to stamp the date on the pictures for postcard mode only (1600 x 1200). Is there a way to work around this issue?


->Buy

I was in the market for a new camera with more megapixels, smaller in size and weight and a larger lcd screen. I already had a Canon Powerpoint A400, and it is a great camera, so I wanted to stick with Canon.
A friend told me about the SD800 IS so I read some reviews and checked it out and I went with it. I absolutely love it! Easy to use, clarity is fantastic, and it is really light, even with the battery. Overall, I really like the camera and I recommend that one should get this camera if they're thinking about it...you won't be sorry.


->Best Price

I just got this camera today. I'm no expert on cameras but what little time I've played with this thing I really like it. I started looking for a new camera about two weeks ago. When I started I was overwhelmed. I think I read every review on every camera. Then I got really confused. So I went with my gut and got the SD800. I was very impressed with it. I think anyone looking to buy a camera would enjoy this one. I got mine from Amazon and was very pleased with the service.


->Prices

I just upgraded from the Canon s400. Amazing camera and has been very good to me over the years. I wanted some new technology, Digic III and the IS system. This camera so far is perfect. I do not have the 'crappy' door issues that some other users have as I am used to it with Canon products. The door on my s400 was the same and NEVER broke as a result. This camera is small and light, just about perfect.

If you are upgrading you will be amazed how quick this camera is. Starts up fast, takes pictures quickly, just excellent. The 207k res. LCD is excellent as well. From my other Canon to this, the screen is light years better.

Need an upgrade? Buy this 800IS.

Need a new camera? Buy this 800IS.


->Cheap

In my opinion, this camera is worthy of a 5 star rating, one of the few I've ever given.

My experience with cameras in this class started with a Canon S-100, which I upgraded later to a Canon S-400, both of which proved to be excellent for my on-the-go photography needs. My only criticism with this class of cameras was that they lacked two features I really wanted:
1. wide angle lens
2. image stabilization
I guess the Canon folks read my mind with the introduction of the SD-800, and after reading a number of positive technical reviews for the camera on the web, I purchased one as an upgrade for my beloved S-400. I was particularly suspicious regarding image stabilization, since my only prior experience with a camera using this technology had been disappointing (Canon S-1, a larger 10x zoom model).

As might be expected with the advances in memory technology, the SD-800 takes movies at a higher resolutioni (640x480) than the S-400 (320x240) and has a higher maximum pixel count (7.1 vs 4.0). It also uses the smaller SD memory cards as opposed to the bulkier CF cards for the S-400, and the lithium battery pack has a different form factor (which means you can't reuse stuff from an earlier model).

What I consider to be the 2 real upgrade features for this camera, the wide angle lens and the image stabilization, are what truly distinguishes it from its competition. I've had this camera for about a month now and can happily report it is a significant advance over the S-400. The image stabilization is a dream. With the S-400 I had to rely on bracing the camera in many circumstances where with the SD-800 I can count on sharp images just holding it out, composing, and taking the shot. In a recent work session where my group had accumulated a great deal of writing on a wide white board along the side of a narrow conference room, I was able to capture in a single, sharply focused shot the entire board, something the S-400 would have taken 2 shots to achieve followed by a photo stitch. There is some distortion at the outer edges, but I personally don't see this as a drawback given the advantages to getting the whole image (after all you can crop the picture if the rather small amount of distortion truly bothers you).

What else? Well, the camera is lighter and more comfortably contoured than the S-400. It does retain the view finder (thank heavens ... there are simply circumstances where this is the only reasonable way to compose a shot). A single door is used for both memory and battery (vs. 2 doors on the S-400). As others have reported, the door has a flimsy feel, but my first camera in this line (the S-100) had a similar door and I never broke it. Anyway, the USB-2 picture download pretty much eliminates needing to pop out memory cards to get a faster download speed via a card reader. I did invest in a 4Gb high speed SD card since maximum movie length is 4Gb at 640x480, 30 frames per second, or about 25 minutes worth of pretty darn good movie taking. My experience to date is that with this level of capability and convenience I doubt I will every use my cam corder again for family movies.

Out of the box I found the controls and interface to be easier and more intuitive than the S-400. I have all the capabilities I had with the S-400, plus some "gee-whiz" features I've had fun with but I doubt I will use routinely (e.g., color swap). I can also recommend Canon's leather case for this camera. It provides an extremely easy way to carry the camera on your belt (it uses a belt loop, which I think is far superior to a belt clip). I was initially put off by the magnetic flap used with this case, but now agree it's a superior design (their earller cases used Velcro).


->Comparison

This is a nearly perfect camera -- it's feature-packed with excellent photo & movie quality. An important feature that is a "step-up" from the SD700 is the DIGIC III system (SD700 has DIGIC II). This means better quality photos & movies, AND the movie limit goes up from 1 GB (just 8 min. in hi res) to 4 GB using the SD800. The SD800's DIGIC III also incorporates facial recognition & intelligent focus (not the gimmick I thought it would be, really useful!) Battery life is better by 12%, among other improvements. Not to mention the bump up to 7.1 MP from the SD700 (6 MP), this camera is definitely worth the extra $. (NOTE: The SD900 is basically a 10 MP version of the SD550, and doesn't even utilize the new DIGIC III system)


->Cheap

I chose this camera for the same reason most did, 28mm wide, great IS, and all the little things (in-camera stiching, color changing, other things). Seems Canon has finally made a camera that can focus in low light as well as a Sony. You can pretty much turn that stupid focus assist light off. While you're at it you might as well turn off the Red Eye lamp because it doesn't do anything but annoy your subjects. The 28mm wide works really nicely indoors and there aren't many that have that. Unfortunelty, they had to give up a little sharpness over the sd700 to do this, but it's a fair trade. Almost wish when you turned the camera on it started around 32mm and you had to de-zoom because the widest setting isn't used that much, and it's less sharp, but nice to have. One thing that seems off is how low the volume is even at max when you are playing back a video. And, there seems to be a lot of camera noise or something going on, although I've only watched and listened straight from the camera, I haven't downloaded a play one on a tv or pc/mac to hear if it sounds the same. I hate how much work you have to do to delete a picture or even view the last one you took. Sure, you can set the post view long but to see it later you have to go to Play. If yo don't hit Disp to delete right away you have to go to Play mode then press Menu, select it, then hit the set button, then press Menu again to exit, what a pain! Canon, just copy Sony and be done with it. Sony uses a button to show the last picture at anytime, then another to quickly delete it. But this isn't about Sony, this is about Canon. I don't think the bottom door is that bad, haven;t heard of one breaking yet. The face recognition stuff and area focus is hit and miss, you may just want to stick with center focus. The colors are pretty true and it's amazing how dark it can be and still get a picture in without flash. Overall it's an improvement over my last pocket camera (W1) but not in sharpness. Overall it's the features and not the image that led me to this one. Favorite color setting is Vivid because Normal is just too flush.


->Deal

This is my third Canon Powershot (the others are the 110 and the 260). I like all three of them and have been very satisfied with the image quality and the reliability of the older two, which played a large role in choosing this model. Digital camera technology has advanced so rapidly that this model has capabilities far beyond those of the earlier two.

Pros:

Image stabilization: works well, makes it possible to take hand-held photos of still subjects in low light without flash.

Autofocus on faces: I thought this would turn out to be a useless gimmick, but (surprisingly) it actually works. When enabled, the camera looks for faces and draws rectangles on the LCD viewfinder around those it finds; it then focuses on those portions of the image.

Excellent 30 fps 640x480 movies, which can be as long as memory allows.

Can also film 60 fps at 320x240, for slow-motion playback.

Truly pocket-sized ("the best camera is the one in your pocket, not the one you left at home")

Replaceable rechargable battery with compact multivoltage charger included.

Larger-than-usual zoom range, including medium-wide angle.

Long exposures possible for nighttime photography (not long enough for most astronomical photography, though).

Fast boot time, unnoticeable shutter latency, short recycle time -- the first digital camera I've had that doesn't keep me waiting.

Cons:

No raw mode (JPEG stills and AVI movies only).

Battery and charger are not compatible with older Canon Powershot cameras.

Controls are small and a bit awkward for adult-sized fingers. The very lucky kid who gets one of these would probably not have a problem.

I would love to see a compact digital camera with a bounce flash ... the flash on this camera (like others) produces harsh, flat light and red eye and has a very limited range. A wireless slave flash is available but (according to what I've read) only works when the builtin flash is on.

An underwater housing (Canon WP-DC9) will be available soon (yay!) but at a price not much below that of the camera (boo!). I would love to see a rainproof compact digital camera that could survive an occasional dunking, without an expensive and bulky housing.

Most of the case is metal, but one end (including the battery/flash card cover) is plastic, and in my judgement, this will require careful handling to avoid breakage. This is a step back from the earlier Powershots I've used, which have robust metal cases that can tolerate occasional clumsiness.


->Deal

What a great camera!

I am an ex-wedding photographer and am very picky about the equipment I buy. This camera produces beautiful images and downloads them very quickly to your computer using the included Canon software. Be sure and get a 1GB fast SD card...it pays off in fast image save times as well as image upload times.

The 28MM eq. lens is very rare in this size camera as is the optical image stabilization system. The portrait mode does a great job of eliminating red eye, unlike many other cameras. There are even a few manual settings available for those so inclined. Try using the exposure compensation to darken up a shot to add some drama.

The only con is that the zoom switch is a bit jerky, but that's a nit. Another great camera choice in this category is the Casio Ex-Z850 which I have used and also love. The Canon 800IS beats the Casio for 2 reasons, 28MM eq lens and true optical image stabilization vs. the digital kind.

I am completely satisfied with this camera and Highly recommend it to anyone.


->Deals

I have owned several PS didgicams, all having strengths and weaknesses. The sd 800 is no different. It takes very good photos if exposed correctly . Colors are rich and well saturated, maybe a tad over , but not too far done like my former lx-1 by pani. I bought it for the features, wide angle, IS andcompact as compared to LX-1. The SD800 takes pictures far better than the LX1 as far as color and sharpness, all in a small package. I use a Nikon D200 w/ over $5K in lenses, but have found that while my pictures from the sd800 are no wear near the quality of the D200, they are more numerous, meaning it comes w/ me everywhere and i never miss a shot, unlike the large D200 which sits at home most of the time. I brought the sd800 on my recent trip to PR and it was great. 600+ pix on a 2g card, no need even to bring the laptop as the file sizes are small enoug and the 2g card big enough for a weeks worth of keepers ( itossed several hundered bad photos). While most will complain about, the corner softness, the design, the this the that, remember this, it is about getting the shot and the sd800 is always thier when needed and performs in 80% of all situations (low liight is ok, lots of noise at iso 200 +, but better than the LX1, flash is weak and recycles slow, and high contrast is tricky but use AE compensation and AE lock to get it right). Bottom line, if you pixel peep at 100% and make your decision on this camera, you are stupid. It is a PS digicam w/ great features and very good photo quality. As far as some design problems and cheap plastic material, it is metal and the Sd door is cheap, but when the sd700 came out it was $499, the sd 800 is $360 from amazon and has better features in the wide lense. Get this camera, if photo quality is poor it is a poor sample, exchange until you get a keeper, you won't regret it.


->Purchase

Pros: This camera replaced a dropped SD300, the choice was between the SD900 at 10 MP and the SD800IS with 7.1 MP. This camera has an impressive macro ability and the image stabilizer lets me shoot without flash in dim light. I shot a handheld 1/4 second photo at 2x zoom resting my arms on my knees and it was perfectly clear, something I've never done with an SLR. Movies are drastically more watchable with IS than without. Wide angle is wider than most point-and-shoot cameras and it is very helpful. Underwater case is good to deep water and is cheap for such things. Highly recommended. (Other camera is 300D).

Cons: you can't control much. The camera is a bit larger than the earlier models in this series, and is curvy. I found the earlier design easier to hold and use. The power button is just goofy, an odd-shaped plastic insert in the top of the camera.


->Purchase

I have had this camera for about two weeks and i have definitely put it through a thorough test. The day i got it, i went to a party and took over 200 pictures.

Picture Quality = Awesome! Most of my pictures were indoor pictures for the first night with NO lights on except orange "christmas" lights. Let me say, the quality was awesome for the amount of light it had to work with. Another person there had a fuji film camera and it didn't even come close to the quality of these pictures. Outside pictures taken the next day came out so crisp. You RARELY have to retake a photo.

Image Stablization = Again, Awesome! I did a lot of research between this camera and the SD700 and i eventually picked this one b/c of the image stablization. Boy am i glad i did. Of the 200 photos, i think maybe 5 were blurry. I was so impressed.

Wide Angle Lens = Good! Yes, there are blurry edges once in a while when you are taking pictures with no zoom. I probably would have never noticed it, but sometimes when you are viewing it 100% you notice them. The blurriness is such a small thing, the great things about this camera outweigh it.

Video = Awesome! It does a great job. I have not noticed any feedback from the microphone either.

Time Between Photos = Great! As soon as you turn this camera on, it is ready to go. I am taking pictures in literally a second. After you take a picture, i think the longest thing, is displaying the picture for two seconds. I think it is like 2 seconds betweeen taking pictures, literally. That is such a great improvement over my old nikon camera.

Construction = Good! What can i say, its a small camera. If you want easy to use buttons and a more durable frame, get a bigger camera. If you want a camera this small, you are going to have to make some sacrifices. The design of this camera is definitely not a deal breaker.

Overall = I am glad i made the choice i did! I am so glad i got this one versus the SD700 or another brand. The pictures are great and the small quirks about the camera are not enough to outweight the great things about it. If you want an easy camera to use that works when you need it, you will not be disappointed with this one. Don't get me wrong, you still need to read the manual b/c it has cool stuff like "scenes" modes that you can use to improve your pictures even more. But after you know how to use it, this camera does all the work for you; you just worry about taking pictures!




->Deal

We bought the Canon SD400 for a trip to Peru last year because of it size and features. We loved it! Unfortunately, it now lives in Mexico as it did not make it home from our last trip. So, we repalced it with the SD800 IS. We love this one even more! The size is still great even though it is a little bigger. The wider angle lens is one of the main reason we chose it because we also shoot alot of in door photos. The 7.1MP's more than make up for the slightly shorter zoom IMHO. With the extra battery and leather case you are go to go around the world.


->Discount

Ok, first of all, I am not a professional photographer. I just want a camera that I can point and shoot and get good photos regardless of the conditions. I also want something I can carry in my pocket so that I actually have it handy when my kid does something cute!

I bought the Canon Powershot SD800 with these things in mind. The outdoor pictures looked great, but the problems started when I went indoors. Taking pictures in a conference room, some of the pictures were very dark and grainy, even with the flash. Yes, the flash was on automatic. So I retook the picture and this time it looked better. With several repeats, results were inconsistent, even with the flash on. As the day progressed, I handed the camera to others to take some shots, and they came out grainy and dim as well, or overexposed by the flash.

I can understand poor performance in poor conditions, but I cannot understand inconsistent performance in the same conditions.


->Cheap

When comparing the elph IS features, if all other things are roughly equal except what I mention here, it was tough, but I chose the 700. I bought the 700 for it's longer than average 4x zoom on a point & shoot. Then I thought maybe I should try the 800 because of the wide angle, new processor, and higher ISO and megapixels. But, even with the 3.8x zoom, because the 800 lens starts off lower already (28mm eqv.) to get the wide angle, it's max range of 4.6-17.3mm zoom does not even come close to the 700's 5.8 -23.2 max opt. range..plus though somewhat useless, the digital range is less too and the small bump up in MP doesn't compensate. If you find you are always wanting to get more in a shot, get the 800 with the wideangle; as the other features are better. For the shots I usually take, I find I crave the higher zoom so much that the other upgrades were not as important to me. If, like me, you think you'd be bothered by not being able to zoom in as closely, get the 700. If I want more in the shot, I can just stich assist.


->Discount

Generally, this is a fine camera. I bought it, even though I already owned an Olympus digital with similar resolution and a bigger viewing screen (3" vs. 2.5" on the Canon), but without an optical viewfinder. I was disappointed that there is no ready way to shut off the flash on the Canon, other than going to manual settings. But, even more disappointed when I attempted to take pictures in full sunlight, and found that the sunlight streaked, and in some cases totally obscured, the photo when the camera was pointed even about 45 degrees from the direction of the sunlight. Sometimes, one just cannot help shooting toward the sun. I have not experienced such a "leak" with any other digital camera I have ever owned, including Canon, Minolta and Olympus. I did get some relief by using my other hand as a sun shield, but even that was dicey. Other than that, the overall viewability of the screen and quality of the pictures were superior.


->Buy Online

I just have this gadget yesterday and my first impression with this camera is high. I bought this over SD700 mainly because it has image stabilizer, new DIGIC III processor, and wide angle lens. Build-in quality is decent, despite of plastic battery door that many other reviewer complaint, I found this is not a great deal. This camera made in Japan, so you can be sure the quality of this camera is strong.
Picture was great. I try macro shot and the picture comes up better than my Nikon D50 camera. There are many other features like color swap, color accent, multi-shooting modes that you need to play with more to get familiar with this. I will give you more updates after downloading the pictures. Highly recommended!

Updates 11/7/06
I downloaded the pictures and it comes up beautiful, crisp, natural color. Didn't notice any corner softness.
Stabilizer works great. Now I can take low-light photograph without worry of getting blurry pictures. Pictures without flash also come in great shape. For me just unbelievable! Macro shot also excellent. I can take very2 close pictures while my Nikon DSLR unable to focus within very close distance. One thing that I really enjoy is color accent feature. Just pick any color from your object: live! , and the camera will automatically select only the color you choose to be taken. Other than that, will be black & white. For example you want only flower shown in color on your picture. Or maybe you want to swap the color of your flower from red to yellow? isn't that cool? not to mention it has great movies features which allowing you to take high quality video at 30 fps!
Other advanced features that you might be able to find only in proffesional camera also available such as:
- Exposure Lock(AEL)
- Flash Lock(FL)
- Focus check mode

I really recommend this camera for everyone. Even great backup for amateur/professional user.


->Deal

I had a Canon powershot A75, and this camera its amazing with the new features, the IS , the wide-angle lens, excellent pictures, the zoom evens is great

I recomended this camera for everything, its amazing choice!!!


->Best Price

Although I had disappointing results after purchasing (and returning) the Canon SD700IS then the SD600, I knew I wanted to stick with the Canon line of cameras because of the distinct features Canon offers that many others do not - like its awesome Accent Color and B&W features. That's when I saw that Canon came out with two new models, the SD800IS and SD900. While the SD800 had image stabilization and a wide angle lens and the SD900 just has more pixels with no image stabilization, I decided to go with the better features found on the SD800. BOY was I glad I did!!

Putting each camera I purchased to the test, I'd take it home and make lots of "test shots"... To test the Image Stabilization, I would bounce the camera up and down and take a picture -- and most if not all pics would come out blur-free. The Macro Function is MOST EXCELLENT... And the Accent Color feature is SUPER COOL... For all intents and purposes, all three cameras (SD600/SD700IS/SD800IS) were just what I was looking for in a compact camera. That is, until I decided to take some indoor (average to low light) pictures without using the flash... For the Canon SD600 and SD700IS -- I have one word to describe it -- BLUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRY.... Whereas the Canon SD800IS passed muster! This was an important factor for me since I take a lot of indoor photos of my pets and they don't care too much for the flash.

So if you like to take a lot of indoor (average to low light) photos without the flash, look no further... And just think - if this camera can take photos in low light conditions really well, you DEFINITELY WON'T BE disappointed with any its other capabilities!!


->Deals

I bought this camera to replace a 4MP 10x zoom Olympus C-750. I have spent the last several weeks playing with the different settings on my new Canon SD800 IS.

Pros:
* Photos turn out extremely sharp, true color, and it handles white balance (shooting under different types of bulbs) well.
* I love that it has a viewfinder although I must say I'm finding the large display to be very useful.
* The image stabilizer works very well, especially when I set it to "shoot only".
* I can take very close range photos (a few inches away) in the "macro" mode" that come out perfectly.
* This camera takes photos in the dark (using flash and the AF-assist beam) that come out looking as if the lights were on. I took a photo of my dog using the zoom from 20 feet away with the lights out, and the photo came out nicely.
* The camera turns on instantly when I press the power button. Furthermore, the "continuous" shooting takes a photo every .6 seconds with the memory card that comes with the camera (apparently a high speed memory card will yield even better results).
* In playback mode, the camera will (optionally) rotate the image when you turn the camera.
* Lots of other cool hidden features if you read the manual, such as hold down the shutter button to immediately view a photo you just took.

Cons
* There is some distortion in the wide angle shots, as if they were taken in macro mode or something.
* The buttons are fine for me (a woman with small fingers) but very difficult for my husband (who has larger fingers) to use.
* The shiny finish around the lens and on the side of the camera smudges easily.
* The door covering the USB port feels flimsy but has not given me any problems.
* I wish it had an optional "lots of help" mode or a help button that would explain settings so I don't have to consult the manual.
* If it were a little more user friendly I'd give it 5 stars.

Overall I'm VERY pleased with this camera.


->Cheap

This is my third digital camera, after the PowerShot S400 and the Sony DSC-T9.

The Sony had been holding focus worse and worse, and colors -- at default settings -- were blown out, with reds completely exaggerated, and white (even with the "correct" setting, or even "auto") was closer to yellow.

The Canon's color is much, much more accurate, and it handles tricky lighting with extremes in brightness better than the Sony. The wide-angle lens is nice, and for my purposes (wallpaper on a 30" monitor and small images for a website), I see no problems with soft focus in the corners. (I don't deny it might be there, but I'm not printing any posters anytime soon, and if you aren't, either, I doubt you'll see any soft corners.) I admittedly haven't used it in very dark settings, but I haven't taken a single blurry shot yet due to hand shake. The image stabalization seems great.

Finally, I mostly take pictures of food, and generally use the close-up macro for it, and the Canon does a spectacular job. You can't get quite as close as the Sony allows, but within 2" is fine for my purposes. (I'm taking pictures of food, not bugs. Hopefully.)

It's a great little camera. Highly recommended.


->Price

This is my 3rd Canon camera, 2nd Elph. I am the epitome of an amateur photographer, and my attempts with prosumer cameras have all failed. At the end of the day, I need a simple point and shoot that produces high-quality images that are capable of being enlarged to 16x20 photographs. The SD800 meets all of the criteria and more.

The SD800 excels in low-light environments, producing stunningly clear photos indoors. The 7MP images coupled with the 3.8x zoom provide a great baseline to Photoshopping and online manipulation.

My only criticism is that outdoor images can tend to over saturate the Blues and indoor images over saturate the Yellows, but overall the image quality is excellent.

The camera is amazingly small, and travels well. The flash is powerful.


->Price

The people rating this camera low are the ones who know their stuff about photography and bought the wrong camera. If you are knowledgeable about photography, you should not be buying a point and shoot camera. This camera is amazing for the average user, the image stabilization works great and helps improve low light photos. The pictures come out very nice. The wide angle lens is nice to capture scenery, the face detection feature also seemed pretty reliable. Only downsides I saw were the scroll wheel for controls was a little slippery and the battery door seems cheap. Battery life is good, screen is big and bright.


->Deals

Yesterday, I got home with my new sd800. And due to the scrutiny of the forums, I immediately had to test it. I compared exact duplicate shots from my SD550 to this "upgrade" sd800. I am very sad to say that in normal shooting conditions, this model just couldn't keep up. The main things I saw the sd800 losing horribly to the sd550 in were: picture clarity, sharpness (edge to edge) and color accuracy (the sd800's produces a very warm shot, too much yellow & red). This was a disappointment indeed when you compare the fact that my sd550 is almost a year old.

Now, on the flip-side, and should you ever find yourself in "overhead fan lighting," this will be where the true benefits of the sd800 become VERY clear. If this is how you shoot, the IS will become a lifesaver for every single shot. But aside from a museum or other "no flash," location, RARELY am I not using the flash on my camera. And I found the trick to not having over-saturation or too much flash contrast (whatever the model) is to just lower the brightness setting prior to shooting and use a bit of Photoshop shadow highlight love. (Although this can never fully prevent your shot from the flashlight effect left on objects from shooting, but it helps). This camera is only ideal for shooting in an IS situation. Period. Or at least IMHO, but it is my review right? lol

My solution was simple. I ended up taking a risk against better judgment, returned the sd800, and got the sd900. Let me just say that the quality from this camera will NEVER be achievable from an SD800. So make the call. If IS is your "make or break feature," go for the 700is, or800is. However if its quality you want from your shots, and you aren't found in low light situations often, the 550 or 900 are the way to go! Price per mega pixel being the only difference.


->Buy

I've gotten this camera to replace a Canon S45 that I bought in January 2003 and this review is meant as a contrast to that type of camera (i.e., this review may not be too useful if you're coming to this camera from another point of view). I chose the S45 at the time over the top ELPH model back then (S330, I think) because I expected that it would be my only camera for a while and so wanted manual control, RAW support, etc. As it happens, the Digital Rebel came out in September that year and when I got one, the role of my S45 changed: A take-anywhere camera for taking snapshots and video clips. The latter came a bit as a surprise, because I thought I'd prefer using my more full-featured miniDV-based video camera. However, it turns out that "compact" often beats "full-featured" (the S45 is not as small as the SD800, but it's still pretty small compared to my video camera).

In its new role, the weaknesses of the S45 were (a) not compact enough, (b) poor low-light performance, (c) limited, low-quality movie recording functionality, (d) relative slow response times. (That's all relative, of course: At the time, it was a reasonably good compromise in those areas.) On the plus side, the S45 is sturdy, I really like its user interface, and I got some really nice pictures out of it.

How does the SD800 stack up in that context? Very well, but not perfectly. I like its build quality and the subcompact size (though it's a bit on the large end of its class; not a bad thing per se). The plastic parts are no worse than the similar parts on the S45, but I get slightly anxious at the thought of scratching the shiny surfaces. The 2.5" screen make for bright and sharp previews (it feels more fragile than that of the S45, however). Image quality is a step above that of the S45 in general, and easily two steps above for low-light work (where the image stabilization function and better ISO 400 performance really shine). ISO800 seems somewhat usable, beyond my expectation.

I don't care much about some of the more exotic features like "swap colors", but one feature I've unexpectedly come to appreciate is the face-recognition contribution to focus and exposure: It works, and it works really well! (It also ties into a built-in categorization feature, in that the label "People" will automatically be assigned to pictures containing faces; that's clever too, but I don't think I'll use it.)

Unsurprisingly, the wider-angle lens is a boon to many snapshot situations. (It was one of the factors that prompted me to order the SD800.) There is considerable corner softness at the wider end, but for this type of camera it doesn't bother me too much. I wish the long end were a little longer of course (and slightly less compact models from Panasonic do better in this regard), but again I don't feel strongly about that considering the camera's size. This also appears to be one the most responsive subcompacts out there: It's certainly a whole lot faster at starting up and zooming than the S45 (though it still feels sluggish compared to a DSLR).

The movie clip recording mode is far better than that of the S45: The higher (VGA) resolution and the image stabilization are the main factors there. Still, I wish it could record a using a tighter codec (like H.264) and I wish the optical zoom could be used during shooting. A 1GB SD card will hold a little over 8 minutes of 640x480 30fps video, but once downloaded I can convert that to a H.264 file of about 70MB. The digital zoom in movie mode works well in good light (almost 5X for 640x480 clips), but in low light zooming in more than 3x or so results in exceptionally pixel-noisy clips.

Finally, the overall interface is relatively intuitive and generally well executed. My one beef is that "review" mode is part of the general mode dial. On the S45 (and Canon's DSLRs), "review" is entered using a separate switch (or button), which allows the general dial to indicate the recording mode: A half-press on the shutter and the immediately goes back to recording mode. On the SD800, if I'm reviewing images and suddenly see an opportunity (which happens all the time), I have to first fumble with the dial (being careful to select the right mode) and only then is the camera ready to shoot. On the plus side, when shooting a picture the camera automatically displays the image shot for a customizable amount of time (I set it to "until shutter pressed") and allows zooming into that picture.


->Discount

First...A lot of other reviewers have talked about how 'cheap' or 'flimsy' this camera feels...I think I have a different take on this coming from a Mechanical Engineering background (and actually making similar products in consumer electronics)

I had an old SD100 and decided to upgrade, and indeed the old SD100 'feels' like a tank, and this new one 'feels' flimsier...but I dont think it ACTUALLY is. First off, the new camera is very lightweight, and from a customer usability standpoint, lighter is often confused with 'cheaper'. Second, this camera uses metal luster plastic parts...which scream 'plastic!' whereas the old camera used plastic that was matted and painted...so it looked like the metal surrounding it. People also complained about the 'inside' being plastic now instead of metal...this is actually a good thing, as the internal metal on the SD100 was punched sheet metal (aka bendable, warpable, not structural) whereas the SD800 has molded plastic that perfectly fits the desired shape, actually providing more internal support....These cameras get their extremely small size by using the case as its structural support anyways...and here like previously, the case is metallic (basically...the case is titanium to support the product, and marketing decided to sell that as a 'feature').

That all being said...it still DOES 'feel' cheaper or breakable, even if I dont think it is from the engineering standpoint...and part of product design is making something that 'feels' good...so I have to dock canon one star on this thing for not completely following through on the design front.

As for everything else....Amazing optics, this thing takes wonderful pictures...it is SUPER responsive, statup time is non-existent and focus etc time feels twice as fast as the SD100. The IS feature works wonderful (its hard to see it work I must admit...but then you turn it off and take another picture and WHOA...huge difference, one is nice and the other is blurred crazily..[...]


->Purchase

When i read in The New York Times "Circuits" that the Canon SD800IS has face-recognition focusing and wide angle optics, I immediately went to Amazon to order it. The reviews about the plasticy body and wide-angle optic problems gave me pause, but i figured I could learn to live with the problems. Not so much.

My first major disappointment was with the face-recognition focusing feature, the main reason I bought this camera. The little brackets scoot around on the LCD and settle on faces all right--that part is cool. But much less cool is the fact that out of scores of photographs, with both natural light and flash, I have yet to capture ONE photograph in which ALL the faces are in focus. Objects near, but behind the faces, are often sharply in focus, but not the faces themselves. Bad news. Face-recognition focusing is a great idea, but Canon has not yet perfected it.

My second disappointment was the obvious loss of sharpness at full wide. I went to a local camera store to compare my SD800 with a SD700. Same loss with the SD700. Clearly Canon rushed the SD800 to the marketplace without addressing a prevous problem.

Another optical problem is pronounced CA (blue fringing) in high contrast area (especially at intense white boundaries), a major issue since fringing is almost impossible to remove. The SD700 also had this problem, but it seems worse in the SD800. I'm also getting far too many overexposed photographs.

The flash also varies all over the place, and too often doesn't properly illuminate the subject. I've fiddled with exposure controls, read the user's manual closely, and still haven't figured out a solution to this problem.

Other reviewers have addressed the camera's flimsy body, and those reviewers are correct. I still can't believe Canon would release a $400.00 camera whose battery compartment alone is so inadequate.

In sum, I strongly advice cosumers considering the SD800IS to check it out IN PERSON at a camera outlet. My sense is that Canon rushed out this camera for reasons of marketing, without addressng the problems of the SD700 and without adequate testing the SD800's new features. I'm sending back my SD800IS and will wait until Canon (or another company) works out the glitches of face-recognition technology and all the other problems of the SD800IS.

By the way, the one feature that works great is Canon's Image-stabilization, but I already have a pair of binocs that do that.


->Deals

I have owned several SD cameras. I am replacing the SD700 with this one. In fact I upgrade each model unless it's only a minor change. Like the previous reviewer has stated though, I was wanting to return this one and stick with my SD700. If it was not for a trip to New Zealand in December and a desire to get nice wide landscape shots, I would have.

Upon opening the battery bay door, I noticed immediately that the metal substructure and spring mechanism were gone. Just cheap plastic parts now. In fact a piece of plastic that had clearly snapped off from somewhere fell out of the camera, so I am now awaiting a replacement from Amazon.

The camera is much taller than the SD700 and only just fits in my old case.

Clearly this model is a major step backwards for Canon's usually excellent quality. The optics though seem good with little aberration even in the corners at full-wide. Let's hope the camera lasts long enough to be able to enjoy the nice glass!

UPDATE: Oh dear! My replacement arrived fast, thanks Amazon. Unfortunately it was even worse. The polished silver surrounding the lens had not been glued in place correctly and was sitting 5mm away from the front of the camera with the adhesive clearly holding it on. Or not. I think it's best to avoid this camera and wait for the next revisions to appear. Clearly Canon thought they would make some fast money on these ones. It shows.


->Sale

This is my fourth camera from the Canon Digital Elph line (previously, I had an S330, S400 and SD400). They have always taken great photos, and Canon has truly earned my repeat business (I also had a Digital Rebel and now I have an 20D).

I've had the SD800 for a few days now. Like its predecessors, it takes fantastic photos. The image stabilizer works wonderfully, and the camera functions quite well (and faster than most compact cameras). Other reviewers have spoken about the photo quality, and you can also get detailed technical reviews elsewhere on the internet, so I won't get into that here. What I want to focus on is the functionality of the design of this camera.

Digital Elphs used to be chunks of stainless steel. I dropped my S330 from a 12ft balcony, and it emerged unscathed. This is the first camera I've had that felt like it is going to break at any moment. It is larger and clunkier than the previous generation of Elphs (e.g., it is 36% larger than the SD200/300/400), and feels "plastic-y" and cheap (despite the fact that it looks nice). The buttons are small and offer minimal feedback, so it is easy to press the wrong button, especially if you have large fingers (and even if you have only average fingers). The "mode select" dial switches between Auto, Manual, Scene, Movie and Playback modes, but it is difficult to move. The dial is stiff and has only a small raised ridge on one side, making it difficult to set the dial to the proper mode on the first try. In sum, the design of this camera makes it operation more difficult than necessary; not something I expected from a camera from Canon, espectilly one at this cost.

This camera takes amazing photos, but Canon needs to brush up on their design. For a brief moment I considered returning this camera and keeping my SD400, but this camera's features are too good to pass up. I suppose everyone will get used to the poor design, but for this amount of money, none of us should have to.


->Price

So I have been scouring the web looking for opinions about SD800 IS. Since there were no pro-reviews coming out soon and I needed a camera for the weekend trip, I took the plunge and picked up SD800 IS three days ago.


BACKGROUND:

Before I jump into the review, I want to mention that I have been using full-manual film SLRs since I was 18. My current camera collection includes Optio 43WR (to take rafting / skiing / adventure sports pics), Digital Rebel XT, and now SD800 IS. I have also spent some time with T10, SD630 and an assortment of cheaper models.

I have realized over the years that the smaller camera are way more useful for someone with an active lifestyle. I have put my Optio 43WR through some tough times with skydiving, falling down ski slopes, and using it underwater (no, it is not recommended by Pentax) and it came up with amazing pictures. Also imagine a cute girl at a party asking you "Is that a SLR in your pants, or ..." you get the picture (pun intended!).


WHY NEW CAMERA?

I needed to replace my aging primary companion Optio 43wr with a new ultracompact model with underwater housing which allows me to dish out the abuse I need to get great shots. Money was not an object, so I was looking only at top-of-the-line models from ALL brands. The other note-worthy contenders were Sony T-30 Black, Sony DSC N2, Fuji F30.

I was also very unhappy with the pictures in low-light conditions by 43WR. I spend a fair amount of time snapping low-light pictures, so that was a top priority for me as well.


SD 800 IS:

So here is what I have found about SD800 IS...


Gizmo factor:
- This one has to be one of the most tricked out cameras I have ever used. You can edit movies, auto-rotate pictures depending on how you hold the camera, and do many other neat things. However what appeals me most is that these tricks are not flashy or distracting: they are seamlessly integrated in the user experience.
I think this shows the maturity in Canon models, compared to some fresh brands.
- The slide-show is very classy, not cheesy as you see on most other cameras.


Creative Controls:
- No full manual here, but it has Auto-Exposure lock and Auto-Focus lock. These two controls with some creative thinking will allow you to take any shots you may need. I didn't know about these features till I bought the camera, and I am very happy to find them there!
- Color-Accent and Color-Swap are more addictive than a videogame. I have so far seen my car in multiple colors, visualized what my garden will look like in fall, and help people bring out the blue color in their eyes.


Appearance:
- Personally, I am not very impressed by the looks but everyone else seems to love the understated jewelery thing going on with it.


Lens:
- Yes, it is true. Lots of blurry corners at full wide. Lots of distortion too. I think Canon is skimping on the optics here. That's what happens when you try to stuff a 3.8x zoom in a tiny body. They should have stuck to something like 28mm to 60mm zoom, and it would have been fine.

But from a practical point of view, I don't notice the corners in a picture. Naturally I stare at the subject, and move on to the next pic. So the corners bothered me in test-shots, but not in real-life shots.

TIP: Just zoom out to 35mm equivalent and the blurry corners disappear.


Optical Stabilizer:
- Extremely effective. Worth its weight in gold. I am still gloating over the vibration-free pictures I have been taking recently.


CCD:
- Images are softer than my liking. Don't know if it is the low-quality lens, or the CCD.
- Gets very noisy after ISO 400. Fuji F30 will beat the CCD hands down.


RECOMMENDATION:
Depends on what your needs are. Look at the above facts, think about your needs, and make your own decision. I will give you three options based on my reasoning:

It is the only 28mm lens out there, and you will love it despite the lens limitations. I have numerous examples in only THREE days, where I was able to get a shot like never before. So if you feel like fitting more in a frame, get SD800 IS.

If you print all your pictures, and are a family man, DSC N2 is the way to go because of 10 megapixels and touch screen. However the images are overprocessed in camera, a Sony trademark.

If you do lots of low-light photography ala Paris Hilton, wait for Fuji to release optically stabilized camera. I couldn't wait, because I have a trip this weekend!


->Prices

I do not own this particular camera myself, but if you are interested in portable digital point and shoot cameras, since Canon discontinued the Power Shot S-80, this one is one of THREE digital point and shoot camera on the market that I know of that has a "true" WIDE ANGLE lens of 28mm! (The other is: The Panasonic DMC-FX01
for $250---and one more is the Kodak EasyShare V570 with a 23mm lens for about $250)

So, you ask, "who needs a 28mm lens?" You do! Most people concern themselves with how LONG is their telephoto lens. But, most people who "know" know that it is the WIDE ANGLE lens that is most important---most of the "best shots" are made with a WIDE ANGLE lens. For example, you're in Europe and you are trying to "get a shot" of that Cathedral of Notre Dame over there. You NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. You are in the California Poppy Fields and you want to get the expanse of the golden-yellow poppy flowers with the huge blue sky filled with white clouds above---you need a WIDE ANGLE lens. You are sitting at thanksgiving dinner and you want to take a photo from the foot of the table with everyone sitting on the left and right---you NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. You are in the garden of the California Mission and you want to take a photo of the ENTIRE garden surrounded by the mission walls---you NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. It's Christmas day and you want a photo of the ENTIRE GROUP of visitors in front of the Christmas Tree---you NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. This is where the 28mm lens on THIS camera comes in! So, you NEED THIS CAMERA! Otherwise you'll be cutting off heads and leaving Aunt Sylvia out of the "Christmas Group Photo" this year---and as a result of not having a wide angle lens she'll disinherit you and you'll live a life of poverty and misery everafter! :o) If you agree or disagree or know of ANY other digital point and shoot camera that has a WIDE ANGLE lens please write, Email:boland7214@aol.

Here's one more wide angle candidate: Kodak EasyShare V705 7.1MP Digital Camera with a 23mm wide angle lens plus a 5x Ultra-Wide-Angle Dual-Lens Optical Zoom that goes out to 180mm!

ADDENDUM: I have become aware that this is possibly the ONLY point and shoot camera with both a 28mm wide angle lens AND an "optical viewfinder". I DO like the "optical viewfinder" because the Panasonic Lumix and Kodak cameras do NOT have them and if you are like me you don't want to waste battery power looking at an LCD screen constantly. Thus, THIS is my "fave" in 28mm wide angle point and shoot cameras!



->Comparison

I just got this camera, and I have been testing it out all day. The image stabilizer works great in low light, and the pictures come out very clear. I have had trouble in the past of taking pics outside at night or at concerts, but when I tried it outside earlier this evening the pictures came out real nice. I absolutely love the wide-angle lens. Shooting speeds are excellent and the camera operates and turns on really fast.

I was trying to compare the SD700 IS, SD800 IS, and the SD900, and I would definitely recommend the SD800 IS. The SD900 does come with a higher megapixel resolution, but I think the image stabilizer will be more useful.

The actual camera is even more attractive than what you see in the pictures. It has a very sleek body, and I thought the color (more pewter compared to the lighter silver tone of other SD ELPH cameras) looked better than that of the titanium SD900.

Overall this is a superb camera!