April 23, 2009
Canon SD780IS
I bought a Canon SD780IS ultra-compact digital camera today on sale at NCIX in Burnaby. I like having a pocket camera in addition to my Canon S5IS superzoom and my Nikon DSLR -- something that I can carry all the time without it getting in the way.
I wrote about my previous ultra-compact, the Canon SD400, here, and about how it finally died with a psychedelic screen of death here.
There have been significant advances in technology in the over three years between the SD400 and the SD780IS. The resolution has increased from 5MP to 12MP, but that's rather bogus on such a tiny sensor -- I've got the SD780IS set at 8MP, which will be plenty. The 780 has a larger LCD screen: 2.5" vs 2" -- many newer cameras have 3" screens, but that takes you out of the ultra-compact category. The "brains" of the camera have improved significantly as well with the Digic 4 processor, adding features such as face recognition, contrast correction, less shutter lag, 720P HD movie capture, etc. Other useful features include image stabilization, which the SD400 lacked, plus a higher ISO range.
The SD780IS is about the same size as the tiny SD400, and is even thinner. Here's a shot of the two side by side. I like the black finish on the 780 -- it's a bit classier and more unobtrusive than the silver SD400:
A few shots taken with the SD780IS. Tomorrow I'll take it for a walk along the creek and to a social event.
Choco the cat: not bad for such strong backlight with no fill-flash or exposure compensation.
Macro shot of sunflower seed sprouting on our balcony.
Yumi snapped a couple of shots of me in my office -- with flash...
... and without flash