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Canon Powershot SD880 IS
Canon Powershot SD880 IS
B
HQ Grade: B
A is outstanding and exceptional, rated in the top 10% of digital cameras.
B means they are good, with some standout features.
C means they are mediocre, and probably more trouble than they are worth.
D & F mean they are absolutely awful or old. Avoid at all costs.
  • 4 out of 5
"Best little camera"
  • 4 out of 5
"Better than the SD1100IS, but not by a lot"
See rating based on 491 user reviews
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Tom (lowDwhistles) 3 pts
March 5, 2009 7:10 AM
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Low light? Durability? and SD1100 vs. SD880.

Some have said this camera does not do well in low light settings, but I don't know if they mean outdoor or indoor. I'll mostly be doing indoor shots of bands in bars and clubs.

I've used my dad's SD1100 with flash indoors, and it seemed to do fine, so will the SD880 be any worse.. or better..?

I am also wondering if the video would be any clearer with the SD880. I sometimes like to do videos, and have noticed that when using the SD1100, the vids get grainy when I zoom in quite a bit. Will the SD880 be any better?

I am also wondering if there is a special natural light night shot setting, so I can capture the blur of lights, such as cars driving by on the highway.

Lastly, I am thinking of splurging and getting the larger SX10IS if I can afford it. It has a MUCH larger zoom.. so I'm guessing the videos will be a lot clearer... hmmmm? Thanks.
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Answers This question has been answered!
Cruiznbye (Cruiznbye) 1086 pts
March 5, 2009 8:59 AM
3 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
If you're planning on shooting with flash or lots of light (indoors or out) the Canon SD880IS is a great little camera. It will do even better than the SD1100 as it uses the newer DIGIC IV processing for better speed and low light handling (higher ISO abilities). The struggle for the SD880, as with almost all small pocket sized cameras, is when the light is lower indoors and it has to turn up the ISO settings to get enough light onto the small sensor to properly expose the shot. That will introduce some graininess to the picture and sometimes a loss of finer details in the shot.

The way to get the best shots are: 1) use the flash and stay within 12 feet of the subject; 2) add some other lighting to the room/scene; 3) steady the camera on a tripod, or even a little gorilla pod, and take a longer exposure with the natural light and lock the ISO setting no higher than 200 if possible.

Again, the SD880 will actually do better than the SD1100, so if you're happy with the SD1100, you will be more so with the SD880.

There is a Scene mode for night shooting, and you can use either the flash to highlight nearby objects, or turn off the flash and let it take a longer exposure. In addition it has a "slow shutter" setting so you can set the shutter speed from between 1 and 15 seconds, making long exposure shots possible. Just be sure to use a tripod on the longer shutter times or it will all be a blur.

Finally, the capability won't affect the quality of the video. It does allow you to get closer to the action, but the video quality will be the same on either the SX or the SD. There is a newer SD model coming out next month from Canon (SD960 and SD970) that will offer HD Video for the first time from canon. They will feature 12 MP sensors and would be comparable to the SD880 in quality and features, but add HD video capability.

Hope that helps.
Best Answer
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Cruiznbye (Cruiznbye) 1086 pts
March 5, 2009 9:01 AM
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Add "zoom capability" to last paragraph "Finally, the ____ capability"...
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Tom (lowDwhistles) 3 pts
March 5, 2009 6:29 PM
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Thanks! This helps! Any ideas on how much the 960 and 970 will cost? I am also considering the 990.. but it's rather expensive, and I'm not sure if I'll need the 14 MP... the 12 MP might be really nice though, and the HD vid sounds good too.. I like putting videos up on youtube.
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Cruiznbye (Cruiznbye) 1086 pts
March 5, 2009 6:47 PM
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The best way to compare prices and features (including the 4 new ones coming out next month is to go to the www.usa.canon.com website. You can compare side by side features for cameras there by selecting the 3 to compare and then hit the red "compare now" button at the top of the page. Just go to canon, select digital cameras, then powershots, and then look at the offerings including the "new" marked ones. Those will be Manufacturer recommended prices and street prices will generally be less (but expect to pay close to MSRP on new releases for a little while.)
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Tom (lowDwhistles) 3 pts
March 5, 2009 6:51 PM
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I just checked out the Canon USA website - yeah the 970 looks great! Thanks for letting me know about the new cameras costing pretty close to list price. I guess it could take a few months for the new models to go down in price..hmmm what to do.. the 970 is very tempting .. Oh this is frustrating!
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Cruiznbye (Cruiznbye) 1086 pts
March 5, 2009 7:01 PM
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With the economy in the dumps right now and companies scrambling for business it may be a buyers market in the next few months. Canon is releasing a whole slew of cameras based on the new DIGIC IV and some with some very impressive features to match or beat the competition. So I would look to online sellers like J&R Photo and Costco.com and Amazon.com to have some good prices shortly after the release of these new cameras due to the economy and the need to sell to stay in business. It does make the decision harder though as none of the cameras has yet to be tested or reviewed. They do look very good on paper though.
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Tom (lowDwhistles) 3 pts
March 5, 2009 7:21 PM
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The 970 does HD video and HD video playback. If I do not have an HD tv, can I still do video playback on a regular set, or will it not work at all? Thanks for all your answers! It is difficult which one to "mark as best answer." Right now, I'm thinking of waiting til April for the 970.
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Cruiznbye (Cruiznbye) 1086 pts
March 5, 2009 7:26 PM
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Hmmm...I believe it would play, but you would need to have the right hookups as the camera cable will have HDMI hookups. That may be a good question for Canon, as I haven't seen what the connector looks like, or what options there will be for playback. If I were looking at camera today, I'd definitely wait for a month or so for the newest ones to be released. Thanks for the questions, and happy to give a little advice along the way.
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Tom (lowDwhistles) 3 pts
March 5, 2009 11:50 PM
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I sent an email off to Canon to check on the hookups. THANKS VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!
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Tom (lowDwhistles) 3 pts
March 6, 2009 1:20 AM
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Here is info from the Canon website regarding the soon to be released SD970 :

"Thank you for writing to us. We value you as a Canon customer and
appreciate the opportunity to assist you with your PowerShot SD970 IS.
We are happy to assist you with your inquiries regarding the camera.

Unfortunately, we do not carry a per-date listing of when cameras will
be available in particular stores around the country. You would need to
check with your local retailer to find out when they are going to be
selling the camera.

The videos will play on a HDTV and a non-HDTV. There are separate
cables that help to enhance what you see when you are looking at it on a
HDTV. HD movies will play on a iMac.

The movie files are .MOV files. If you are able to download videos to
the computer, they should be able to upload them to any website that you
want. We suggest that you check with the specifications of that website
to ensure they are able to accept .MOV files.

The LCD screen is viewable in very bright outdoor conditions.

We hope this information is helpful to you. Please let us know if we
can be of any further assistance with your PowerShot SD970 IS.

Thank you for choosing Canon.

Sincerely,

Jonathan
Technical Support Representative"
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