| 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
- 5 out of 5
Submit your own Canon SD990 IS review!
- 31st of 175 in Ultra Compact
- 7th of 7 in ELPH
- 22nd of 27 in Powershot
- 2nd of 6 in 14 Megapixels
- 32nd of 82 in Canon
- 23rd of 105 in $200 - $300
- 6th of 44 in $300 - $350
- 5 out of 5
SD990IS Comes Out on Top
(Steve - 12/31/08)I purchased both the SD880IS and SD990IS in early November and took hundreds of shots with each one. Amazingly the SD990IS captured clearer, cleaner, lower light photos better than the SD880IS in all but one side by side shot.
Excellent cropping ability, making the 3.7x zoom much more useful. Small viewfinder allows shooting without the LCD in situations that demand it and it's manual controls over shutter and aperture make stop action or blurred action easy to do with a few turns of the control dial. It fits into a larger pocket and carries easily so that you never are without a camera.
The Achilles heel of all small sensor cameras is low light shooting. The SD990IS manages to keep noise down and details up in lower light settings and mixed light settings better than the SD880IS. ISO up to 400 is no problem and going higher is possible as a last resort as detail is preserved, even as noise becomes more visible.
Scene modes work well for easy settings for those not comfortable with manual settings. And even the Program mode gets it right most of the time. When it doesn't a quick spin of the control dial adjust exposure compensation, white balance, color saturation, and more.
Controls are easy to navigate and after a few minutes become pretty intuitive. Seasoned Canon users will be right at home immediately.
Rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery pack holds up well with about 250 shots per charge using a mix of flash and non-flash. The 2.5" LCD is bright, has grid lines and 4x6 curtains for composition help. All camera settings can be displayed on the LCD so you know what the camera is thinking before you take the shot.
Canon's DIGIC IV is the latest offering for in camera processing and it increases the speed and ISO handling ability over DIGIC III.
In side by side comparisons, the SD990IS comes out on top. The only weakness I found was that it came with a 32MB SD card. Just be sure to purchase a much larger one before you head out the door for some fun shooting. 2GB recommended as a minimum.
