Last year, Canon SD870IS camera was a winner in the SD series and the SD880IS manages to offer even more at a lower starting price (than that of SD870IS last year).
>>>What's NEW?
--New DIGIC 4 technology, up from DIGIC 3 which tries to improve the camera performance in low light and at higher ISO - is it successful? I noted a slight improvement in some shots.
- Updated face detection technology. It helps the camera create better contrast for faces and does not bleach out all color from the faces in a shot. The Face Detection Self Timer is new, so if you want to take a group shot including yourself all you have to do is focus the camera on the group and then walk into the group. The camera will detect a new face and click the shot.
- A BIGGER CCD - 1/2.3" up from the previous 1/2.5" in the SD870 which allows for increase in MPs to 10MP (up from 8MP of SD870)
- 4X Zoom (up from 3.8X on SD870) and a wide angle which really helps with shots at close quarters (in a car/bus, of a large group etc.)
- Motion Detection is also new. On this mode the camera allows you to focus on a moving object or person by pressing the shutter half-way and then click the shot even though the object/person continued to move across the frame. Earlier, you would have got a motion blur if you tried to take the same picture
- The huge 3 inch LCD screen is the same as the SD870 but slightly improved technology gives you brighter playback in low-light which makes it easier to see the shots in replay. It does not have a viewfinder but I have never missed the viewfinder on my SD870 since Canon made the screen anti-glare. I'd take a bigger screen any day over a 2.5 inch screen with a viewfinder, but if you like to use the viewfinder to compose your shots you might need to look at the SD990 IS and drop another 100 bucks.
- Updated Scene Modes. It gives you the standard Canon modes like before: Auto, Manual, Digital, Color Accent (you can pick a color to retain in the shot and the rest of the picture will be black and white), Color Swap (swap a color in the pic for another) and Stitch Assist (take a panoramic pic by stitching together many shots).
The SD880 IS makes some additions to the special scene modes like Sunset and ISO 3200. The rest remain the same: Portrait, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater, Indoor, Kids & Pets, Night Snapshot. I really like the special scene modes and use them extensively. According to Canon they are based on their library of shots and I agree that they really work very well to give me great pictures.
>>>The other Canon features are the same as before on this camera. Some that I find useful are as follows:
-Image stabilization, this is particularly helpful at higher zoom
- Single Shot and Continuous mode
- Colors you can set in the manual mode -Vivid, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Custom color (RGB adjustment)
- Movie mode - regular and also slow synchro (allows you to create interesting videos by shooting at timed intervals)
- On camera editing and Pictbridge (print directly from camera)
- Red eye reduction - the face detection technology minimizes red eye more accurately than before. If you still get red eye, especially when you're shooting indoors, I've found that this camera can take care of it automatically. You can select "red eye correction" option in the menu while in replay mode, the camera automatically searches for faces in the pic and removes the red eye and also allows you to do it manually if you want.
- Connect to TV with included cord and run slideshow with transition effects of your choice to view pics. Very useful while on vacation or at a friend's place.
- Allows you to erase pics by number of pics, or by date taken, or even by people vs. scenery/objects, a very useful feature in this age of high capacity cards
- You can record sound bites on pics to remember locations etc.
If you can take the time to read the manual, you will discover more features which allow for more creativity with this camera.
>>> Limitations:
- No viewfinder, I prefer the bigger screen but it may be critical for you
- Some chromatic aberration, common to most point and shoot cameras not just this Canon model
- If you're shooting at night in low light with full zoom the wide angle causes the camera to sometimes focus on the dust particles in between resulting in white orbs in the picture. I've taken care of most issues by setting the focus correctly by half pressing the shutter and using night mode but some orbs still show up in some pics especially if there is moisture in the air and I am using the zoom.
UPDATE 11/21/2008: Downgrading rating to 4 stars, this camera does have more "noise" than my earlier Canons.
>>>Summary
This camera is very well priced for the features it offers. If you are looking for a reasonably priced compact P&S that is still pocketable but gives you superior shots and more flexibility in composing shots (read wide angle), look no further. If you're looking for a smaller camera than SD880 that gives you superior performance, I recommend the SD790 although it does not have wide angle.
See more reviews about: Canon PowerShot SD880IS 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Gold)

I'm a hobbyist who long ago owned a Konica SLR and shot lots of slides.In the digital age, I've only owned point-and-shoot cameras and have become frustrated by their lack of flexibility and quality. I looked long and hard at SLRs but don't yet feel I can spring for the price. I also wanted something more easily portable.But I wanted complete control over shutter speed and aperture, and I wanted to be able to shoot in RAW for more post-processing flexibility.I decided to spring for the G10.
Since purchasingthis camera about a week ago, I've taken about 2,000 shots. (I went a little nuts!)Here's what I've learned so far:
-- Although the auto settings produced very good pictures, this camera really comes into its own when you shoot in Manual mode.I was able to routinely get some vivid fall sunset scenes on a lake with beautifully saturated color and contrast by tweaking shutter speed and aperture settings separately.
-- I'd say that the noise at 400+ without post-tweaking is considerable, though nowhere near what I used to see on 400 ISO film back in the day.It was easily reduced post-processing using a noise-reduction program that works within Photoshop, and I ended up with some beautiful indoor shots with minimal effort. I even took some night landscape pictures with a bright moon at 1600, and was pleasantly surprised at the results after tweaking them afterward.
-- I was able to get extremely sharp photos in macro mode (closeups of bees in flowers, that kind of thing), again without a tripod.I'm still getting the hang of focusing on the exact part of the flower that I want; I find it more cumbersome to do it with this camera than I did with my old SLR (where you just turned the lens with your hand).
-- The camera did a good job out of the box at face recognition.The built-in flash on auto settings was just OK; it didn't hideously over-expose the faces, but it didn't look entirely natural either.Again, moving away from the auto settings and using fill flash judiciously helped me create some much more natural and attractive portraits. I would imagine adding a separate flash attachment would help even more.I found my favorite portraits were taken with no flash at all and some light tweaking with contrast in Photoshop.
-- The optical zoom met my needs well.I loved having the wide-angle capability for landscape shots, and I got some gorgeous, very clear pictures of a bald eagle at the top of a tree with the telephoto zoom. The camera clearly showed me when I was moving beyond the optical zoom into digital zoom, and my pictures of the eagle deteriorated accordingly.I will probably turn off the digital zoom.
-- The camera comes with all kinds of built-in scene settings (snow, night snapshots, sunsets, underwater, etc.), most of which I haven't yet found that helpful.I did get a couple of fun foliage shots using the sunset and foliage settings, but in both cases I could've gotten the same results simply tweaking in Photoshop afterward.If you don't want to mess with post-processing programs or playing with the camera's controls, I could see how these scene settings could be useful.
-- Photoshop CS3 can't open the RAW files from this camera yet.This is a big drawback for my purposes.I have opened the RAW files in the Canon software that comes with the camera, but it's not nearly as powerful or intuitive as Photoshop.So for now, I'm exporting the RAW files to Photoshop as TIFFs, and they're enormous -- 85 MG.The quality is marvelous, however, and I'm hoping that Adobe will quickly add support for the G10.
I'll try to add some photo examples to this review.I noticed they get a little washed out when saved for the web; the originals are much more vivid.
As point-and-shoots go, this is about as good as it gets for my purposes.I gave it five stars, though I'd like to give it a half-star demerit for the lack of RAW support in Photoshop (a problem I hope will soon be corrected).If you're not quite ready for the leap to an SLR but you want more control and quality than the common point-and-shoot camera, this is an outstanding choice.
See more reviews about: Canon Powershot G10 14.7MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

Last year, Canon SD870IS camera was a winner in the SD series and the SD880IS manages to offer even more at a lower starting price (than that of SD870IS last year).
>>>What's NEW?
--New DIGIC 4 technology, up from DIGIC 3 which tries to improve the camera performance in low light and at higher ISO - is it successful? I noted a slight improvement in some shots.
- Updated face detection technology. It helps the camera create better contrast for faces and does not bleach out all color from the faces in a shot. The Face Detection Self Timer is new, so if you want to take a group shot including yourself all you have to do is focus the camera on the group and then walk into the group. The camera will detect a new face and click the shot.
- A BIGGER CCD - 1/2.3" up from the previous 1/2.5" in the SD870 which allows for increase in MPs to 10MP (up from 8MP of SD870)
- 4X Zoom (up from 3.8X on SD870) and a wide angle which really helps with shots at close quarters (in a car/bus, of a large group etc.)
- Motion Detection is also new. On this mode the camera allows you to focus on a moving object or person by pressing the shutter half-way and then click the shot even though the object/person continued to move across the frame. Earlier, you would have got a motion blur if you tried to take the same picture
- The huge 3 inch LCD screen is the same as the SD870 but slightly improved technology gives you brighter playback in low-light which makes it easier to see the shots in replay. It does not have a viewfinder but I have never missed the viewfinder on my SD870 since Canon made the screen anti-glare. I'd take a bigger screen any day over a 2.5 inch screen with a viewfinder, but if you like to use the viewfinder to compose your shots you might need to look at the SD990 IS and drop another 100 bucks.
- Updated Scene Modes. It gives you the standard Canon modes like before: Auto, Manual, Digital, Color Accent (you can pick a color to retain in the shot and the rest of the picture will be black and white), Color Swap (swap a color in the pic for another) and Stitch Assist (take a panoramic pic by stitching together many shots).
The SD880 IS makes some additions to the special scene modes like Sunset and ISO 3200. The rest remain the same: Portrait, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater, Indoor, Kids & Pets, Night Snapshot. I really like the special scene modes and use them extensively. According to Canon they are based on their library of shots and I agree that they really work very well to give me great pictures.
>>>The other Canon features are the same as before on this camera. Some that I find useful are as follows:
-Image stabilization, this is particularly helpful at higher zoom
- Single Shot and Continuous mode
- Colors you can set in the manual mode -Vivid, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Custom color (RGB adjustment)
- Movie mode - regular and also slow synchro (allows you to create interesting videos by shooting at timed intervals)
- On camera editing and Pictbridge (print directly from camera)
- Red eye reduction - the face detection technology minimizes red eye more accurately than before. If you still get red eye, especially when you're shooting indoors, I've found that this camera can take care of it automatically. You can select "red eye correction" option in the menu while in replay mode, the camera automatically searches for faces in the pic and removes the red eye and also allows you to do it manually if you want.
- Connect to TV with included cord and run slideshow with transition effects of your choice to view pics. Very useful while on vacation or at a friend's place.
- Allows you to erase pics by number of pics, or by date taken, or even by people vs. scenery/objects, a very useful feature in this age of high capacity cards
- You can record sound bites on pics to remember locations etc.
If you can take the time to read the manual, you will discover more features which allow for more creativity with this camera.
>>> Limitations:
- No viewfinder, I prefer the bigger screen but it may be critical for you
- Some chromatic aberration, common to most point and shoot cameras not just this Canon model
- If you're shooting at night in low light with full zoom the wide angle causes the camera to sometimes focus on the dust particles in between resulting in white orbs in the picture. I've taken care of most issues by setting the focus correctly by half pressing the shutter and using night mode but some orbs still show up in some pics especially if there is moisture in the air and I am using the zoom.
UPDATE 11/21/2008: Downgrading rating to 4 stars, this camera does have more "noise" than my earlier Canons.
>>>Summary
This camera is very well priced for the features it offers. If you are looking for a reasonably priced compact P&S that is still pocketable but gives you superior shots and more flexibility in composing shots (read wide angle), look no further. If you're looking for a smaller camera than SD880 that gives you superior performance, I recommend the SD790 although it does not have wide angle.
See more reviews about: Canon PowerShot SD880IS 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)

I've owned each new version of this camera since the Powershot S2IS.For me this is a worthwhile upgrade over the prior version, the S5IS.
I'll start by saying that I am not a digital camera "power user".I just want good quality photos without a lot of hassle.This camera provides that, yet also provides a lot of room for growth with plenty of custom settings that I can use if I want to learn how to use them in the future (for example, aperture priority).
Pros:
-In initial testing, the face detection technology seems to work well.I can take a self portrait now and the lighting comes out very good.I think the technology has gone from buzzword marketing to true usefulness.
-One side benefit of the face detection technology is that it enables the camera to intelligently take red-eye out of pictures without using the red-eye reduction lamp.
-The flip-out and rotating viewfinder has always and continues to set this camera apart from its peers from other companies.It allows for less intrusive candid photos and has many other advantages.
-Thankfully, the SD card door is separate from the battery door as it was with the S3IS.Thank you Canon!There are times that I just want to take a few pictures, and now I don't have to open the battery door to take the SD card out and put in my PC's card reader.
-Low battery warning.I think this is the first version to have that and it's very welcome.
-28mm -- I will never get another camera without wide angle built in.I have the Canon Elph 880IS too, which is a very powerful "pocketable" camera that complements this one well.
-Sharp 20x zoom.Pictures turn out very good even at high zooms.In an indoor-lit apartment, I can read fairly small print from a photo taken all the way across a room -- it truly is amazing.
-The picture quality is better at higher ISO's than previous models.Each model improves on this and this one definitely continues that.I haven't tried out the "I-Contrast" setting (on vs. off) but I can say that in some outdoor pictures that I have taken detail is good in shadow areas.
-Finally, a standard lens-cap.It doesn't have a tether, but you can buy a cap attachment from a camera store that sticks on the front of the cap.The one that I got has an elastic band that goes around the base of the lens.I also got a better lens cap which can now be done since it's standard.
-Controls ...I like the new placement of the controls such as dedicated on-off button and display button.I don't think I will like the scroll wheel but time will tell.For those not familiar with this camera, there is a dedicated video button so that you can take video quickly without having to mess with the controls.
-Weight and shape.I liked the shape of the S5IS a little better.This one seems too "boxy" and the grip seems too abrupt.It's bigger and heavier but not in a way that matters.It's expected with the new lens.
The only thing I would have liked to see improved is the size of the rotating display.It's usable, but the 3" one on my pocket SD880IS is much better, and competing cameras offer a larger display.In order to get a larger display though the electronic viewfinder would probably have to be eliminated which is something that many wouldn't like.I'd rather have a larger display.
I don't know if the compressed movie mode results in less quality because I didn't take movies with prior versions of this camera because the file size was larger.I like that videos take up less space now and I will use the video feature of this version.
Canon released a camera similar to this with HD video capabilities but it's not available, as far as I know, in the U.S.Check the Canon website for more info. if you want to research that.
There is not a way to screw filters on this camera as there was with the optional lens adapters available for the S5IS.It seems that Canon could have easily done this by threading the end of the lens but maybe I am missing something.I anticipate that Canon or some other company will come out with an adapter that will allow filters.My main use of filters was simply to protect the lens.
I don't know if the software is improved because I don't use it.If you want date / time stamps on your photos, you need to do it via software.
If you like this camera and are interested in a great pocket-sized camera to complement this one, check out the SD880IS.It has many of the same features such as the Digic 4 chip, face detection, wide angle, I-contrast, and in addition it has a beautiful 3" display.
Update 10-26-08
-I previously commented that I thought the shape was too boxy" and the grip "too abrupt".After using the camera for a while I have grown to like the shape because it helps keep the camera more steady and helps prevent dropping it.There is a ridge below where the index finger is, and above the other 3 fingers holding the camera.That helps keep a good grip on the camera which makes it steadier while shooting and helps prevent dropping it while carrying it around.
See more reviews about: Canon Powershot SX10IS 10MP Digital Camera with 20x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom