Canon PowerShot SD850 IS (Digital IXUS 950 IS / IXY Digital 810 IS)

usability, portability, image quality, performance, size

focus, energy, memory

90% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

Good resolution, excellent edge-to-edge sharpness, Useful zoom range (although no 28mm wide angle), Very clean results at lower ISO settings, Fast and accurate focus (although slightly slower in low light), Very responsive, Excellent user interface and...

Battery life when using LCD not brilliant, Slightly underpowered built-in flash, No 'A' or 'S' modes, generally little manual control, Auto White Balance performance under artificial light not brilliant, The usual problems of noise and noise reduction...

The SD850 IS is a typical example of what Canon does so well; a beautifully constructed, well designed and capable compact camera that doesn't break any new ground but does what it does with the refinement that comes from years of fine tuning and a...

Excellent build quality ; Effective image stabilization

Zoom button is somewhat uncomfortable ; Sibling model has wider lens, bigger LCD

The SD850 IS performs similarly to the newer SD870 IS but has a smaller LCD, a lens that isn't as wide--and a better price.

While the Canon PowerShot SD850 IS may not have the large LCD of the SD870 IS or the sky-high megapixel count of the SD950 IS, it is still a fine all-around point-and-shoot for most shutterbugs, and is a better value than its two siblings.

Image stabilization ; 4x zoom ; Face recognition really works ; Fast start-up with virtually no shutter lag if you pre-focus ; Dependable auto white balance ; Flash recycles quickly when used to light up the average room ; Helpful Scene modes ; Good...

A bit bulky compared to other small digicams ; Optical viewfinder is not accurate ; No digital zoom in Wide Screen aspect ratio shooting ; No manual control over aperture or shutter speed ; Easily blows out highlights ; Chromatic aberration and coma...

The Canon SD850 IS can now record movie clips to a maximum of 4GB, where the previous camera was limited to 1GB. It should be noted, however, that the one hour clip length limitation of the SD700 has been carried over to the new model, so you'll only...

Very good photo quality, low noise through ISO 400 (in good light) ; Compact, well built metal body ; Optical image stabilization ; Gorgeous 2.5" LCD display ; Has an optical viewfinder (a rarity in this class) ; Snappy performance ; AF-assist lamp,...

Corner softness ; Redeye a big problem (though the tool in playback mode gets rid of most of it) ; Current zoom setting not shown on LCD ; Controls on back of camera a little small ; Can't swap memory cards while camera is on a tripod ; More manual...

So what does the SD850 offer over its predecessor? You get more pixels (of course), a new image processor, a sharper LCD, a redeye removal tool, and more

Image stabilisation, build, image quality

No manual control in “manual” mode, noise above ISO 800, lens’ wide end not wide enough, clunky mode dial, shadows fill-in, detail smoothing in some scene modes, plus AiAF not accurate enough

Good value, outstanding response times, very good image quality, outstanding low-light results, good features for beginners

Internal memory would be handy, could use a few more high-end manual controls