Canon Ixus 860 IS - Expert Reviews

Review summary: In these respects the 860IS / SD870 IS is undoubtedly one of the best compacts we've tested, but this degree of quality and performance doesn't come cheap. Canon cameras can be heavily discounted, but in terms of official RRPs, the 860IS / SD870 IS ...

Pros: 28mm wide angle and optical stabilisation., Large and great quality screen., Very good build quality and design., Quick and easy access to settings

Cons: Higher RRP than rivals., Little or no manual control., Slow continuous shooting., No Live Histogram ; coarse zoom steps

Verdict: The Canon Ixus 860IS / PowerShot SD870 IS has a lot going for it. The great build quality, large screen, quick response, wide angle coverage and respectable quality will be sufficient to sell it to many people.

Review summary: The Canon SD870 IS Digital ELPH features a compact, stylish case with rounded horizontal edges, and a retracting lens to make it pocket-friendly. With an an 8-megapixel 1/2.5" imager and 3.8x optical zoom lens, the Canon SD870 covers a range of 28 ...

Pros: Optical Image Stabilization ; 28mm equivalent wide angle lens ; Decent digital zoom that holds detail better than most ; Auto ISO shifting ; Large and lovely three-inch LCD ; Face-detection, up to nine forward-looking faces ; Photo categorization ; ...

Cons: No optical viewfinder ; High chromatic aberration at 28mm ; Above average barrel distortion at wide angle ; Heavy coma distortion in extreme corners ; Fine details lost at ISO 800 ; Slightly warm skin tones ; Clunky slideshow transition options ; ...

Verdict: The Canon ELPH SD870 has a rather wide ISO sensitivity range, from 80 to 1,600, for better performance in dim lighting. Canon also manufactures a line of photo printers, and prides themselves on the level of integration between their cameras and ...

Award: Editor's Choice!

Pros: Excellent image quality ; easy-to-use interface ; extremely responsive ; minimal shutter lag

Cons: No optical viewfinder ; no manual exposure controls

Verdict: The PowerShot SD870 IS is simply one of the best compact point-and-shoot cameras you can buy.

Award: Recommended!

Review summary: The SD870 IS (known in Europe as the IXUS 860 IS and in Japan as the IXY Digital 910IS), announced in August, is a replacement for the SD 800 IS (IXUS 850 IS), one of last year's most popular ultra compacts. It retains the SD800's optically stabilized ...

Pros: Good image quality (at lower ISO settings), Accurate metering in the majority of situations, Very useful lens range with surprisingly good edge-to-edge performance, Useful and adaptable Auto ISO-shift function, Handy macro performance at wide end of ...

Cons: AiAF/Face detection a little haphazard, Occasional tendency to ignore (and overexpose) bright regions, Touch wheel slightly awkward, Image quality suffers above ISO 400 due to noise and noise reduction issues, Easily scratched and scuffed, Manual ...

Verdict: The SD870 IS follows in the footsteps of some highly regarded cameras so it's understandable that Canon has chosen not to tinker too much with a successful formula.

Review summary: The Canon Digital IXUS 860 IS does the thinking for you. Its wealth of features include 10 scene modes, plus Canon's Digic III technology, which handles face detection and noise reduction. The screen is a large 76mm (3 inches) and the menu items ...

Pros: Fast performance and excellent image quality ; optical image stabilisation ; face detection

Cons: No manual exposure controls ; slightly heavy

Verdict: With a combination of impressive features, big screen and wide angle lens all serving up excellent photographs, the Canon Digital IXUS 860 IS shows that there's far more to digital photography than megapixels