Canon Ixus 870 IS - Expert Reviews

Review summary: Canon's Digital IXUS 870IS (or PowerShot SD 880IS Digital ELPH as it's known in North America) is a 10 Megapixel compact with a 4x optically-stabilised zoom and 3in screen. Announced in September 2008, it's the successor to the IXUS 860IS / PowerShot ...

Pros: 28mm coverage and stabilisation., Quality 3in screen and user interface., Good face detection and focus check., H.264-encoded movies, but still VGA., 28mm coverage and stabilisation., Quality 3in screen and user interface., Good face detection and ...

Cons: Little or no manual control., Modest continuous shooting of 1.4fps., No live histogram., Little or no manual control., Modest continuous shooting of 1.4fps., No live histogram.

Verdict: Canon's IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS is a very enjoyable compact to use in practice. It feels good, handles quickly and takes great looking images with the minimum of fuss. Quite simply it's very intuitive and works well without ever getting in the way of ...

Review summary: This is a 10 megapixel camera with a 28-112mm (film equivalent) zoom lens, which is image stabilised. There is a 75mm LCD screen but no optical viewfinder. Construction quality is superb. Face area is slightly larger than a credit card and it is 20mm ...

Pros: The most striking thing about this camera is its appearance. If there were a beauty contest for cameras the Ixus 870is would be a shoo-in. Focus is generally quick and accurate with good sharpness and resolution. Exposure and white balance are just OK ...

Cons: There is some noise visible at ISO200, but generally it is well controlled without too much obvious noise reduction. Images straight from the camera are a little soft but we found that they responded to sharpening in Photoshop. However any sharpening ...

Verdict: We like this camera because of its superb design and construction, and we found that by sticking with an ISO setting of 80-100 we could get excellent results. Even at ISO400 the pictures are acceptable for standard size prints.

Review summary: THIS camera will suit users looking for a unit with a wide-angle lens, a big screen and good image quality.

Pros: Sharp shots, minimal chromatic aberration, wide-angle lens, 3" display

Cons: Some minor noise issues

Verdict: A strong all-purpose compact camera, Canon's IXUS 870 IS will suit users looking for a unit with a wide-angle lens, a big screen and good image quality.

Review summary: Superb design, excellent picture quality, and a wide-angle lens make the SD880 IS a divine travel companion.

Verdict: With a street price of about $270, the SD880's primary wide-angle competitors are the Nikon Coolpix S600 and S610, as well as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX37. The specs on those cameras and on the SD880 IS are nearly identical, but one significant ...

Review summary: Once again, Canon has upped the ante on point-and-shoot cameras. Not only is the SD880 IS Digital Elph stylish, durable, and exceptionally easy to use, it also takes great pictures and provides 28mm of wide-angle bliss. (The SD880's focal range is ...

Pros: True wide-angle lens (28mm to 112mm) Great optical image stabilization

Cons: No optical viewfinder Limited manual functions

Verdict: All told, the SD880 is one of the best point-and-shoot cameras I've seen in its price range. If you don't mind the extra ounces and the lack of manual functions (it is a point-and-shoot, after all), you'll be smitten with this camera