Canon PowerShot® SD800 IS / IXUS 850 IS Digital Camera

I was looking to buy a compact Digital Camera to take to music gigs with me so I could get high quality pictures of the bands I like. After trawling through such websites as Which? for hours on end, a friend recommended the Ixus 850IS.

Looking at the price I was apprehensive at first, but once I got the camera and started using it, i wasn't dissapointed.

The Camera itself is very sturdy, its silver metal casing in total giving it a weight of around 150grams. You will definitely notice this in your pocket. The 3.8x optical zoom lens is equivalent to 28 - 105mm on a 35mm camera, enabling you to take in more.

It is very user friendly, I was a bit wary of using the manual function (which a lot of compacts do not have) but it couldn't be simpler. You can set the ISO to whichever you think is suitable, 'My Colours' setting (Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black and White, Positive Film, Lighter skin tone, Darker skin tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom Colour - this allows you to change Contrast, Sharpness, Saturation, Red, Green, Blue, and Skin Tone) I dont think I could have asked for more.

All in all I would recommend this very highly. I've never owned a camera before this one, and I'm not a huge photograph enthusiast. I take it everywhere I go and have dozens of stunning photographs.

This product was recommended to me by a friend to answer my photographic needs, which I had described to him, ie I wanted a good quality (preferably Canon) wide angle lens with optical zoom. I also wanted a camera with image stabilisation and a viewfinder as I had found it difficult to take pictures holding the a camera out at arm's length. I wanted all this in a lightweight, small, compact size camera which would fit in my pocket or bag. So many other good cameras by Canon had no viewfinder, or did not have the wide angle lens I wanted.

I love this camera but, ironically, the one disappointment is that when I do use the viewfinder, the resultant picture looks nothing like what I am seeing in the viewfinder, so more often than not I end up using the LCD screen to compose the picture I actually want! The viewfinder is however useful when there is strong sun around. I also find it a frustration that to access some of the features you have to download a rather lengthy document from the website, as the one provided with the camera doesn't cover some of what I feel are quite basic functions, especially the use of the Video function.

Finally, I found it a CONSTANT frustration when first searching for this product that Canon has different names for its cameras, depending on where they are sold. It was a little while before I, as a novice, realised that Canon PowerShot® SD800 IS and IXUS 850 IS were one and the same thing!!

For about 4 years I have had an original Canon Ixus Ai Af which I got off eBay and had done a very good job.I wanted to get something higher up the scale and Canon so I saw the auction for an as new Canon SD800 IS with nothing extra.

The seller came across as a good one and had a genuine reason for no extras.The camera is excellent and very easy to use.The 28mm lens is great for landscapes or cloudscapes and the zoom is very good.I have no instructions (you can download them from the Canon website) but its a very easy camera to understand.I use Picasa and it uploads easily.

The video function is excellent too, maybe not up to my Canon camcorder but it produces very good results even if it is overcast and dull.I got about 100 pics and 20 videos on the 2GB card.

If you are thinking of a camera that doesn't cost DSLR money but is an upgrade from a simpler camera you have I would highly recommend the Canon SD800 IS - its a little beauty!

I would describe myself as an advanced amateur:I already have a Nikon D80 but wanted something light and small to have with me all the time when skiing. (In the past before going digital, I used a Canon Sureshot instead of my Nikon F100.) The camera had to have an optical viewfinder as screens are pretty well useless in bright sunlight. Also the camera had to be good enough to use off the slopes as I don't want to take two cameras. I researched the cameras available in my price range using http://www.imaging-resource.com/DIGCAM01.HTM looking for image quality/number of megapixels, optical zoom capability, start-up time, lag time between pressing button and shooting, ease of use, styling, weight, size, extra features etc., and the Canon came up trumps on virtually all of the items I was interested in. Coincidentally my youngest son had already bought an IXUS last Christmas and my eldest son has now bought an identical camera for his skiing holiday next week so we are a 3-IXUS family. I look forward to trying mine out for real in Zermatt a few weeks time but based on the trials I have already conducted, I'm sure it will be just dandy.

I purchased this camera a few months ago now but it seems as tho ive owned it for years as it's very easy to use and takes excellent pictures including wide angle shot's. it's very impressive in poor light conditions as it has high iso,and it comes with a 2.5" lcd screen. This maybe a compact camera but it sure does everything you would kneed to take quality photo's without the hassel of carrying a large and heavy slr.

Small high quality camera. Almost uniquely it has a wide angle zoom lens (from 28mm) and a viewfinder (so you can use it easily in bright sunshine) High quality pictures and also a DIY exposure system if you need it. It also has an excellent optical image stabiliser system (rather than jacking up the ISO like most cameras and getting poor pictures).
If you see one, buy it you will not be disappointed.
Only downside is the case easily marks and when the battery runs out you only get about two photos worth of notice - always carry a spare battery!
I could not have bought a better camera with these facilities new anyware, and this one you could only buy through eBay !!! What a bargain.