Product Description

From the very first glance, the smooth shape and bold lines of the stylish PowerShot SD870IS Digital ELPH signal that this is no ordinary camera. With 8.0 megapixels of resolution, an Optical Image Stabilizer, and 3.8x optical zooming, the SD870IS Digital ELPH boasts impressive specs as well as a host of convenience features. Face Detection Technology for worry-free people shots. A large 3.0-inch LCD to give you a perfect view of your scene. The Auto ISO Shift and ISO 1600 deliver brilliant images in challenging lighting.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1413 in Camera & Photo
• Color: Silver
• Brand: Canon
• Model: SD870IS
• Released on: 2007-09-10
• Dimensions: 1.00" h x 2.30" w x 3.60" l, .34 pounds
• Display size: 3

Features

• 8-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 16 x 22-inch prints
• 3.8x wide-angle image-stabilized optical zoom; 3.0-inch wide-viewing-angle LCD display
• Face Detection technology and in-camera red-eye fix
• 17 shooting modes, including 10 special scene modes; Print/Share button
• Powered by NB-5L lithium-ion battery (battery and charger included); stores images on SD memory cards (32MB memory card included)

From the Manufacturer

Customer Reviews

Lots of features, compact size, decent value.
We bought the SD870IS to replace an old 5MP Minolta SLR-style camera that had a dead CCD. The Minolta took great pictures, but it's bulky size made it impractical for carrying around and packing in a suitcase.

The SD870IS is a nice size and easily fits in your pocket, purse, laptop bag, backpack... whatever. Because of it's small size, most features can be accessed with one hand.

The unit comes with some great features such as photo-stitching for panoramic pictures, color replacement, burst mode, etc... The zoom is acceptable for small environments, but doesn't quite cut it for something like taking a picture of a bird in a tree.

The picture quality is good enough for casual pictures, but despite the 8MP CCD it pales in comparison to our old 5MP SLR-style camera. Lesson learned? It's about the lens, not the MP. Low-light performance leaves something to be desired, but this is probably another function of the lens size.

After about 6 months the unit became "twitchy" where we had to torque (twist) it to get anything but garble to show up on the LCD. We sent it in for warranty repair and got it back in about a week. The repair process was simple enough and they have an easy method for checking the status. Two minor complaints about the repair... 1) Our unit came back with a #4 permanently written in Sharpie on the case; it seems like they could have used tape for that instead. 2) It came back with the Korean language setting turned on and I had to dig through the manual to figure out how to set it back to English; this must be a running gag at the repair center.

Bottom line is it's a nice camera for casual use, but if picture quality is important then you should really be looking into an SLR-style camera... we'll be looking into getting our Minolta repaired.

Defective lense mechanism--don't buy a Canon camera
I bought a Canon SD 870 IS 8MP camera on July 23, 2008.

The camera lense quit working, with the consequence that pictures can not be taken in focus.

The camera has a 1-year warranty. Canon acknowledged having problems with their lenses. Nonetheless, they refuse to fix it under the warranty. I sent it in for a warranty repair, only to receive a response that I must pay $129 for the repair.

This camera is basically new--less than 6 months old. Canon knows they have a problem with the lense mechanism but refuses to repair or replace the camera.

I will not buy another Canon product.

Canon SD870IS is all it was touted to be
I did extensive research on "point-and-shoot" digital cameras before making a decision and have not been disappointed with my purchase of the Canon SD870IS. It's always challenging when doing product research online to separate what is important to you from the "expert" reviews (they complain about little things I would never notice and get excited about things - like color choices - which are meaningless to me.) And individuals' reviews are sometimes too simplistic and lacking substance or so extreme you wonder if they are biased for some reason other than the product itself. So I will try to keep it simple and factual ...

Size and weight of the camera are great ... will easily fit in most shirt pockets.

Have not had to recharge the battery yet after taking somewhere around 250 photos, most with flashes.

Photo quality is good and image stabilization does help - but you still need to try to hold it still.

I was very impressed with the quality of the video it shot (though this was unimportant in my purchasing decision) - nice to have!

Powers up and is ready to shoot quickly and can take multiple pictures fairly fast for a digital.

Quality and viewability of digital viewfinder is good, even in bright sunlight - surprisingly, I am not missing an optical viewfinder.

Very reasonably priced - only $240 in Dec 08.

I would highly recommend this camera to the "average Joe" like myself who wanted a good quality camera but didn't want to spend a lot.

Enjoy!