So, being a crazy obsessive Canon-maniac, I rushed to get SD890is (IXYS 970) when it just came out. I have previously owned S100, S320, S400, SD550, SD700, SD850 and played with at least 5 other S/SD series, so I believe I have plenty of SD material to compare with this new little beauty..

So, when I was deciding which SD series to get this time, this attracted my attention:

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Features:


- Uncompromising Digital IXUS style and build quality
- 10.0 Megapixel image sensor
- 5x optical zoom lens
- Enhanced lens-shift type optical Image Stabilizer (IS) delivering a 4-stop advantage
- High ISO Auto with Motion Detection Technology
- Face Detection Technology now with White Balance and Face Select & Track
- Automatic Red-Eye Correction in shooting and playback
- DIGIC III¹ with Noise Reduction Technology
- 2.5” PureColor LCD II plus optical viewfinder (OVF)
- Enhanced auto focus performs at up to 1-stop darker
- Multi Control Dial
- 18 shooting modes including new Sunset mode and My Colors photo effects
- Extensive movie options including VGA 30fps, Long Play and Time Lapse movie modes
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I decided to get the SD890 and explore all the functions advertized on Canon website.

Here are the results:

- Uncompromising Digital IXUS style and build quality

Build is definetely different. The shape of this PowerShot is round on one side. Like a round piece of soap. The bad thing about it, is that it can be somewhat slippery. Couple times it almost fell from my hands. So, having a strap attached at all times is pretty essential. This one sleek and shapely PowerShot is definetely an attractive piece of electronics!

Another thing about build I want to note, is the battery door. It is simply too flicky and feels extremely easy to break. It is a part of the sleek round corner of the camera, and should be opened and closed very with care. It might actually break very fast. Mine didn't break for 1 month of use, but I imagine in few months it probably could!


- 10.0 Megapixel image sensor

10 Megapixels are nicely packed into one small and light body. Now Cannon and many other camera makers are spitting out 12.1/12.2 megapixels in tiny bodies, so i wouldn't say 10 Megapixel is a wow factor for buying this particular PowerShot.


- 5x optical zoom lens

I would say 5x zoom together with the round shape are two main wow factors of this camera. The zoom is excellent and fast. I zoomed in on many occasions to full 5x. The camera focused fast with no noise. I loved the zoom. Good purchasing factor!

- Enhanced lens-shift type optical Image Stabilizer (IS) delivering a 4-stop advantage

IS functions well on SD890. Many times when my hands were shaking IS kicked in correcting the potential blur. I am not sure about 4-stop advantage thing. Comparing IS on this SD to IS on previous SD cameras (example SD850), the function looks the same to me. So, I am not sure about 4-stop or non 4-stop advantage. One thing for sure, I was shooting a salsa dance at a night club, and I was very much pleased with the quality. The dancers came out very sharp, faces were not blurred. And this was taken with my shaking hands in the poorly lit environment!!

- High ISO Auto with Motion Detection Technology

SD890 has a bit better ISO rendering than SD700 and SD850. Noise is still there, but I feel like it's a bit better. However, all small PowerShots will have noise issues at high ISO numbers.

- Face Detection Technology now with White Balance and Face Select & Track

Face select is the same as all other modern PowerShots (G9, SD850 etc). Works good. Cannot really complain. Not sure about detection with white balance vs face detection with no white balance. I see no difference in that area between SD890 and SD850!

- Automatic Red-Eye Correction in shooting and playback

Red-eye works great! After taking 200 shots of people's faces I do not recall major red eye at all!

- DIGIC III¹ with Noise Reduction Technology

I love DIGIC III. It's fast, accurate, and noise is being a bit reduced. So, it's true!

- 2.5 PureColor LCD II plus optical viewfinder (OVF)

Even though SD890 does feature optical viewfinder, it's nothing really to brag about. It's rather small and most people will not use it anyways. In fact, 2.5 is pretty small compared to 3'0 now becoming standard.

- Multi Control Dial

I love the Multi Control Dial. I think Canon decided to copy their G-series idea and implement the rotating wheel on a smaller models. Basically it works like that: there is a round wheel around left/right/up/down controls which can be rotated to scroll through pictures as well as to set up settings. One thing I didn't like about the wheel, I found it to be rather too loose compared to G9. The wheel rotates so freely. It would be nice to tighten it up to correspond better to finger movement.


- 18 shooting modes including new Sunset mode and My Colors photo effects

Yes, they did implement a new Sunset mode on SD890. It is very very nice! Also photo effects are amazing. After you take your picture, you can change to black/white, or change colors on your picture. All inside your camera. It is kind of a cool feature to play around when you are bored. For me, it's like a game (to modify your pictures inside the camera). You can save a modified image as a new picture. My favorite is a sepia mode! Adds a bit of drama to any shot!

- Extensive movie options including VGA 30fps, Long Play and Time Lapse movie modes

I have not played extensively with movie mode. I took a short video clip at 30fps, and it was satisfactory. Nothing comparing to G9 where videos are a lot crispier, but very acceptable for SD series PowerShot.

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Other things to note:


Buttons and Controls

Canon redesigned the entire interface for SD890. Now it is very much similar to G series. There is a dedicated button to view your pictures. On a previous SD cameras, user had to use the View option next to Camera option to view pictures and thus leave the Camera mode. Now, you can still be in Camera mode, press view button, view a pic, and come right away to the Camera mode. You don't need to switch between two modes anymore using the main switch controls (like SD850). The wheel for controls is improved (compared to Sd850). It is easy to be rotated. The On/Off button is conveniently located right above the viewing LCD. Easier to press. Previous models it was on top. Not comfortable to press. On/Off button is bigger than on other SD models. It lights up green. Very cool!

Manual Controls:

Canon added few manual controls. Now you can synch the flash and control better Red Eye. However, the main manual controls which are available on many other pocket cameras (example: Sony W series), are missing. The camera mainly serves the purpose of pointing and shooting. The only manual settings available are for exposure controls, white balance, flash synch and ISO.


One major CON:

Price is too much ($349-369) for this PowerShot. It is not worth that much! If I were to buy it again, I would pay maximum $250 for it.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 349
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use