Howard_Creech's Full Review: Canon PowerShot SD750 / IXUS 75 Digital Camera
Canon's Digital Elph digicams have been very popular with consumers since the first digital elph (the S100) was introduced in 2000 and the new SD750/ Digital IXUS 75 won’t do anything to change that. Canon’s model numbering (the SD750 is the "big brother" of the almost identical SD1000) is a bit odd. Canon is the most modular of the major digicam manufacturers and has an extensive catalog of proven components (sensors, lenses, LCDs, processors, etc.) to draw from when creating new models. This extraordinary level of component interchangeability allows Canon's product development folks to create new digicams models easily and cheaply. The SD750 and SD1000 are very good examples of just how well this modular design philosophy works. The only significant difference between the SD750 and the SD1000 is the SD 750’s larger LCD screen.
NUTS & BOLTS
LCD
The SD750's 3.0 inch (230,000 pixels) wide-viewing angle "PureColor" LCD screen dominates the camera's rear deck. The LCD features a new scratch, smudge and fingerprint resistant multi-level anti-glare protective coating. LCD images are bright, sharp, hue accurate, fluid, and the display gains "up" (automatically brightens) in dim lighting - users can also manually boost LCD screen brightness via the new "Quick-Bright" function that instantly boosts brightness to the highest level. The LCD screen shows 100% of the image frame and is useable in bright outdoor lighting. The LCD info/status display provides all information (shooting mode, exposure compensation setting, white balance setting, ISO setting, flash setting, the light metering option selected, and resolution/compression data) the SD750's target audience is likely to need.
Zoom
The SD750 features an f2.8-4.9/5.8mm -17.4mm (35-105mm – 35mm equivalent) all glass aspherical optical zoom. When the camera is powered up, the lens automatically telescopes out of the camera body. When the camera is powered down the lens is fully retracted into the camera and a built in lens cover slides into place to protect the front element.
The SD750's zoom exhibits minor barrel distortion (straight lines bow out from the center) at the wide-angle end of the zoom range, some noticeable softness in the corners, and very minor pin cushioning (straight lines bow in toward the center) at full telephoto. Chromatic aberration (purple fringing) is slightly above average at the wide-angle end of the zoom range. Minimum focusing distance in Macro mode is 1.2 inches (close enough for frame filling bugs and flowers shots.
Auto Focus (AF)
The SD750 employs Canon's proven 9 focus point Contrast Detection AiAF (Advanced intelligent Auto Focus) AF system. The AiAF system analyzes the scene in front of the camera and then calculates camera to subject distance to determine which of the 9 AF points is closest to the primary subject and then automatically locks focus on that AF point (closest subject priority) even when the subject is not centered. More advanced photographers can manually line up a specific AF focus point with the most important element in the image or they can (when shooting group, formal, or informal portraits) opt for Canon's Face Detection AF. Users can turn AiAF off and default to the center AF point for more traditional looking landscapes and classic style portraits. The SD750 also provides an AF assist beam for quicker and more accurate focusing in dim/low light. The SD750’s AF is consistently fast and dependably accurate.
Enable the SD750's Face Detection AF/AE/FE function (which recognizes and focuses on faces in the image frame) and the camera will isolate, lock on, and follow (multiple) human faces - just push the shutter release button half-way and the camera's processor (in conjunction with the iSAPS Scene program and auto Red-eye Correction feature) will optimize focus, all exposure parameters, White Balance, Sensitivity, and flash automatically. Face Detection AF only works when the subject(s) are facing the camera.
Manual Focus (MF)
The SD750 doesn’t provide any manual focus capability
Flash
The SD750's built-in multi mode flash is adequate, but a bit underpowered. Flash options include: Auto (fires when needed), On (fill flash), Red-Eye Reduction, Slow Synch, and off. Canon claims the maximum flash range is 11 feet (3.3 meters), but realistically anything beyond 8 or 9 feet is going to be fairly dark unless shot against very light colored backgrounds with lots of ambient lighting. The SD750’s “Red-eye Correction” feature detects and corrects red-eye automatic during playback/review. Canon's optional HF-DC1 auto (slave) flash extends maximum flash range to about 30 feet. Recycle time for the SD750's built-in flash is (dependent on battery status) between 7 and 10 seconds.
Image File Storage Media
The Canon PowerShot SD750 saves images/video to SD/SDHC/MMC (SD/MMC cards up to 2GB and SDHC cards up to 4GB) memory media. Canon includes a 32MB SD card in the box, but purchasers should factor the price of a much larger SD/SDHC card (512MB minimum) into their final cost calculations.
Image File Format(s)
JPEG
Connectivity
USB 2.0 (HS) out, A/V out, & DC in
Power
The SD750 draws its power from a Canon NB-4L (3.7v 790mAh) rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack. Canon claims a fully charged NB-4L is good for up to 210 exposures (full time LCD use) or 600 exposures (full time optical viewfinder use). I didn't keep precise track of exposures so I can’t argue with Canon's numbers. Photographers who plan to take the SD750 along on extended trips or for long weekend outings should consider purchasing a back-up battery. The included charger (which plugs directly into the wall) needs about 90 minutes to fully charge the battery.
EXPOSURE
Canon micro-cams feature a remarkably simple auto exposure system with a truncated range of exposure options including Auto, Manual mode (which is actually Programmed AE mode), and Movie mode. The SD750's integrated auto exposure system (iSAPS is coupled to the DIGIC III processor and AiAF auto focus system) does more than just average out exposure data, so exposures are dependably very good, but there is a slight tendency toward over exposure in bright outdoor lighting.
Canon’s exclusive iSAPS (Intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space) technology produces excellent exposures in all scene modes. The camera instantly matches the scene in front of the lens with an on board database of known scene types and then compares that information with the specific scene's subject distance, white balance, contrast range, lighting, and color (just before the image is recorded) to determine the best exposure. The Canon PowerShot SD750 provides users with a full slate of Scene modes including: Snow, Beach, Indoor, Foliage, Aquarium, Fireworks, Color swap, Underwater, Kids & pets, Color accent, Digital macro, Portrait, Stitch assist, and Night snapshot.
Movie Mode
SD750 users can record video clips (with mono audio) at 640x480 @ 30 fps up to 4Gb (with a high speed SD card) in duration. The camera can also record up to 60 seconds of fast frame rate (320X240) @ 60 fps video clips and several lower resolution video options. Focus and (optical) zoom are locked at the first frame. Movies can be edited in-camera (in Playback mode) and then previewed – users can then opt to save the edited video clip, the original video clip, or both. The SD750 also provides a voice-notation mode that allows users to add audio notes (up to 60 seconds).
Metering
The SD750's (default) evaluative metering system is dependably accurate in all but the most challenging lighting; casual shooters won’t have to worry about metering at all. The camera's evaluative metering system divides the image frame into zones and separately evaluates each zone to determine the best overall shutter speed/aperture combination. More experienced photographers can opt for either Spot metering or Center-weighted Averaging metering for more demanding/creative compositions. Like all Canon digicams, the SD750’s metering system is calibrated to preserve shadow detail at the expense of highlight detail. That built-in exposure bias results in occasional clipping (burnt out highlights).
White Balance (WB)
Canon PowerShot SD750 provides users with an adequate selection of white balance options. WB settings include TTL Auto, Day Light, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, and Custom (manual) mode that allows shooters to use a white card (or white wall or ceiling) to insure accurate color. At the auto WB setting the SD750's native color interpolation is bright, a bit warm, and slightly over saturated.
Sensitivity
The Canon PowerShot SD750 provides an excellent range of sensitivity options, including Auto, High ISO Auto, and user selectable settings for 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600 ISO. Canon’s third generation DIGIC III Image Processor uses a much more aggressive noise reduction algorithm than earlier SD digicams, so pattern noise is surpressed more effectively (with less detail loss) than in the past – which allows the SD750 to utilize faster shutter speeds which noticeably reduces the effects of camera shake and subject movement during hand held or low-light shooting.
In-Camera Image Adjustment
Very light or very dark subjects can trick light metering systems into underexposing or overexposing images. The SD750's Exposure Compensation function allows users to subtly adjust exposure parameters over a 4 EV range (+/-2 EV in 1/3 EV increments) to compensate for difficult lighting and subject/background reflectance/non-reflectance problems or to compensate for environmental exposure variables by quickly and easily lightening or darkening images incrementally.
The SD750's My Colors mode provides several creative color options: Positive Film (mimics slide film color, saturation, and contrast), Neutral Film (mimics print film color, saturation, and contrast), Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Color accent (shifts images to B&W, except for one user selected color), color swap (allows users to switch one color for another), custom color (users can adjust color balance for red, green, blue, and skin tones +/-2 arbitrary steps in 1 step increments), and Photo effects (vivid or neutral color saturation, low sharpening, sepia, and B&W).
DESIGN, CONTROLS, & ERGONOMICS
The SD750 is a stylishly minimalist retro look ultra compact P&S (point & shoot) auto exposure micro-cam. The SD 750’s metal alloy body is pretty durable and the camera should easily stand up to the rigors of modern life, but the wrist strap should be used at all times – small lightweight (5 ounces with battery and SD card) smooth contour cameras are easy to drop.
The brain of the new Canon Powershot SD750 is its DIGIC III processor. DIGIC (Digital Imaging Integrated Circuit) technology combines image processing, power management, faster start up, quicker AF, snappier shutter fire, and most primary camera functions (Auto Exposure, White Balance, Sensitivity, JPEG compression, and gain control) in one chip to more efficiently manage camera operation. DIGIC III images are optimized for sharp resolution, balanced contrast, lower noise, and bold colors.
The SD750’s user interface is uncomplicated and quickly becomes intuitive - all controls are logically placed and easily accessed. The Compass (4-way) switch and the FUNC button provide direct access to the most commonly changed/adjusted (mode, WB, My Colors, etc.) features/functions. Most users will have no difficulty using the camera right out of the box.
Technical Specifications
Resolution: 7.1 Megapixels (3072X2304)
Viewfinder: 3.0 inch PureColor LCD
Zoom: Lens: f2.8-4.9/5.8-17.4mm (35-105mm – 35mm equivalent) all glass 3X optical zoom
Auto Focus: Contrast Detection 9 AF point AiAF
Manual Focus: no
Flash: Built-in Multi-mode
Exposure: Auto
Metering: Evaluative, Center-weighted, & Spot
Exposure Compensation: Yes +/- 2 EV in 1/3 EV increments
White balance: TTL Auto, and 6 user selected pre-sets
Sensitivity: Auto, High ISO Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600 ISO
Image Storage Media: SD, SDHC, & MMC cards
Connectivity: USB 2.0HS, AV/out, & DC in
Power: NB-4L 3.7v 790mAh Li-ion rechargeable battery pack
MSRP: $349.00
Waterproof Cases WP-DC14 & WP-DC5, HF-DC1 Slave flash, and soft case
In the field/Handling & Operation
I often get together with an old friend who shares my passion for photography. He works in the business (selling new and used digital and analog photographic equipment) so we can almost always come up with something new to play with. He recently turned up with a Canon Powershot SD750 for us to test. We started off by shooting some color tests using a homemade macro stage and a selection of brightly colored (red, green, yellow, blue, orange, and purple) plastic children’s beach toys arrayed on a white photographic background. This test allows us to check not only color accuracy but also the precision of the white balance system. The SD750 did an outstanding job---colors were bright and hue accurate with slightly punched up saturation. The SD750’s Auto White Balance setting rendered correct colors for all the plastic beach toys, but the red shovel and blue bucket were a bit brighter in our images (viewed on a NEC 19" CRT monitor) than they were IRL.
After we finished our color tests, we headed for nearby Cave Hill Cemetery. Cave Hill is Louisville’s unofficial arboretum and one of the country’s best remaining examples of 19th century U. S. landscape architecture. The cemetery’s 300 acres are home to an amazing variety of exotic (and not so exotic) flowers, trees, bushes, and shrubs. Cave Hill is a popular destination for local photographers because there is always something to photograph - the place is filled with exotic plant life, thousands of headstones, dozens of ornate mausoleums, a rustic old groundskeeper’s cottage, and families feeding the resident ducks, geese, and swans along the shore of the small lake at the center of the cemetery.
The last couple of weeks we’ve had some really nice weather - temperatures have ranged from the low sixties to the mid eighties with a couple really impressive thunderstorms thrown in for variety. For our first outing with the SD750 skies were blue with wispy white clouds and very nice afternoon light. We cruised around the oldest part of the cemetery, stopping to shoot anything that looked interesting - searching for spots of color amid the Victorian grave markers and early twentieth century family monuments. We also took pictures of some of the hundreds of ducks and geese around the lake. The resident waterfowl at Cave Hill are quite tame (since most of the folks they see have bags of stale bread in hand) making them very easy to photograph. We also stopped to shoot the rows and rows of small white marble headstones on a sloping hill that serves as a final resting place for thousands of Union casualties who died in Kentucky (mostly from disease) during the Civil War. At the crest of the hill are a smaller number of Confederate graves, making this area as one of the few places in the country where Yankees and Rebels lay at rest together.
After we completed a couple of loops of the twisty roadways at Cave Hill we drove over to nearby Cherokee Park and hit the scenic loop to shoot some people pictures. We didn’t find anything along the deeply shaded area of old growth trees parallel to Beargrass Creek, but once we got into the open areas they were filled with parked cars, runners, skaters, bikers, and dog walkers. We spent about an hour shooting folks having enjoying the lovely weather before calling it a day. During our first outing with the SD750 we used the camera in Program mode, with WB set to auto, sensitivity set to Auto, and quality set to the highest resolution. All shots were handheld. The snappy little SD750 did a consistently super job outdoors in good light – everything we tried worked like a charm.
After we finished up at Cherokee Park we headed for Old Louisville, an architecturally diverse area of late 19th and early 20th century Victorian houses along shady tree lined streets. The residents of Old Louisville are an eclectic bunch and it is not at all unusual to see preppy young professionals, aging hipsters, street people, musicians, artists, and tattooed/multi pierced Goths hanging out together in Central Park. By the time we got parked the afternoon golden light was working nicely for us. We shot some flower filled front yards, a couple of colorful locals, and lots of nifty architectural details. When the shadows started getting long we took a break at the Dizzy Whiz, Louisville’s original drive-in restaurant. When you stop at this old drive-in it’s like you’ve stepped back in time to the late fifties, the place has hardly changed since I went there while I was in High School more than forty years ago. The Dizzy Whiz’s menu is heavy on grilled and fried comfort foods. After we finished our burgers, fries, and shakes we shot some "street" shots. The SD750 is small, unobtrusive, fast, and produces dependably excellent results and that makes it a very good choice for street/event/candid shooters.
For our second outing with the SD750 we headed for the Butchertown Art Fair. Butchertown is one of Louisville's oldest neighborhoods, an old enclave of colorfully painted mid 19th to early 20th century shotgun houses and small mansions lining the narrow old streets. The Art Fair, a rather chaotic collection of booths (in the small open area between St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and Bakery Square) selling Peruvian musical instruments, locally produced honey, art glass wind chimes, faux antiques, and jewelry made with sherbet colored beads was in full swing. We used the SD750 to shoot pictures of sellers and their wares, a one-man band, and hordes of local kids. After we’d exhausted the possibilities at the art fair we walked down Washington Street to the nearby Extreme Sports Park to shoot some action.
The Extreme Park is the go to place for local photographers looking capture action. Skateboarders, BMX bikers, and roller-bladers are drawn to the park 24-7 to perfect their moves and hone their technique in the industrial sized full pipe, 5 interconnected bowls, and a twelve-foot half pipe. We had to move in pretty close because the SD750's 3X zoom just didn't have enough reach to allow us to stand off and still get frame-filling shots. The kids at the Extreme Park make great subjects because many of them are very talented athletes and they all love showing off for the camera. We spent about four hours shooting action. That may seem like a long time, but optimal framing/timing is very difficult. The SD750 is very quick and that made tracking and framing the fast moving subjects a lot easier, so I did manage to get a couple of nice shots.
After we finished up at the Extreme Park we headed for nearby West Main Street, which is lined with three and four story 19th century warehouses, most sporting decorative cast iron fronts. We shot the striking purple and turquoise and gold façade of the Louisville Science Center, the most striking building on West Main Street. After we finished shooting at the Louisville Science Center, we spent about an hour shooting tight architectural studies of the colorful cast iron building fronts lit up by the oblique early evening sun.
The Canon PowerShot SD750 does a very good job in decent light - rendering virtually any type of outdoor scene nicely, but indoor pictures tend to be a bit less impressive. When we reviewed the images we'd shot over the course of the weekend (on a NEC 19” CRT monitor) both of us were impressed with just how good many of the pictures were.
PERFORMANCE
Image Quality
The SD750's auto exposure system is generally accurate, but highlights are sometimes blown out – especially in brightly lit contrasty scenes. Images are consistently sharp in the center of the frame, but corners tend to be slightly soft.
I really liked the SD750's color interpolation – low ISO JPEG images look almost like 35mm slides. Colors are bold, vibrant, and slightly oversaturated. For a guy who shot slow speed 35mm slide film for over thirty years, the SD750's images (when viewed on a computer monitor) look a lot like 35mm transparencies.
Images shot at ISO 80 show very low noise levels (ISO 100 images are identical to those shot at ISO 80), vibrant color, sharp resolution, decent highlight detail, and very good shadow detail. At the ISO 200 setting noise levels begin to rise a bit, but image quality is still very good. ISO 400 images are noticeably noisy and some detail is lost, but they are still usable. ISO 800 images are soft, colors are flat, and detail loss is evident. ISO 1600 images are so noisy they're actually a bit mushy looking with flat pastel like colors.
Timing/Shutter Lag
The Canon PowerShot SD750 is remarkably fast, especially for an ultra-compact P&S digicam. The boot-up cycle (about 1.5 seconds), shutter lag (1/4 second or less), shot to shot times (1.5 to 2.0 seconds), and write to card times are all faster than average. AF lag (with pre-focus) is essentially real time and from scratch the SD750 only needs about a ¼ second to lock focus.
A Few Concerns
I really don’t have any noteworthy concerns regarding the SD750. Chromatic aberration (purple fringing) is a bit higher than average at the wide-angle end of the zoom range (especially at the maximum aperture) and corners are a bit soft across the board. Battery life is just acceptable.
Conclusion
For the past decade, Canon’s product development folks have been creating tiny feature rich high performance digital cameras that make taking photos a snap. The SD750 is the latest addition to that distinguished product catalog. The SD750 is an excellent choice for family photographers, snap-shooters, casual photographers, and first time digital camera buyers who want a digicam that is capable of consistently capturing excellent images, small enough to be dropped in a pocket and taken along just about anywhere, and simple enough to be used easily by just about anyone.
For definitive advice on How to Choose a Digital Camera
The observations, opinions, recommendations, and conclusions provided in my digital camera reviews are based on more than 30 years experience as a photographer and extensive hands on testing of each of the cameras reviewed.
If you would like to see a selection of images that are very similar to and typical of the sort of test pictures I shoot for my epinions digital camera reviews, click on the first link under Favorite Links on my profile page (to get to my EPS profile page, just click on my name – top right side of this review). The Favorite Links URL will take you to my forum page at DCR. Click on find all posts by Howard Creech (under Forum Info). My DCR reviews each feature a selection of my images. I receive no compensation from dcr.com for your visit or any subsequent purchase you may make and you can return to epinions at any time - either open the link in a new window - or hit your back button.
Recommended:
Yes
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