Canon's New SD400, best balance of performance, features, and cost of any current Micro-Cam
Written: Apr 25 '05 (Updated Nov 06 '05)
Product Rating:
Ease of Use:
Durability:
Battery Life:
Photo Quality:
Shutter Lag
Pros: Fast, ultra compact, user friendly, very good image quality, tough stainless steel body
Cons: Mediocre battery life, weak flash, red-eye problems, chromatic aberration, and noisy ISO 400 images
The Bottom Line: Canon’s new SD400 Digital Elph provides users with an almost perfect combination of excellent image quality, tough as nails durability, ultra-compact size, and intuitive ease of use.
Howard_Creech's Full Review: Canon PowerShot SD400 / IXUS 50 Digital Camera
Canon has dominated the ultra compact digicam market since the first Digital Elphs hit camera store shelves and the new Canon Powershot SD400 demonstrates why that trend isn't likely to change anytime soon. The SD400 provides users with 5-megapixel resolution, a fully retractable 3X optical zoom, and intuitive point & shoot ease of use. The SD400 has a sophisticated feature set and improved performance that should appeal to travelers, gadget guys, backpackers, and casual photographers -- plus it's small enough to be dropped into a shirt pocket and it's stainless steel body is tough enough to go just about anywhere.
The new SD400 (like its SD series siblings) is built around Canon's second-generation DIGIC II processor. Canon's DIGIC II (Digital Imaging Integrated Circuit) combines image processing, power management, and most primary camera functions (Exposure, White Balance, JPEG compression, gain control, and most auto functions) in one chip to more efficiently manage camera operation. DIGIC II image files are optimized for processing speed, sharp resolution, balanced contrast, lower noise, and bright colors. The SD400 is noticeably faster than previous Digital Elph models, has a slightly larger 2.0" LCD screen, a very impressive Movie Mode, and Canon's new Print Share technology (for simplified direct image printing with compatible printers). If all that isn't enough, the SD400 also incorporates the SD500's backwards-compatible ultra quick USB 2.0 port.
NUTS & BOLTS
LCD Screen/Viewfinder
The SD400 features a coupled (zooms with the lens) tunnel style (Galilean) optical viewfinder which is a bit squinty and only covers about 80% of the frame. The viewfinder is bright and images are sharp, but there's no diopter correction for eyeglasses wearers.
The SD400 likes it's siblings) features a remarkably large 2.0" LCD screen that's bright and fluid but resolution is a bit lower than expected. The LCD screen has a glare reducing anti-reflective coating and the brightness can be adjusted (via the setup menu), but the LCD screen doesn't automatically gain "up" in low light.
The SD400's LCD info display provides shooting mode, exposure compensation setting, white balance setting, photo effects mode selected, ISO setting, flash setting, the metering option selected, resolution/compression data, and a histogram (to help evaluate the dynamic range in saved images). The LCD screen (which shows almost 100 per cent of the frame) is more accurate for framing and composition than the optical viewfinder, but full time LCD use will drain the SD400's tiny battery faster.
Canon's proprietary Night Display Function automatically brightens the subject to make framing and composition easier in night/low light situations and the LCD screen is backlit for improved visibility in bright outdoor lighting. In addition, holding the Display button down (for 1 second) temporarily boosts brightness to its maximum setting.
Zoom Lens
The SD400's f2.8-4.9/35-105 (35mm equivalent) all-glass zoom lens retracts into the body when the camera is powered down and a built-in lens cover closes over the front element. When the camera is powered up the zoom extends, automatically. The little zoom is pretty quick (it travels from wide angle to telephoto in less than two seconds) and its operation is smooth and fairly quiet. Canon's optical engineers utilized Canon's proprietary Ultra High Refractive Index Aspherical zoom technology to allow the 3X zoom to be crowded into an incredibly shallow space.
The SD400's 3X zoom exhibits some minor softness in the corners of the frame, but this is a common shortcoming in ultra compact digital camera optics. There is moderate barrel distortion (straight lines bow out from the center) at the 35mm end of the zoom range, but virtually no pincushion distortion (straight lines bow in toward the center) at the telephoto end of the range. Chromatic aberration (purple fringing) is visible in high contrast color transition areas.
The minimum focusing distance (in macro mode) is 1.2 inches (at the wide angle zoom setting). Macro images are fairly sharp with decent detail and good color. The optical viewfinder is not accurate enough for close up work (no parallax compensation) but the LCD screen works beautifully in close-up mode. Flash coverage is OK, but (like most micro-cams) the top and center of the image will tend to be a bit washed out. The SD400 is adequate for shooting trailside flowers and E-bay images (general close-ups) but it's not up to serious macro work. There's no lens thread for add-on lenses or filters.
Auto Focus
The SD400 shares the same 9 focus point AiAF (Advanced intelligent Auto Focus) system utilized by it’s SD family siblings. The AF system quickly analyzes what's in front of the camera and automatically decides which of the 9 AF points is most closely aligned with the primary subject (closest subject priority) and then locks focus on that AF point. Experienced shooters can manually line up a specific AF focus point with the most important element in the image (like the face or eyes in a head and shoulders portrait) allowing for more creative compositions. Users can turn the AiAF system off and the SD400's AF system will default to the center AF point for more traditional looking landscapes, classic portraits, and group shots. The SD400 (unlike earlier Digital Elph models) features an AF assist beam for quicker and more accurate focusing in dim/low light. The SD400 has no manual focus capability.
Flash
The SD400's built-in multi mode flash provides Auto (fires when needed), On (fill flash), Red-Eye Reduction, Slow-synch (in Night Scene Mode), and off. Maximum flash range (according to Canon) is almost 10 feet, which is a bit overly optimistic. Anything beyond six feet is likely to be pretty dark unless the surroundings (and subjects) are light colored and there's plenty of ambient light. The SD400, like it's big brother (the SD500) can use Canon's nifty new HF-DC1 External Slave Flash, a really neat sounding accessory, which I didn't get to try.
Memory Media
As it's name implies, the SD400 saves images to SD (Secure Digital) memory media. SD cards are substantially smaller and slightly faster than Canon's traditional CF memory media and are available in capacities up to 512MB. Canon includes a 16MB SD starter card.
Image File Format
JPEG
Connectivity
USB 2.0 and A/V out
Power
The SD400 utilizes a much smaller battery than it's predecessors, which combined with the smaller SD card format allowed Canon to make the camera noticeably smaller than its Digital Elph cousins (S410 & S500). The tiny NB-4L battery is good for 400 plus exposures (according to Canon), but that is under optimum conditions (full time optical viewfinder use, no flash, and no image review). Most micro-Cam users rarely resort to the optical viewfinder (and insist on reviewing every image they shoot), so realistically (full time LCD use, moderate flash use, and heavy image review) the little NB-4L battery is good (based on my limited usage) for something like 100-125 exposures.
The SD400's DIGIC II processor manages power very well, but obviously tiny micro cam batteries can't store as much power as larger (higher capacity) batteries, so shooters who plan on taking the SD400 along on trips or using it through heavy shooting sessions should factor in the cost of a back up NB-4L battery. The included CB-2LV rapid charger needs about 90 minutes to juice the NB-4L battery back to full power. The DIGIC II processor manages power very well, but Micro cam batteries obviously can not store as much power as larger batteries so shooters who plan on extended trips or daylong shooting sessions are advised to purchase a back up NB-4L battery.
EXPOSURE
The Powershot SD400 is incredibly easy to use and it has an exceptionally broad range of imaging options, especially for a micro-cam. Canon's engineers built an auto exposure digicam that does more than just average exposure information. Users have a remarkably broad range of exposure options including Full Auto, Scene modes (including portrait, underwater, indoor, kids & pets, & night snapshot), Manual mode (The SD400's "manual" mode is NOT really a manual mode, since the camera always controls aperture and shutter speed. Other manufacturers call this Program mode (auto exposure with user input) users have the ability to adjust ISO sensitivity, enable a Photo Effect, disable AiAF, adjust exposure compensation, and adjust white balance), Movie mode (640x480 @ 30 fps up to the capacity of the installed SD card and a "Fast Frame Rate" of 320x240 @ 60 fps for up to 60 seconds), and Stitch Assist mode. Canon's exclusive iSAPS (Intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space) technology produces consistently exceptional 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 setting.
Metering
The SD400's default evaluative metering system (the camera’s CPU divides the image frame into zones and separately evaluates each zone to determine the best shutter speed/aperture combination) consistently renders accurate exposures in all but the most difficult lighting situations. A Spot metering option biases exposure on a small area at the center of the frame (useful for portraits, back lit subjects, and high/low contrast subjects), and the center-weighted option allows savvy users to create traditional looking landscapes.
White Balance
The SD400's White balance system is fairly standard, which is not surprising considering the camera's target audience. The SD400’s WB options include TTL Auto, daylight, cloudy, tungsten, two fluorescent modes, and a custom mode.
Sensitivity
TTL Auto, and dedicated settings for 50, 100, 200, and 400 ISO (35mm equivalents).
In-Camera Image Adjustment
The SD400's Photo Effects mode permits users to choose spot metering, access the exposure compensation mode, select vivid or neutral color saturation, enable low sharpening, and add sepia or B&W tonal effects. The SD400's new My Colors mode provides 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). Shooters can also adjust Exposure compensation ( +/- 2EV in 1/3 EV increments) or opt for the Long Shutter (1-15 seconds) mode.
DESIGN, CONTROLS, & ERGONOMICS
The SD400 is a stylish ultra compact point & shoot digicam with a tough stainless steel body that makes the SD400 an almost perfect choice for anyone who wants a camera that can be taken along everywhere and used in just about any above water environment. The SD400 should appeal to travelers, gadget guys/gals, hikers/bikers, casual photographers, and extreme sports aficionados who value style, compact size, super fast operation, and point & shoot ease of use.
Canon's little SD400 (the SD200/300/400 are the same size) provides an almost perfect balance between the physical constraints of miniaturization and the creative/technical design limits imposed by form and function. The user interface is uncomplicated and external controls are logically placed and easily accessed. The FUNC button calls up a simplified menu overlay that takes photographers directly to the most commonly changed/modified camera operations/functions (exposure compensation, white balance, drive mode, ISO sensitivity, flash options, image size/quality options, and photo effects), without the necessity of navigating through multiple menus. Experienced digicam users will have no difficulty using the SD400 right out of the box.
Technical Specifications
Resolution: 5 megapixels (2592 x 1944)
Lens: f2.8-4.9/35-105 (35mm equivalent) all-glass 3X zoom
Viewfinders: Real-image optical & 2.0" LCD screen
Auto Focus: TTL AiAF nine-point autofocus system
Exposure: Program AE (Automatic) and Program modes
Metering: Evaluative, Center-Weighted, or Spot
Exposure Compensation: Yes +/- 2EV in 1/3-step increments
White Balance: TTL auto and presets for daylight, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, fluorescent H, and custom (manual)
Noise Reduction: automatic on long exposures
Sensitivity: Auto and ISO 50, 100, 200, & 400 (35mm equivalents)
Flash: Built-in multi mode
Memory Storage Media: SD cards
Image File Format: JPEG
Connectivity: USB 2.0 & A/V out
Power: Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery (type: NB-4L)
Price: MSRP $399.00 -- Street Price Range $339.00 -- $399.00
Included
16MB SD card, NB-4L Li-ion battery w/charger, wrist strap, USB & A/V cables, Printed users manual and software manual, Canon Software CD
Optional
Canon HF-DC1 external slave flash, extra NB-4L Li-ion battery, soft case, Canon AC adapter
In the Field/Handling & Operation
I have been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to try the Canon Powershot SD400, so when my friend (who sells new and used digital and analog photo equipment) turned up with an SD400 the Friday before Thunder over Louisville we were both determined to check the camera out at the largest fireworks display in the United States. Our weather here has been pretty, warm, and spring like for the last couple of weeks, but Friday that changed radically. Friday evening the temperature (which had been in the seventies all week) dropped like a rock and it started to hail. As if that weren’t enough, it started to rain torrentially, but the hail didn’t stop. It was like two ugly storms happening at the same time, plus it was weird to look out at all the blooming Dogwood and Redbud trees, the ground around them piled up with little ice balls.
By Saturday afternoon it was back to the high thirties, with a dark sky, heavy black clouds, and intermittent rain. At Waterfront Park we joined 300,000 other cold, wet, and slightly winter dazed fans. Despite the horrid weather, the little SD400 stayed game and responded nicely to whatever we asked it to do. The lead up to the fireworks display is an all day air show that features fly-overs by U. S. Air Force combat aircraft and Red Baron Pizza’s colorful Stearman Biplanes. We spent most of the afternoon watching the planes disappear and reappear in the misty clouds above the river and wandering around shooting candids/street shots of the freezing crowd trying to stay warm. We didn’t find much that was photogenic, even the local newscasters were in heavy coats, gloves, and earmuffs. We did shoot the Belle of Louisville as the stately old red and white sternwheeler chugged slowly by Riverfront Park.
The fireworks display is usually a photographer’s dream. Once it gets completely dark more than 50,000 individual fireworks shells keep the sky above the Ohio River lit up constantly during the non-stop 30-minute show. This year was a bit different, and I don’t mean because of the rain turning to freezing sleet an hour before the show. The cloud ceiling was so low that the fireworks bursts reflected off the low solidly packed clouds, rather than the choppy dark water of the river. The overcast provided some nice color washes in the low clouds, the fireworks were impressive, and the little SD400 (mounted on a beat-up old Slik 444 Sport compact tripod and set to the fireworks scene mode) worked like a champ. We left before the fireworks show was completely finished to get a jump on the chrome plated chaos traffic jam that always follows Thunder over Louisville.
When we reviewed our pictures Sunday morning (on a NEC 19” CRT monitor) and to put it bluntly they sucked, but that wasn’t the fault of the game little SD400, it is just really hard to make images of wet, cold, red-faced people look interesting. My friend said the images, “looked like documentary photography of the survivors of a natural disaster”. Our fireworks pictures were just as bad, fireworks displays need an open dark sky and glassy smooth water reflections to really sparkle, and the low clouds and choppy black river killed all the drama.
After we finished commiserating about how badly our images from Thunder over Louisville turned out we headed for Jeffersontown (a Louisville suburb twenty miles from downtown) and the Blackacre State Nature Preserve. The weather was still cold (low fifties), but the sky was blue and the light was pretty good. Blackacre is the site of one of Kentucky’s early pioneer settlements. Edward Tyler opened one of Louisville’s first taverns in 1780. In 1783 (after making his fortune selling liquor to Ohio River boatmen who made Louisville the metropolis of the west) Tyler purchased 1,000 acres east of present day Jeffersontown on Chenoweth Run for his family to farm. His three adult sons built homes and when his tavern burned down, Tyler also moved to "J-Town" and built a home near his sons. Springs and streams on the 1,000-acre tract provided plenty of water and the surrounding old growth forests and plentiful limestone outcroppings supplied building materials.
In the mid 1780’s life on the Kentucky frontier was hard and dangerous, Shawnee Indians occasionally raided outlying settlements and ferocious wild animals (black bears, red wolves, and panthers) roamed the woods of Jefferson County. Three of the original homesteads survive, each with its own springhouse, and there’s also a log barn (called a pole barn in Kentucky) and a small family cemetery.
Today, the area is called the Tyler Settlement Rural Historic District. Presley Tyler, Edward Tyler’s grandson built a brick farmhouse at the tiny settlement in 1844 and that house is now the visitor’s center for the nature preserve and historic settlement. The fields, woods, ponds, and streams that make up the Blackacre State Nature Preserve surround the tiny pioneer settlement. Blackacre is an oasis of calm and serenity, like a trip back in time to simpler quieter era. The area is now used for environmental and historical education by Jefferson County’s public schools, but it is open to the public in the spring and fall.
The area has old growth trees, native shrubs and bushes, and prairie grasses that are home to loads of native frogs, turtles, and snakes, great blue herons, red tailed hawks, barn owls, white tailed deer, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, and coyotes. The black bears, red wolves, and panthers (mountain lions) are long gone, but the preserve staff has cataloged 145 seasonal wildflowers, 61 butterfly species, 19 different mammals, and 81 varieties of bird. A gravel road runs through the village and the preserve has three hiking trails.
My friend and I spent three hours at Blackacre, it was chilly and the stiff breeze never let up, but the sun was shining and the sky was blue and filled with puffy white clouds. We wandered around shooting pictures of the historic settlement and along the hiking trails. We even tried some close-up shots of blooming wildflowers (Virginia Bluebells, Dutchman's Breeches, Spring Beauties, and Trout Lilies -- which my Dad always called Dogstooth Violets, Violets, and Dandelions) growing along the trails, but the wind made it almost impossible to keep anything in focus long enough to get a picture. We didn’t see any wildlife except a couple of determined Robins and one scrawny and very skittish Rabbit.
When we looked at the images from our Blackacre trip once we returned to Louisville (on a NEC 19” CRT monitor) and the SD400 did an excellent job, consistently producing images that were sharp and colorful. Blackacre State Nature Preserve is located at 3200 Tucker Station Road, just east of Jeffersontown (follow Taylorsville Road east one mile from “J-Town” and turn left on Tucker Station Road). The preserve is open to the public on Sunday afternoons (during Spring and Fall) from 1 until 5 pm and admission is free.
PERFORMANCE
Image Quality
Image quality should always be the number one consideration when assessing camera performance and after reviewing the images we’d shot with the snazzy little SD400, we both agreed that our outdoor images (we didn’t shoot anything indoors) were as good as they possibly could be, given the weather. Our images from Blackacre showed very good resolution, vibrant color, great highlight and shadow detail, and a very nice dynamic range.
The SD400's Caucasian skin tones are (typically) a bit warm, which exacerbated the red (from the cold) in our Thunder over Louisville people pictures. Reds and blues are (slightly) over saturated (which is typical for P&S amateur cameras) also typical). White balance is quite accurate for such a tiny camera. ISO 50 is definitely the little SD400’s best setting (noise is virtually invisible at ISO 50), but ISO 100 images are also excellent. Noise levels begin to rise after ISO 100, but ISO 200 images are still quite good. ISO 400 images are too noisy, but much better than ISO 400 images from the higher resolution SD500.
Chromatic aberration (purple fringing) is a bit higher than average, especially in high contrast color transition areas, but users who plan to print primarily 4X6 or 5X7 prints should be very happy with the SD400 and most 8X10 enlargements will turn out nicely.
Timing/Shutter Lag
The SD400 is very quick, noticeably faster than its competition. The boot-up cycle, shot to shot times, and write to card times are all shorter than average. AF is almost real time, and from scratch is much better than average. Canon’s newest Digital Elph is fast enough for just about anything, including most sports and keeping up with infants and toddlers.
A Few Concerns
The SD400’s on board flash is pretty weak, but like all micro-cams, the camera has serious red-eye problems. With tiny cameras it is not possible to physically separate the flash and the lens sufficiently to avoid, essentially, having them on the same plane. Photographers who shoot lots of portraits may want to invest in Canon’s optional HF-DC1 external slave flash, which will provide some extra control.
Conclusion
The most important question facing any micro-cam purchaser is how well did the designers balance features and performance with tiny size. The answer for the SD400 is very well indeed, making this diminutive picture taker a natural choice for travelers/tourists, bikers/hikers, and casual photographers who want a tiny tough as nails five megapixel digital camera will find Canons sexy little SD400 awfully hard to beat.
Looking to ramp up your digital imaging experience and create your own digital darkroom? Check out my review of a very capable pro quality ink-jet printer, the Epson Stylus Photo 2200http://www.epinions.com/content_167980076676
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399.00 This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
Canon powershot SD400 complete kit + 1gb secure digital card + 1 year warranty card included from a 3rd party, BRAND NEW NEVER USED "GRAY MARKET [IMPO...More at eBay
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