The Bottom Line: I love this camera. It always captures true to life images in focus and with everyone's eyes open. It is currently Canon's top of the line camera.
dkla2001's Full Review: Canon PowerShot SD990 IS / Digital IXUS 980 IS Dig...
I wanted to buy the best ultra compact camera. I used to have a Nikon and Olympus and wasn't happy with either. Seems that most people I know have a Canon. I decided to research about the best of the Caons. The top two currently on the market are the 990 and 880. I bought both to compare them. I ended up staying with the 990. My dad is using the 880. We are both really happy but I think the 990 has a little bit of an edge. That said, the 880 is currently the reigning champ according to many reviewers including CNET.
I'm sure some readers would argue that you can't compare the two- because of their different specs and that the 990 has a much higheer megapixel count while the 880 has a much better lens that's much wider. but I feel that since they are now the two leaders among the pack they should and must be compared.
The 990 is a little bulkier than most cameras. It's also ugly on the outside. It doesn't fit well in a jeans pocket. But it is still small enough to be taken in a shirts pocket or in a jacket.
It's weaknesses is that it has ultra low battery life. One must buy an additional battery just to be on the safe side. Canon were cheap in not supplying memory or a camera case. But memory for this one has fallen dramatically and for about 10 bucks one can buy today enough memory for a lifetime. They use the SD cards but I recommend the SDHC - the faster cards as it'll take less time to download the heavy pics.
Another annoying thing about this camera is the shutter lag. It feels like forever between shots when shooting with a flash. It takes it too much time to recharge. After 5 shots are taken it can take up to twenty seconds to recharge.
Another flaw is that the video mode is standard definition and not HD like most cameras today. That said, I've never shot video with any of my SLR's so for me it didn't really matter, but it still annoyed me that all their competitors had this function and they didn't.
Their main weakness is the zoom. This camera has a very limited lens which isn't wide enough. That said, for many people like myself, these tiny cameras are mainly used for events where we'd like a decent camera to take around and be able to capture moments and people in various events. So moving back a few feet isn't the make or break of the camera. If I'd have wanted a camera with better zom and wider lens I'd buy an SLR.
As for the pros of this camera:
THE BEST picture quality of any ultra compact. I've gone to a lot of websites and readers have posted pictures side by side of the 990 and 880 and hands down the 990 always wins. The pictures are just better. The 990 handles low light better. It has a higher mega pixel count which means the pictures can be blown up to a larger size and it also has a semi manual control so for enthusiasts it leaves more room to play and get better results.
This camera has the new digic 4 line of processors which are slowly being used in all their upcoming releases. It's much better at processing color and gives it real lfe quality that's even better than what they've had in the past.
As for the control panel. It needs time to get used to. There are a lot of options on this camera and it can be confusing. But one can just shoot in automatic mode and everything becomes easy. Just point and shoot. Slowly I'm learning what this camera has to offer and it does have a lot to offer.
Another advantage of this camera is the real glass eyepiece. In my old Olympus that lacked the eyepiece whenever I wanted to shoot in daylight I found myself suffering trying to see something in the LCD screen. The eyepiece is a life saver shooting in places that have lots of light.
Some experts have complained that shooting in the full range of this camera nearly 15 megapixels actually reduces the quality of the image. They have done the math and calculated that it divides the same amount of processors proccessing capabilities on more megapixels. Others experts disagreed and given different equation logic. Most people, won't shoot on the full 15 megapixel as it just takes a lot of space on the hard drive. It's also hard to send around via emails files that are too large. So for most people that's not a real issue. Most people will shoot on a lower resolution and even on lower resolution this camera is amazing, shooting superb images. But it's fun to know that if I'll ever need to blow up any one image- I have the resolution ability to do it. It's annoying when you want to shoot something and when you print it on a home printer on an A4 page it looks a little soft on the focus. Not with this camera. I've tried and the pictures come out real sharp.
The various auto focus options on this camera are amazing. They have mastered it and most of the time the auto focus is accurate with face captures that indeed recognizes everyones faces.
Lastly, the most important issue is the GAZE. Many camera, especially the Olympus and Nikon, have a problem that they capture images with people's eyes closed. I don't know why that's happening. They haven't mastered yet the relationship between the flash and the shutter. Canon's are the best at this. Most images capture people's eyes open. They have a little orange lamp that lights up and somehow prepares people for the shot.
With Nikon and Olympus in EVERY shot I took people were always blinking. With this one- people seem to never blink. Canon just got it right!
To conclude. This camera has a lot of disadvantages that I've mentioned above. But it does have one great advantage. It shoots superb images. It's images, in my opinion are a little better than the 880 which also shoots great images. I shoot ia lot in low light at events so for me this was the camera that I decided to keep.
If you have children and would like to shoot more rapid shots of events go for the 880. If you need to take wider angle shots also go for a different camera. This one is mostly a one size lens type camera. But if these are not issues and low light is important this is the camera for you.
When this camera came out it was a little over priced and that got a lot of reviewers angry and they recommended the 880 more because of the huge price difference. But now, when their prices are nearly identical it's just a matter of what's more important to the user. ______________
Final words: I suggest you go to a department store and try out the two contenders I've mentioned above (990 vs 880) and see which one works for you the best. This one worked the best for me. Both are great cameras. For me, this one was a little greater.
Here's a link to a forum where professional users have compared the two cameras the Canon 990 vs the 880 and as you can see the reviews are mixed with a slight advantage towards the 990 in terms of quality and towards the 880 in terms of price.
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