Canon SD780 IS features 3x optical zoom, image stabilization, face detection and much, much more in its tiny body.
Overview:
Canon SD780 IS features 2.5 inch LCD display and a 12.1 megapixel sensor which is a lot for such a small digital camera. The camera is also able to record HD video up 1280×720 pixels at 30 fps. When you add to it that the Canon SD780 IS has a viewfinder and a bunch of manual settings the camera looks more and more interesting. So let’s have a closer look at its performance.
Canon SD780 IS pros:
+ Seemingly indestructible build quality and interesting styling
+ Bold, vibrant colors make outdoor shots ideal for from-camera printing
+ HD video capture
+ Smart Auto mode is effective and easy to use
+ Snappy, unflappable auto focus
+ Good image quality
Canon SD780 IS cons:
- A bit too noisy shots, even at low ISOs
- Occasional flash quirks in Smart Auto mode
- Images get muddy on the telephoto end
The design:
The Canon SD780 IS measures 3.43 x 2.15 x 0.72 in./87.0 x 54.5 x 18.4mm and weighs 4.06 oz./115g. The camera is made of durable materials and will not crack too quickly, yet it might get scratched rather fast. The screen, until recently one of the biggest Canon disappointments, is quite fingerprint resistant and easy to clean, yet it seems it tends to get a few scratches too easily. The camera is small so all its buttons and controls are small as well. It means that photographers with bigger hands might have difficulties operating the Canon SD780 IS. Yet, all the buttons are very responsive and tactile. At the back of the camera, just above the screen you will see the tiny optical viewfinder – a rare feature in such small cameras.
Performance:
The Canon SD780 IS has a 2.5 LCD screen displaying 230,000 pixels. The screen works very well in bright daylight and shows accurate colors. The camera has a continuous mode which is not the fastest in this class of digital cameras, yet as it can shoot 1 photo per second until you run out of free space on your memory card it is quite useful. The Canon SD780 IS has two different modes of autofocus: Face detection and what Canon calls AiAF which is a combination of face detection and multi-area autofocus. The face detection itself works fine with a few faces and can even track them in a frame. The battery in Canon SD780 IS should suffice for about 200 shots, but it, of course, depends on how often you use flash. The flash recharges slowly and so you can take a photo with flash once every 10 seconds or so.
Image quality:
With photos reaching 12.1 megapixel there is always the issue with noise and it is not only an issue in Canon SD780 IS – that’s just the way it is. So when you put the noise issue aside where does it leave Canon SD780 IS? Well, the Canon camera produces very vibrant and crisp, sharp images. The exposure and white balance are very good and in fact the images are so good that they are ready for print without too much tampering with.
Menus / ease of use:
Canon SD780 IS is a simple compact point and shot digital camera so you should not expect too extensive menus with multiple submenus. The controls on the camera’s body take care of the most frequently used features and those rarely used are to be found in the menus. The menu structure is quite simple and you should not need too much time to find your way through it. All in all the Canon SD780 IS is a very good performer for a reasonable price.
Selected Canon SD780 IS features and specifications:
| Sensor | 12.1 megapixel, 1/2.3″ CCD |
| Lens/Zoom | 3x (33-100mm) zoom lens, f/3.2-5.8 |
| LCD/Viewfinder | 2.5″, 230K-pixel PureColor II LCD; optical viewfinder |
| Sensitivity | ISO 80-1600 |
| Shutter Speed | 15-1/1500 seconds |
| Shooting Modes | Smart Auto, Program, Scene, Movie |
| Scene Presets | Portrait, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater, ISO 3200, Indoor, Kids & Pets, Night Snapshot, Color Accent, Color Swap, Digital Macro, Long Shutter, Stitch Assist |
| White Balance Settings | Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom |
| Metering Modes | Evaluative, Center, Spot |
| Focus Modes | Face AiAF, Center AF |
| Drive Modes | Normal, Continuous, Self Timer |
| Flash Modes | Auto, Forced On, Forced Off, Slow Sync, Red-Eye Reduction |
| Self Timer Settings |
10 seconds, 2 seconds, Off |
| Memory Formats | SD, SDHC, MMC |
| Internal Memory |
None |
| File Formats | JPEG, MOV |
| Max. Image Size | 4000×3000 |
| Max. Video Size |
1280×720, 30 fps |
| Zoom During Video | No |
| Battery | Rechargeable Lithium-Ion |
| Connections | USB 2.0, HDMI |
| Additional Features | Face Detection, Motion Detection, Optical Image Stabilization, DIGIC IV Processor |
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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T77, Canon PowerShot G10, Canon PowerShot SX10 IS, Samsung TL34HD, Nikon Coolpix S610 and Nikon Coolpix S610c, Olympus 570UZ, Sony Cyber-Shot T500, Pentax K2000, Nikon Coolpix P6000, Canon EOS-50D, Nikon Coolpix S600, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX150.