Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black)

I had been doing research into a pocket video camera and narrowed down my choices to either the MinoHD or the Vado HD until I came upon this camera. I read the rave reviews and decided to go down to the local best buy and check it out. It was so tiny and cool looking with a great list of features that I just had to have it! I started snapping some indoor and outdoor pics and videos as soon as I got home. I downloaded them to my computer and took a look at the results. They were not nearly as great as I was expecting after reading all the reviews so I decided to break out my old sd600 and take side by side shots and compare the two. I was shocked! My old sd600, which is only 6MP by the way, took much sharper, colorful and clearer pics than this camera! Even when I blew the pics up the sd600 still outperformed this camera. This made me wonder how the hd video would compare to the pocket cameras. I ordered the Vado HD from Amazon and received it two days later. I shot side by side video with both cameras to compare the two. The video from the Vado HD turned out to be much better in all lighting conditions. The video was clearer, sharper with better color saturation and was $100 less! So this camera is going back to best buy. Maybe I just happened to buy a lemon or maybe my old sd600 is just a really fantastic camera...who knows. I REALLY wanted to like this camera though! It looks really cool in red...lolGet more detail about Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black).

Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black) Review

I love my SD780. I won't bore you with a lot of stuff, just hit the highlights.
* Great pictures in a variety of situations. 12 megapixels makes for some super sharp photos.
* 720p HD video looks great. To think you have a HD camera that's not much bigger than most cell phones is incredible.
* Simple layout of buttons and features, though I wish some buttons were raised in order to give tactile clue of layout in dark or situations where it's faster to not look at the camera.
* Long battery life. I've taken pictures at Disneyland, car shows, and just in general, where I'm literally taking pictures all day long and have not had the battery warning come up once. I've been able to take something like 350 pictures in a day before the battery finally gives out.
* The compact size makes it easy to take anywhere. I carry my cameras with me all day long, and having a small camera sure makes things easier.
* It has a viewfinder! Compact cameras like this don't often come with a viewfinder. I have a Leica D Lux-3 and even THAT doesn't come with a viewfinder. It makes things easier when you can't use the screen.
* Speaking of the screen, good size for such a little camera. Quite sharp.
* Software that comes with it is redundant to what is most likely already on your computer. On my Mac I just use Image Capture to download pictures. It's easier and quicker, and doesn't require dealing with proprietary software.
* Best ELPH I've owned yet. Smaller by half to my old S500, with twice the megapixels.
* Great little camera.Get more detail about Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black).

Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black) Top Quality

I bought this camera because my Olympus SW broke before a trip to Disney. From the reviews I thought it would be great. If you want HD Video, this is a great camera because the video truly is spectacular. I was not as impressed with the pictures despite it's stellar review. My daughter has a Olympus FE-360 $99 point and shoot and we compare many similar images. That $99 Olympus was always in focus and colors were sharp. I cannot say the same with this $250 Canon. I was really surprised. As I used the camera, the face recognition frequently focused on the wrong spot and focus and colors both seemed off. If you want to pay $50 more than one of the Flips, this may be a good camera, though because the video was superb. I like the idea of HD Video but, would not recommend the pictures from this camera at the price.Get more detail about Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black).

Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black) This instant

Bought this camera for my daughter's birthday. It is small enough to stash away in a purse or pocket to have handy at anytime. It takes great pix and very simple to use.Get more detail about Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black).

Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black) Immediately

Excellent camera. Small and slim - fits in shirt pocket. Great HD video. Something that you will always want to carry with you wherever you go.Get more detail about Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black).

Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black) Best Quality

Cute camera. I bought the red one. Took great pictures. I sent it back, only because it is too small for me to operate easily. I would have to wear my reading glasses all the time with this camera. Returning the camera was very easy, thank you Amazon!! I will buy the SD890 as soon as the money is back in my account. I gave it a 4 star. BTW, The view finder is worthless.Get more detail about Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black).

Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black) Get it now!

I have a higher end Canon Rebel DSLR with some pretty good glass and used it this past week at Disney world. While you can't beat the quality of pictures from a DSLR in low light and on fast moving targets (not to mention all other times), it became a HUGE pain to carry around the park and to take on and off getting on rides.

So I read the reviews and found that the best carry-around camera was the Panasonic Lumix ZS3 (TZ7 in other parts of the world). Unfortunately, no one around here carries that camera, and online the prices are still in the $400+ range. So I decided to wade through the middle market and came across this camera, the Canon Powershot SD780 IS (IXUS 100 IS in other parts of the world).

The various Sony's looked good as well, I just hate the memory sticks they use. I always like keeping everything the same, and since my Canon Rebel uses SDHC, I decided to go with a cam that used that as well.

It takes amazing pictures when there is plenty of light, such as outside or indoors with ambient lighting. Clouds look beautiful and are not blown out. Color is very vivid, like all Canon shots. The video quality is definately HD 720p quality and looks nice at a steady 30 frames per second. However, the minimum f-stop even at full wide is 3.5 and creeps into the 6's with the zoom racked out. With that said, low light situations create such a grainy picture as to be unusable by my standards. The shadow areas are horrible and muddy. And the video exhibits this same nastiness.

I was able to figure out all camera features on my own without reading the manual at all, but if you want to, there is a VERY detailed manual that goes step by step with pictures of how to work the cam.

If you want to take over in full manual mode, they give you access to pretty much all the settings in one simple menu. Shoot in Program AE, change ISO, change white balance, change tone, self timers, continuous shooting, focus lock, exposure compensation, metering mode, AF frame mode and focal point, Servo AF, etc.

One of the best features of the camera (and I sugest you try all the cams out in the store to see what I mean) is how FAST it auto focuses and takes a picture. Right from power up, I can take a pic in under 2 seconds. On top of that, the shutter lag is about .02 seconds. You hit the button, the picture takes right then. AF on almost ALL other cameras I picked up had to hunt for the focus for several seconds, and some never gained focus at all, while others kept trying to refocus after acquiring a lock. This camera, even in up close macro mode, gained a solid focus lock in under a second and stayed there.

And macro mode is wonderful! You can be just over an inch from your subject and take some of the greatest, full focused images. Auto mode will sense how close you are and automatically change to macro mode.

You also have the ability to create folders on your memory card right from the camera. Very useful if you are hitting multiple camera ops in a day and would like to keep them all separate. All the menus are well laid out, but once you set up for your shoot, most of the buttons you will be using will be on the camera body. And again, as much as I like to set everything myself in full manual mode, I found that full auto is smarter than me most of the time. I guess the camera is calibrated to know what the best settings for its lens are. Reviewing images, zooming in on them to check details, deleting, tagging, watching videos, etc are all very easy. And videos are in the standard .MOV format making them easy to edit and stitch on a PC or a Mac.

I went ahead and picked up the Canon leather belt pouch as well for this cam as it keeps it on your side at the ready, looks professional, and is no bigger than a phone holster.

One additional note on why I picked this cam...it has cool accessories!
Just to name a few:
HDMI out to TV with standard Mini-HDMI to full HDMI.
Waterproof/dustproof case that you can take to 140ft underwater!
High power external remote flash.
All available on Amazon!

Another hint...you can find additional rechargeable lithium batteries for as little as $2 here on Amazon. The Canon brand goes for almost $50 and the others last just as long.

All in all, it was a good purchase and will be coming with me on all camera excursions and trips. It may very well be the camera that "gets the shot" that my big DSLR doesn't because of it always being at my hip and ready to shoot in a couple of seconds.Get more detail about Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black).