Canon PowerShot SD890IS

Excels at zoom and photo quality



CANON'S $399.99 POWERSHOT SD890 IS, which performs competently and features a 5x optical zoom, will appeal to buyers who are looking for a long lens in a short package.
The 10-megapixel SD890 features a 2.5-inch LCD and Canon's DIGIC III image processor. The len'zoom range is impressive, but it would be better if Canon gave it a little more range at the wide end. The camera offers optical image stabilization, which helps reduce blurring from camera shake (particularly at the longer end of the zoom range).
The user interface on the SD890 is good but not exceptional. Nevertheless, compared with most point-and-shoots, the menu system is intuitive and relatively easy to navigate. THere are no manual exposure controls, but casual users won't miss the omission.
The camera started up in about one second, and shutter lag was minimal. Shot-to-shot times with the flash off averaged 0.5 second; with flash, they were often as long as 2 seconds. Without the flash, the SD890 performed about average compared with the competition, but with the flash, it was slower than many comparable cameras. The camera's autofocus was fairly swift, though it did slow niticeable in low-contrast and some low-light situation.



The SD890 takes very good photograph. At low ISOs, the images were sharp and gave a natural color rendition. Outdoor shots had accurate, properly saturated color, though images were sometimes slightly soft. Most shots using the flash were properly exposed and quite acceptable. Noise was very low until ISO 400 and higher, when the images started to soften and noise crept into the image. -John B. Stafford.

Computer Shopper October 2008
usa.canon.com