sd940is hd shooting capability i believe that this camera shoots 720p hd, but one reviewer said it just blows up the pixels to 720p equivalent. so whats the deal?
1132713
The reviewer was probably talking about the digital zoom feature, which blows up the same image when it zooms, which effectively makes the feature useless. It's like magnifying an image with a fixed number of pixels in photoshop: the more you blow up the image, the more flawed the image becomes. Optical zoom, which works correctly for photos, doesn't have that issue on the SD780 or the SD940. Bottom line: If you buy either of those cameras, resign yourself to not zooming while already in HD video mode. If you want a closer video, set the optical zoom before going into record mode. The reviewer was probably talking about the digital zoom feature, which blows up the same image when it zooms, which effectively makes the feature useless. It's like magnifying an image with a fixed number of pixels in photoshop: the more you blow up the image, the more flawed the image becomes. Optical zoom, which works correctly for photos, doesn't have that issue on the SD780 or the SD940. Bottom line: If you buy either of those cameras, resign yourself to not zooming while already in HD video mode. If you want a closer video, set the optical zoom before going into record mode.
452923
Ditto to J. Kim, photos always look good on the tiny (well compared with an LCD monitor of course) screen, you can at least ZOOM in on the photos to check out the noise factor, check it against what ISO the shot was taken in. Under the law of physics, there is really no way a 1/1.7" sensor can produce images that are on par or better than an APS-C sensor. Although they may look close. Thanks Grandpa Bill, for your comment. With that said, I almost laughed out loud when someone told me he could take a picture from the 8-megapixel iPhone just as good as a DSLR ! !!! LOL! I am still laughing ! ; ) Ditto to J. Kim, photos always look good on the tiny (well compared with an LCD monitor of course) screen, you can at least ZOOM in on the photos to check out the noise factor, check it against what ISO the shot was taken in. Under the law of physics, there is really no way a 1/1.7" sensor can produce images that are on par or better than an APS-C sensor. Although they may look close. Thanks Grandpa Bill, for your comment. With that said, I almost laughed out loud when someone told me he could take a picture from the 8-megapixel iPhone just as good as a DSLR ! !!! LOL! I am... » Read More Ditto to J. Kim, photos always look good on the tiny (well compared with an LCD monitor of course) screen, you can at least ZOOM in on the photos to check out the noise factor, check it against what ISO the shot was taken in. Under the law of physics, there is really no way a 1/1.7" sensor can produce images that are on par or better than an APS-C sensor. Although they may look close. Thanks Grandpa Bill, for your comment. With that said, I almost laughed out loud when someone told me he could take a picture from the 8-megapixel iPhone just as good as a DSLR ! !!! LOL! I am still laughing ! ; ) « Show Less
400049
I have the SX1IS ad SX30IS. Going to sell one of them. I did a comparison of what I called final image quality. http://www.cameramike.com/cameramike/MEDI_1./Pages/SX30is_compare_SX1is.html Yes - RAW output is an advantage but when you reduce the noise of the SX30 image it is of equal or maybe better quality of the RAW SX1 image. Using my simple non technical setup. I did look at other setting but both like iso 80 the best. I do not need a high definition video - so that difference is not important.
1217553
Well I suppose Canon could be lying or the two techs at two different times were misinformed about the MPEG2. Since the camera hasn't been released yet, how do you know that the files are .mod? Also some sites (not Amazon) are claiming this is an HD camera. It's not, it's SD.
1816630
This isn't a full-frame camera. It's aps-h, 1.3x crop. And if you're shooting astro photography you should be looking into a Nikon d800 or a 5dmkii. This is a camera with 11-year old sensor technology. I bought one to shoot surfers with here in Hawaii broad daylight and I get noise (by modern standards) past about ISO400-500. This camera is great if you're looking for a cheaper 7d and you don't want video capabilities or a screen you can actually see. Don't get me wrong, it's a great camera, but its age definitely shows. I bought one in perfect shape with 42k actuations for $430 and not 3 months later I bought a 7d for $530. The extra money spent on a more modern camera is well-worth it. This isn't a full-frame camera. It's aps-h, 1.3x crop. And if you're shooting astro photography you should be looking into a Nikon d800 or a 5dmkii. This is a camera with 11-year old sensor technology. I bought one to shoot surfers with here in Hawaii broad daylight and I get noise (by modern standards) past about ISO400-500. This camera is great if you're looking for a cheaper 7d and you don't want video capabilities or a screen you can actually see. Don't get me wrong, it's a great camera, but its age definitely shows. I bought one in perfect shape with 42k actuations for $430 and not 3... » Read More This isn't a full-frame camera. It's aps-h, 1.3x crop. And if you're shooting astro photography you should be looking into a Nikon d800 or a 5dmkii. This is a camera with 11-year old sensor technology. I bought one to shoot surfers with here in Hawaii broad daylight and I get noise (by modern standards) past about ISO400-500. This camera is great if you're looking for a cheaper 7d and you don't want video capabilities or a screen you can actually see. Don't get me wrong, it's a great camera, but its age definitely shows. I bought one in perfect shape with 42k actuations for $430 and not 3 months later I bought a 7d for $530. The extra money spent on a more modern camera is well-worth it. « Show Less
1682740
It can shoot plain digital images as well as normal HD movies. You just need to select the Photo mode on the screen menu and you are ready to go! The single images are as superb as the movie images! Good luck. Rick B.
887262
I did some research on this a couple of years ago and as I recall there is a different model for HD. I do not have the HD camera so did not need the HD version. The HD version was a bit higher in price.
458561
Why do you say " that the SX10IS will be better for photos" when this is the bottom line of the review you link: Canon's PowerShot SX1 IS has justifiably become one of the most talked-about super-zoom cameras on the market today. It takes the already capable PowerShot SX10 IS with its powerful 20x zoom and articulated screen, but swaps the sensor for a CMOS version which can deliver both HD video recording and fast continuous shooting. As such, the SX1 IS becomes the latest and arguably one of the best hybrid cameras to date, delivering 10 Megapixel stills at up to 4fps with a decent degree of manual control, along with Full HD video in the 1080p format. The SX1 IS is more than just the SX10 IS with HD and fast continuous shooting though. Canon's also fitted an HDMI port to deliver quality output to an HDTV, supplied an infra red remote control to make those HD slideshows even more convenient, and swapped both the viewfinder and screen for wider 16:9 shaped models to better-suit the HD video mode. There's also a digital teleconverter option which can double the reach of the lens without any loss of quality when filming video. The lens motor is also the improved silent mechanism used on higher end cameras and comes with RAW without need to update firmware (my additional comments...the only downside I see is the lower resolution viewfinder but I rarely use viewfinders any more anyway).
1160711
I agree that the pictures could use more color and now that i turned my camera on (had to double check) I see what your talking about. It does look grainy on the LCD prior to taking the picture Hmmmmmmmmm I never noticed that before..... Here's a link to check out some of the photos taken with the SD950 IS http://flickr.com/groups/ixus960is/ Some of these are very colorful. I probably need to learn how to set my camera correctly :)
2280339
Are you 100% sure it was ISO 640 and not 6400? I think at 640, shooting at 1.8 with a high amount of grain is unusual for this camera- especially since the D700 has excellent high ISO performance. I don't start to really notice grain until I'm shooting at ISO 3200 or greater. Did you happen to zoom in to the photos? Which could make the grain more noticeable..? Oh yea, check to see if your sensor or camera lens is dirty.
367723
There are a great many adjustments available on the SX40, and proper settings will result in better photos. I've never used an S90, so I can't comment on the relative quality of the photos produced by the two cameras, but based on my limited use of the SX40 (I've had the camera only a few days, and the weather around here has been lousy), I'd say it produces excellent photos -- extremely well focused, superb detail, excellent color. What more do you want from a camera? One caution: do NOT judge the quality of the camera's output by the photos posted on Amazon's site; they're extremely compressed and bear little relation to the original photos. And remember-- (paraphrasing the Marines here) it's the photographer, not the camera.
1230944
Serious photographers shoot RAW, but most people just use JPEG because it is much easier, no post processing. I am glad to hear of the bright mode (in automatic I always shoot JPEG, in manual modes I always shoot RAW or lossless compressed pics).Overall the comments in this thread ease my fears of dpreview's complaint about JPEG quality. This is definitely my next camera.
1697313
The worst a reviewer could say about this camera was that it doesn't have hd video. Doesn't amount to a hill of beans for me though, bought this camera to take pictures not video. Personally think hd is overrated anyway.
1701322
Heather; I'm pretty sure it doesn't shoot in RAW but is a sweet little pocket camera that takes a wide variety of great shots. What a deal as a refurb! For my purposes I've been able to minupulate files as much as I need to through photoshop elements without RAW format. Gary
913868
Yes there's a 9600 and I believe a 9700. The zoom is better on the others not much. I have the 9600 as well. Honestly I think I'm done with these camera and models. I always have a problem with pictures being white washed, blurry, lighting, lens issues....on a nice sunny day they're great. Otherwise you take your chance I wouldn't buy it and if you do then get the insurance. I'm about to send mine in to get fixed.
1420407
It does have some kind of limited video capture.... no way it's any form of Hi-Def. Probabaly VGA? You have to remember this camera is from 2004.... A used Mini DV Tape camcorder would probably be better for video work. Or the Nikon D90 which does 720p.
1732058
This is an analog camera system with 4 500TVL cameras - no HD. It's not clear in the description either but only two channels record in D1 - the rest are all lower resolution CIF. The "1080p" reference in the title probably refers to the HDMI output to the monitor. I am generally pleased with the video output of the cameras themselves, but the recorder leaves much to be desired since only two channels record in full resolution. I'd definitely skip this one.