SD800 IS vs. SD900

[Grimace]

Hey all, I've done some research (including our forums) and I am still on the fence between these two cameras.

Can anyone who owns one of these comment on the pros/cons? Thanks!

 

[drlunanerd]

Get the SD800IS/Ixus 850IS. 28mm wide angle lens and image stabilisation wins over slightly more megapixels jammed into the same size sensor.

Edit: just noticed you own lots of L glass. Either of these cameras will give disappointing image quality compared to that, but I guess you'll be aware of the limitations of P&S cameras.

 

[dalvin200]

Ixus 850IS (aka SD800 IS)

got mine last week and its real good!!
the wide angle comes in v handy

 

[Grimace]

hehe, didn't think anyone was going to respond!!

I know that there will be a big hit in quality, especially in low-light situations. But, sometimes you just don't want to be "that guy" with the big DSLR.

While leaning toward the ($390) SD800IS, I came across the ($600) Leica D-Lux 3 -- which I learned was a Leica shell on a ($390) Panasonic DMC-LX2. A few benefits that I saw which made me buy the Panasonic 10 minutes ago:

1. 10MP for big prints (at the expense of ISO 400 being pretty useless)
2. 28mm wide end (same as Canon)
3. 4.0x Optical Zoom (3.8x on Canon)
4. RAW - (Canon dropped this after the SD700 series)
5. Native 16:9, plus 3:2, and 4:3 ratios. I really dig the wide shots.

 

[sushi]

While leaning toward the SD800IS, I came across the Leica D-Lux 3 -- which I learned was a Leica shell on a Panasonic DMC-LX2. A few benefits that I saw which made me buy the Panasonic 10 minutes ago:

10MP for big prints (at the expense of ISO 400 being pretty useless)
RAW - this was huge for me
16:9, 3:2, and 4:3 ratios for stills on movies. I really dig the wide shots.

Looks like a nice camera. It is not as small as a P&S like the Canon models. If it does what you need then fantastic.

Ixus 850IS (aka SD800 IS)

got mine last week and its real good!!
the wide angle comes in v handy

I just purchased the IXY900 IS (Japanese version of the IXUS 850 IS / SD800 IS -- sometimes I sure wish Canon would just call the camera the same regardless of the market!)

So far I am very happy with it. I tend to use it a lot during skiing taking both pics and ski along type videos. I had been using an IXY320 (PowerShot 230) but it was getting a bit old and I wanted better video features.

I like the smallness since it will easily fit in a jacket pocket which makes it easy to carry and use.

Looks like the IXY900 IS is going to be a winner for me.

 

[Grimace]

Looks like a nice camera. It is not as small as a P&S like the Canon models. If it does what you need then fantastic.

It's not that much bigger

Canon 58 x 90 x 25 mm
Panny 56 x 106 x26 mm

 

[drlunanerd]

The Panasonics have lovely design and build quality, but in my use of them they don't deliver the goods when it comes to image quality, being a bit on the noisy side. Well done for not getting ripped off with the Leica though!

 

[sushi]

It's not that much bigger

Canon 58 x 90 x 25 mm
Panny 56 x 106 x26 mm

Do those dimensions for the Panny include the lens? Me thinks not. I looks like those dimensions are for the body only. But I could be mistaken.

Anyhow, not trying to dis your choice. Just mentioning why I went the way that I did. When you are skiing and you want to pop a camera out of your pocket quickly, not having any protruding parts is a big plus.

Your camera looks like it has some very nice features.

 

[Grimace]

The Panasonics have lovely design and build quality, but in my use of them they don't deliver the goods when it comes to image quality, being a bit on the noisy side. Well done for not getting ripped off with the Leica though!

That was the one sticking point. The vast majority of P&S cameras are garbage in low light because of the pixel crowding on small sensors. Most reviews of this Panasonic say that if you keep the ISO at 100 or 200, it shouldn't be a problem. I'll pop the flash up for anything else that needs more light.

Since the size was almost the same (I have really big hands anyway,) it was mostly a question of having RAW or ISO400. We'll see!

 

[ChrisA]

I know that there will be a big hit in quality, especially in low-light situations. But, sometimes you just don't want to be "that guy" with the big DSLR.

If you don't want to use the SLR and you still want SLR (or better) quality Leica make the M8. Costs more then a Canon DSLR.

The M8's sensor is larger than a Canon APS-C or Nikon DX but not quite a full 35mm film frame. (1.3 crop) The sensor size (and the optical quality) sets the M8 aparts from all other compact cameras. (Oh, I guess the price sets it aprts too. It's about $5K)

 

[netdog]

Looks like a nice camera. It is not as small as a P&S like the Canon models. If it does what you need then fantastic.

I have the Leica D-Lux3 (Lumix DX2 equivalent) and it is at least as small as the Canon.