I enjoy writing about products to check out the latest the market has to offer and decided to take a look at the variety of digital cameras available today. I also noticed during my research that it is pretty easy to check out digital cameras online. More importantly, I was quickly able to find digital cameras on sale.
During my investigation I found that my current digital camera is causing me to miss out on a few coveted features of some of the more powerful ones out there. Note: A camera can have all the features in the world but I am not going to pay an exorbitant amount for one. So, it should come as no surprise that there is one condition for me to review a product. It has to be on sale or offered at a discount. Requirement met. In a nutshell, I think I may have found the best digital camera for the price.
I’ve finally realized why my digital camera has a few shortcomings which are beginning to irritate me after less than a year of ownership. It simply is not powerful enough or it doesn’t have the feature(s) that would give it that extra “oomph”. So, there is much more to choosing an excellent digital camera than I realized as I quickly learned from reviewing some details of several models. My research led me to one camera that I feel leaves the others in the dust and that’s the Canon PowerShot SD780IS Digital Camera with 3X Optical Image Stabilized Zoom.What to Look for When Buying a Digital Camera
Here are some basic features that separate a mediocre digital camera from an excellent one:
The megapixel number
It’s zoom ability
It’s optical ability
If you just buy the cheapest digital camera you see you may end up disappointed particularly if you plan on using your camera to capture special events in your life or even everyday events you wish to preserve. The last thing you want is for your camera to not function properly or worse not be able to function in a way that is needed for the moment you are trying to capture. So, keep reading as I will let you know why the above items are important and throw in a few more that putCanon Powershot SD780IS Digital Camera with 3X Optical Image Stabilized Zoom ahead of the pack. A Mega What?
Here’s the quick tech lesson. Digital photographs are ultimately a collection of tiny units known as pixels. One megapixel equals one million pixels. The higher the megapixel the greater the clarity of the resulting picture. As a baseline, a 6 or 7 on the megapixel scale should give you good quality prints even when the photo is enlarged.
This Canon digital camera has a 12.1 megapixel resolution which will provide an additional level of sharpness and clarity that is needed – just in case you decide to create high quality oversized prints.
Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!
The Canon Digital PowerShot has a 3x optical zoom that uses the camera lens to bring the focus of your shot closer without sacrificing clarity. Instead of just enlarging a portion of an image like a digital zoom does, the optical zoom does a much better job of bringing the image to you. Digital zooms are usually a culprit in blurred zoomed photos. So, forget about having to be right up on an object to get a good shot.
Optical Ability – And We’re Not Talking Glasses
Have you ever given your camera to someone else to take a photo of you and your family/friends only to find the photo turned out fuzzy or blurry? The culprit can usually be tied to that slight shaking or vibrating of the camera when the person is unable to keep their hand perfectly still. The optical image stabilizer found in the PowerShot SD780 takes care of this for you with an auto correct feature. Your shots will be steady and not look like you were driving in a car when you took them.
Grab the popcorn!
One thing that really sets the PowerShot camera apart is the HD movie shooting capability. The fact that it is already a great performing camera was enough for many reviewers but this feature really seemed to put it over the top for them. You can take your still photos or your recordings and play them back on a High-Def (1280×720 pixels) television.
Which Setting Do I Choose?
Don’t choose. You can activate the Smart Auto feature and it’ll do it for you. The camera automatically selects an appropriate setting from 18 specially defined settings based on your surroundings. Forget adjusting for the sunset, still art photos, or a day at the beach. Smart Auto does it all.
Set, Press, Wait…, Okay Shoot! The Canon Powershot SD780 has a face detection self timer that all but eliminates the need for you to set up a group picture and then rush to be in it. Just put the camera on a stand or tripod, activate this setting, and the camera will wait for the photographer’s face to get on-camera before it takes the shot.
Red Eye – Be Gone Now there is really no reason to have red eyes ruin your photos. If it happens to you, there are three ways to fix this little nuisance. You don’t have to wait until the photo is printed to know you have a problem either. According to Amazon, the three ways are:
“1) Red-eye Correction during shooting actually identifies and corrects red-eye in human subjects as pictures are taken.”
“2) The PowerShot SD780 IS Digital ELPH can be set to automatically detect and correct red-eye during image playback.”
“3) You can manually locate any red eyes in a scene during image playback on the LCD screen, and command the camera to remove them.”
How Much Should You Expect to Pay?
The Canon Powershot SD780IS Digital Camera with 3X Optical Image Stabilized Zoom is available on the Canon website for $229 but you really shouldn’t be paying any more than $200 for this camera. The cheapest we have seen is on Amazon who consistently sell this digital camera for under $175. This camera has received incredible feedback from most consumers on the net with an average of 4.5 out of 5 from most reviewers on the Amazon website itself.
Here are some of the comments to date:
“More Than Expected!! Superb Photos!”“Excellent Digital Camera, Amazing HD Video Recording, Tiny Body and Weight”“Amazing camera very small and beautiful, and superb photos”“Excellent For Still Pictures and Video”“What an amazing camera! Big camera performance, tiny package!”“THE BEST UNDER $250”“Canon SD780: Finally found the ultimate hybrid camera”Any Downsides?
This product currently has over 575 reviews at Amazon all accumulating in a 4.5 out of 5 star rating. It is tough to maintain a near perfect rating with that many reviews. Buyers are clearly discounting any negative comments, making the purchase, and posting their positive feedback.