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Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS Digital Camera Review

Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS Digital Camera ratings

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$400

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Overall (2,639 Reviews)

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Specs & Features

Released

1 year ago

Camera Type

Compact

LCD Panel Size

2.5 in.

Megapixels

7.1 Megapixel

Optical Zoom

3.8x

35mm Zoom Lens

28 - 105 mm

Aperture Range

f2.8/f5.8 (w/t)

Battery Type

Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery

Built-in Microphone

With Built-in Microphone

Compression Modes

Fine
SuperFine
Normal

Compression Type

JPEG
EXIF 2.2
DPOF

Depth

0.99 in.

Digital Zoom

Family Line

Canon PowerShot

Flash Functions

Flash Off
Auto Flash
Red-eye Reduction Flash
Slow Sync
Manual
Forced On

Flash Type

Built-In

Focal Length

4.6 - 17.3 mm

Focus Type

Autofocus

Height

2.28 in.

ISO Speeds

Auto
100
200
400
800
1600
80

Image Resolutions

640 x 480
2592 x 1944
2048 x 1536
1600 x 1200
3072 x 2304
3072 x 1728

Image Sensor Type

Included Accessories

Software
16 MB Memory Card
AC Power Adapter
Strap
Pouch

Interface Type

USB 2.0

LCD Panel

With LCD Panel

LCD Protected Position

Without LCD Protected Position

LCD Screen Resolution

207,000 pixels

Max Movie Length

3,600 Seconds

Memory Type

MMC Card
Multimedia Card
SD Card

Operating System

Apple Mac OS X
Microsoft Windows 2000
Microsoft Windows 98SE
Microsoft Windows ME
Microsoft Windows XP

Resolution

7.1 Megapixel

Self Timer

2 Sec.
10 Sec.

Shutter Speed

15 - 1/1600 sec

Video Format

AVI
Motion JPEG

Video Interface

Video Out

Video Resolutions

320 x 240 (QVGA)
640 x 480 (VGA)
160 x 120

Video Speed

30 fps

Viewfinder

Optical

Weight

0.33 lb.

White Balance

Auto
Manual
Daylight / Sunny (Preset)
Cloudy (Preset)
Fluorescent (Preset)
Tungsten (Preset)

Width

3.52 in.

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What People Say

Summary: I have had several canon power shot cameras plus a G3 and S60. All the other cameras have been very good. This one will not take good photo in low light. I sent it back to canon after a bad year with it and they charged over $100 to make repairs. Received it back and photos were bad. I went out and bought a sony and paid $100 and it takes good photos. Tried to get Canon to trade me out of this one and refund my Money for the repairs. They would not give me my money back. It is a shame that they will not take care of this one. Read the reviews before you buy from canon. from Mwave.com Pros: Wide lens, look and feel, video from Shopping.com Pros: Please see the above description for details. Cons: Please see the above description for details. The Bottom Line: I would look for a different camera if you are trying to take pictures of children/babies. from Shopping.com Pros: fast shutter speed, amazing picture quality, extremely long battery life Cons: nothing as of yet from Shopping.com Many people may buy the 850 IS because it looks fantastic, but they'll get great images too. The wide-angle lens is great, and although the higher ISOs are noisy, the excellent colour performance makes up for this in normal use. from Dcmag.co.uk Pros: lightweight, small and slim design, userfiendly for the amateur and great pictures. Cons: camera is slippery - easy to drop could use some rubber grip edges. from Shopping.com Pros: Compact, takes great pictures, easy to use Cons: USB door hinge is flimsy The Bottom Line: I recommend this camera if you need something small and easy to use that takes good pictures. from Shopping.com This is the pocket point & shoot I'd been looking for. Sold my month-old SD700IS to get it, and never looked back. I've lived with the SD800IS now for 8 months and couldn't be more satisfied. It's done everything I've asked it to do, from panoramas (great, easy-to-use Canon pano stitching software is included in the package) to macros. Even low-light and night photography from a tripod, and the photos come out great. The image stabilization works great, and if really a phenomenal feature on a true pocket camera. Don't forget to turn it off when using a tripod or bracing against a solid object. Being used to film and digital SLRs, I had to adjust my shutter-button technique by learning to keep my thumb on the bottom of the camera while pressing the shutter button to eliminate 'shutter button shake' from such a small and light camera. Remember, this IS a pocket P&S, and I don't get the same results or have the same creative control of my Nikon D-70s or my Nikon D-200, but for a P&S, it's pretty dogging good. A lot of days, I don't want to lug my DSLR around, and just carry my trusty SD800IS. By the way, you can carry filters and hold them in front of the lens, and get really great results from that, too. I shoot in manual mode most of the time, so I can control the exposure parameters better. I also notice I have to run the camera at 1/3 to 2/3 stopless exposure than the meter calls for, but I often shoot with clouds in the background, and they tend to 'blow out' if I trust the on-board meter. The color is great, and very natural, but I usually use the vivid setting and crank up the saturation for anything that's not portraits. The variety of settings is really way more than I'll ever use (like color substitution), so if there's anything bad to say, it's that the camera has too many color features. The onboard B&W conversion, however, is one of the best I've run across in a P&S. The small size is a blessing...I can carry it all day in my shirt pocket. It's slightly smaller than a pack of cigarettes, so it's right there. The 'turn on' time is short for a pocket camera, and shutter lag is reasonable for this type of camera. The two outstanding features (for me) are the wide-angle end of the zoom range, and the outstanding battery life. How many pictures do you really shoot with a pocket camera zoomed all the way out anyway?. You can usually use your foot zoom (walk a little closer), but there IS a limit to how far you can back up. Great for indoors and group shots. I use mine to great advantage at industrial construction sites. The barrel distortion is easily fixable in a lot of 3rd party software and shareware. For me, a second battery is unnecessary. This past weekend, I took the camera out after no use for about a month, and it's like I just charged it. I can go a full weekend shooting and only have to change SD cards. The charger is small with a self-contained plug, so it's convenient, too. It doesn't have the metal battery/memory door of the SD700IS, but it's not that vulnerable. I'm a klutz, and in 8 months, I haven't broken it. Just be mindful not to be a gorilla with it, and it's fine. I also love the viewfinder, especially for use outdoors in the sunlight where an LCD is unreadable, and it zooms right along with the lens. Prints are sharp and clear, and occasionally I enlarge to 11x17 with no problem. If I have to go bigger, there's software available to sharpen things up. With 7mp, it's got enough resolution for some cropping, too, even when printing to 8 1/2x11. All in all, it's a great value, and I particularly recommend it for a travel camera. I'll probably buy an extra before they discontinue it, unless Canon replaces it with another pocket wide-angle zoom camera. from Bhphotovideo.com Pros: Battery life, wide angle, photo options, video options, quick turn on, great picture quality. Cons: Face detect works from time to time, need obvious face otherwise its a no show. from Shopping.com Pros: Zoom while taking video. Custom number of shot in timer mode. Cons: No sports mode. No high shutter speed setting. Blurry pictures. from Shopping.com