Clock Tower, Newark Broad Street Station

Canon Powershot SD780 IS; 1/125 @ f/4.5, ISO 200. Perspective corrected in Adobe Camera Raw.

I was traveling westbound, and as the train pulled into the Newark Broad Street Station, I caught a glimpse of the morning light falling onto the tower. As luck would have it, the train stopped at the perfect location to photograph the tower head-on, so I quickly pulled out my Canon and took this single shot.

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Review: Canon PowerShot SD780 IS

Walter Zapp would be proud. As you can see from the photo above, the SD780 is similar in size to the Classic Minox B, a camera that was designed “to be with you always”. But it’s shape is much more practical for those of us who are photographers and not spies.

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Video on the Canon Powershot SD780 IS

I’ll level with you; I’m not a video person. It’s never held that much of an attraction for me. But even I have to admit that I’m fascinated by the fact that pretty much all still digital cameras come with some form of video. And the Canon SD780 is pretty amazing in this regard. In fact, it was a deciding factor in its purchase.

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Canon Powershot SD780 IS: Seven Primes in One

The Canon has seven steps as opposed to the Nikon P5100’s nine, and they’re pretty similar. Starting from the short end:

Canon Powershot SD780 IS	35mm equivalent	f-stop
5.9mm	33mm	f/3.2
7.2mm	40mm	f/3.5
8.7mm	49mm	f/4.0
10.6mm	60mm	f/4.5
12.5mm	70mm	f/4.5
14.8mm	83mm	f/4.8
17.9mm	100mm	f/5.8

Unlike the Nikon, The Canon doesn’t report the 35mm equivalent focal length in the EXIF data, so I had to calculate it. Camera manufacturers have always varied features between brands, but with digital you can expect even more differences. There are no standards other than industrial design common sense, and camera companies have egos just like any other. Happily, the multi-selector on the Canon controls the exposure compensation, flash mode, self-timer and AF focus range just as it does on the Nikon except that it’s rotated 90° counter-clockwise. I’m actually surprised the icons have been as consistent as they have.

The Menu button on the Canon behaves like the Setup mode on the Nikon, and the Func. Set button on the Canon like the Menu button on the Nikon. It works out OK, because you can get to both quickly with just your thumb. The Nikon requires your left hand and a trip to the Mode Dial on top of the camera. It’s a very different kind of camera, just as a rangefinder is from an SLR. There’s no one perfect camera and I like working with the different designs.

Thank goodness these functions are not touch-screen controlled. If they were, I wouldn’t have bought this camera. If I want touch control, I’ll use my iPhone, thank you very much.

Here are some test shots:

The Morning After:
Looking east from 7th Avenue, Manhattan

Fall Foliage

Times Square at Night

I’m fairly happy with existing light results. Even at low ISO the images are somewhat grainy, so the results at ISO 1600 don’t seem as bad. They’re still much sharper than they would ever be with the closest sized film camera, which would probably use 110 film.

Just in Time for Christmas: My ELPH Story

My very first childhood camera was a Keystone 125X, a little plastic brick that took 126 film cartridges, and served me well on class trips to the Museum of Natural History. When it came time to upgrade, I saved up for a Kodak Pocket 110. Slim profile, sliding lens cap, thumb-operated  film advance lever; at about an inch thick, I could actually slip it into a pocket. This was the camera for me.

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First Impressions: Canon Powershot SD780 IS

As I remove the tiny device from its ecologically friendly packaging, the first thing I notice is its heft; It’s solid and substantial. If feels like a real camera, and yet it seems too small to be a real camera.

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New Arrivals: Canon Powershot SD780 IS

Canon Powershot SD780 IS, Rear

Received this just as I was on my way out, so I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to try it out…

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Just in Time

Canon PowerShot SD780 IS:
A Never-be-without-a-camera-again Camera

So here I am, looking in a shop window in Manhattan on the way to a gig as I come across the Powershot SD780. It was not far from an SD1200. And I notice both have optical viewfinders.

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