Latest – Review by PCAdvisor (added 21 April ‘08)
The Canon Powershot SD950 IS features:
- 12.1 megapixels
- 3.7x optical zoom
- 7.7-28.5mm f/2.8-5.8 (35mm film equivalent: 36-133mm) lens, optical zoom viewfinder
- Optical image stabilization
- Face detection
- 2.5 inch LCD
- ISO range from 80 to 1600
- The cameras dimensions are (W x H x D) 3.78 x 2.36 x 1.09 in./95.9 x 59.9 x 27.6mm and it weighs 5.82 oz./165g
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Reviewers Conclusions & Verdicts – (updated 21 April ‘08)
PCAthority has reviewed the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and they write -
“More serious photographers won’t be too frustrated by the 960’s feature set, though. As well as the very capable image stabilisation – allowing at least two stops of leeway when it comes to low-light shots without the flash – it offers three metering modes, including spot metering. Image review options include a histogram breakdown and highlight-clip warnings (over-exposed areas of the image flash in the preview). Manual mode is a little limited, though, with no way of setting shutter speed apart from +/-2EV exposure compensation, and no manual aperture control at all.”
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RegHardware – 01 April’08 – reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and noted that a lot of interior pictures were less than impressive. Review summary -
“Overall performance was good and images were crisp and sharp with good color, at least the outdoor photos. One of the main snags of the review was they discovered the camera was not the easiest to operate. For example image stabilization controls are buried deep in the menu system. bottom line, it’s one of the nicest cameras they’ve seen it’s just too bad it’s not a little more straight forward and that interior pictures should have better color.”
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TrustedReviews – 25 March’08 – reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and thinks it has everything you would want except a wide angle lens. Review summary -
“Outstanding performance and bullet proof construction makes the SD950 a very desirable digital camera. Image quality is without question the best in its class. According to the review it is the best 12 megapixel on the market, period. The camera’s greatest strength is image noise, as in, the lack of, even at high ISO settings.”
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DigitalCameraReview – 10 March’08 – reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and feels the camera features at times seems at odds with each other. Review summary -
“Image quality is top notch with good color and good resolution. Lack of better wide angle coverage seems to be a bad oversight by Canon. For a camera with such a good build quality it would seem the manufacturer would extended the wide angle coverage to make it the perfect travel camera. As would be expected noise in manageable up to ISO 400 and from that pint on things get ugly.”
Bottom Line – The 950 IS does a lot of thing really well but nothing that sets it apart from the crowd.
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DevHardware – 14 February’08 – reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and felt about the only thing wrong with this camera was noise at high ISO settings.. Here is a summary of their review -
“Here’s a great camera, perhaps a little expensive but none the less a great camera that’ll produce consistent high quality photos. Canon has made sure that the optical image stabilization and auto focus system make for exceptional pictures. It does have slightly lower performance but the reviewer felt it was because of the 12 megapixel sensor.”
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PhotographyReview – 23 January’08 – reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and thought it had great image quality. Here is a summary of their review -
“Nice camera but it does fall down in a couple of areas namely shutter lag slow shot-to-shot time. If you have children or want to take pictures of fast moving subjects Canon left out a “sports scene” mode (bad move). One of the reviews biggest grips was the rather limited 35mm wide angle. It would have been a way better camera if Canon had put something like a 28mm.”
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PCMag – 16 January’08 – reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and feels the images are brilliant. Here is a summary of their review -
“If you’re concerned about budget this might not be your first choice camera because they do charge a premium for it. Photos taken at ISO 200 were absolutely free of any digital noise and the colors were spot on. Even photos taken at ISO 400 in low light had great shadow detail and were crisp. The review was filled with words like awesome, brilliant, and outstanding. the 950’s menu system was super easy to navigate and most setting can be found very quickly.”
All in all the PCMag review was super impressed with this camera. In fact they almost gave it a perfect score!
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ShinyMedia – 11 January’08 – reviews the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T2
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ePhotozine – 29 November’07 – reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and because of the overall outstanding performance this camera receives the outstanding recommendation. Here is an excerpt from their review verdict -
“Aesthetically and cosmetically, I am bowled over by the Canon IXUS 960 IS. I think it is a lovely looking camera with its fluid curves. The large sensor will produce images with great quality up to most size enlargements.
The quality of the IXUS brand has been retained and I think the only thing that could improve on the camera would be the dodgy navigation controls, making the USB easier to get to and fitting a physically bigger lens to retain the chunky feel.”
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PCWorld – 20 November’07 – reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and felt the camera was a little large and definitely pricy. Here is an excerpt from their review -
“Our test photos came out impressively sharp, with no distortion such as color banding and speckling (or noise). In most shots, images looked slightly underexposed, and colors weren’t as warm as we’d have liked. Overall, however, we were quite pleased with the results. The SD950’s optical image stabilization worked well when we used it to shoot objects in shade at full telephoto–a situation where camera shake often ruins an otherwise great shot.”
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Imaging-Resource – 18 November’07 – reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and notes optical viewfinder accuracy is not to be trusted. Here is an excerpt from their review -
“The Canon SD950 IS is a very responsive camera, with low shutter lag in daylight conditions, and excellent shot-to-shot speeds. It also sports very good battery life, a capable Movie mode, and excellent download speed. Finally, Canon makes a line of accessories including a slave flash, and even an underwater case for it as well, expanding your options beyond what you’d normally expect from a compact digital camera. The bright 2.5-inch color LCD monitor is excellent for framing and reviewing shots, and the overall design and layout of the SD950 is user-friendly and hassle-free.”
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Cameras.co.uk – 30 October’07 – reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and comments on the outstanding photo quality. Here is an excerpt from their review verdict -
“The Canon IXUS 960 IS is one of the better point and shoot digital cameras when it comes to picture quality. Shutter delay times in my tests are a concern though and it will make the camera less attractive if you are planning to use the camera to photograph active children.”
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PopPhoto – 26 October’07 – reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and thought the image quality was simply fantastic. Here is an excerpt from their review -
“I really had a blast shooting with this camera. Even with good lighting conditions at the beach town of Cape May, the camera’s image stabilization came in handy when shooting at longer focal lengths, as the maximum aperture at the camera’s longest focal length of 133mm (35mm equivalent) is f/5.8, just over two stops higher than the overall maximum aperture of f/2.8. Images were crisp and generally well exposed, and while the housing feels nearly as durable as a solid piece of metal, the lightweight pocket cam didn’t weigh me down. The LCD was visible even in bright sunlight and focus was fast in all situations with a negligible shutter delay after focus was established.”
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Unbeatable.co.uk – 04 October’07 – reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and thought Canon has made the almost perfect compact digital camera. Good enough in fact to score 10 out 10 points. Here is their overall conclusion;
“The Canon Ixus 960is may be a little pricey over other compact digital cameras with a similar specification, but you can tell this model has been manufactured with skill and care and this is proven in its unbeatable performance. Images are fantastic and with such speedy response times, we will struggle to beat this review.”
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Steve’s Digicams – 03 October’07 – reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and writes;
“The SD950 continues in the tradition of the S100 that was started back in 2000, leading the way in the digicam market. A stylish and durable camera, with an outstanding 12.1 megapixel imaging sensor, 3.7x optical zoom and image stabilization, make this an incredibly versatile camera. Great performance and excellent image quality just add to this already outstanding package.”
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PhotographyBlog – 01 October’07 – reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and writes;
“Pick the IXUS 960 IS up for the first time and there is an undeniable sense of quality which exceeds most of the competition, but this only partly justifies the seriously high retail price. The LCD screen is clear enough to be able to compose images in sunshine without recourse to the alternative optical viewfinder. Indeed I quickly forgot the viewfinder was even there, so small and murky the view through it. ISO Auto Shift is a useful feature in theory but is seriously let down by the quality available at ISO 800, whilst beginners will love the Face Detection feature which provides well focused and exposed family pictures. For those who don’t already own an IXUS but are seduced by its enticingly curvaceous lines, titanium body and sophisticated finish, the IXUS 960 IS is as good a place as any to get introduced to the family. We’d suggest looking beyond the headline-grabbing 12 megapixel resolution and opting for the much cheaper IXUS 860 IS, which has the added benefit of a 28mm wide-angle lens, larger LCD screen and most importantly less noisy images.”
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ePhotozine – 20 September’07 – reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and writes;
“Combining style with substance, the IXUS 950 performed extremely well in all parts of the test. Stylish, compact and easy to use, the camera provided good results throughout all tests. ISO results were excellent, as were performances in burst mode, and the Macro mode gave super sharp and detailed pictures from as close as 2cm. Features such as Image Stabilization, Advanced Digic III Processor and Face Detection all contribute to giving high quality results and make taking high quality photographs a doddle. Simple enough to use, even for newcomers to digital, the IXUS 950 is a good all rounder that comes highly recommended.”
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CNET – 19 September’07 – reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and writes;
“For a 12-megapixel compact camera, the PowerShot SD950 IS fares well. But, if you don’t feel you need so many pixels, and unless you plan to print 11×17-inch images regularly, then you can probably get faster performance by choosing a camera with fewer megapixels, such as Canon’s 8-megapixel PowerShot SD870 IS–but you will have to give up the optical viewfinder if you do.
The bottom line: Canon’s SD950 IS looks great and can take very nice images, but the digital camera’s whopping 12 megapixels will leave you waiting between shots.”
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GoodGearGuide – 17 September’07 – reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS/IXUS 960 IS and writes;
“The feature set is fairly standard for a compact camera, offering ISO sensitivities up to 1600, white balance presets and a manual mode and the now commonplace face detect, which is great for portrait and group shots as it makes human faces the focus point of the picture. Optical image stabilization is also included, which helps eliminate the impact of handshake, particularly when using the included 3.7x optical zoom.”
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Cameras.co.uk reviews the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS and writes;
“If you are looking for a quality, point and shoot digital camera then the Canon IXUS 950 IS is one for your shortlist. It has a number of strengths such as picture quality and build quality and is certainly well worth a close look.”
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ComputerActive has reviewed the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS and writes;
“The photos from the camera are sharp and very colourful, though detail in highlights – for example, embroidery on a white shirt is lost in bright sunshine. Such conditions also gave rise to occasional fringing lines of different coloured pixels between areas of high contrast though this was only noticeable under close inspection. And if you want to avoid image noise when taking snaps without flash, stick to ISO400 or below.
It’s not perfect, but the 950 IS has almost all that most users will want from a snapshot camera.”
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Sample Photos
[Sample Photos at RegHardware]
[Sample Photos at TrustedReviews]
[Sample 1600 ISO Test Photos at DigitalCameraReview]
[Sample Photos at DevHardware]
[Sample Photos at PhotographyReview]
[Sample Photos at Imaging-Resource]
[Sample Photos at Cameras.co.uk]
[Sample Photos at PopPhoto]
[Sample Photos at Steve's Digicams]
[Sample Photos at PhotographyBlog]
[Sample Photos at Cameras.co.uk]
[Sample Photos at Canon]
Specifications
[Official Canon Specifications]
Drivers and Downloads
[Official Canon Drivers and Downloads Page]
Owners Manual
Press Release- (added 22 August ‘07)
LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., Canon U.S.A., Inc. today introduced two new compact PowerShot Digital ELPH Cameras the top-of-the line 12.1-megapixel PowerShot SD950 IS Digital ELPH and the status-setting 8.0-megapixel resolution PowerShot SD870 IS Digital ELPH. Both cameras still have the alluring charm and color that keep them ahead of the aesthetic curve, but now they are also loaded with advanced features and functions, making them perfect for the trend-setting techie. For the consumer attending a sunny backyard soiree, a relaxing respite getaway or an electrifying night on the town, these two Digital ELPH cameras continue to hold court as the perfect combination of beauty and brains. Canon’s PowerShot Digital ELPH cameras verify the adage that you can never be too (feature) rich or too stylishly thin.
The PowerShot SD950 IS Digital ELPH and SD870 IS Digital ELPH cameras build on Canon’s original, iconic box and circle design while maintaining their own identity. The PowerShot SD950 IS Digital ELPH camera is sophisticated, sensual and strikingly elegant, while the PowerShot SD870 IS Digital ELPH camera is sleek, sassy and serves as a fashion statement. Both Digital ELPHs are lightweight and compact, allowing them to fit unobtrusively into a small purse or shirt-pocket, and be whipped out easily to capture a memorable moment.
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