Canon SD780 IS / IXUS 100 IS Reviews

First published on: Tuesday, 24 March 2009

Last update (Dec 02, 2009): The Canon SD780 IS is MacWorld’s favorite point-and-shoot digital camera for 2009.

This post is a compilation of links to the following resources on the Canon Powershot SD780 IS Digital ELPH / Digital IXUS 100 IS digital compact camera:


  1. Professional and user reviews, owner opinions and experiences, tests, ratings, conclusions and feedback.

  2. Sample photos and examples, image galleries and user pictures, movie / video clips and footage.

Professional and user reviews, owner opinions and experiences, tests, ratings, conclusions and feedback

The Canon SD780 IS is MacWorld’s favorite point-and-shoot digital camera for 2009

MacWorld says:

The Canon PowerShot SD780 IS performs very well, with great image quality, a powerful flash, nice low light images, a great selection of scene modes, and excellent optical image stabilization. In our lab’s jury evaluations, the 12-megapixel SD780 IS earned some of the highest marks we’ve seen for a point-and-shoot this year. The camera has amazing color accuracy, and there’s a lack of noise in low-light shots at high ISO levels.

Additionally, on slide 1 of 8 of MacWorld’s “Point-and-shoot cameras for the holidays, 2009“:

In our lab’s jury evaluations, the 12-megapixel SD780 IS netted an overall image quality score of Very Good, earning some of the highest marks we’ve seen for a point-and-shoot this year for its lack of distortion, its color accuracy, and its image sharpness. In hands-on informal tests, I was amazed at the color accuracy and lack of noise in low-light shots at high ISO levels.

Canon PowerShot SD780 IS review at Kush’s Blog

This is a fantastic and comprehensive user review of the SD780 / IXUS 100.

Kush awarded the camera an overall rating of 4.5 stars, and has the following conclusions:

I really fell in love with this camera. It lived up to my expectations. Usually when I anticipate a product so much I get disappointed when it’s not as good as I thought. However with this camera it really amazed me, GREAT JOB CANON! However some things in the user interface could get fixed, it took me about five minutes to figure out where the color swap function is for images. However this camera will really impress everyone that sees it, even the non geeks. My friends asked to see my camera when I arrived back from my trip to the US. They were shocked to see a point and shoot camera, they expected a heavy duty giant camcorder. I am glad I picked Canon over Sony for my digital camera!

The enthusiasm he shows for the camera in the review speaks volumes of the camera’s capabilities.

Canon PowerShot SD780 IS review at infoSyncWorld

Mike Perlman, the reviewer, is impressed with the image quality he got from the SD780, saying:

Most other tiny compacts in this class can walk the walk, but they can’t back it up with a solid image performance, or great features. The PowerShot SD780 IS churned an excellent portfolio of images in bright and low light, in addition to providing plenty of advanced features that can’t be found on most of its competitors.

If you’re trying to decide whether to purchase the SD780 IS / IXUS 100 IS vs Canon SD960 IS / IXUS 110 IS, this is the review to read.

Quick Specs

Key features, functionality and specifications of the SD780 IS / IXUS 100 IS:


  1. Zoom range: 33-100mm in 35mm equivalent terms.

  2. Aperture range: f/3.2 to f/5.8 across the zoom range.

  3. Image sensor: 1/2.3-inch.

  4. Resolution: 12.1 Megapixels.

  5. Weight: 4.6 ounces (132g).

  6. Dimensions: 3.4 x 2.1 x 0.7 inches (87 x 55 x 18 mm).

  7. Rear LCD: 2.5 inches, 230,000 dots.

  8. Movie / video capture: 720p (1280 x 720) at 30 fps (frames per second).

Full review by Imaging Resource

Imaging Resource isn’t satisfied with the image quality of the SD780, and has the following conclusion:

I hand-picked the Canon SD780 IS from the range of Spring 2009 digital cameras, hoping it would be a good performer, as I expect its appearance alone to make it a great seller.

We’ve even see other sites give it a positive review.

Though we really like the way the camera works, and at least two of us had it on our short list as our next pocket camera, the fact that it can’t exceed the capabilities of the two-year-old 7.1-megapixel Canon SD1000 scuttled our plans.

We still think the SD780 IS is a very nice digital camera to use, and that it will serve as a decent camera for serving up good 4x6-inch prints at up to ISO 800, but that 12-megapixel designation on the front of the camera makes it seem like the camera is capable of more.

The lens flare, a big part of the problem with the Canon SD780, will also be noticeable in most enlargements of 8x10 or bigger; without the flare, we’d probably give the SD780 a stronger recommendation with a warning about heavy noise reduction.

The exception is the SD780’s movie mode, where lens flare is going to be less of an issue; so if you’re looking for a very very small 720p camera, the SD780 might serve well.

The Canon SD780 is a nice looking little digital camera that’s slim and pretty fast, but it doesn’t measure up to Canon’s better current pocket cameras, like the Canon SD880 IS, which we recommend so highly that we made it a Dave’s Pick before we even finished the review.

SD780 Review by DigitalCameraReview

DCR’s review of the SD780 IS / IXUS 100 IS has some interesting highlights:


  1. Smart Auto mode: A very fluid algorithm built into the camera that automatically identifies up to 8 different scene types and applies the appropriate camera settings.

  2. Just one more face: An interesting face detection feature that’s suitable for group photos. The SD780 will take a picture when an additional face is detected in the frame, giving the photographer time to be included in the photo.

  3. HD (high definition), 720p video capture: Video quality is nice, but audio quality is not as impressive.

  4. Styling and form factor: The SD780 IS is the slimmest Canon ELPH ever at 0.7 inches thick, and is an attention-grabber with its sleek design, and body colors and finishing.

  5. Rear LCD: The 230,000-dot, 2.5-inch LCD presents colors and exposure rather accurately.

The SD870 IS ended up earning “Editor’s Choice” with the following conclusion:

Shoot with the camera for a little while, though, and you’ll quickly figure out that this is a device that proves to be much more than the sum of its parts. Streamlined in every sense to fit with the kind of casual, memory-capturing shooting that most of us engage in most of the time, the SD780 is a camera that churns out great pictures without fuss.

Sample photos and examples, image galleries and user pictures, movie / video clips and footage

Gallery of test SD960 IS / IXUS 110 IS photos at StevesDigicams

Canon Powershot SD960 IS / IXUS 110 IS gallery of sample photos at Steves Digicams

There are two sample video clips at the bottom of the page. The first clip, taken indoors, shows the strong vertical banding artifact Steve talks about in his review. The second clip was taken outdoors.

Bairéid’s SD960 Set on Flickr

There’s a ton of outstanding SD960 / IXUS 110 images in this set. Colors and tonality are just superb, although I wish there was a way to view larger images.

Some of my favorites are:


  1. Buildings, Branches and a Blue Sky.

  2. Morning Table (nice unibody MacBook Pro in the photo).

  3. Image of a Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX lens on a unibody MacBook Pro (I like gadget photos).

  4. Nice food photo, taken in the Circa bistro / restaurant in Cazenovia, New York.

  5. Beautiful Spring morning landscape.

  6. Thre indoor, relatively low-light shots: New Titles, Bookery, Ithaca NY and Bookery 2.

View more photos in the Canon SD960 IS/Digital IXUS 110 IS/IXY Digital 510 IS on Flickr.

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