- 12.1-megapixel resolution; 28mm wide-angle lens with 4x optical zoom and Canon’s Optical Image Stabilizer
- Capture 720p HD movies; HDMI output connector for easy playback on your HDTV
- Crisp 2.7-inch PureColor System LCD with wide viewing angle
- Improved Smart AUTO intelligently selects from 22 predefined shooting situations
- Capture images to SD/SDHC memory cards (not included)
Product Description
Your camera says a lot about you – and according to Canon’s PowerShot SD940 IS, you’re into hot design and cool technology. Emerging from your jeans pocket or purse like a sleek little jewel, the PowerShot SD940 IS makes a statement before you even take a picture. And the menu ensures easy access to all its advanced Canon technology, where 12.1 megapixels, improved smart auto mode and 720p HD movies are just the beginning…. More >>
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I needed a replacement for my Casio card camera (I broke the LCD). One of the best things about it is its cradle, connected to both computer and power; just drop it in the cradle and it charges, push a button and it transfers images. But the new version do not come with a cradle; you have to take out the battery each time you want to charge it. This is so bad for so many reasons. So I went searching for a replacement.
And I found this camera. I played with it extensively in a couple of stores and was tremendously impressed. First, it’s almost as thin as the Casio card cameras. Second, it feels solid, not plasticky. It’s responsive. The main controls are easy to use, and the screen is big enough and bright. The auxiliary controls (menus and stuff) are a bit challenging because they are flush to the camera body. And I was not able to find the scene modes that make the Casio cameras so incredibly useful (for example, the whiteboard mode or the eBay mode, both of which just work). Interestingly, there;s a cover in the upper right that has both a USB and an HDMI connection. Wow.
But this camera suffers fro the same fatal flaw as the new Casio cameras: you have to remove the battery to charge it. Here are the issues with that design decision:
First, opening and closing the cover. The cover was not designed to be opened and closed so much. Over time, the hinge will likely loosen, or worse, deform.
Second, it’s so much ore work to open the cover, take out the battery, find the charger, put the battery in the charger, wait for the charge, put the battery back in the camera. Some might say “well, it’s not that big a deal.” But usability isn’t just about big deals, about fixing big frustrations. It’s about the little deals, fixing the little frustrations, the little things that, by themselves uses don’t often notice, but that add up over time. This is one of those. And it doesn’t have to be: It’d be so easyto simply either provide a cradle or be able to just plug a cable into the camera.
Which brings me to, third, the battery doesn’t charge when you plug the USB cable in. Huh?? This is so mind-boggling stupid it defies description.
Let’s not that this Canon camera is not cheap. It’s not competing on price, but on quality (as Canon rightfully should). So to leave out this capability on such an otherwise high quality device completely undermines the trust in Canon engineering.
To be fair, having worked in high tech for so many years, I’d wager that this really was less of an engineering decision than a management decision. They didn’t want to add the small cost it would take, or they wanted to push the model to market before the engineering for it could be completed, something like that.
This camera is so new that the major camera review sites ([...]) haven’t given it a real run-through, but I’m guessing that the photo quality will be to the usual Canon high standards. And if it wasn’t for this incredibly annoying flaw, it’d have been in my cart and in my hands by now. But this is a real deal killer. My search will continue, with the very real hope that Canon engineering (or management) will pull their heads out of their…you know…and fix this in this camera’s successor, turning it from a 1-star product into very likely a 5-star product.
Rating: 15 / 5
I like the removable battery feature because I always carry a spare. One can be in the charger while you still have the use of the camera. I haven’t tried the camera yet – waiting for the price to come down or my SD 750 to break. I have had great experience with Canon though and expect this model to be as good as any others this size.
Rating: 55 / 5
Great improvement over the Canon SD700IS
which I gave to my son.
Have not been able to get the video’s to
play on my XP computers YET
Rating: 55 / 5
In the last 5 years I have had a handful of these Canon point and Shoots at my disposal- this one is not much different than the previous iterations, despite the marketing gizmos and the public’s uneducated craving for more pixels. Granted, it’s still a ‘good’ camera. Just not much new from any other Canon PowerShot.
HD video? not like this is a crazy ‘advanced’ feature on a sensor that can see quadruple the HD format. It’s a marketing trade name- believe it. And people wowed by the HDMI output are oblivious that this is CHEAPER to engineer- digital ~ digital. It has nothing to do with Quality and nor does amping it up to 12 MP.
Comparing my Powershot of 3 years ago- I tested the shutter delay between shots (yes, a half press pre, we are talking write time- black display) Both are the same. I could care less about the useless face recognition, I just want to recoup for the next shot FASTER. Come on, I know you can do this canon.
What drives me nuts is how Canon likes to completely revamp the menu placement. One model has the P (program) then others have M (Manual) and then some have both. Some have a time lapse function buried in the M, others have it as part of the “Movie” function. What I like about a company is stick-tuitiveness and consistency- these wishy-washy marketing product managers are living in a haze.
Another irk with P&S’s in general is the on-camera flash. Nikon at one time had function to +/- the flash fill- Canon, not so much. It’s always overblown- if you compensate -1 or -2 it loses everything else. I always tape a piece of 1/2 spun over the flash, helps a little.
If you want a reliable P&S and you DONT want to THINK- this might be ok for general use. Thats who it’s made for. The average person- not a photographer who wants to get creative. But that’s obvious. Right?
Rating: 35 / 5
I originally bought this little beauty because I needed a tiny camera to drop into my pocket when I didn’t feel like lugging the SLR around with me while on a vacation. The size is perfect: literally the size of a credit card, fits into jeans or shirt pocket easily. But the REAL awesomeness of this camera? It has a 3200 ISO mode, that takes surprisingly excellent photos. On a recent trip to Italy, I was able to use it unnoticed in dimly-lit churches, museums, etc., and even for hand-held night shots on the street. The images do contain some noise, as any would at ISO 3200 — but this camera allowed me to get pictures that I otherwise would’ve missed, and that makes it a little miracle in my opinion.
Rating: 55 / 5