Canon PowerShot ELPH / IXUS · 2008
The Canon PowerShot SD770 IS (Digital IXUS 85 IS): an ELPH with a viewfinder, and a split verdict on its noise
Sold in Europe as the Digital IXUS 85 IS and in Japan as the IXY Digital 25 IS.
In spring 2008 Canon put a 10-megapixel CCD and a stabilised 35–105 mm zoom into an aluminium body 20.4 mm thick, and kept a real optical viewfinder. Reviewers liked how it was built and its screen, and one praised its focus speed; they then split on its pictures: one scored it 4 out of 5, another called the image quality poor.
- Launched
- April 2008
- Sensor
- 10 MP CCD
- Lens
- 35–105 mm, 3×
- Card
- SDHC, SD, MultiMediaCard
- Battery
- NB-6L
Canon PowerShot SD770 IS specs: sensor, lens, battery, memory card and cable
The Canon PowerShot SD770 IS (also sold as the Digital IXUS 85 IS and IXY Digital 25 IS) came out in April 2008 at $299.99 as a 10 MP CCD compact with a 35–105 mm (35 mm equivalent) 3× zoom lens. It runs on the NB-6L battery. Sources
- Sensor
- CCD, 1/2.3", 10 MP source
- Lens
- 35–105 mm equivalent, 3× zoom source
- Memory card
- SDHC, SD, MultiMediaCard source
- Battery
- NB-6L source
- Also sold as
- Digital IXUS 85 IS · IXY Digital 25 IS
- USB / A/V cable
- IFC-400PCU, AVC-DC400 Confirmed · all Canon cables
Meet the camera
Canon's museum describes it as the sibling of the 20 IS from earlier in 2008 (the IXY Digital 20 IS, March 2008): a 3x stabilised zoom, a 10-megapixel CCD, a 2.5-inch screen, a silver body with either a black or a silver front ring.12 Trusted Reviews found the body all aluminium with a semi-matte anodised finish and the build beyond reproach, but noted that the smooth surface is slippery and there is no thumb or finger grip.8 It is 86.0 by 54.0 by 20.4 millimetres and weighs about 130 grams, camera body only.1
It had three names. Canon's museum lists it as the PowerShot SD770 IS Digital ELPH in the United States, the Digital IXUS 85 IS in Europe and the IXY Digital 25 IS in Japan, marketed in April 2008.1 Reviewed.com reported the US announcement on 12 March, together with the SD790 IS and SD890 IS, at $299.99 with shipping in April (it said early April), and Ken Rockwell also dates the announcement to 12 March; Imaging Resource and Gizmodo both gave mid-April.3946 Rockwell, writing that May, said it had been available since April for about $270.9 In Britain Trusted Reviews quoted a list price of 240 pounds and an online price near 200.8
- Sensor
- 10.0 MP CCD, 1/2.3"1
- Lens
- 3x, 35–105 mm equiv., f/2.8–4.9, lens-shift stabiliser1
- Screen
- 2.5", about 230,000 dots, plus a real-image optical viewfinder1
- Video
- 640 × 480 at 30 fps, AVI (Motion JPEG), mono sound1
- Card and battery
- SD/SDHC (MMC also listed) · NB-6L per Canon and others, NB-5L per one table; about 300 shots per charge (CIPA)156
- Size
- 86.0 × 54.0 × 20.4 mm, about 130 g, camera body only1
Why this one was interesting
A viewfinder, in a shrinking market
Imaging Resource called a real-image optical zoom viewfinder rather rare on digicams of the time, and Reviewed.com's launch story made the same point.63 Trusted Reviews agreed it saves battery but found it very small and awkward with glasses, and liked that it sits directly over the lens, which reduces horizontal parallax problems.8 Pocket-lint went further: it is tiny, and it eats into the space for the screen.7
Stabilised, and quick on its feet
Trusted Reviews rated the stabiliser as worth a consistent three stops, though it thought a 3x zoom needs it less than a long lens does.8 The same review put start-up at about one second, shutdown under a second and a half, and shot-to-shot time just under two seconds, with autofocus locking in about half a second in virtually any light.8 Ken Rockwell, who is impatient by his own admission, still found menus and controls a tenth of a second behind where he wanted them, and said he preferred the SD790 IS for that and for its 3-inch screen.9
Smarter focusing
Canon's press material, as printed by Imaging Resource, described face detection for up to nine faces, a face-based white balance and an "AF Point Zoom" that enlarges the main face on the screen so you can judge the moment.6 Pocket-lint found face detection reasonably good but not always able to keep tracking a face, and noted that its focus-check option, which helps confirm the right face is sharp, slows shooting between frames.7 Rockwell wrote that it works, in the sense that the camera draws boxes around faces, but that he saw no improvement in exposure or white balance from it.9
For the line it came from, see our reviews of the SD1100 IS (the Digital IXUS 80 IS in Europe, per Canon),2 the earlier SD750 and SD1000, and the later SD780 IS.
What was lost
Pocket-lint thought the design a step back from the IXUS 80: the subtle curve on the front had gone, the look was more generic, and the battery rattled in its compartment.7 Its screen is 2.5 inches against the 3 inches of the IXUS 90, which Pocket-lint named for comparison.7 Trusted Reviews found the feature set thin for the money, with two basic shooting modes and limited menus.8 Video stops at 640 by 480; Rockwell found it looked good but produced large files, about 19 megabytes for a ten-second clip, and he noted mono sound with a gain control he could hear pumping.9
The dark: its weak point
The three main reviewers read the noise differently. Trusted Reviews said noise control was surprisingly poor, visible from ISO 200; its crops call ISO 80 clean and sharp, ISO 400 worse, ISO 800 a loss of fine detail and ISO 1600 pretty poor though colour balance held.8 Pocket-lint said noise is still a problem at the higher ISO options, but that up to ISO 400 is "just about manageable"; it added that the DIGIC III processor reduces noise in poor light at the cost of some detail.7 Rockwell thought the camera noisy with noise-reduction artefacts that make pictures look spackled over even at normal sensitivities, yet still judged its quality as good as any compact he had used.9 The short What Digital Camera capsule, by contrast, said noise was well controlled.10
Real photographs taken with this camera (sold in Europe as the IXUS 85 IS). The sensitivity shown is recorded in each file's own EXIF data. The pink blossoms were photographed outdoors in daylight; they are here because the file records ISO 1600, not because the light was dim.
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The little wins
A screen you could use overhead
Trusted Reviews called the monitor bright and sharp with good contrast and an effective anti-glare coating, and found its viewing angle wide enough to hold the camera over your head and shoot above a crowd.8 Pocket-lint found it stayed visible in bright daylight and gave the camera a great screen in its pros list.7 Rockwell called it accurate and anti-reflection coated.9
A rotary zoom collar
The zoom control is a bezel around the shutter button, which Trusted Reviews far preferred to a rocker switch.8
Focus that kept up in the dark
Trusted Reviews singled out low-light focusing as particularly impressive, ideal for the social occasions where a camera like this is used.8
Automatic red-eye repair
Trusted Reviews found the in-camera red-eye correction in playback worked very well.8 Imaging Resource listed an automatic version that can be switched on while shooting.6
White balance that held indoors
Rockwell wrote that automatic white balance usually gave perfect correction under tungsten light, though shade was still a little blue.9
How it drew the picture
Centre sharpness drew praise and the edges drew complaints. Trusted Reviews found the lens very sharp over most of the frame, with soft, blurry corners, more barrel distortion at wide angle than it expected from Canon, purple fringing, superb colour and limited dynamic range, with highlights sacrificed to keep shadow detail.8 Pocket-lint found images very good with vivid colour, but saw blue fringing around highlights, slightly more than on the IXUS 80, along with blurred corners and distortion in a river scene.7 What Digital Camera gave the same two complaints, smudgy corners and green and purple fringing, and said flash exposures were balanced.10 Rockwell found pictures extremely sharp and said the camera over-sharpens, with the barrel distortion typical of compacts at the wide end.9
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Photos taken with this camera, from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each picture.
Where it let you down
Battery claims and findings do not line up. Canon's launch material, as Reviewed.com reported it, promised more than 300 shots per charge across the three new models, and Imaging Resource gave 300 by CIPA rules for this one.36 Rockwell's battery gauge still read full after 175 photos and movies, a hands-on note rather than a test.9 The battery type is itself a conflict: Canon's museum lists the NB-6L, as do Imaging Resource and Rockwell, but the spec table DPReview printed from Canon's European release names an NB-5L; we treat the museum as the better source and ask you to check the pack you are buying.1695 Pocket-lint added that the extra two megapixels over the 8-megapixel IXUS 80 add little.7
What the reviewers said
| Outlet | Date | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Pocket-lint | 6 May 2008 | 4 out of 5. Lightweight, easy to use, great screen; bland design, blue fringing around highlights, blurred corners. A good little camera whose price premium over the IXUS 80 may not be justified.7 |
| Trusted Reviews | Undated | Superb build, compact, good performance; very expensive, poor image quality. It said it expected more for over 200 pounds.8 |
| Ken Rockwell | May 2008 | Sharp, noisy, as good as any compact he had used; buy it at $300 and be happy, though he would pay about $50 more for the SD790 IS.9 |
| What Digital Camera | Page dated 31 Oct 2014 | Short capsule: looks good, handles well, generally fine and balanced images. Cons: corner sharpness, no standout features, fringing.10 |
The timeline
- 12 March 2008Reviewed.com reports Canon's US announcement of the SD770 IS at $299.99, shipping in April; Ken Rockwell dates the announcement to the same day.39
- 13 March 2008DPReview and Gizmodo report the announcement; Canon's European release calls it the IXUS 85 IS.54
- Mid-April 2008Imaging Resource and Gizmodo give mid-April as the expected shipping date.64
- April 2008Canon's museum lists the camera as marketed.1
- 6 May 2008Pocket-lint publishes its review.7
- May 2008Ken Rockwell publishes his page.9
Should you buy one now?
Buy one if you want an aluminium ELPH with a real viewfinder, a bright screen and quick focus, and you can live with soft corners and noise (Trusted Reviews saw it from ISO 200 up); each of the three main reviewers flagged one or both.879 It launched at $299.99;3 what it sells for now is a question for the sold listings, not for us. We have not tested a unit. Before you bid, check these:
- The name. It is the PowerShot SD770 IS in the US, the Digital IXUS 85 IS in Europe and the IXY Digital 25 IS in Japan, so search all three.1 Do not mix it up with the SD790 IS, which Ken Rockwell found has a much bigger 3-inch screen.9
- The battery. Canon's museum lists an NB-6L, but one spec table names an NB-5L, so check the pack in the camera;15 a fresh one is on Amazon ↗.
- The card. It takes SD and SDHC cards;1 see our memory card guide.
- The finish. The smooth aluminium is slippery, so look for dings and a wrist strap.8
- The corners. Look at a test photo for the soft edges reviewers described, and check that the lens extends and retracts cleanly.
If you are wondering why cameras like this are being hunted down again, we tell that story once, in Pictures that never left the card.
See recent sold prices on eBay ↗Shop on eBay ↗NB-6L battery ↗
Sources
- Canon Camera Museum: PowerShot SD770 IS DIGITAL ELPH / Digital IXUS 85 IS / IXY DIGITAL 25 IS (names, April 2008, specifications)
- Canon Camera Museum: PowerShot SD1100 IS DIGITAL ELPH / Digital IXUS 80 IS / IXY DIGITAL 20 IS (names, March 2008)
- Reviewed.com news, Canon adds three to line of sleek ELPH PowerShots by Jennifer Nelson (12 March 2008; SD770 IS $299.99, shipping April)
- Gizmodo, Canon refreshes PowerShot digital camera line by Haroon Malik (13 March 2008; $299 estimated retail, mid-April)
- DPReview, Canon announces PowerShot SD790 and SD770 (DPReview staff, 13 March 2008; spec table from Canon's European release)
- Imaging Resource, Canon SD770 IS overview (launch coverage: about US$300, shipping from mid-April 2008, 300 shots per charge by CIPA)
- Pocket-lint, Canon IXUS 85 IS review by Chris Hall (6 May 2008; 4 out of 5)
- Trusted Reviews, Canon Digital IXUS 85 IS review (undated, no author shown; list price 240 pounds)
- Ken Rockwell, Canon SD770 IS (IXUS 85 IS), May 2008
- What Digital Camera, Canon IXUS 85 IS review by Matt Golowczynski (a short capsule; the page shows 31 October 2014, the original date is not shown)
Camera photo by Eticangaaa (CC0; the Commons file is titled "back" but shows the front); other photographs are credited under each one, all via Wikimedia Commons. Links to eBay and Amazon are affiliate links.