The SD850 IS was first announced in May 2007 as a replacement for the Powershot SD700 IS. It constitutes only a relatively subtle upgrade.

Visually the SD850 is virtually indistinguishable from the older model, and there are only a handful of modifications to the specification of the camera. Most notably the sensor now records 8MP images instead of 6 and the resolution of the 2.5″ screen has been increased to 230,000 pixels. The ‘digital heart’ beating in the SD850 is now the latest generation of Canon’s imaging processor, the DIGIC III. With the new processor there come a couple of new features too: Face Detection and the useful Auto ISO shift option.

Features:-

* 8.0 million Effective pixels

* Widescreen (16:9) stills recording

* Canon’s DIGIC III image processor, iSAPS, 9-point AiAF and Face Detection

* ISO 1600 and optical IS for flash-free indoor shooting

* 16 shooting modes

* Wide viewing angle 2.5″ LCD screen (230,000 pixels)

* My Colors photo effects

* 4x (35-140mm equiv.) zoom

* 30fps VGA movies with time lapse mode

Design:-

# Front: – The front of the Canon PowerShot SD850 IS is branded on the left side with a textured metal Canon logo and a printed model name. The right side of the camera?s front is a little busier. The optical zoom lens takes up most of this side. The lens sits flat with the rest of the camera body until it is turned on: it then extends in three segments. Each segment has a shiny chrome ring around its edge.

# Left side:-The left side of the SD850 doesn?t have any features. There are dark, medium, and light silver panels and two tiny screws.

# Back: – The left side of the back features a 2.5-inch LCD screen surrounded by a darker silver-colored panel. The panel unifies the LCD screen with another viewing tool, the optical viewfinder, directly above it. To the right of the optical viewfinder are two small LED indicator lamps. Just right of these is a small power button with its own LED.

# Top: – The shutter button is on the top of the Canon PowerShot SD850 IS. It is mildly domed, outfitted in chrome, and surrounded by a zoom ring that hardly moves at all. On the left side of the top is an “Image Stabilizer” label. Beneath the label are five holes that make up the speaker grill.

# Right side:-The right side has a chrome wrist strap eyelet in the center that curves up ever so slightly. A niche beneath it makes stringing the strap a little less of a chore. Near the top is a plastic door held on by a thin rubber strip. It covers the A/V out port on top and the USB port on bottom. Behind it is a tiny space big enough for the tip of a fingernail to pry the door open.

# Bottom: – From the bottom, users can see the slight wedge shape of the SD850. The wedge is interrupted by the fat panel for the LCD screen. Near the right side is a quarter-inch metal tripod socket surrounded by little bumps to keep the camera from scratching on a tripod mounting plate.

Photo quality: – Photo quality was very good on the SD850 IS. The camera took well-exposed photos, with pleasing, accurate colors. Sharpness is right in the middle: not too sharp, not too soft (and this can be adjusted if you desire). Noise is minimal until you hit ISO 400, with the ISO 800 setting being usable for small prints (ISO 1600 on the other hand, is not). Purple fringing was not a problem. The negatives in the image quality department include noticeable corner blurriness and severe redeye, both of which are common in the ultra-compact class. While there’s not much you can do about the blurriness (you won’t see it in all but the largest prints, though), you can use the tool in playback mode to get rid of the redeye.

Performance: – Camera performance is excellent. The SD850 is ready to shoot in about a second, which is above average. Focusing times were very good, even in low light situations. Shutter lag wasn’t an issue, and shot-to-shot delays were minimal. While the burst rate isn’t terribly high, the SD850 can keep shooting at 1.3 frames/second until your high speed memory card fills up. Battery life was average in the ultra-compact group and, like all Canon cameras; the SD850 supports the USB 2.0 High Speed standard.

This camera is a great little convenient camera, which is able to be concealed easily, and taken about anywhere because it easily slips into a purse or pocket. It’s a great camera for taking indoor portraits with flash, as well as outdoor photos. It is not good at stopping action.

Pictures of kids and pets running around will often be blurry because of the 1/60 sec. shutter speed. If you need to take low-light or action/sports photos, you would be better off purchasing a cheap DSLR. The only reason I don’t give this camera 5 stars is because of the noise at higher ISO’s.