Canon IXUS 980 IS / Powershot SD990 IS / IXY 3000 IS Review Analysis | All Features Rated & Tested

image quality

5

Occasional fringing on some subjects but the overall quality is very good
the photo is taken
on high quality
Poor picture quality the moment you zoom beyond 2 times
If I had it to do over I would trade the higher quality 14.7mp for the 3" and lose the viefinder

Design - picture quality
group photo taking made easier with face self-timer
good image quality
Great image quality
Great image quality, Optical viewfinder

Good low ISO image quality
Good low ISO image quality, all-metal build and curvy design, features
Excellent picture quality
Excellent image quality
Image quality
Image quality, high ISO performance, body shape
Loads of fine image parameter adjustments
excellent photo quality
stylish, excellent photo quality, good range of features
picture quality
picture quality, manual controls, black colour, big pixels, well rounded body, great price
Great image quality Optical viewfinder
Very advanced.Clear picture nature
Very clear picture
high quality
top-notch image quality
full manual operation, lightning-fast operation, top-notch image quality
Nice pic quality
Sharp image
Sharp image, stirdy
good quality photo
versatility and high quality images
reliability, versatility and high quality images
excellent image quality , Nice features/settings ,Bright LCD
slim and great photo quality
higher picture quality
Good quality
Anti-shake image
Image clarity
High clear image formation
disign photo quality
Pixels high speed picture quality
good photo quality
more accurate noise reduction delivers better image quality
Faster, more accurate noise reduction delivers better image quality, even at high ISO speeds
Image Stabilizer
Excellent image quality, Battery life, Image Stabilizer, Beautiful and hefty metal body, Many manual modes for a subcompact, DIGIC 4 processor, Made in Japan
Compact size, good image quality, long battery life, manual shutter and aperture controls
Superb image quality
Excellent image quality, Low noise, Superb metal body, Enough pixels to crop at will, Manual controls, DIGIC 4=great battery life
High quality pictures

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price

0.5

Price
Price, LCD could be larger, cramped button layout
Expensive
LCD should be bigger for this price
Too much money for too few bells and whistles

Dramatically less expensive than the only other full-frame d-SLR currently on the market
great price
Cheap
Great Feature for This Price
not expensive

Poor image quality in some lights and not great value for money
The price is high
price-to-feature
price not competitif
high price
Slightly bulky, high price
A bit expensive
Price is on the high side
specs only adequate # LCD should be bigger for this price
the price a bit expensive
Videos SD990 shooting ability is very common, the price a bit expensive

low price
very affordable price

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performance

5

mixed performance
For anything fast moving
For anything fast moving, kids
Comparison of quick consumption

speedy performance
Quick performance
high ISO performance
Good shutter lag and shot to shot speed for a full-frame SLR
Quick Shot mode makes OVF shooting logical

Decent all around performance
Quick mode is great
Quick mode is great, very stylish
lightning-fast operation
full manual operation, lightning-fast operation
upgraded image processor
fast
digic 4 processor
stylish compact body, digic 4 processor
Faster speed
Faster speed, higher picture quality
quicker operating speed
Entire manual operation function, quicker operating speed, higher picture quality
Speed
Faster
The Canon uses their new Digic 4 Processor and that is a great chip
Sooner of speed
styling # Quick Shot mode makes OVF shooting logical
This very good performance of digital cameras
Canon PowerShot SD990 IS performance of the overall stability
New Processor
Fast Processing
14.7 Megapixel, Fast Processing, Functionality Plus
Using the Quick Shot mode produced photographs better than what I had expected

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memory

0.5

Small 32MB memory card
It should come with a larger memory card minimum of 1 gig

color

4

Color is generally good
Auto white balance is only average
has a hard time with strongly-colored light sources (miserable color under household incandescent in auto WB mode)
A slight color shift

Good colour rendition
very nice default tone curve
Very flexible white balance system
Generally good color rendition (see "con" note about strong reds though)
Good color accuracy

slight color

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focus

5

Focus assist light

lens

0.5

lacks wide-angle lens
Disappointing lens specs
Lacks wide angle lens
slightly inconvenient for eyeglass wearers
Lens performance

15MP, 4x optical zoom, optical viewfinder
7megapixells lens
14,7megapixells lens
wide angle lens
4x optical zoom, optical viewfinder

Lens performance, specs only adequate
Lacks a true wide-angle lens
Soft lens at the edges in wide angle landscape shots
lens is not for this class
Video only 640x480, lens is not for this class
ideo only 640x480, lens is not for this class
Lens performance, specs only adequate # LCD should be bigger for this price
No wide angle lens
Very slight purple fringing, No wide angle lens
wide angle lens not wide enough
weak battery life, wide angle lens not wide enough
wide angle lens not that wide
expensive, wide angle lens not that wide

staying with the 10 times Optical Kodak 4 meg

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zoom

2.5

Not much zoom for your money
Menial zoom
Better optical zoom
Only 3.7 x optical zoom

good zoom
high quality,good zoom
High Zoom
4x optical zoom

LCD

3.5

LCD could be larger
Small screen
expensive and small screen
If the LCD is 3 inch it shall be better
The 3" screen is so much better for showing friends your photos

High quality 2.5" screen
bright LCD screen for easier to read menus
Interchangeable focusing screen (optional grid and high-accuracy screens available)
bright LCD
large and easily visible screen

high-quality screen
Speed, high-quality screen
vivid LCD screen
14.7 Megapixel, very affordable price, vivid LCD screen, long battery life, superb images

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design

5

organic curvy design might not be to everyone's taste
New curvy design still looks dated
even high-end lenses can have trouble in the corners (Plan on spending serious $$ on lenses to keep up with this body!)
strange design

incredibly stylish
Nice design
styling
well built and looks good (in silver at least
stylish

looks
Takes great pictures, cool, looks, 14.7 MP
very stylish
looks cool"
stylish compact body
great design
good design
More complete design
Novel in design
Novel in design, the style vogue
design

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video

0.5

VGA video
VGA video, Fiddly controls
no HD video
Video mode only VGA resolution - when competition now offers HD video
No HD video-capturing and a bit pricey

Can't record high-def video
VGA video - Fiddly controls
no hd video clips
Video only 640x480
time limited movie recording
Video is only 640x480
video res on the low side

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usability

5

confusing operations in program/manual mode
Fiddly controls
some controls slow to use
High ISO image noise, some controls slow to use, organic curvy design might not be to everyone's taste
You have to use high quality JPEG

manual shooting mode
Full manual controls including flash output
Manual capability
Intuitive controls
Full manual operation

too simple
controls on the shooter can be a bit confusing
it does sport some manual features
some error in application
weak for professional usage
The completely automatic function (Easy Mode
Controls still not fully manual (no Av or Tv)
Controls still not fully manual (no Av or Tv), video res on the low side, high price

Oodles -o manual controls
Extensive manual controls
Easy to use
Easy to use, well built and looks good (in silver at least
manual controls
It is feature packed and has so many different ways to use it
Great photos, easy to use, fast, small, looks cool"
manual controls and image adjustment
Entire manual operation function
So easy especially beginners
small,easy to use
very comfortable to use
Many manual modes for a subcompact
Has manual controls
manual shutter and aperture controls
Beautiful pictures, lots of great features, easy to use, compact
COLOR, MEGAPIXELS, MANUAL FUNCTIONS, EASE OF USE
holds up great when I use for large format printing
High quality pictures, holds up great when I use for large format printing

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build quality

5

all-metal build and curvy design
Excellent build quality
Superior build quality
Superior build quality, styling
sturdy construction

Image quality, sturdy construction
Superior build quality, styling # Quick Shot mode makes OVF shooting logical
sturdy construction and a 3" screen
Image quality, sturdy construction and a 3" screen

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flash

1.5

Slow when flash is turned on
Flash range is limited
No provision for external flash
either forcing flash or setting pix up for shake issues
High noise when shooted inside without flash

most using flash
250 photo's from 1 battery, most using flash
Built-in flash

glare

0.5

LCD monitor a little prone to glare and wash-out (needs anti-reflection coating
(Easy to lose images still being written to the card.), LCD monitor a little prone to glare and wash-out (needs anti-reflection coating, or a better one, if there's one there already), Cheaper than 1Ds Mark II, but still way more than sub-frame models
lacks in glamorous features it makes up for in speed and brilliant images

exposure

5

Manual exposure control
Good exposure accuracy

interface

0.5

Bottom line: I want my SD700IS back

viewfinder

3.5

Viewfinder blackout is noticeably longer than on many sub-frame models
Viewfinder accuracy only 96% - Why not 100%?
Viewfinder eyepoint is a little low
Full-frame, high resolution sensor is very demanding of lenses, even high-end lenses can have trouble in the corners (Plan on spending serious $$ on lenses to keep up with this body!), Color is generally good, but reds are significantly oversaturated, Auto white balance is only average, has a hard time with strongly-colored light sources (miserable color under household incandescent in auto WB mode), Viewfinder blackout is noticeably longer than on many sub-frame models, may be distracting to some shooters, Viewfinder accuracy only 96% - Why not 100%?, Viewfinder eyepoint is a little low, slightly inconvenient for eyeglass wearers, No shutter release or grip for vertical mode shooting
View finder

Optical viewfinder
Packed with bells and whistles such as QuickShot viewfinder
Excellent noise characteristics (Although the 1Ds Mark II still reigns supreme in our view)
Very large viewfinder compared to sub-frame SLRs makes it easy to see subject details
Optical viewfinder in addition to LCD

View finder, processing time
Do not support real-time viewfinder
I miss the 3" view screen that I had on my last Canon

Quality of assembly and the view that superior
Viewfinder is nice to have in bright sunlight

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contrast

5

15MP sensor and AI dynamic contrast
Packed with bells and whistles such as QuickShot viewfinder, 15MP sensor and AI dynamic contrast
i-contrast boosts brightness
smooth, 30fps movies, i-contrast boosts brightness, clarity and reality
High contrast

resolution

3.5

high-resolution sensor adds little benefit
high resolution sensor is very demanding of lenses
High-resolution sensor makes smeared image

Very high resolution
Very high resolution, sharp images, manual shooting mode, incredibly stylish
good screen resolution
battery backup, good screen resolution
good resolution

good resolution, not expensive

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appearance

4

enough for me to ditch it and look for something else

body shape
nice look

sensor

3

Red-eye higher than average in group photos
High-res sensor muddies up images

Orientation sensor
Full-frame sensor gives 1:1 crop factor
Beautiful and hefty metal body
Superb metal body

menu

5

Quick shot menu
Excellent build quality, Quick shot menu, Nice design, Good colour rendition

battery

5

(Optional battery grip adds this though.)
weak battery life
Battery life is good
Battery life is good, but make sure to have a spare or your charger nearby

Good battery life (for a compact)
Excellent battery life
250 photo's from 1 battery
Excellent picure quality and good battery back up
battery backup

energy saving capacity
get in different colours,energy saving capacity
Battery life
long battery life
DIGIC 4=great battery life
Battery life is just great
I kept wondering when I would have to replace/recharge the battery

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shutter

3

No shutter release or grip for vertical mode shooting

Very little shutter lag

screen

3

Portraits are a bit flat
Too many menus, Best shot switch is too firm, Portraits are a bit flat

display elegan

remote control

5

excellent ability to adjust (2-axis hue control)

black level

5

Robust body - available in black
black colour

product quality

0.5

would be nice a rubber finish on the right side
Maybe a little difficult to hold in hand, would be nice a rubber finish on the right side

reception

5

Face detection software
new face detection technology
DIGIC 4 technology, new face detection technology
have new ability to recognize human faces from many corners of Face Detection

portability

5

too compact
A slight sense of airframe heavy

Optical image stabilisation helps in low light
compact shell
Tough, compact shell
Very compact and relatively lightweight for a full-frame d-SLR
Phenomenal low-light capability

in a thin class
in a thin class, but that has many features
slim and thin
Portable and practical avant-garde
Compact size
compact
The best ultra compact

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size

4

Maybe a little difficult to hold in hand
This especially true of bare tree and bush detail as well as trees in the distance
a little expensive
Picture size requires large memory card
Slight barrel distortion at wide angle, Picture size requires large memory card

very good shooting options for its size
Big
RAW+JPEG mode lets you choose any size/quality of JPEG to accompany RAW
big pixels
excellent focal length support

small size
small size, large and easily visible screen, wide angle lens

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Canon IXUS 980 IS / Powershot SD990 IS / IXY 3000 IS Reviews Analysis

What people think about the Canon IXUS 980 IS / Powershot SD990 IS / IXY 3000 IS: (BETA!)

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