Canon Digital IXUS 950 IS Review
(also known as the Canon SD850 IS)

Review Date: August 16th 2007
Author: Gavin Stoker

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Page 1
Introduction / Ease of Use
Page 2
Image Quality
Page 3
Sample Images
Page 4
Design
Page 5
Specifications
Page 6
Conclusion

Specifications

IMAGE SENSOR

 
Type 1/2.5” CCD
Effective Pixels Approx 8.0M
Colour Filter Type Primary Colour

IMAGE PROCESSOR

 
Type DIGIC III with iSAPS technology

LENS

 
Focal Length 5.8 - 23.2 mm (35mm equivalent: 35 – 140mm)
Zoom Optical 4x Digital approx 4x (with Digital Tele-Converter approx 1.6x or 2.0x and Safety Zoom (1))(2). Combined approx 16x
Maximum f/number f/2.8 – f/5.5
Construction 7 elements in 5 groups (2 aspherical elements, including 1 UA element)
Image Stabilisation Yes (shift-type)

FOCUSING

 
Type TTL
AF System / Points AiAF (Face Detection / 9-point), 1-point AF (fixed centre)
AF Lock On/Off Selectable
AF Assist Beam Yes
Closest Focusing Distance 2cm

EXPOSURE CONTROL

 
Metering Modes Evaluative (linked to Face Detection AF frame), Centre-weighted average, Spot (centre)
AE Lock On/Off Selectable
Exposure Compensation +/- 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments
ISO Sensitivity* AUTO, High ISO Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600¹

SHUTTER

 
Speed 15 – 1/1,600 sec
(Shutter speeds of 1 sec. and more available in Long Shutter Mode only)

WHITE BALANCE

 
Type TTL
Settings Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom

VIEWFINDER

 
Viewfinder Real-image zoom, optical viewfinder

LCD MONITOR

 
Monitor 2.5” P-Si TFT, approx. 230,000 pixels
Coverage 100%
Brightness Adjustable to one of fifteen levels

FLASH

 
Modes Auto, Manual Flash On / Off
Slow Sync Speed Yes
Red-eye Reduction Yes
Flash Exposure Compensation Face Detection FE
Flash Exposure Lock Yes
Built-in Flash Range 50cm - 3.5m (W) / 2.0m (T) (at ISO AUTO equivalent)
External Flash Canon's High Power Flash HF-DC1

SHOOTING

 
Modes Auto, Manual, Digital Macro, Color Accent, Color Swap, Stitch Assist, Movie, Special Scene (Portrait, Night Snapshot, Kids & Pets, Indoor, Creative Light Effect, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater)
Photo Effects My Colors (My Colors Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom Color)
Drive Modes Single, Continuous, Self-Timer
Continuous Shooting Approx. 1.3 fps¹ (until memory card becomes full)²

RECORDING PIXELS / COMPRESSION

 
Image Size (L) 3264 x 2448, (M1) 2592 x 1944, (M2) 2048 x 1536, (M3) 1600 x 1200, (S) 640 x 480, (W) 3264 x 1832, (Postcard Date Imprint) 1600 x 1200
Compression Superfine, Fine, Normal
Movies (L)640 x 480, 30/15fps
(M)320 x 240, 60/30/15fps
(S)160 x 120, 15fps
(Time Lapse) 640 x 480, 0.5/1fps (Playback 15fps)
Movie Length Up to 4GB or 1 hour (L and M, 30/15fps)¹
Up to 3 mins (S)¹
Up to 1 min (M, 60fps)¹
Up to 120 mins (Time Lapse)¹

FILE TYPES

 
Still Image Type JPEG compression, (Exif 2.2 [Exif Print] compliant) / Design rule for Camera File system, Digital Print Order Format [DPOF] Version 1.1 compliant
Movies AVI [Motion JPEG compression + WAVE (monaural)]
Sound Files WAVE (monaural)

DIRECT PRINT

 
Canon Printers Canon SELPHY Compact Photo Printers and PIXMA Printers supporting PictBridge (ID Photo Print, Fixed Size Print and Movie Print supported on SELPHY CP & ES printers only)
PictBridge Yes

OTHER FEATURES

 
Red-Eye Correction Yes, in playback
My Camera Start-up image and camera sounds customisation
My Category Image tagging feature
Sound Memo Up to 60 sec per image
Intelligent Orientation Sensor Yes
Histogram Yes
Self Timer Approx. 2 or 10 sec. or Custom
Menu Languages English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Chinese (traditional), Japanese, Russian, Portuguese, Korean, Greek, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Thai, Arabic, Ukrainian, Romanian

INTERFACE

 
Computer USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (Mini-B, MTP, PTP)
Other A/V output (PAL/NTSC)

MEMORY CARD

 
Type Secure Digital (SD) Card, Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC) Card or MultiMediaCard (MMC), 32MB memory card supplied

SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEM

 
PC Macintosh Windows 2000 SP4 / XP / XP SP1-2 / Vista
Mac OS X v10.3 - 10.4

SOFTWARE

 
Browsing & Printing ZoomBrowser EX / ImageBrowser
Other PhotoStitch
Drivers TWAIN (2000)

POWER SOURCE

 
Batteries Rechargeable Li-ion Battery NB-5L (battery and charger supplied)
Battery Life Approx. 230 shots¹
Approx. 360 min. playback
AC Power Supply Optional, AC Adapter Kit ACK-DC30

ACCESSORIES

 
Case Soft Leather Case DCC-70, Digital IXUS Metal or Leather Strap
Waterproof / Weatherproof Case Waterproof Case (40m) WP-DC15, Waterproof Case Weight WW-DC1
Flash High Power Flash HF-DC1
Power Supply & Battery Chargers AC Adapter Kit ACK-DC30

PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS

 
Operating Environment 0 – 40 °C, 10 – 90% humidity
Dimensions 90.4 x 56.5 x 26.4mm (excluding protrusions)
Weight (body only) Approx. 165g
   
ISO Sensitivity*

¹ Standard Output Sensitivity / Recommended Exposure Index. According to ISO 12232:2006 (20th April 2006) which specifies the method for assigning and reporting ISO speed ratings for digital still cameras. This does not apply to Digital IXUS WIRELESS.

Continuous Shooting

¹ Large/Fine with LCD monitor off
² Depending on memory card speed / capacity

Movie Length

¹ Depending on memory card speed / capacity

Battery Life

¹ Based on the CIPA Standard and using the batteries and memory card format supplied with the camera, except where indicated

   
Page 1
Introduction / Ease of Use
Page 2
Image Quality
Page 3
Sample Images
Page 4
Design
Page 5
Specifications
Page 6
Conclusion

DIWAPhotographyBLOG is a member of the DIWA organisation. Our test results for the Canon Digital IXUS 950 IS have been submitted to DIWA for comparison with test results for different samples of the same camera model supplied by other DIWA member sites.

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