Canon Powershot SD900 IS Review

The screen display in the Automatic record mode. Icons across the top and left indicate that metering is Evaluative, single frame drive, auto flash, and Auto exposure mode. The image size is Large, quality is Fine and there's space left on the SD card to take 365 more pictures.

When the color LCD is turned on and you half-press the shutter you will see which of the nine AF points (green rectangles) were used for the focus lock.

Manual exposure mode is like Auto in that the camera selects both the shutter speed and aperture for a correct exposure but you now have access to a multitude of Function and Menu options.

Manual mode Function options:

Camera Mode - Choose the desired exposure mode: Manual, Digital macro, Color Accent, Color Swap, Stitch assist
Exposure Compensation - Override the metering +/- 2.0EV in 1/3 steps
White Balance - Auto, day Light, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom one-push WB set
My Colors - Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, B&W, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, or Custom Color
Metering - Evaluative, Center Weighted Avg., Spot
Image Compression - Superfine, Fine, Normal
Image Resolution - 3648x2736, 2816x2112, 2272x1704, 1600x1200, 640x480, Postcard(1600x1200), and Widescreen (3648x2048)

Manual mode MENU options:

AiAF - On or Off
AiAF - Face Detect, On, Off
Digital Zoom - On or Off
Slow Synchro - On/Off
Red-Eye - On/Off
Self-timer - Custom set
AF Assist Beam - On or Off
Review Time - Off, Hold or 2 - 10 secs
Auto Category - On/Off
Display Overlay - Enable or disable Grid lines, 3:2 Guide, Off or Both
Date Stamp - Off, date, or date&time (only works in 3:2 Postcard mode)
Long Shutter - Allows selection of a long shutter speed

When you touch the 4-way controller, this heads up menu is displayed until you lift your finger off.

To set long shutter speeds, first set Long Shutter to ON in the main menu. In the Function menu, highlight exposure compensation then press the Menu button. The shutter speed is displayed at the bottom of the LCD; select a value from 1 to 15 seconds using the left and right buttons of the 4-way controller. Depress the FUNC./SET button to return to shooting mode. The LCD viewfinder's live image provides a preview of the exposure; adjust the shutter speed for the exposure you want. Noise Reduction is applied for exposures of 1.3 seconds or longer.

The camera has a very respectable macro focusing mode with coverage from 2.0 in.- 1.6 ft./5-50cm (WIDE), 1-1.6 ft./30-50cm (TELE).

Scene modes are selected via the Function Menu when the mode dial is set to the SCN position. You can choose from 11 different modes like ISO3200 shown above. These are pre-programmed to give you the best possible pictures for a wide variety of different shooting situations. In all Scene modes, Exposure compensation, Image compression and Image size settings are available via the Function menu.

The Stitch Assist Panorama mode is available from the Function menu with the Mode dial in Manual. It aids you via on-screen prompts to achieve the proper overlap of sequential photos for later "stitching" with the PhotoStitch program. You can capture up to 26 images in either left-to-right or right-to-left orientation. After the first picture is taken the white balance and exposure is locked until you exit the StitchAssist mode.   The use of a tripod and a bubble level is recommended. Since the SD900 will not output video in this mode, this screen capture was taken from the PowerShot S400 review.

You can record movie clips with audio at a variety of resolutions and frame rates. The SD900 is the first Digital ELPH to feature an XGA (1024x768) 15fps movie mode. Standard movies can be recorded at resolutions of 640x480 or 320x240 with frame rates of 30 or 15 fps. Compact movies are recorded at a resolution of 160x120 with a frame rate of 15 fps. These clips are captured in Motion JPEG format and saved as AVI files.

Both the video and audio portion of movies can be replayed on the camera thanks to the built-in speaker. Full audio-video playback is also possible when connected to a TV monitor or a compatible PC after downloading.

Movie mode recording options:

Mode - Standard, High Resolution (1024x768), Compact, Color Accent or Color Swap
White Balance - Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom one-push WB set
My Colors - Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, B&W, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, or Custom Color
Frame Rate: 30 or 15 fps
Movie Size: 640x480 or 320x240