Canon SD890 or SD990

[jamminbyalias]

So I'm buying a camera for the wife and I narrowed the selection down to 2 cameras; Canon SD990 and Canon SD890. I really wanted to stick with the SD line since they seem to be the easiest to use. I don't know much about cameras but here are the DIFFERENCES in the stats. Which camera has an edge over the other? Most of these stats look like another language to me. Allso, I hear that the SD990 does not have HD video recording, but does the SD890 offer this? Thanks in advance guys!


Pixels:

SD 990 - 15.0
SD 890 - 10.3

Still Image Recording:

SD 990 - Exit 2.2 (JPEG) Movie: MOV (Image: H.264; Audio: Linear PCM (Monaural))
SD 890 - Exit 2.2 (JPEG) Movie: AVI (Image: Motion JPEG; Audio: Wave (Monaural))

Focal Length:

SD 990 - 7.7-28.5mm f/2.8-5.8 (35mm film equivalent: 36-133mm)
SD 890 - 6.6-33.0mm f/3.2-5.7 (35mm film equivalent: 37-185mm)

Shooting Modes:

SD990 has more shooting modes than SD 880

Shutter Speed:

SD 990 - 15-1/1600 sec; Long Shutter operates with noise reduction when manually set at 1.3-15 sec.
SD 890 - 1/60-1/1600 sex., 15-1/1500 sec.; Long Shutter operates with noise reductio when manually set at 1.3-15 sec.

Shooting Speed:

SD 990 - Approx 1.3 fps
SD 890 - Approx 1.2 fps

Optical Zoom:

SD 990 - 3.7x
SD 890 - 5x

Aperture Range:

SD 990 - f/2.8 (wide) - f/5.8 (telephoto)
SD 890 - f/3.2 - f/5.7

Flash Range:

SD 990 - 1.6' - 15' (wide); 1.6' - 7.9' (telephoto)
SD 890 - 12" ; - 11' (wide); 12" - 6.6' (telephoto) at ISO Auto

Focus Range:

SD 990 - Normal: 1.6' - infinity; Macro: 2.0" - 1.6' (wide), 1.3' - 1.6' (telephoto); Digital Macro: 2.0" - 1.6' (wide)
SD 890 - Normal: 1.6' - infinity; Macro: 0.8" - 1.6'; Digital macro: 0.8" - 3.9"

Imaging Sensor Size:

SD 990 - 1/1.7"
SD 890 - 1/2.3"

[Jon]

Neither of them offers HD video. As for which is better, it depends on how your wife's going to use the camera. The SD990 will be a little better for indoor/low light photos both because it has a "faster" (bigger) aperture and it has a better flash range. The SD890 will be a little better if you're not really near your subject because the lens has more reach. The SD990 can make up for this to an extent because it has more pixels, so you can enlarge a smaller part of the picture. If she wants to photograph bugs, close-ups of flowers, jewelry, or other tiny things, the SD890 is a bit better for that.

[jamminbyalias]

Thanks Jon. You basically answered all my questions. We take a lot of indoor and low light photos so I'm now leaning towards the SD990. Thanks again!

[AlessandroZ]

So I'm buying a camera for the wife and I

SD 990 - Exit 2.2 (JPEG) Movie: MOV
SD 890 - Exit 2.2 (JPEG) Movie: AVI

Focal Length:

SD 990 - 7.7-28.5mm f/2.8-5.8 (35mm film equivalent: 36-133mm)
SD 890 - 6.6-33.0mm f/3.2-5.7 (35mm film equivalent: 37-185mm)


Imaging Sensor Size:

SD 990 - 1/1.7"
SD 890 - 1/2.3"



Sorry, I am not an expert.
Which Sensor size and Focal Lenght is better?

About the movie type, I'd had rather preferred the 990 to stay with the .avi :confused:


thanks

[Jon]

The SD990's got the bigger sensor, which is going to be somewhat better for noise. As far as focal length goes, it all depends on what you're planning to photograph with the camera. The SD890 will be better for things that are far away, but if you don't need that capability it really isn't "better".