SD850 vs SD1100

This is my first post, and I'm sorry to make it one of those "Help me choose a digital camera" posts, but that's exactly what it's going to be!

This will be my first camera, and I just want a simple ultra-compact P&S that I can pretty much take around with me. I am going to be traveling to Europe in the summer so I plan to buy two 2-gig memory cards (Is that enough if I dump my photos every couple of days?) and an extra battery. The two cameras don't seem to be vastly different, but according to this website the 850 just seems to be better since it starts wider and can zoom in more. I really want to make a good choice, so I appreciate any help you all can offer.

Also, I read somewhere that you need high speed memory cards if you want to record video? Is this true?

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post!

I have a SD850 and it took very nice pictures. Trust me...You won't regret your choice if you decide to buy it. But the 1100IS is a newer model, more compact and has color option...I don't ave a chance to play with the real thing in the store yet but my guess is it should be able to give you the similar picture quality you will get from the 850IS...so I think you won't go wrong either way. One big thing I like about the 850 is that it doesn't have much lag time for the camrea to take picture after the snap button is pressed...try the 1100 to see if this is still the case.

Not a long post at all.

First - I know you've been studying the cameras, but I'd really suggest that you consider the SD870 instead of either of the two you're looking at. It lacks an optical viewfinder, which I think is an oversight on Canon's part, but it's got a wider angle lens than either of the two you're asking about. And in Europe, especially in cities, that's good to have. The 850's only minimally wider than the 1100; the 870's going to be noticeably wider than either. Remember - you can always crop the picture a little if you couldn't get close enough; it's harder to add on stuff that was outside the frame. Oh, and first thing you do whichever camera you get - turn off the digital zoom. You can do the same thing later on your computer at home and, by doing any cropping and resizing in steps, get a better result.

If you've got something to dump your cards to on a regular basis, a couple of 2 GB cards will be plenty. And for video, card speed isn't all that important. Burst rate with stills will make the cards work harder. I've run my A620 at 640x480x30 fps for its max. 9 minute clip on SanDisk's slowest (blue) cards.

Thank you both for your replies, I appreciate it.

I had been looking at the 870, but I feel that I wouldn't use the wide-angle aspect enough. The thing is, my brother is traveling to Europe with me, and he's got a pretty nice DSLR that we plan to use whenever we can take landscape and monument shots. Mine will primarily be used for pictures of us in front of things and other shots I decide to take. I kinda figured that it would be better to be able to zoom in more with the 850 than to start off wider with the 870, but was this a bad assumption?

Would you also recommend getting a second battery?

Thanks again!

As long as his lenses are wider than the 850/1100, then sure. Remember, unless he has a "full frame" DSLR (Canon 5D or 1Ds something, or Nikon D3), you can't just say that "well, here's a 24 mm lens; that's wider than the lens on the SD850". In fact, a 24 mm lens on most DSLRs (aside from the models I mentioned above) will give you about the same field of view as either the SD850 or SD1100.

Definitely, take a second battery. They're small. My wife keeps her spare battery and spare card for the SD600 both in one of SanDisk's 2-compartment card wallets (that they supply with Extreme III cards).

I talked to my brother and he says he has this lens, which seems to be wider, but as a complete novice I'm not sure. If this is the case, which would you suggest between 850 and 1100?

Sorry to keep bothering you with this topic, but I really want to make the right decision since I am a college student with a very limited budget.

Not a bother - that's why we're here.

Yes it is wider than either the 850 or 1100, and about as wide as the 870, so you've got wide covered with his DSLR. In that case, I would go for the longer reach of the 850.

From personal experience, the SD800 IS is a fantastic camera. The widest area of the zoom gets pretty fishy with the distortion, so keep that in mind. The 60fps QVGA mode is fun, and it is not too noisy at ISO400 for a P&S.

They also make some fantastic rubberized skins for all of the small SDXXX/SDXXXX series, so if you worry about dropping the tiny cameras, that helps too.

Yes to the extra battery. Get a cheap 4GB or larger card --- they fill up fast if you use any of the video modes. Class 4 or better card is fast enough --- the memory interface on these cameras seems to be decent speed-wise, but nothing amazing.

Played with the SD1100IS at the local big box and really liked it. I ordered two in Blue, one for me(last night) and one for my sister(tonight). I wanted something to put in my pocket when I don't feel like lugging around my 5D, and the $220 price was very compelling. Interestingly the price went up $11.15 today versus yesterday on Amazon.

The 850IS is about the same price, has a larger LCD but no viewfinder, and a slightly wider lens(35mm vs 38mm equivalent). The 870IS is about $50-$60 more but has a much wider angle lens (28mm vs. 38mm equivalent). The wider angle lens definitely is strong bait. It's a tough choice. I honestly never gave the lens much thought, but may regret it later. The 850IS really doesn't interest me, but the 870IS really does, maybe just not at the the current price.

If this is going to be your primary camera I would pass on both the 850 and the 1100, and go straight for the 870.

You'll find that the wide angle of the 800/870 will be FAR more useful than it seems.


Especially in a confined space (like a room or, say, a balcony).


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danpass wrote in post #5144102
You'll find that the wide angle of the 800/870 will be FAR more useful than it seems.

Especially in a confined space (like a room or, say, a balcony).

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I would agree, and I really should know better. I'm now having second thoughts. The versatility of the wider angle lens really is a feature that overshadows all other bells and whistles. I let the viewfinder skew my better judgment, oh and maybe my wallet.

The only concern I have with the 870's wideness is it's corner softness/blurry edges and sides.

A few cameras I have seen have noticeably soft sides that need to be corrected. My A95 was great, but a friends 870 had pretty bad blurry sides when taking wide shots.

I find myself hardly ever backing up for a photo but usually getting closer or zooming. Would, therefore, the 1100 be a better camera for me as apposed to the 870? Is my thinking correct on this?

Can't even remember ever thinking, oh, gotta back up some more with my old camera.

RickInHouston wrote in post #5333170
I find myself hardly ever backing up for a photo but usually getting closer or zooming. Would, therefore, the 1100 be a better camera for me as apposed to the 870? Is my thinking correct on this?

Can't even remember ever thinking, oh, gotta back up some more with my old camera.

In your case then, I'd say you're right - the 1100 would be better for you than the 870.