Canon PowerShot digital cameras are compact and feature laden.
The Canon PowerShot SD880 IS and PowerShot SD890 IS are compact digital cameras offering a range of advanced features including a Canon lens, powerful zoom and a range of shooting modes. The two cameras are part of the same series, with the SD890 having a slightly higher specification.
Lens
Both cameras feature an advanced Canon lens. The SD880 has a focal length range of 5 to 20 mm. The SD990's focal length range is 6.6 ot 33 mm. Both cameras have a 5.6X cropping factor. The cropping factor, also known as focal length multiplier, refers to how the size of the digital camera's sensor affects image capture when compared to a 35 mm camera. The advantage of the PowerShot cameras' high cropping factor is best realized when taking closeup images of distant subjects. The disadvantage is that wide angle shots are harder to achieve. Both lenses feature an advanced auto-focus system.
Zoom
When considering the zoom capability of a camera it's important to differentiate between optical and digital zoom. Optical zoom is a characteristic of the lens itself and works in a similar fashion to how binoculars work. Digital zoom is handled by software within the digital camera. Optical zoom is of higher quality than digital zoom. The SD880 IS has a 4X optical zoom and 4X digital zoom, which can be combined to give a maximum zoom factor of 16X. The SD990 iS features a more powerful 5X optical zoom and 4X digital zoom, offering 20X maximum zoom. Excessive use of the digital zoom will degrade picture quality.
Aperture and Shutter
The aperture determines how much light a lens lets pass into the camera sensor. Wider apertures allow the camera to operate in low light conditions without the use of flash. It also has a direct effect on maximum shutter speed. The SD880's maximum aperture is f/2.8. The SD890 has a smaller maximum aperture of f/3.2. Both cameras offer a theoretical maximum shutter speed of 1/1600 second, though this may not always be achievable when shooting in reduced light.
Shooting Modes
Both cameras feature a large number of automatic shooting modes designed to handle common scenarios, such as portraiture, fireworks, indoor and night time. Only the SD890 features a fully manual mode which allows you control over aperture and shutter speed. The SD880 offers slightly faster continuous shooting, at 1.4 frames per second compared to the SD890's 1.2 fps.
Camera Body
The SD880 has a built-in 2.5-inch LCD monitor. The SD890 has a larger 3.0-inch LCD monitor and an optical viewfinder. Although many people now use a digital camera's screen when taking photos, those who prefer to look directly through a viewfinder should avoid the SD880, which has no optical viewfinder.
Tags: digital zoom, Both cameras, cropping factor, digital camera, focal length, shutter speed, Both cameras feature