Canon SD870 IS Performance

Navigate Review Jump to review page...

Canon PowerShot SD870 IS Performance

Timing and Performance

Good to average speed for a consumer camera.

Startup/Shutdown
Power on to first shot	1.0 second	Time it takes for LCD to turn on and lens to deploy.
Shutdown	1.2 seconds	How long it takes to retract lens and stow in your pocket.
Buffer clearing time	1.0 second (large/superfine JPEG)	Worst case buffer clearing time. This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card. Some cameras won't retract their lenses and shut down until the buffer is cleared.
Mode switching
Play to Record, first shot	1.1 seconds	Time until first shot is captured.
Record to play	1.1 seconds	Time to display a large/superfine file immediately after capture.
Display recorded image	1.0 second	Time to display a large/superfine file already on the memory card.
Shutter response (Lag Time)
Full Autofocus Wide	0.38 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position.
Full Autofocus Tele	0.42 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at telephoto position.
Prefocused	0.088 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.
Cycle time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large SuperFine JPEG	2.18 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots.
Single Shot mode 640x480 Normal JPEG	2.07 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots.
Early shutter penalty?	No	Some cameras refuse to snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer
Continuous mode Large SuperFine JPEG	0.76 second (1.32 frames per second); No limit w/fast card*; 1.0 second to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first. Slows to 1.47 seconds or 0.68 fps above ISO 200.
Continuous mode 640x480 Normal JPEG	0.77 second (1.30 frames per second); No limit w/fast card*; 0.5 second to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first. Slows to 1.47 seconds or 0.68 fps above ISO 200.
Flash recycling	8 seconds	Flash at maximum output.
Download speed
Windows Computer, USB 2.0	1,053 KBytes/sec	Typical Values: Less than 600=USB 1.1; 600-769=USB 2.0 Low; Above 770=USB 2.0 High
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a Kingston Ultimate 133x SD memory card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode.

The Canon PowerShot SD870 IS's performance here is pretty good overall. Start-up time is quite fast at about one second. Shutter lag at wide angle and telephoto zoom is very good, at 0.38 and 0.42 second respectively, and "prefocus" times (half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure) are very fast, with a shutter delay of only 0.088 second. Shot-to-shot cycle times are on the slower side of average these days, at about 2.2 seconds for large/superfine JPEGs. The SD870's continuous shooting speed of 1.3 frames per second is only average for its class these days, however it captures frames continuously at this rate. Flash recycle time is a bit below average, at 8 seconds after a full-power shot. Connected to a computer, download speeds are reasonably fast, so you won't feel a need for a separate card reader. Bottom line, the Canon SD870 IS is a good camera for average shooting conditions, though you'll need something a little zippier for sporting events or active children.

Battery and Storage Capacity

Battery
Slightly above average battery life for a lithium-ion design.

Operating Mode	Number of Shots
Lithium-ion rechargeable battery (CIPA standard)	270

The Canon PowerShot SD870 IS uses a custom rechargeable lithium-ion battery for power, and a battery and charger are included with the camera. Though runtimes are above average, I strongly recommend picking up a spare battery and keeping it freshly charged and on-hand for extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
The PowerShot SD870 IS accepts SD/SDHC/MMC memory cards, and comes with a 32MB starter card.

Image Capacity with 32MB Memory Card		SuperFine	Fine	Normal
3,264 x 2,448	Images	8	14	29
3,264 x 2,448	File Size	3.7 MB	2.2 MB	1.1 MB
2,592 x 1,944	Images	11	21	41
2,592 x 1,944	File Size	2.7 MB	1.5 MB	762 KB
2,048 x 1,536	Images	18	33	65
2,048 x 1,536	File Size	1.7 MB	966 KB	491 KB
1,600 x 1,200	Images	29	52	99
1,600 x 1,200	File Size	1.1 MB	610 KB	322 KB
640 x 480	Images	111	171	269
640 x 480	File Size	288 KB	186 KB	119 KB

We strongly recommend buying a large capacity SD/SDHC memory card for the Canon SD870 at least a 1GB card, preferably a 4GB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings or movies. (Check the shopping link above, cards are really cheap these days, so no reason to skimp.)