Canon PowerShot SD940IS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 4x

Super Compact with great features!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I researched forever after my canon sd450 died. As a DSLR user, I was not looking for a camera to take award winning shots. Instead, I wanted (in this order) :

1) Super Ultra Compact

2) HD Video

3) Decent picture quality for 4×6 and 5×7 prints

I feel that this camera fits all of these needs perfectly. It is TINY. I agonized between this model and the sd780. The sd780is is apparently even thinner than this one and includes HD-movie-mode but I ultimately decided to pick the 940is because of its better optical zoom and the wider angle. I believe they are both about the same dimensions except for depth. I can’t imagine it being any thinner though so don’t let that make your decision.

The picture quality goes from great to decent depending on lighting.

You will love this camera if you are looking for ultimate portability!

Great camera with one disagreeable feature
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I just bought this camera, the first thing I notice was the screen is awesome and it takes noticeably longer for the camera to get ready to take the next picture.

All my other cameras had the zoom control on the back of the camera where my thumb rest; I have to relearn how to hold this camera because the zoom control is on the front of the camera, yeah it looks like it’s on top, but to operate the zoom I have to hook my finger up and over the top of the camera. It is difficult to use finesse while trying to control the zoom. I tend to have jerky zoom. I find the zoom controls disagreeable.

Don’t use the lanyard that comes with this camera, it has a big bulky plastic piece that mars the paint on the camera when it rest in its case. I now have a new camera that looks like I’ve owned it awhile. Use your old lanyard.

The mode selector switch gets easily knock down to Program of Movie mode while in the camera case or while I’m pulling the camera out of the case.

This camera has two “on” buttons, the low profile “on” button that turns it on, and the “Preview” button that turns on just the picture preview.

For a point and shoot, I don’t need a lot of zoom; the 4x is a noticeable change from my old 3x. Maybe I should have upgraded sooner.

The menu is a little complex for me, but all I’m looking for is a point and shoot with a few features that let me control the exposure, like sunset or night shots. It does take great pictures and it’s compact. Even with the annoying zoom and slow reset, I like this camera. I like it enough I will give it to my wife while I continue to shop for one that suits my needs.

Best wide angle lens pocket camera in it’s class. Offers Canon superior image quality.
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I was looking to replace my Cannon SD800 (I absolutely LOVE – I think it’s the best pocket camera ever made) which had recently met with an unfortunate accident. The SD940 ended up being the best option to replace my previous camera (which had a wide angle lens). Here’s why:

I first purchased the Canon SD980 because it is the newest Canon pocket camera with a wide angle lens and it offers a 5X zoom. However, I had to return it as the photo quality turned out to be a BIG disappointment. The SD980 has some serious issues in Auto mode which cause it to produce blurry and/or grainy photos.

I returned the SD980 and purchased the SD940. I am very pleased with the images produced by this model. The camera is TINY! I like how small it is, but I would mention that the buttons might be small for someone with large hands. Camera easily fits in a back pocket. I am impressed with how well it takes photos in low light. Some graininess is to be expected, but I think it produces better images than most cameras in it’s class. Also, I found the built in flash to have improved over former Canon models. The flash seems stronger and more effective.

The reason why I give this camera 4 stars and not 5 is that I think for the price, it should offer more features. It is very basic and doesn’t offer any fun or fancy options like color/white balance controls, color swapping or photo effects (which my SD800 did for the same price). I should also mention that I did have to return the first SD940 I purchased because I dropped it and it broke. So it is very fragile and needs to be well cared for. It lacks the durability that my SD800 had.

If you plan to use the camera exclusively on Auto mode or are willing to compromise and use “P” mode with limited controls (basically ISO & flash), then this is a great camera for you! Very basic, easy to use and takes great pictures compared to other cameras in it’s class (pocket/compact). The other BEST reason to choose this model is the WIDE ANGLE LENS. I will not buy a pocket camera without a wide angle lens. To me, it’s of the highest importance. It allows me to take great shots of groups of people and also landscapes. Most of the time I am taking pictures of people or kids and it is soooooo much more effective to have the wide angle lens. I can get about 4 extra people in the same shot as I could with a regular 35mm equivalent lens.

The camera also offers HD video. I’ve used it in a pinch and was pleasantly surprised. However, my expectation was not high as I would never count on a pocket camera for any important video. I buy a camera for photos and a video camera for video. This assures me the best quality in each case.

i love this camera!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have only had this camera for a few weeks but i love it. I had bought 4 other camera’s before finding this one. I have 2 young kids and i needed a camera that takes pictures fast. In low lighting it takes a sec. to take the picture but with good bright lighting it takes immediatly. The picture quality is wonderful, the pictures are very colorful and so crisp. The buttons are small and flat but they just take some getting use to. This camera is a wonderful camera to own if you are looking for a small great picturing taking camera. I would recommend this camera to anyone.

First time I’ve had a disappointing Powershot, but Amazon Returns was super nice.
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
Bought this to replace my SD860 which, after three years of being dropped and crushed (and two trips to Canon for repairs), has started failing again, well out of warrantee. I thought this tiny camera would be a great carry-arount device for every day, but I just have to say it has disappointed me, almost like I got a bum unit.

* The autofocus is quite slow, it spends a lot of time hunting for the right spot.

* The autofocus makes bad choices too often once it has settled down. This is a really undexpected problem, as this is my fourth Powershot, and I’ve always thought they did great at reading my mind.

* There was a not-pretty blotchy character to the images that I can almost replicate on my other cameras by turning the jpeg compression all the way up (i.e., quality down). This is not what I choose a Canon for. Even with jpeg compression set to NORMAL, the images remained low quality.

So, I suppose Canon might have tried to just squeeze a little too much into this sleek little package. I returned it, and Amazon was SUPER-NICE to give me full credit despite some bad scratches on the front. I expected only a partial, maybe 50% refund (yes, I was willing to essentially pay to get this camera away from me), but they gave me all my money back. I guess my next camera purchase will have to be from Amazon.

Great Little Camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have always been a fan of Canon Cameras and have had several of them. This compact camera is powerful and ultra portable, I give the camera great reviews except that the buttons on the back are hard to press. I heard the review from many people stating that the buttons are hard to use and thought nothing of it but it is true they are very difficult however I still love the camera =)

Canon PowerShot SD940IS
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Great improvement over the Canon SD700IS

which I gave to my son.

Have not been able to get the video’s to

play on my XP computers YET

This replaced My older Canon Model
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
Nothing spectacular here…The only plus is the larger LCD screen for viewing. HD video is VERY disappointing. Looks like any other video quality. Zooming doesn’t auto focus so don’t even try to Zoom while recording video. In HD 2 minute recording was almost 1 GB of memory. Save your $$ and buy the $125 Canon. I will probably be returning this one to Amazon.

Baddass little camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I really love this camera, it is my first digital camera and boy did I pick a good one. The pictures look really good and the hd video is awesome too, my only complaint would be that in the dark it is sometimes hard to find the power button with it being flush and all, but I can overlook that, the battery live is so so. If you are planning on going on a shooting spree mixed in with video taken, you had better get a back up battery, I did. All that aside I would recommend this product

Canon PowerShot SD940IS
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Have only had this camera for a couple of months but couldn’t be happier. I replaced a Canon 5.0 megapixel. Was a little worried at first that I might miss the view finder but after using this camera I don’t miss it at all. The screen is large enough to make it very easy to use. The controls are convenient, easy to use, and just the right size. Pictures are fantastic. Took some last week with no flash of a laser light show and was very impressed. Somewhat partial to Canon as that is the brand of my digital SLR also but this little camera gets an A+. Easy to use, easy to carry, large screen, convenient controls. Worth every cent.

Disapointed!
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
The camera deserves every good review and comment given in other reviews. I am most disappointed in the lack of a printed manual, especially since there are not private manuals in the market. To me it indicates contempt for the needs of the customer on the part of Canon.

Is Canon giving up its traditional care and concern for its customers?

Great Camer!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I started to buy cannon about three years ago. My battery can last for months at a time. Now the camera I just purchased is incredibly compact and extremely easy to use. I know reading some of these reviews you can get mixed feelings about the product, but let me reassure you, this is a great point and shoot camera. It has many features for any occasion or event. If you like cannon, you will love this product!

Great camera over priced
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is my first pocket camera. I am very pleased with the size (that is why the expensive price tag), I like the ease, the ability to turn off the sound, the less lag time, the quick response. I only have 2 batteries, will need to purchase more. I am currently getting about 2 hours per battery as it is in continual use with photos of cemetery headstones (genealogy).

The camera was recently pruchased and the ease of use is great! My favorite feature is the low light without flash. This is my reason for choosing this model. Thanks to previously read reviews.

Yes, I would purchase the camera again for this purpose.

Finally….
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I have had a few digital cameras and this is by far the BEST. It takes great pictures in all different settings- outdoors day and night- indoors, kids, etc. It is very small so can fit in and out of pockets and small purses easily. Love the big viewing screen in the back too. I have to get used to the menu to able to switch the settings around quicker- but I am sure that will come as I get more familiar with the camera. I just remarked to my husband the other day how great the battery life is. I used it for the first time thanksgiving- have taken at least 100 pics and some video- and still have not needed to charge the battery!!!

great little camera.. so far
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
i bought this to replace my old digital camera so it is certainly an upgrade in that respect. so far, it has met my expectations- it’s very compact, has a big lcd screen, is easy to navigate (i am a canon fan) and is stylish. i have taken some test pictures and they are great, but i haven’t dabbled in the hd video function yet. for your information though, if you decide to purchase a case for this camera on amazon, get the canon psc-55. i bought this case in the store and they told me the canon psc-1050 (which I was considering to buy and is made for the sd 780) is too snug. on the other hand, the psc-55 is a perfect fit but unfortunately, it has no additional compartments for camera accessories.

Great for photos & not bulky, e.g. fitted perfectly into my evening handbag to capture moments of a 50th black tie party!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I have been a Canon fan for over 25 years (yes, since 35 mm days) and this is my 4th Canon Digital Powershot Elph camera . . . need I say more! Each model is an improvement from the last & yet doesn’t climb in price and the photos this one produces are fabulous, plus it’s so compact & light, perfect for traveling or to have on hand for those unexpected shots! This Canon is definitely value for money too!

Sharp looking and fun to use
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Battery life is 300 pictures (with flash on = just after chargeing battery)… I have the canon sd 1200 and the start up time is the same 1.5 secs, the shot to shot times on both are less than 2 secs , with the flash on 3 to 4 secs avg and a full flash for both cameras is up to 6 secs. The black color has a better grip than the other colors. You will need to buy a high speed 4 or 8 gig sd card, you could get by with a 2 gig card, none comes with the camera. When you can, get a spare battery also (NB-4L BATTERY). It seems to me that (100 iso) is a little sharper in fine detail than (200 iso) useing program mode, thats just me though but just try to use 80 to 250 iso for the best picture. Good image image quality for this size camera useing lower iso’s, a very compact camera (a tad thiner than the canon SD 1200 , the 28mm wide lens with 4x optical zoom is a nice feature on this small camera, and the 2.7inch lcd sceen is also very nice and sharp. The battery door cover like the canon sd 1200 is very weak. The sd 940 will not take pictures like a canon (G 11) or a( A 90 ) but i like the pictures i get from ths unit, even in very low light at 800 iso. (12/26/2009)> I tryed the positive film setting in my colors xmass day and it’s not to bad, (see my uploaded pictures) and see what you think??

Disappointed, looking for replacement
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I have had many Canon cameras over the years, so I expected a lot from this camera. Prior to this one I had a SD880IS which was larger but had a really good design with a larger LCD and raised controls (not flush like this one).

More about the camera …..

The main thing I don’t like about the camera is that with the auto mode I got some blurry shots. That was indoor on auto with flash off while subject is not completely still.

I had much better luck in program mode. I think for what I was trying to do the “kids and pets” scene mode would have worked better.

I always take shots with the flash off because I want natural lighting so maybe I’m just expecting too much of the camera.

What I do like:

- Black color, very nice looking

- VERY portable. With the leather case I could keep it with me all the time. The leather case has a belt loop and fits the camera very well.

- HD movie mode, although it can get jumpy if you are indoors and moving around, so the camera needs to be very steady (using both hands helps a lot).

The menus are OK but I’d like access to ISO via a dedicated button rather than through the menus.

So, I am selling mine at a very low price. The other reviews, IMO, are accurate — I am probably just expecting too much from this camera’s auto mode.

Update:

I sold the camera today (1-11-2010). The camera I bought to replace it is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3. It produces much better pictures in Auto mode, produces consistently good pictures in other modes, has better HD video that is much more stable, and many other things that I prefer (including 12x optical zoom).

Note, however, that it lacks one major advantage that the Canon SD940IS has — the incredibly small size. It was a hard decision to sell the SD940IS because with its small size and the excellent belt case available that fits it perfectly, I could have it with me wherever I went and I would hardly notice it on my belt. For a lot of people that will be the deciding advantage, so it’s a matter of priorities.

In the end, I decided that it was too confusing for me to have two cameras. I have found that every camera has its learning curve, and that to take good pictures with many cameras one must take the time to experiment with the various settings. The Panasonic is much more forgiving and produces better point-and-shoot pictures with less experience. I suspect that the Canon SD940 can also provide good results but that to obtain them I would have had to spend more time learning how to use the manual settings.

I will still keep my eye on the Canon Elph cameras and predict that I will come back to them at some point in the future. For now though the Panasonic meets my needs better — your mileage may vary.

Great camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Great camera. I got it after much research because I wanted to get the smallest high quality P & S. I’m an advanced amateur with two DSLR’s but needed a small P & S for the wife to use and for me to carry when I wanted something really, really small.

The SD940IS is truly small but delivers very high quality photos.

The only quibbles I have are that the menus take some getting used to and the buttons on the back are so small that they require me to use my fingernail rather than my finger to operate them.

Other than that, it’s a great little camera and I’m glad I bought it.

Great Camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Fantastic camera, fits perfectly in the hand, compact, super well built, progrmas and features easily found and logically laid out, great quality lens, great video mode, good sound quality from the mic. All this for $ 200? Cant beat it!

great point and shoot
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Not being a huge camera person, I was looking for a decent quality point and shoot camera that I didnt have to have a manual to use. Been using this for over a month and couldnt be happier with it. I usually leave it on auto and let it do its thing, and it takes great pics. Also the camera was smaller than I expected, but the LCD screen is plenty big enough to see the pics without problem. overall, if you want a point and shoot perfect pocket sized camera, this is it!

Canon PowerShot SD940IS wid angle 12.1 MP
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I just bought this camera and the first thing I have to say is that it’s extremely small and light weight. The dimensions on this camera is extraordinary considering all the things this camera can do. The camera has a 12.1 MP sensor, but megapixels are over-rated as anything larger than 10 is over kill. I have a Canon 40D, which I love, but it only has a 10 MP sensor that would blow away this camera any day of the week, but I digress. I used to have a Canon SD890IS which again, I loved, because it was compact and easy to use, but it was still a little bulky to carry in my pocket. The SD890IS also didn’t have HD video playback, which the 940IS does. To me, with those 2 selling points, I had to test the camera out.

Prior to buying the camera, I went to best buy to test out the SD780IS which is the older version of this camera and was amazed at the size of it. I took some pictures and was relatively impressed so I bought it. I brought it home and to my surprise, the camera was a return . . . the reason I knew this was because the date was already programmed into the camera and the battery fully charged. I decided to take some pictures and some video and then return the camera. After looking at the pictures, it’s pretty much what you get, which is an ok camera for indoor shots, but a decent camera for outside shots. The HD video is somewhat not completely true as it is on 30FPS and it basically makes the video a larger pixel size, which means that it just blows up the video to a 720 format. It definitely looks much better than the 640×480 and if you intend to view the videos on a large screen TV, a must.

The camera controls are a bit under-whelming, but it is intended to be a point and shoot, so even though I wish I had more control, I gave that up for size. The other camera I really wanted to purchase was the G11 or the S90, but they were significantly more expensive and larger and I wanted the size of the camera to fit in my wife’s purse or my pocket. The controls are extremely basic, meaning you can set the size of the file, timer, flash on or off, and then some canon scenes which basically automatically or you can do it manually, set a scene for a type of picture, e.g., indoor, outdoor, night, etc.

Again, the picture quality is what you expect from a small form factor camera and the controls are pretty much non-existent, but for me, this was not the selling point. I own a great digital SLR, so I didn’t need something to compete with that, I needed something that was small, took HD video, was easy to use, especially for the wife, and inexpensive, relative to the other cameras I was thinking about. I agree some of the other posters that it doesn’t take the best pictures, but that wasn’t my biggest reason to buying the camera at this stage.

Great Camera, what Max SD card and battery use?
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Great Camera, I just need to find out which max sd card it will take for hd video and which replacement battery you guys use?

thx

unbelievable as a carry every day camera
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought this camera to replace my clunky Nikon CoolPix L5 which takes great picttures of plants and apples, but blurs anything that involves anything alive and moving. I used this camera on New Year’s eve in an extremely low lit room. The camera is light a night camera, and can see in really low lighing situations. If is February and only now does the battery needs to be recharged. I have taken photos of 3 events in total since New Year’s. So the camera has a definite long life, much more than my previous cameras. The thing is small and so you will need to use only one hand as otherwise you will place your fingers over the flash. This is the size of a credit card. I have placed it in really small purses, and I can carry it around in my purse every day because of its small size. It does not have options such as black and white, sepia or other variations. The video is pretty good and I have been able to zoom in while the video is going on. This is very useful. I am not crazy about the wheel zoom and would have preferred a traditional W /T switch. THis is a one hand operation camera as there are literally very few buttons to have to deal with. The wider screen is great as I am getting older. The camera is so simple to use that I do not need to see the markings on the buttons. So far I have used only video and AUTO mode. I bought the camera for indoor family functions which usually have low lighting and so this camera delivers.

lived up to expectations
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
After seeing the camera in action while visiting a friend I was very impressed with the ease at which the camera was used. The picture quality and the video quality were all that I could ask for being novice. The camera seems to be the right size. fits in any pocket. Smaller and it would be hard to handle. Great product.

excellent camera!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this camera in last month. its very handy, stylish and loaded with cool features. i like the picture as well as video quality, both day and night. overall, it is good for day to day use. i would recommend this camera!!

Camera nice, but battery charging usability bad
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I needed a replacement for my Casio card camera (I broke the LCD). One of the best things about it is its cradle, connected to both computer and power; just drop it in the cradle and it charges, push a button and it transfers images. But the new version do not come with a cradle; you have to take out the battery each time you want to charge it. This is so bad for so many reasons. So I went searching for a replacement.

And I found this camera. I played with it extensively in a couple of stores and was tremendously impressed. First, it’s almost as thin as the Casio card cameras. Second, it feels solid, not plasticky. It’s responsive. The main controls are easy to use, and the screen is big enough and bright. The auxiliary controls (menus and stuff) are a bit challenging because they are flush to the camera body. And I was not able to find the scene modes that make the Casio cameras so incredibly useful (for example, the whiteboard mode or the eBay mode, both of which just work). Interestingly, there;s a cover in the upper right that has both a USB and an HDMI connection. Wow.

But this camera suffers fro the same fatal flaw as the new Casio cameras: you have to remove the battery to charge it. Here are the issues with that design decision:

First, opening and closing the cover. The cover was not designed to be opened and closed so much. Over time, the hinge will likely loosen, or worse, deform.

Second, it’s so much ore work to open the cover, take out the battery, find the charger, put the battery in the charger, wait for the charge, put the battery back in the camera. Some might say “well, it’s not that big a deal.” But usability isn’t just about big deals, about fixing big frustrations. It’s about the little deals, fixing the little frustrations, the little things that, by themselves uses don’t often notice, but that add up over time. This is one of those. And it doesn’t have to be: It’d be so easyto simply either provide a cradle or be able to just plug a cable into the camera.

Which brings me to, third, the battery doesn’t charge when you plug the USB cable in. Huh?? This is so mind-boggling stupid it defies description.

Let’s not that this Canon camera is not cheap. It’s not competing on price, but on quality (as Canon rightfully should). So to leave out this capability on such an otherwise high quality device completely undermines the trust in Canon engineering.

To be fair, having worked in high tech for so many years, I’d wager that this really was less of an engineering decision than a management decision. They didn’t want to add the small cost it would take, or they wanted to push the model to market before the engineering for it could be completed, something like that.

This camera is so new that the major camera review sites ([...]) haven’t given it a real run-through, but I’m guessing that the photo quality will be to the usual Canon high standards. And if it wasn’t for this incredibly annoying flaw, it’d have been in my cart and in my hands by now. But this is a real deal killer. My search will continue, with the very real hope that Canon engineering (or management) will pull their heads out of their…you know…and fix this in this camera’s successor, turning it from a 1-star product into very likely a 5-star product.

Great on land, and we’ll soon see about underwater
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’m a Canon fan for life. I’m a diver and love to take photos underwater. I had a Canon Powershot A95 for over 7 years, replacing a broken one with a used one when they were discontinued, and then once that one broke I couldn’t find another for a reasonable price. It took amazing pictures underwater and was very good to me. So I decided to upgrade to another Canon, seeing how they make cases for all their P&S cameras. I bought this camera along with the Canon DC-WP33, its underwater case. I got it yesterday, and have been very pleased with the images. I’m no professional photographer, and stick with the underwater setting (which I love, and Canon’s is fantastic, although I wish I could adjust the white balance while in UW mode) while diving. But topside I like simple, easy-to-use yet functional features, and this has loads, more than I’ll ever use. I love the color selections, being able to shoot in sepia, black and white, and the the contrast settings are nice as well. I should also add that the built-in flash on this camera is pretty powerful for as small as it is. I’m looking forward to seeing how well it works at depth, without a strobe.

It is really small, smaller than my Palm Pre, but just a bit. It fits in the case that came with the Pre, for scale. That’s what I’m using it for now. The controls take a little getting used to. I think for the person who wants a high-quality point and shoot that can literally fit in your pocket but takes great pics and HD video, this is the one for you.

I will come back and update this review after using the camera on my dive trip, for anyone else contemplating a purchase for similar reasons.

Great Camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is my third Canon Elph digital camera and once again, I am extremely happy with all aspects of the camera. Very easy to use, great battery life, excellent picture quality, all around great camera for point and shoot photography!

Removable batteries are a plus
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I like the removable battery feature because I always carry a spare. One can be in the charger while you still have the use of the camera. I haven’t tried the camera yet – waiting for the price to come down or my SD 750 to break. I have had great experience with Canon though and expect this model to be as good as any others this size.

Excellent little point-and-shoot
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Having finally decided that it was time to replace my reliable old Canon Powershot A95, I went ahead and bought this brand-new model, based on the fact that I’m already familiar with Canon products and I’ve liked what I’ve seen. The new camera definitely delivers, and I’m happy I chose this over a super-zoom model that wasn’t anywhere near as compact.

Pros: Much, much less shutter lag than my five-year old model (not surprisingly!), very quick start-up and equally quick focus, sharp and clear photos, accurate color, and remarkably compact considering all the features — fits easily into a pocket. The wide-angle is a bonus, although I haven’t had a chance to play with it much yet. The software that comes with the camera is the updated version of the older software I had, and is easy to learn and use.

Cons: yes, the battery has to be removed to be charged, but this is a very minor inconvenience and is no different than previous models. However, scrolling through the menus to get to the various settings is a bit of a time-consuming drawback, mostly because I was used to being able to select modes directly from a scroll wheel on the older model.

a few complaints
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
The portability, quality of construction of this camera is excellent!

The pictures would look nice on the camera screen, but DISAPPOINTING on a PC screen.

And the color contrast did NOT live up to my expectation!

It’s price/quality is disappointing to me.It’s even no better than an old-fashioned Casio camera I bought 5yrs ago!

canon review
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
A fantastic unit.the pictures are crystal clear.battery life for me was above and better than previous units i bought.so in love with this camera

Remarkable little camera!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
My last digital camera was a 3.1 MP Kodak EasyShare DX6340 — a nice little point and shoot in its day, but that was seven years ago! Though it still works like a champ, I decided it was time to upgrade to something a little more compact that also offered better picture quality *and* HD video. I spent over a month shopping around, looking at Canon, Panasonic, and Sony models, and toyed with the idea of sacrificing small size (and HD video) to go with the new Canon G11. Finally, I settled on the new SD940 IS as a reasonable compromise between size, features, and picture quality. I’m very happy I bought this thing — so far it has really impressed me!

This thing is TINY — it’s about the same size and weight as my old Motorola RAZR cell phone (when folded closed). Still, it feels quite solid. Despite the compact size, it delivers amazing performance. It boots up quickly, menus are snappy, and shot-to-shot delay is minimal. Picture quality is very good — nothing extraordinary, but nothing to sneeze at either. I shot a number of test photos over the past couple days and I’m quite pleased. Macro mode shots are amazingly crisp and detailed. Outdoors in medium sun, I did notice some tell-tale “purple fringing” around high contrast areas (the dark green leaves of a tree against a white cloud had a discernible purple halo around them when I zoomed in on the image). I don’t know that other P&S cameras of this size will necessarily do any better with the purple fringing, but I didn’t find it to be too bothersome. On my monitor colors looked quite natural, not overly-saturated nor washed out. I tried some of the manual ISO settings and below 400 I didn’t notice any grain or problematic fuzziness. Obviously, you can’t expect SLR quality with a P&S, but I’m very happy with the pictures this thing turns out.

The aspect that really sold me on this camera is the HD video. Of course, I mostly wanted this to take stills, but I wanted the flexibility to switch to video when the moment calls for it. For such a tiny camera, the HD video quality is stunning! Very fluid motion, sharp picture, and remarkably clear audio! The video is best in brightly-lit situations of course, but it does quite well in low light too if you don’t mind a little grain in the image. You can choose between several memory-saving standard-def settings and high-def (which switches to widescreen format automatically). While the optical zoom cannot be used in video mode, you CAN use the digital zoom up to 4x while recording — a nice little bonus. The video files produced are .MOV files which I was able to import into iMovie on my Mac with complete ease (and very quickly too!).

The control buttons are indeed small and flat, but I have had no trouble managing them (it helps if your fingernails are not trimmed too short). People with larger hands or very short fingernails might have a little more difficulty. I’m still getting used to menu navigation on this, but it seems fairly intuitive. I spent ten minutes reading through the “getting started” guide that comes with it, and that was helpful in outlining the basic features, but there are a lot more that the guide doesn’t cover. This *does* use a proprietary battery, but the charger is fortunately very compact and charges the battery to capacity in 90 minutes. It doesn’t bother me that the battery has to be taken out of the camera for charging. So far, after two days, I have not depleted the battery, so I can’t comment yet on how long battery life is, but mine has already lasted through several hours of use and is still going strong.

This may not be the most versatile camera on the market — full manual controls are limited — but for a simple-to-use, high-quality P&S camera with crisp pictures and HD video, I think it would be hard to beat the SD940 IS. It is extremely small and lightweight and does all that most casual users could want. It may be a bit pricey compared to some others, but it’s worth every penny. By the way, if you plan to use the HD video feature, be sure to get a Class 6 or higher SD memory card for best results. (Lower-rated cards may not be fast enough to capture the stream of information being written to the card). Don’t skimp on the card — cheap off-brands are not always reliable and may soon die, taking your irreplaceable photos and videos with them. I got a few SanDisk Extreme III 8GB Class 6 cards to go with this and they work great!

Highly recommended!

Great Camera….Amazing shots.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Bought this at Samy’s after going to 2 Samy’s and hearing 2 reps tell me it is the one. Have used it 3 days and for a point and shoot with all of it’s good and bad points, this is THE camera. Love it.

Compact, but disappointing image, video quality
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
Very portable, very small. Image quality suffers- both still images and HD video. S90 stills much better, but no HD video. Last years sd 790 had very good picture quality also. Sent sd 940 back.

Low-light amazingness. BUY THIS CAMERA.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I originally bought this little beauty because I needed a tiny camera to drop into my pocket when I didn’t feel like lugging the SLR around with me while on a vacation. The size is perfect: literally the size of a credit card, fits into jeans or shirt pocket easily. But the REAL awesomeness of this camera? It has a 3200 ISO mode, that takes surprisingly excellent photos. On a recent trip to Italy, I was able to use it unnoticed in dimly-lit churches, museums, etc., and even for hand-held night shots on the street. The images do contain some noise, as any would at ISO 3200 — but this camera allowed me to get pictures that I otherwise would’ve missed, and that makes it a little miracle in my opinion.

one of the best compact cameras!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am now on my 5th Canon compact point and shoot and am amazed at how Canon continues to up their game in this category. I am so happy with this new one. The photos are amazing and it is so durable. I spent days researching and came back to this camera. A real win.

Upgraded from Canon SD750
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Please do not be scared away from this camera because of the idiotic 1 star review over battery charging preferences. This is an amazing camera that takes terrific quality photos. The auto mode is fantastic. Just literally take out of the box and start to point & shoot and pictures are clear, lighting perfect ,etc. The IS function is great. This was lacking in my 750 (which I loved – but had to replace when I lost it). Also added HD video which is a nice touch. My videos are super clear and the sound is quite good as well. Setting it to Manual mode is quite fun and can really enhance pictures, especially low light and outdoor photos. The ISO settings aren’t nearly as good as my now ancient Fuji F10 but just ok. However, this camera makes up for it with its incredible auto mode, lightweight feel and crisp clear photos. If you are looking for SLR quality then go buy one of those. If you are looking for a very portable camera that you can take with you everywhere and makes new meaning to the saying ‘point-and-shoot’, then this camera is for you. Don’t miss any shots while trying to find the perfect settings. Set it to Auto and go! This camera will not disappoint.

PS. I have this one in the blue color. Be careful it scratches easily. Get a protective sleeve if you are concerned about that kind of thing. I however am more concerned with the quality of my photos.

Upgrade from SD750
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’d had my SD750 for about two and a half years before upgrading to the SD940 IS. The features of the two cameras are similar aside from the following:

The SD940 has image stablization; HD video; battery indicator; smaller size.

One thing that the SD750 had over the SD940 is the larger LCD, 3″ vs. 2.7″. But given that the SD940 is smaller overall compared to the SD 750, this really isn’t a significant issue. Another thing about the SD750 was that it had buttons that were easier to use, they were raised and bigger but again, bigger camera, bigger buttons.

As for picture quality, the SD940 is wonderful, easy to use no matter what setting you use. I’ve played with the auto as well as the manual settings and both turn out great pics. It’s a no-brainer camera, just point and click. Just printed out some 8×10 pictures that look awesome. The battery life is very good too.

One thing, this camera is really tiny, smaller than my cell phone though it’s nice and weighty for its size, but it might be better suited for smaller-handed users. I can see it being difficult to manipulate for larger hands.

Canon SD940is
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Cant figure out this camera. In “Auto Mode” the “Camera Shake” display continues to show up when taking pictures. But then when you move back a step its goes away. And this “Camera Shake” icon even appears when i have the camera on a table and all i am doing is pressing the shutter button down halfway. Pictures in auto mode are really not great. So blurry. They are better in the manual (P) mode but you have to really adjust each component to get it right. I had the old Sony digital 10mp cameras and I think their cameras were a ton better. I am definitely not happy with Canon Camera

Canon SD940IS, a little jewel
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I just received my Canon SD940IS several hours ago. I ordered it with 2-Day Service, and it came early on the second day per Amazon’s usual excellent service. I have the big Nikon outfit, many lenses/bags/tripods, etc., but wanted something little, but power-packed, to take with us on a few upcoming trips. The Nikon is excellent, but would like to keep the travels simple. The SD940 is an absolute little jewel! It will replace the Canon PowerShot SD400 that I’ve had for years, but it was time to boost the performance (12 mp vs. 5 mp … also 28 mm wide angle with the 940). I also love the SMALL size of this marvel. You’ve been reading it fits in shirt or pants pockets, better believe it! It is great in low light situations (yup, tested it), and the LCD worked perfectly in the bright sun. I took a bunch of test pics, they are perfect. I also love the WIDE format Canon offers in the picture menu selections. An added benefit for me is that is uses the same batteries and case that the SD400 used, so now I have three spares. As someone mentioned in a prior review: the “big” cameras have their role and place, but having a small, highly portable, dynamo in your pocket means you will be ready to take all sorts of shots you very well might have missed. I would absolutely recommend the reader check this camera out!

Looks Good
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought this as a Christmas present for my husband, so he has not yet used it. It looked good and it small and compact which is what he wanted.

Hit Or Miss
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Well I picked this up because I heard Canon made good products and I wanted a camera that took good pictures and recorded HD video so this seemed like the best option at the time in my price range. Boy was I wrong. Menus are easy to navigate and the camera looks great but that’s where the compliments end for me. Pictures can either come out good or just plain terrible. This camera can take some very blurry pictures. Alot of the pictures I took came out as if I took them during an earthquake when I was holding the camera as steady as possible. No matter how much adjusting I did it was either a good picture or a bad one. I took far to many bad pictures for my liking.

I also dabbed a little with the HD video, it was okay inside for a point and shoot but I took it outside and the screen went completely white. I couldn’t see a thing on the screen. Well that was the last straw for me and this camera went right back to Amazon. I played a little with the Sony Cybershot WX1 and then the Panasonic Lumix ZS3 and found the ZS3 to be the better camera out of the three in EVERY way. I am happy with my purchase of the ZS3.

If you don’t think what I said here is true get the cameras and test them for yourself.

Impressive
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I honestly did not expect this camera to be so compact. Cool! I brought it in off the porch and the box size had me believing I had only received the SD card. It was all in there! I warmed the camera up in my shirt pocket while the battery charged. 90 minutes later I was taking fantastic low light shots of the kids in ISO3200 mode. We made some “short films” of them goofing off and were playing them back on the TV using the mini HDMI output (cable not included). On par with my Flip Ultra HD, but the sound is monaural. No biggee. After seeing a slideshow of the pictures I had taken, I immediately changed the image recording size to Widescreen. This format will work very well, as I usually wiew photos on the TV using the Tivo home networking feature. I crop as needed in Picasa anyway. The 16 GB SD card I ordered with the camera will hold more pictures than I probably took last year, so this amazes me. I will enjoy the lightning fast power up time of the Canon. This camera joins our old Sony DSC-85 which is by comparison, slow, big, and heavy, but because I like it I will still break it out on Holidays. I made this buying decision based solely on research done at the Canon website. Good comparison tools. Probably will buy another battery just to have. Liking the removable battery as a feature, actually. Off to Disney next week for the real trial.

Same old Canon P&S
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
In the last 5 years I have had a handful of these Canon point and Shoots at my disposal- this one is not much different than the previous iterations, despite the marketing gizmos and the public’s uneducated craving for more pixels. Granted, it’s still a ‘good’ camera. Just not much new from any other Canon PowerShot.

HD video? not like this is a crazy ‘advanced’ feature on a sensor that can see quadruple the HD format. It’s a marketing trade name- believe it. And people wowed by the HDMI output are oblivious that this is CHEAPER to engineer- digital ~ digital. It has nothing to do with Quality and nor does amping it up to 12 MP.

Comparing my Powershot of 3 years ago- I tested the shutter delay between shots (yes, a half press pre, we are talking write time- black display) Both are the same. I could care less about the useless face recognition, I just want to recoup for the next shot FASTER. Come on, I know you can do this canon.

What drives me nuts is how Canon likes to completely revamp the menu placement. One model has the P (program) then others have M (Manual) and then some have both. Some have a time lapse function buried in the M, others have it as part of the “Movie” function. What I like about a company is stick-tuitiveness and consistency- these wishy-washy marketing product managers are living in a haze.

Another irk with P&S’s in general is the on-camera flash. Nikon at one time had function to +/- the flash fill- Canon, not so much. It’s always overblown- if you compensate -1 or -2 it loses everything else. I always tape a piece of 1/2 spun over the flash, helps a little.

If you want a reliable P&S and you DONT want to THINK- this might be ok for general use. Thats who it’s made for. The average person- not a photographer who wants to get creative. But that’s obvious. Right?

Small Handy pocket camera
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I owned Canon SD 790 before this, and loved it, but had to let it go. This one is obviously more smaller and sleeker. It is definitely better than SD 780 because of 4x zoom, bigger lens and display size, and i feel also a bit more sturdier. However, the picture quality though better than 780 is lesser than older 790

The menus are quite nice and usable, and camera is definitely more faster and responsive. It stays nicely in pocket, and good enough to take all types of shots. The video quality isnt bad at all, hdmi o/p is cool and I am wondering why I need my Sony handycam anymore.

Disappointment
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I am a professional photographer, and I actually bought this camera because I saw the good review of another pro. The camera takes good photos outdoors…that is if you are holding pretty still. The colors are good and the MP is good, however, I was so disappointed in ALL indoor shots. Everyone came out blurry, almost a double image. I thought something was wrong with the camera, so I sent it back. To my disappointment, there was nothing wrong. They sent me out a new one, and the results were the same! I took 900 pictures with it and it still was horrible. As for the camera itself, it was much thinner than the Cannon I bought before, which I thought would be good for pocket carrying, but it is so slippery it’s hard to hold onto. The buttons are more even with the body of the camera, so it is a lot harder to push the buttons than earlier editions of any of the point and shoot Canons. I am stuck with a camera that I really can’t stand at all. I am upset because we took it to Disneyland with us, and 50% of the shots were not sharp, or blurry. I would stay away from this camera if you are looking for an excellent camera. IT IS MEDIOCRE at best.

SUper Sleek and sweet! Great LCD!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Let me start by saying i’ve played with the SD780, SD960, and SD1200 extensively. Upon opening the box I was immediately impressed by the design of the camera. The camera is SO much better than what I imagined – what I mean is the body is MUCH nicer compared to the 780 and even better than the photos. Online it looks like a SD780 – but I think it is much better in the build, and the 2.7″ screen IS that much larger. It has a solid sleek feel, very thin, but not CHEAP and not so thin or small i’ll drop it. Overall I love this camera. Has all the excellent features of the newer Canon models we’ve come to love! i think this camera is well the money.

Having said all that – the photos are mostly good, but not as consistent as I’d like them to be. This is trus of any of the newer cameras that I have played with, though. my other two concerns are the lens seems to make actual noise while focusing – i do not know if this is a defect or normal. Secondly, photos with the flash are interesting – a lot of edging do you call it? I took a photo in daylight and flash kicked in but background looks like nighttime (indoor). a little weird. Resolution is great! Low light photos with flash are awesome and crisp. can’t have a shaky hand with no flash. If you are a first time Canon user (like I was a few months ago) it takes a little time to get used to how to get clear shots, but then once you figure it out it’s good. All in all – I think this is going to be one of Canon’s best sellers. As far as comparison to the SD960 it very comparible in features and quality – but the design is very different. I miss the scroll feature of the SD960, but it’s easier to delete photos on this one. I did not own a SD780, I just played with it in the store on several occasions, but I could never get used to it – so I think the SD940 is better in design and ease of use as far as navigation goes. not sure on picture QUALITY COMparison.

Great camera!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This camera is perfect to go in your pocket, just make sure you get a screen protector for it.

Great compact Camera!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Barely can feel the camera when it is in my pocket. The images are fantastic and I can’t say one negative thing about it after using it for the past month. Highly recommend this camera.

Canon’s Best PowerShot!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I used this about a week and I’m really like this camera. My first Canon camera ironically was a PowerShot 35mm that I bought 19 years ago. I took a lot of pictures with it during high school, I lost it during Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 because my house was flooded. I since then supported Sony CyberShot DSC-P50 (2.1 Megapixel) in 2003, and the last was DSC-W7 that was 7.2 Megapixel in 2005. When I got the Apple 24″ LED Cinema Display in May 2009. It has a true 24-bit Resolution with In Plane Switching (IPS) meaning you will have ALL 16.7 Million colors displayed. I went back and look at the pics and Sony really did not look good. Now I see why professional photographers don’t consider Sony cameras. I started looking at comparisons with Nikon vs Canon. To me Canon was the best choice with color reproduction and detail and it was apparent across the entire Canon line of cameras. I look at samples well as pictures from individuals on Flickr. I wanted a smaller pocket camera to take everywhere because Camera phones was not cutting it. What helped a great deal was reading the feedback on Amazon and Canon’s website. I first look at the SD980 IS and seen it had too many bad reviews. Which I concluded that SD940 IS was the best choice for features, function and ease of use. After a week I can honestly say that this is the best camera I ever own even better than the 3-CCD Sony DCR-VX2000 that cost me $3,000 back in 2000, simply because not only of the picture quality but excellent high definition recording, 720p @ 30 FPS video quality. I also bought a Sandisk 32GB Class 4 SDHC Memory Card in which Canon advise Class 4 minimum SDHC Cards for HD Recording. Sandisk Ultra II are Class 4 with a 15MB per second read with a 9MB per second write. I also purchased the Canon PIXMA All In One MX860 from Amazon also. I dump my HP printers because they always over saturate the picture with extra colors. Print quality from the SD940 IS looks awesome on the MX860. It really make sense to use Canon cameras with Canon printers for best results.

Grainy Pictures, not very crisp
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I really was very excited about this camera. But what a disappointment.My old Cannon with 6 MP took better pictures. Most of the pictures are noisy and grainy in auto mode. I am not an expert but in manual mode made no difference to me. I tried different settings but the same results. Now I don’t have time to figure this thing out. I need to be taking pictures, it is a point and shoot camera.

it is not a very good digital camera
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
there is no picture quality setting, so 12.1 mega px. just a fake, review it carefully before you buy.

Great upgrade from the Powershot sd780!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I just received my Powershot SD940. Originally I had purchased the Powershot SD780, but when this one came out two days later I returned it. I liked the bigger LCD on the 940 rather than the 780′s smaller LCD with an optical viewfinder. The 940 also has a 4x optical zoom compared to the 780′s 3x optical zoom. Something else I had not noticed until I received the product is that the 940 has an updated menu system. The menus are laid out more logically and can display help menus to inform the user of the cameras functions and options. This feature is not offered on the 780. After owning both cameras, I would recommend upgrading to the Powershot SD940 unless you need an optical viewfinder. The 940 offers better zoom, bigger LCD, updated menus, and stronger performance (I found that the menus operate more smoothly and with much less lag than the 780). These are both great cameras, and I should note that the 780 is a bit smaller and lighter. Unfortunately they both have rather flat buttons that are not raised above the surface which made it a bit hard to operate at first, but I quickly got used to it. I still STRONGLY recommended!