Canon’s PowerShot SD880 IS digital camera replaces the company’s previous PowerShot SD870 IS model, and updates the chassis with an edgier style. The Canon SD880 also reduces the body height and thickness ever so slightly. Under that pretty skin, the Canon SD880 uses a slightly larger 1/2.3-inch CCD image sensor, and simultaneously boosts resolution from eight to 10 megapixels, along with upgrading the previous model’s DIGIC III processor to a DIGIC 4 type that allows for servo AF tracking.

The Canon SD880’s zoom lens is just slightly expanded to a 4x zoom from the 3.8x optical zoom in the SD870. The added magnification power is all found at the telephoto end, with the overall range varying from a useful 28mm wide-angle to a moderate 112mm telephoto. As with its predecessor, the Canon SD880 IS includes true optical image stabilization to help combat image blurring due to camera shake. Maximum aperture is f/2.8 to a rather dim f/5.8 across the zoom range.

As well as the previously mentioned AF tracking, the Canon SD880 IS’s autofocus system now has improved face detection capability. Canon says the camera will now recognize faces at most angles, and has included a Face Detection self timer which automatically takes a photo two seconds after an additional face enters the scene. The Canon PowerShot SD880 IS’s LCD display has identical size and resolution to that in the previous camera: it’s a 3.0-inch design with 230,000 dots, but Canon also claims higher contrast.

The standard ISO sensitivity range offered by the Canon SD880 IS is unchanged from the SD870, with a minimum of ISO 100 through to a maximum of ISO 1,600. A new high sensitivity scene mode allows this to be boosted to a maximum of ISO 3,200, however. Available PowerShot SD880 shutter speeds are unchanged, ranging from 1/1,600 to 15 seconds. Metering modes are unchanged — evaluative, center-weighted and spot all being offered.

Likewise, the Canon SD880 is much like the SD870 in that it offers only a program mode, with no options for aperture- or shutter-priority shooting, let alone a fully manual mode. Flash range when set to Auto ISO is rated at 1 - 13.8 feet (30cm - 4.2m) at wide angle, and 1 - 6.6 feet (30cm - 2m) at telephoto. There are sixteen scene modes, and the Canon SD880 also offers a new Intelligent Contrast Correction function.

Where the SD870 offered Motion JPEG AVI movies, the Canon SD880 opts for H.264 MOV instead — a newer format which generally offers significantly improved compression (and hence smaller file sizes) for equivalent video quality. As with the previous camera, sound is recorded along with movie clips. The Canon PowerShot SD880 is unchanged from its predecessor in storing its images and movies on Secure Digital cards, and includes a not-very-generous 32MB card in the product bundle. The Canon SD880 also offers both NTSC / PAL video and USB 2.0 High Speed computer connectivity, like its predecessor. Power is likewise unchanged, coming from a proprietary NB-5L lithium-ion rechargeable battery.

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