Never may be too harsh a word, but you'll want to learn of a few problems with the Canon PowerShot SD850 Digital Elph Camera before you actually buy one. It has some flaws you may not be aware of. Most digital camera reviews you read online are nothing but thinly veiled attempts to sell you the camera. There's no sales pitch here, just an attempt to bring to light problems with the Powershot SD850 Digital Elph.
Barrel distortion can be common with several cameras in this category and price range, but generally not to the extent that it is in the SD850. Barrel distortion in photography generally refers to an image whose quality is good at the center, but gets distorted the further you go from center. Barrel distortion is sometimes referred to as edge or corner softness.
Canon decided that giving you information you can't do much about, might be a good idea. Not really sure why. When the shutter button is half way pressed, the PowerShot SD850 displays the F/Stop setting the Digital Elph will be using for the picture your about to take. Which is nice, but it would be even nicer if you could adjust it. The way it's designed right now, you can't.
Ergonomics are important in digital cameras, especially because of their size. Being so small, digital cameras can be cumbersome even at the best of times. Especially for those with larger hands. The PowerShot SD850 seems to have missed the mark with a couple of points in this category. Firstly, the power button is positioned in such a way that getting greasy finger prints on the LCD is next to impossible. Secondly, due to a curved base, the SD850 DigitalElph can be tricky to set on a flat surface for the purpose of using the timer.
