Canon PowerShot SD940 Review

The camera measures 3.52" by 2.16" by .79" and weighs approximately 120 grams, consistent with most of Canon's point and shoots. It should fit comfortably in a pocket, especially without a case, though one risks scratching the screen if one does so.

The camera captures images using a 12.1 Megapixel, 1/2.3" type CCD with 12.4 total Megapixels. It has a focal length of between 5 (W) and 20 (T) mm, equivalent to a 35mm camera's range of 28 (W) to 112 (T) mm. It has a 4x digital zoom and a focusing range between 1' and infinity (W) and 1.6' and infinity (T) in normal mode and a Macro focusing range between 1.2" and 1.6', as well as a digital macro range of 1.2" and 3.9". It also includes a TTL Autofocus system.

The camera has a maximum aperture of between f/2.8 (W) and f/5.9 (T). It also features a shutter speed of between 1/1500 and 15 seconds, and a long shutter to be set between 1 and 15 seconds that also offers noise reduction. The camera also has automatic sensitivity built in and options equivalent to ISO 80, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1600. Light metering is available through evaluative, center-weighted average, and spot modes, and exposure control can be set either via program auto exposure, i-contrast, or an auto exposure lock. Exposure compensation can be set between -2 and +2 stops in 1/3-stop increments.

White balance control can be set automatically or to Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, or Custom settings. Built-in Flash can be set automatically or with Red-eye Reduction, Auto Red-eye Correction, Flash On, Flash Off, FE Lock, or Slow Synchro settings, and the flash range is between 1' and 13' (W) or 1.6' and 6.6' (T). Recycling time is 10 seconds or less and there is no flash exposure compensation.

The camera offers automatic shooting but also Program, Portrait, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater, ISO 3200, Indoor, Kids & Pets, Night Snapshot, Color Accent, Color Swap, Digital Macro, Long Shutter, Stitch Assist, and Movie. It offers photo effects such as My Colors Off, Vivid, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, and Custom adjustment of colors.

The camera activates its shutter after a 2-10 second delay and also offers a face detection self timer. It shoots continuously at up to .8 frames per second and does not offer wireless control.

The camera includes a 2.7" TFT color LCD widescreen monitor with approximately 230000 pixels on-screen and 100% coverage.

The camera stores files onto SD and SDHC memory cards as well as MultiMediaCard, MMCplus card, and HC MMCplus card media. It compresses JPEG images using Exif 2.2 and movie files using MOV (compressed via H.264 and audio via Linear PCM). Documents are sized between 640 by 480 and 4000 by 3000 for images and 320 by 240 to 1280 by 720 for HD at 30 frames per second for video. A 4 GB memory card can store approximately 10 minutes of HD video and 60 minutes of SD video.

The camera features a USB 2.0 Hi-speed interface and outputs via NTSC and PAL to ensure that almost any television is compatible with the camera's video out. Audio is monaural only. The camera also include PictBridge printing compatibility.

The camera charges via a lithium ion battery and can also be charged via an external AC adapter.

Many users complain about the fact that its battery and A/V port door is flimsy and potentially easy to break.