Performance

This little camera manages to offer plenty of manual settings you would normally find in advanced point & shoot models.  In fact, Canon wisely chose to set the camera dial to Auto, Manual & Video.  This is actually quite nice when compared to older ELPH-series cameras because you can actually set your preferred manual mode and always have the option of flipping the dial over to Auto when needed.  This eliminates the extra time required to re-adjust settings as needed.  Bottom line is that having a mode switch between all three is highly convenient and a most welcomed feature when compared to previous models (just a scene mode). 

Auto vs. Manual

There are times though where you'll definitely want to play with the manual settings this little beast has to offer.  It offers so much in terms of options and one perfect example is underwater photography, which I will actually cover in this article.  In the conclusions of this article, you'll find plenty of sample images taken with the camera under different environments and settings.

What I did find with this camera is that the higher megapixel settings had an impact in overall speed.  Previous Elf models were able to take faster continuous pictures due to the lower megapixel images.  The SD940, strictly when coming from older models, will be noticeably slower.

4X Optical Zoom

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The most apparent feature is its 4x optical zoom.  Their SD780 IS was a pretty damn impressive camera when it came down to overall design.  However, the new SD940 IS manages to improve upon this popular model by featuring a 4x optical zoom instead of their 3x norm.  For some, this is a big factor in their decision and I will go as far as saying that many who recently purchased the SD780 IS, quickly returned it for this new model.  In short, this is Canon's first and smallest camera featuring a 4x optical zoom.

ISO Settings & Performance

Auto

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With a point & shoot, Auto is usually the best mode for all pictures.  However, the SD940 has a manual mode that allows ISO settings from 80 all the way up to an impressive 1600.  Unlike previous ELPH cameras, this setting is know considered "Manual" instead of "Scene".  Its ISO performance was tested extensively in many low-light environments.  What is important to note is that the higher the ISO setting, the more noise the picture will likely contain.  Now, what I found surprising was that most of the pictures taken at ISO 400 yielded the best results.  Above are 100% crops of one excellent example for you to judge for yourself. 

Video Performance

It's actually amazing to think that a camera this tiny is actually capable of taking 720p HD video.  What's more amazing though is the overall quality.  Canon has managed to impress in this area and the SD940 IS is no exception.  What has also been impressive is just how well audio is captured from such a tiny mono mic.  In fact, after owning several ELPH cameras over the years and recommending them to others, they are also highly impressed by its ability to capture so much sound. 

Above is an excellent example at just how well the SD940 does capture HD video.  This is a video clip that happens to be featured in my recent review of the excellent new Microsoft Zune HD.  You can see that under proper lighting, it can capture very crisp video and even audio.  In fact, the audio you hear in the background happened to be playing from a separate room during the capture of this video.

Additional Testing

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For those into diving or snorkeling and looking for a quality point & shoot camera to take with you on your adventure, the Canon SD940 IS is an excellent option.  Canon has released an underwater housing (WP-DC33) for this new model, one of which was thoroughly tested here.  Even if you are one who owns a higher-end camera or expensive DSLR, you may find that purchasing this camera along with the housing is not only less expensive than purchasing just a third-party housing for your DSLR, but one of pure peace of mind when it comes to protecting your investment.

This camera did go underwater with me on some dive trips and I will say that I couldn't expect any better from such a small camera with a tiny built-in flash.

While some manual settings will produce better images at times, the nice thing about Canon ELPH cameras is their underwater scene mode.  It just plain works...period.  In fact, you'll find many divers tend to primarily use this setting when diving.  Above are just two images of many taken with this mode that truly depict the right color balance and are as close as my vision was at time of capture.  Its excellent image stabilization is also a plus here, as both pictures were taken while in motion.

Next:  Conclusions