Canon SD940 IS

Canon SD940 IS is Canon's Ultracompact digital camera originally announced on August of 2009. It has a 12 MegaPixel, CCD 1/2.3" sized sensor and has a max resolution of 4000 x 3000. The camera is referred to as "Digital IXUS 120 IS" in some countries.

The SD940 IS is ranked #109 out of 151 in Ultracompact cameras & overall #1146 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our collection. You should try out our Advanced camera search to get camera ratings based on your custom criteria.

Here is a chart of multiple factors used in the rating system.

The Canon SD940 IS has a history of related digital cameras. Underneath, you can see all earlier and most recent models as well as key specifications.

You can see the SD940 IS from several angles in the gallery underneath.

Below is a checklist of benefits and drawbacks of the Canon SD940 IS based on features which are typically considered essential in a digital camera.

The Canon SD940 IS houses the Digic 4 processor. The specification of the sensor in the Canon SD940 IS is 6.17mm x 4.55mm (1/2.3"). The 28 mm² sensor is able to capture 4000 x 3000 pixels at aspect ratios of 4:3 and 16:9. The camera has Image Stabilization (Optical). Sensor stabilization is more desirable than digital stabilization as the latter can cause cropping.

Photography Glossary

The CCD sensor has 12MP and has a standard ISO range of 80 - 1600. Sadly, RAW photos are not saved so the user has less margin for error.

The picture underneath displays the SD940 IS's sensor dimensions when compared to other popular sizes. The SD940 IS sensor has a crop factor of 5.8 and is shown in green.

Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

To get a sense of specific aspect ratios, you can refer to the graphic below.

Canon SD940 IS weighs 0.26 lbs (120 gr or 4.23 ounces) & the sizing of the camera is 89mm x 55mm x 20mm (3.5" x 2.2" x 0.8"). The weight of typical Ultracompact camera is 121 gr so the Canon SD940 IS is very much the same in comparison with various competitors.

Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Here is a shot of the Canon SD940 IS with a soda so you can get a sense of its scale.

The top view under will illustrate the button layout on the SD940 IS.

The SD940 IS has a built-in lens providing a focal range of 28-112mm giving it a 4.0 x zoom which isn't very good nevertheless it will be handy in some situations.

At the widest 28mm, the lens has an aperture of f2.8 and that's somewhat slow and not great for low light conditions and you will find it hard to get good bokeh. You might also need to raise the ISO which causes noisy images. At the tele end, 112mm comes to f5.9 which is very slow and you might need to utilize slower shutter speeds.

The SD940 IS has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• HDMI Yes

Digital cameras that have NFC and / or Bluetooth compatibility can be used wirelessly via smartphones. You can easily copy files and oftentimes adjust camera settings without the hassle of connecting physically to the camera.

A few applications even enable a Liveview and hit the shutter in case you are not near the camera. If the camera boasts a HDMI port, it can be hooked up to an external screen. Almost all cameras enable you to recharge the battery pack using the USB port.

The max video resolution in the Canon SD940 IS is 1280 x 720 and you can capture in H.264 file format. 720p is awful for today's standards. You should strive for at least 1080p resolution for video recording. The camera does not have a microphone and / or headphone socket so you get no control over the audio. It is perhaps a better idea to buy a different model in case you want better audio for your videos.

There is no environment sealing in the Canon SD940 IS so you need to be careful in wet or dusty situations.

The Canon SD940 IS has a 2.7" fixed display screen boasting a resolution of 230k dots.

Sadly the display screen isn't a touch screen.

Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

The View Finder specifications for Canon SD940 IS are below:

• ViewFinder None

Viewfinders can be very helpful for sunny outdoor situations which can easily make the camera screen washed out and hard to see.

Canon SD940 IS is able to shoot continuously at 1.0 fps. The maximum shutter speed is 1/1500s.

Canon SD940 IS has only built-in flash with no external flash support.

Canon SD940 IS has just Contrast Detect Autofocus & is missing Phase Detect Autofocus. Phase Detection focusing is a lot snappier and exact when compared with Contrast Detect focusing.

The AF system has 9 focus points to pick from. Canon SD940 IS doesn't have manual focus. Manual focus mode is useful for low light scenarios or you need more precise control on focusing.

The usual Ultracompact camera battery life is 214. Nikon L32 comes with the maximum (320) battery life for this type of cameras.

Here is a number of Ultracompact cameras which have the highest battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Nikon L32
SD940 IS vs L32320 nonono

Olympus TG-870
SD940 IS vs TG-870300 nonono

Body cameras now worn by bakery staff to deter stealing

Panasonic FP5
SD940 IS vs FP5260 nonono

Sony TX20
SD940 IS vs TX20250 nonono

Sony TX55
SD940 IS vs TX55250 nonono

The following illustration displays a outline of the Canon SD940 IS for specific types of photography. To check out more, have a look at the specific section underneath.

The Canon SD940 IS receives a points tally of 21 which is really bad, and means the camera is just not good to use for portrait photos. Photographing portraits leans greatly towards sensor size, RAW support & flexibility to use external flash.

With a decent score of 57, the Canon SD940 IS is somewhat acceptable to buy for street photography. A very good street photography camera features a fine balance of image quality and portability.

A really bad sports photography rating of 25 suggests the Canon SD940 IS is just not good for taking photos of sports. A camera needs fantastic focusing and shutter speeds for sports photography.

Portability is pretty important when getting a travel camera. In general, the Canon SD940 IS gets a moderate 58 as a travelling camera which is fairly acceptable to take with you on your travels.

In case you're looking to buy a camera for landscape photography, the most essential aspect is going to be image quality. The Canon SD940 IS at it's really bad score of 32 as a landscape camera is just not good within the current market.

A vlogging camera should offer a moving display, mic input and preferably image stabilization. Taking everything in to account, the Canon SD940 IS is just not good as a vlog camera as it gets a really bad rating of 29.

If you are trying to find replacements to the SD940 IS, below is a number of the top placed cameras that fall in to the category of Ultracompact.

The diagram listed below will give you an overview of the SD940 IS compared to it's highest scoring competitors listed previously.

These are various other cameras you may regard as alternate options. To look at a thorough comparison, just click on the "compare" link.