Using a Canon SD870 IS- how do I enable wideangle lens?

[RudeBoie]

I noticed the 850 and 870 IS have the same image resolutions, so what's really the wide angle lens do?

I know you can choose widescreen on the 870IS, but all that seems to do is cut off the top and bottom of the image, not actually increase the width field of the image, which I would think the wide angle lens would help with. If you don't have a wider field of depth, what's the point of the widenangle when you could do the same thing in software?

 

[alfa147x]

By looking at these:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/i...1ZfYqT7AlL._SS400_.jpg
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0...n/canon_sd870is_3q.jpg

You cant do these same in software 2 factors

1) You cropping the image, thus losing image quality
2) With cropping the image, before the image is taken you have to be further away from the subject so you can get the same wide-ness

Originally posted by: RudeBoie
I noticed the 850 and 870 IS have the same image resolutions, so what's really the wide angle lens do?

You have the wrong idea of wide angle and resolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wide-angle_lens

You might be thinking along the lines of computer display resolution, the bigger the number the more you see

 

[magomago]

to just state it in a different way...

you have different levels of "Zoom"....one of them can "zoom out" further than the other.

 

[alfa147x]

wide angle != widescreen

 

[RudeBoie]

Ah, I think I understand better now. So by default, if I turn on the camera and take a picture, I will have a wider field of view (not different aspect ratio, still 4:3) than if I were using a normal 35 lens.

 

[alfa147x]

Originally posted by: RudeBoie
Ah, I think I understand better now. So by default, if I turn on the camera and take a picture, I will have a wider field of view (not different aspect ratio, still 4:3) than if I were using a normal 35 lens.

yup

 

[Sukhoi]

IIRC my A700 simply crops the top and bottom to go from 4:3 to 16:9.