Canon IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS		Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35		Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T77
f6.3, 80 ISO		f4, 100 ISO		f4.5, 80 ISO
f6.3, 80 ISO		f4, 100 ISO		f4.5, 80 ISO
f6.3, 80 ISO		f4, 100 ISO		f4.5, 80 ISO
f6.3, 80 ISO		f4, 100 ISO		f4.5, 80 ISO

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To compare real-life performance we shot this scene with the Canon IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS, Panasonic Lumix FX35 and Sony Cyber-shot T77 within a few moments of each other using their best quality JPEG settings, lowest sensitivities and default processing options. The lenses on each camera were adjusted to deliver the same field of view. Each camera was set to Program, or Auto with Manual ISO override. As mostly automatic cameras, there’s no control over the aperture selected.

The image above was taken with the Canon IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS at a sensitivity of 80 ISO, and the lens set to 7mm (39mm equivalent), f6.3; the original Large Super-Fine JPEG file measured 4.64MB. The crops are taken from the upper left, centre, lower right and left of centre, and are presented here at 100%.

As you’ll see on this and the next results page, the DIGIC 4 processor in the Canon IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS adopts a natural-looking approach to image processing with results that are neither too soft, nor too punchy.

In the crops below, it falls roughly between the Panasonic Lumix FX35 and Sony Cyber-shot T77 in terms of processing, with the former looking a little soft, and the latter slightly over-sharpened.

In terms of real-life detail, it’s roughly the same on all three cameras, although optically the Canon has the edge in the crop of the mountain ridge from the upper left corner: it’s neither exhibiting the softness of the Panasonic, nor the obvious fringing of the Sony.

Ultimately though while Canon’s struck a good balance between making the most of its recorded detail without going overboard on sharpening, contrast and saturation, it’s a close-run thing, with all three models delivering roughly similar quality. Now let’s see how they measure-up across their sensitivity range in our Canon IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS High ISO Noise results.