Even with good lighting conditions at the beach town of Cape May, the camera’s image stabilization came in handy when shooting at longer focal lengths, as the maximum aperture at the camera’s longest focal length of 133mm (35mm equivalent) is f/5.8, just over two stops higher than the overall maximum aperture of f/2.8. Images were crisp and generally well exposed, and while the housing feels nearly as durable as a solid piece of metal, the lightweight pocket cam didn’t weigh me down.
The LCD was visible even in bright sunlight and focus was fast in all situations with a negligible shutter delay after focus was established. When using the flash, shot-to-shot time was a bit sluggish, but not painfully slow. The battery never showed any signs of wearing down despite hours of shooting and review with the built-in LCD. The camera has a CIPA rating of 240 shots with the LCD on and 580 shots when you keep it off.
Overall, Canon hit the mark with their SD950 IS, providing optical image stabilization, 12.1-megapixels, and overall good performance in a slim, rugged, pocket-sized package.