SNAP SHOTS!!! (Canon Digital Ixus 100 IS)

Member Name: LIZS383

Product:	Canon Digital Ixus 100 IS
Date:	15/06/09 (204 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: FANTASTIC FUNCTIONS, QUICK SHUTTER

Disadvantages: NOT GREAT FOR PORTRAITS

It was definitely a good choice for what I wanted.
The price did make me nervous. Where other manufacturers are boasting touch screen and more megapixel for less money Canon's cameras do look premium price - but if you are going for the quality of the shots rather than the fun of the gimmicks it is a camera well worth looking at. 12 mp is fairly standard for a camera today and there is nothing different in this to any other camera. At 12mp the actual printable size is huge and more that any hobby photographer is likely to ever need! They do have lower MP selections on the menu, but provided you have a big enough memory card I don't see the point of going for a less detailed image.
The load up time is standard. When the power is put on the Canon logo appears for about 1-2 seconds then once the lens is out the screen resets to viewfinder and the camera is ready to go - unless the wheel is set to a selection menu.
The camera looks sleek and well finished. It is very, very petite compared to a lot of the Canon range, however is reasonably weighty - you would feel it if it fell out of a pocket. The size has been well thought out to make the camera very palm size and easy to handle even one handed, however mot skimping on the screen size or controllers. I don't have the thinnest fingers, but I find the menus fairly easy to get to using the wheel and buttons on the side of the screen. The menus are easy to understand using letters or images to identify them - since the first day I have had no need to rely on a manual. The only thing that took me a while to get used to was that when the options on the menu could not fit onscreen you have to press the display button to show them - once you have tried this several times it becomes second nature. The zoom is the most fiddly part!
I have found no problem with the automatic functions on the camera. The ISO balance is good and the flash does not go off when unnecessary.
The manual setting will be very dependant on what you set it to than anything else!!!! Although there are some brilliant features on it aside from the standard - I love the colour palettes and the way you can customise the colour only to show the colours you want and leave the rest greyscale (perfect if for example you want a picture for a colour schemed room or just some weird and wonderful pics!) I have spent ages messing with these controls - I prefer changing the colours on the camera - if you know what you are going for the menu set up makes it easier than a photo modification program.
The macro setting is very well configured. I have struggled before to get sufficient light for close shots particularly in an indoor environment bu in my experience this camera has the contrast and light intake spot on!
Of the function settings I found the portrait function the most unimpressive. Canon have included a face tracker which does work exceptionally well for following people in crowd but I have so far found not other unusual functions (like a smile shutter (takes photo when a subject smiles)), which is quite disappointing.
The sports setting exceeded my hopes. There was little motion blur and the camera was ready to take again very fast. One of the primary reasons I bought a new camera was for underwater photography. Canon do have a reputation for good underwater shots which was a main reason I looked at them in the first place. The night shot is reasonable - I still don't think I am used enough to it to be getting the best out of it. I haven't found the night face shots very good. It is an impressive and super compact piece of technology, useable for all sorts of settings and circumstances. The night and face shots would in my experience let it down if the primary use was for on nights out. I really really like this camera. Yes the functions are limited and it is pricey, but everything on it is well integrated and improved on previous models.

Summary: I LOVE THIS CAMERA

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