Snappy Gadget Camera (Canon Digital Ixus 65)

Member Name: Zmugzy

Product:	Canon Digital Ixus 65
Date:	24/07/06 (237 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Big LCD screen

Disadvantages: No optical view finder

I liked the overall design of the camera even though for me this is one of the least important things. The Ixus 65 is model comes in a brushed silver and ebony black and Canon have emphasised the fact that the top of the this camera is supposed to appear like a samurai sword. For a compact camera there are many impressive features to behold including a 6 megapixel sensor, 3x optical zoom, 16 shooting modes, Canon's DIGIC II processor and a 9-point AiAF for better results.

At first I really found the large 3-inch 173k colour LCD screen on the back of the camera a very useful viewing platform. You will find these screens on a lot of cameras these days but they are often too small and therefore not much use. This screen is pretty unique in that instead of tiny fiddly buttons to control the screen image Canon has adopted a scroll wheel similar to Apple's iPod whereby the button you are pressing is highlighted on the screen. All you have to do is to scroll the figure around the four-point circle and the image on the screen is displayed. However, because there are only still only 172,000 pixels as on most smaller screens, the image is not as sharp as it could be. The large screen however, does come at a cost - Canon has incorporated what they no doubt consider to be a revolutionary idea by dismissing with an optical viewfinder. Call me old fashioned but I'm afraid that for me a camera without a viewfinder isn't a camera and for this reason I returned it to the shop.

Another draw back is that unlike the Canon's new Ixus 800IS this camera 65 doesn't come with image stabilising. This is a useful feature for those who suffer from shaky hands. Another irritating factor is having to take the battery out to recharge it instead of being able to do a recharge whilst it is still in the camera.

On the plus side however, the Ixus 65 makes use of an ISO 800 setting enable you to take flash-free photographs indoors and minimise the effects of camera shake. A new High ISO Auto setting automatically sets exposure which means you can take sneaky shots without blinding your victim at the same time.

I managed to take a few photographs. Hooking up the camera to you computer in order to upload your pics is an easy procedure. The results of the shots were bright, good colour variation and contrast and, at 6 mega pixels, sharp enough. So if you don't mind the omission of the optical view finder then I would still recommend this camera for those who want a highly portable that takes pretty good shots.


Techno Details

Optical Zoom: 3 x - Construction - 6 lenses with 2 UA in 5 groups
Digital Zoom: 4 x
Image formats: JPEG
Power sources: Li-ion battery NB-4L: autonomy of 160
Memory Card: Type SD Card 16 Mb
Video Sequence: 640 x 480 at 60 images/sec.
Port: USB 2.0
photos (LCD screen off)


LCD display:
Lighting adjusted 1 to 15 levels
QuickBright and Night viewing mode
Cover: 100 %

CCD: CCD 1/2.5" captor with 6 megapixels
Resolution (in pixels): 2816 x 2112

Other features:
PictBridge
Shutter mode 2,1 images/s
Vocal memo (60 s)
17 different modes
Canon DIGIC II processor

Size: 3.4 x 2.24 x 0.8" (86 x 53,5 x 21,7 mm)
Weight: 140g
Included accessories: SD 16 MB memory card, Li-ion battery NB-4L, charger, USB/Video cables, strap

Summary: Good all round camera but no optical view finder

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