Wicked! (Canon Digital Ixus)

Member Name: tommybut

Product:	Canon Digital Ixus
Date:	26/05/01 (198 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 1600x1200 pixels, LCD at back, 8meg FlashCard

Disadvantages: expensive, poor pic quality

Just when you’d redesigned yourself to purchasing a large, ugly, expensive digicam, along comes Canon with something different: the small, stylish, expensive (sigh) Digital IXUS. Modelled on Canon’s Advanced Photo System (APS) compacts, it’s fractionally taller and wider than a credit card, but thicker and, at just under 230g, somewhat heavier.

Despite its dinkiness, the Digital IXUS has a respectable spec: 2x optical zoom lens, 2.1 megapixel CCD capable of producing 1,600x1,200-pixel images, LCD for checking your photographs, 8mb CompactFlash card, rechargeable battery, and USB connectivity. It’s basically a point-and-shoot camera, although you can adjust the white balance and apply exposure compensation.

The square case slides easilly into your pocket, but makes a few concessions to ergonomics. Even those with small hands may find the controls fiddly. The Digital IXUS also makes more noise than you expect, with the lens tending to grind and click as it zooms and focuses. Other disappointments include the light-hungry CCD with a similar sensitivity to ISO 100 film, and the macro mode. You can get to within 10cm of your subject with the lens at its widest setting, but if you zoom in, you have to pull back to 27cm. On the plus side, there are many neat features, the controls are easy to master and there’s a special mode for making panoramas. You also get software you’ll actually want to use.

Picture quality ranges from good to poor. It won’t match photos from cameras with bigger lenses or three-megapixel CCDs. Images aren’t as sharp as they could be, and indoor shots tend to be underexposed and slightly cool. Still, you’re more likely to have the camera with you when a photo opportunity arises, and an image that needs tweaking is better than no image at all.

Summary: