Other funky features include in-camera redeye reduction that can be applied as a shot is made or afterwards in playback, Face Detection AF has been included and allows the camera to automatically bias exposure including flash exposure if used and white balance to help render skin as well as possible. In terms of image quality, the lens lacks bite at the edges, similar to the IS but the extra zoom length is handy even if the wide end is more limiting.
The AiAF focusing system is fast but also seems a bit hit and miss which makes the problems with the soft edges of the lens but switch to a single, central AF zone and you get more control back. The Face AF works well however but profiles can still cause it to get in a muddle. Whether beginner, intermediate or pro, APS-C or full-frame, it's all here in bite-size form.
You get the usual presets of daylight, shade, tungsten, etc. And so, while the camera could be mistaken for an electric shaver from one angle, or the Eurostar from another, it is certainly an improvement on what went before. Canon has worked over the IS issues and certainly improved them here, if not to the degree one might expect. Stylish and great build quality combine with a natty set of features to produce a stylish snapper capable of good results.
Learn more Home Cameras Camera reviews Canon camera reviews. Why you can trust Pocket-lint. Verdict Canon has worked over the IS issues and certainly improved them here, if not to the degree one might expect. Writing by Doug Harman. Looking at it, and especially handling it, it seems to me that the designer has modelled the shape of the body on a well-worn bar of soap.
Those smoothly curved lines may look very sleek and stylish, but the right-hand end of the body tapers off in a rounded shape that is virtually impossible to grip securely, and the beautiful semi-matt metallic finish is very slippery even with dry hands. At least the bush for it is metal. Like the body, they seem to have been designed primarily for aesthetic appeal rather than ease of use. The four-position main mode dial is straightforward enough, but on some previous IXUS models this control was shaped so as to double as a thumbgrip.
It is unresponsive and provides almost no tactile feedback. There is a slight lag to its operation, which means that it almost always overshoots the selection you were aiming for. What exactly is wrong with the conventional four-way D-pad, a perfectly simple control device used on everything from computer games to TV remotes, that designers are constantly trying to change it?
The zoom control is also less effective than most previous IXUS models. It is a rotary control around the shutter button, but the small raised tab that enables it to be turned is very small so as not to spoil the line of the body.
Again it looks very pretty but is fiddly and awkward to use. However getting the multi-point AF to actually focus on the right subject proved to be more of a challenge. It seemed to pick subjects pretty much at random, and not always the closest object to the camera, or the closest to the centre of the frame. Most of the time I ended up switching back to the much faster and more reliable centre-spot AF.
One of the advertised features of the IXUS IS is its creative movie mode, but in fact this is nothing too special. There is no HD option, and anyway the movie modes have to be selected via that ghastly rotary bezel control, which is enough to put anyone off. It starts up in a brisk 1. In single-shot mode at the highest quality setting it can maintain a shot-to-shot time of 1. Power is supplied by a relatively large mAh Li-ion rechargeable battery, for which Canon claims an impressive shots on a full charge.
I took around shots over several days while testing the camera and the charge indicator was still showing a full three bars. It will focus in low light, but it sometimes takes several tries to succeed. Exposure metering is seldom less than perfect, and the camera copes well with shadows and highlights despite its rather small and densely packed sensor.
Colour reproduction is superb, with good detail even in very bright yellows, something that can be a problem. The lens performs well, with excellent centre sharpness, although it does produce quite a lot of barrel distortion at the wide-angle end, and there is some visible chromatic aberration in the corners. I did find the 37mm-equivalent wide-angle setting to be a bit restrictive after reviewing several 28mm wide-zoom cameras recently, but the telephoto end is very useful for a bit of extra magnification on more distant objects.
The ISO high-sensitivity scene mode is a bit of a waste of time though, since it restricts image size to only 1.
Build quality, performance and image quality are certainly up to the usual standard, and the extended zoom range is very useful. However the awful handling and horribly designed controls limit the appeal of what could have been an outstanding if rather expensive camera.
Compared to other models in the same range it is a bit of a disappointment. Here, the full size images at the minimum and maximum ISO settings have been reduced for bandwidth purposes to let you see the full image, and a series of crops taken from original full resolution images at a range of ISO settings have been included in order for you to gain an appreciation of the overall quality. Slightly more luminance noise at ISO, but still no colour distortion.
This would still make a decent print. Pretty useless, but at least the colours are bright.
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