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November 02, 2006
[ REVIEW—CANON IXUS 900ti
Price: $800
Recommended
The low-down: The Canon Ixus 900ti is a 10 megapixel camera with a 37–111mm (film equivalent) zoom lens.
Canon puts a heavy emphasis on style with this camera. The “ti” in the designation stands for titanium and the advertising boasts: “This stunning camera is a must for those who demand the ultimate in performance and style.” Another camera as fashion accessory -- something we can do without and something that has not been in the Canon catalogue before.
This is an expensive point and shoot camera with some manual controls and a few gimmicks, such as “face detection” and “aquarium mode”. Focus and exposure are best rated as OK. The dynamic range is very narrow with highlights blowing out and shadows darkening in high contrast light.
Like: The camera has an optical viewfinder and it certainly looks pretty.
Dislike: We miss having a discrete review button. Having to toggle backwards and forwards between review and camera mode via a tiny wheel is a pain.
Verdict: The price of the Canon Ixus 800is (image stabilised), which we highly recommended, has dropped to $650. It is a much better camera than this more expensive 900ti. We haven’t tried the 7 megapixel IXUS 850is, but judging from the performance of the 800 we would expect it to be good.
Earlier this year Canon announced boldly that it was opting out of the pixel race. From now on there would be no big increases in pixel count because the company intended to concentrate on getting the best image from fewer pixels. Very sensible. There is no point in increasing the apparent resolution by adding pixels if you are going to throw it away with increased picture noise. So why has the company made a camera with a tiny sensor carrying 10 million pixels?
Consider this. The Ixus 900ti sensor is 7.18 by 5.32mm. The Canon 400D has the same number of pixels on an area of 22 by 14.8mm. The Canon 5D with a full 35mm frame sensor area only has 12 million pixels. 10 megapixels on an area smaller than your little thumbnail is a self-defeating gimmick.
This camera is recommended for buyers who crave style and the biggest numbers. Everyone else should consider the lovely Ixus 800is or 850is.
Posted by terry at November 2, 2006 03:20 AM
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