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April 17, 2008
[ REVIEW–CANON Ixus 80is camera ]
Price: $380
Good compact camera
The low-down: This is an 8 megapixel camera with a 3x zoom (38-114mm focal length in film equivalent). The lens has effective optical image stabilisation. There is face recognition which works in most, but not all, situations. Many of the features will be familiar to anyone who has used a Canon compact – access to most controls is through the Function button, where there is a choice of Auto or Manual (which is really Program Priority and not true manual control. Menus are clear and there is a comprehensive user manual. There is a small optical viewfinder, bordering on too small, but useful on a bright afternoon. The attractive metal body comes in five different colours and Canon reckon that this “allows consumers to express their individuality”. Hmmm!
Like: The camera is, in fact, a camera, never mind the fashion accessory. And it takes decent pictures provided the ISO speed is kept to 200. Auto white balance copes well with most indoor lighting except strong incandescent. Focus is good and detail is acceptable. For its intended purpose – the informal, unposed snap, the Ixus works well. The flash is reasonably powerful and well diffused. The movie mode is good.
Dislike: The dynamic range is limited and highlights tend to blow out in contrasty scenes. You can use exposure compensation to underexpose but you can’t adjust the in-camera contrast. Selecting the Neutral colour mode helps a little and reduces colour saturation, which is a good thing.
Verdict: This camera comes out of the box set for fully automatic point and shoot. It is easy enough to change to the Manual mode to get control of the ISO speed ssetting, but perhaps most people won’t bother. As a point and shoot it is one of the best at this price. Its face area is slightly smaller than a credit card and it is 20mm thick, so it fits easily in a shirt pocket. Its winning feature is the optical viewfinder. Only Sony offer a compact with viewfinder at this price. If your aim is to share photos by Internet or to make 10 by 15cm prints then this camera is a winner.
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Posted by terry at April 17, 2008 12:05 AM
Worth Checking Out
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Comments
"...you can’t adjust the in-camera contrast..."
My Colours->Custom Colour-> this allows you to change Contrast, Sharpness....
Posted by: Bryan at August 15, 2008 05:20 PM
My wife's compact camera started producing white dots on all the photos - can't find the problem. Replaced it with this model for $169 on sale. Was contemplating the Panasonic FS7 which she like for the bigger screen but can't find a decent review of it. What do you think of the Panasonic FS7 (sale price $209) against this Canon?
Posted by: richmond at November 1, 2009 05:32 PM