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November 19, 2008
[REVIEW–CANON Ixus 870is compact camera]
Price: $480
Gorgeous
The low-down: This is a 10 megapixel camera with a 28–112mm (film equivalent) zoom lens, which is image stabilised. There is a 75mm LCD screen but no optical viewfinder. Construction quality is superb. Face area is slightly larger than a credit card and it is 20mm thick, so it will fit a pocket. But the weight is a surprise – 210 grams with the rechargeable battery inserted. So this feels like a well-built, rugged little camera. Controls are well laid out and there is good user control for essential settings, mainly through Canon’s Function key. There is the usual face detection and movie mode, plus a panorama assist mode for taking multiple images for merging into one using the supplied software. i-Contrast is an in-camera exposure correction for backlit faces.
Like: The most striking thing about this camera is its appearance. If there were a beauty contest for cameras the Ixus 870is would be a shoo-in. Focus is generally quick and accurate with good sharpness and resolution. Exposure and white balance are just OK. A 28mm focal length is always a boon.
Dislike: There is some noise visible at ISO200, but generally it is well controlled without too much obvious noise reduction. Images straight from the camera are a little soft but we found that they responded to sharpening in Photoshop. However any sharpening also tends to emphasise the noise effects. Dynamic range is not great, with highlights blowing out in contrasty subjects.
Verdict: We like this camera because of its superb design and construction, and we found that by sticking with an ISO setting of 80–100 we could get excellent results. Even at ISO400 the pictures are acceptable for standard size prints.
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Posted by terry at November 19, 2008 10:09 PM
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