Review: This Canon IXUS II digital camera was bought as a companion for my existing digital SLR-a-like camera (a Minolta DiMAGE 7i). Ideally it was to be used for taking shots on the move where there's no packing space for a big camera and little time to set up a shot.
And yes, the camera fits the bill. It is tiny; pocket-sized, so takes trivial amounts of packing room when you're on the move. The data storage cards are really tiny too, much smaller than the old style compact flash cards and come with a case to save them from scratches and knocks. There is a fully automatic shooting mode, as you would expect for a compact camera, which works reasonably well. However the autofocus can be a little un-intuitive especially if you are used to other autofocus. It doesn't always agree with you on what is important in the frame, but you can set the focus to be in the centre of the frame, lock the focus once you're happy and re-frame the shot as desired.The colours and light balance are pretty good and if you're not happy with it when you view on a large screen, you can always use the software that comes with it to adjust those as you see fit. Build quality is pretty solid and the buttons are in sensible places. The user interface doesn't take long to work out even without reading the manual. You will probably want to buy a larger SD card as the one that comes with the camera is very low capacity. A spare battery is going to be useful if you plan to be away from power for a few days, though the manual says that you must charge the battery no the day, or the day before you need it. Overall, I like it, though I'm not having fun with the autofocus, having been used to the Minolta. It is a good little camera and little is the operative word. Had I had no problems with the focus, I would have given it the full 5 stars. |
Digital Cameras
