Canon Digital IXUS V

Advantages: Reliable, durable, great images
Disadvantages: Small battery, low pixellage by modern standards

...requires a driver download from Canon before WIndows will recognise it, but these are not big problems - if you lost the lead, or couldn't get hold of the driver (it's still on Canon's site as I speak), you could still use a card reader for your pictures, as many choose to do anyway. The memory format is good old Compact Flash, which while more cumbersome than SD is still a very popular format - in fact Canon and others still use it in all their ...
...Of course it *is* only 2.1mp - but it still produces crisp, detailed images up to 1600 x 1200 resolution, and that's easily good enough for most desktops and up to A4 printing. Given the quality of the overall package and the images it produces, I'm happy to forgoe those extra pixels. ... Read review

Advantages: Compact, good results, now good value.
Disadvantages: Menus a bit fiddly.

Having often admired the Ixus cameras but been deterred by the price, when it came to finding a compact camera to complement my wife's Fuji 4900Z, the Ixus V was on the shortlist. I was looking for something small enough to take everywhere, but with enough features and quality to satisfy a keen photographer. I paid £319 for the Ixus V, which is significantly cheaper than the Minolta Dimage X and Pentax Optio 330, the others on my shortlist. Picture ...
...size starts to show some loss of definition, but A5 is hard to fault. Colour rendition is very good as is geometry - straight lines near the edge of the frame show almost no distortion. Macro is adequate at 4cm. Handling is generally OK - I have no tendency to obscure either lens or flash with fingers (unlike some larger cameras I have tried) and it is heavy enough to hold steady. All the controls seem well made and nice to use. The LCD is brighter ... Read review

Advantages: Small, uses compact flash (cheaper and used more than SD cards), b & w looks nice
Disadvantages: movie playback has no sound, shutter speed is not variable so can blur, buttons can become sticky

I bought one of these in Dec 2002. Its worked fairly well considering the bashing its had. The thing with a small camera is that you tend to take it to places (and in situations) where you are most liekly to break it e.g. the pub, a club or the beach. I'm fairly happy with it but the buttons are sticking a bit. Sometimes the power doesn't come on properly. A couple of times the battery has died with the lense still out which can be a pain. With ...
...soon came up with problems but it may be coincidental with using it at the beach - sand etc... I'd recommend but for a fun camera not a high quality one. If you can get one in a sale then it could be a bargin - I wouldn't pay full price for it now though. I say weight is heavy as for the size it is not light - the price to pay for having a flashy metal casing:) A few more notes: - Camera does not come with a protective case although you should ... Read review

Advantages: Small, compact, light, and durable
Disadvantages: very few, i really cant think of any now

This is the most smart camera i've had so far. It takes very fine pictures, and is very small, light, and easy to hold. It's got many features, such as lighting controls, macro-mode, scene mode, movie taking with sound (even though you can't preview the sound directly on the camera), and many more things and settings for people who enjoy playing around with these types of things. The software it comes with for downloading and archiving is very good ...
...wiht the camera. Pesonally i use Adobe Photoshop 7, it does magic. Because of it's size, I can easily fit the camera into a pocket and take it around with me. It has an exceptionally good flash: I took a picture in almost complete darkness and the picture came out almost with the crisp brightness I get during normal outdoors lighting conditions. It's very good for taking portraits, as the red eye reduction flash seems to bring out people in the picture ... Read review

Advantages: compact, many picture options
Disadvantages: no case included, slow to take photos

...but I returned the camera to Canon under the 1 year warrenty and they replaced the outer casing for free. Overall I have been very happy with this camera. If I want a printed copy, the images are great at 6x4" and some can be blown up to A4 size. ... Read review

Advantages: Amazing Quality Photographs, Great Flash For Indoor Snaps, Video Clip Recording With Microphone.
Disadvantages: Photos Cannot Be Edited From The Camera Itself.

...I purchased the Canon Digital Ixus V2 about 18 Months ago. Only now are other cameras beginning to compete with its quality and reliability. When shopping for a new DIGITAL camera I firstly discarded the camera as it only offered 2 Million Mega Pixels in Resolution. However now as regular user of digital cameras, I now know that all this really means is how large the images can be zoomed until they begin to distort, it really has nothing to do with photo quality. And since the photos can be resized up to about the size of an A3 Sheet of paper (x2 A4 pieces of paper put together.) I have no problem with the size of which I can print my pictures. The camera comes with a cable enabling you to plug it into your Television via a scart lead, (this requires no tuning.) and the camera will automatically play your photographs in sequence... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: small, robust and user friendly
Disadvantages: none I have found

...This camera is really great, the original IXUS was good but this ine is better again. It's easy to use and very small and rubust - a great buy. I was considering getting the IXUS V3 but glad I didn't as its over £100 more and seems to only have greater resolution and longer video clips, however i'm not too sure if this camera can still be purchased in the UK? My only criticism would be the slightly fragile USB connection with the computer which doesn't seem too sturdy but it hasn't broken. Other than that the camera is great, its the size of a credit card and very well made and easy to use. The camera also holds its value as still sells for high prices on ebay.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Brilliant pictures. Very well built. Easy to use. Long lasting battery.
Disadvantages: Only 16 mb card included and no case.

...This must be the best value digital camera on the market presently. Good quality pictures with a high resolution from a camera so easy to use and maintain. I have purchased a 128 mb CF card so that I have lots of storage capacity and movie mode can be used without robbing all the memory when away from my PC.The software included with the camera seems OK and capable of editing my photographs as required. I use the camera for work purposes and the detailed shots it produces are ideal. I am an agronomist and need good clear pictures of plants etc for e-mailing to colleagues and for record purposes. The camera is very compact and not too heavy for 'jacket pocket' use.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful