I wasn't particularly looking for a camera but saw it in the sale at half price and bought it. Since then it’s lived in my bag or pocket for most of its life and has taken a fair battering but still works quite happily.
The camera is like most IXUS's quite tiny and offers the usual APS film features (3 formats, drop in loading, exposure information recording, etc)
Canon did two similar 'cheap' IXUS models - this one - the AF, and another the FF. The difference being that the FF had fixed focus and the AF auto focus (obviously enough). The auto focus is of the infra-red type so can be fooled by shooting through glass etc... but generally performs well and is worth having over the FF version. Exposure is good enough and the flash is small but good enough for shots at parties etc... as long as you're not too far away from the subject. The flash warms up quickly once the camera is switched on which is good for grabbing impromptu shots.
Whereas more expensive IXUS's have sleek metal bodies and zoom lens this cheapy makes do with a plastic body and fixed 25mm lens. As I've said the body has put up with a fair hammering but doesn't look to much the worse for wear. The lens is well protected when the camera is switched off and the on-off switch is secure enough so that you don't end up with accidental photos of the inside of your pocket (I've done that before with other compacts....)
The viewfinder is pretty awful (though I'm a bit biased because my other camera is an Canon EOS SLR) its very small, dark and it always takes a moment or two to get your eye just right at it. On the plus side changing the APS format does properly mask the viewfinder unlike some APS compacts which rely on dotted outlines to mark out the different formats. All in all the viewfinder is acceptable for a camera so small.
The camera includes a tripod socket, self timer, settings for flash, no-flash, red eye flash or auto flash, and a mid roll rewind option.
I've taken quite a few pictures that I would otherwise have missed as I wouldn't have taken a bigger bulkier camera with me. The IXUS is a useful camera to have around.
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Jan 24th, 2004
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