Canon Ixus 860 IS compact camera
Another hit from Canon?
Review Behavioural scientists reckon that, within ten seconds of meeting someone for the first time, we’ve already decided whether we like them or not. Well, if the Canon Ixus 860 IS was a person, we would have liked them from the moment we first clapped eyes on them.
It’s a handsome thing, with smooth curves, a two-tone silver and black finish, and feels reassuringly solid in the hand. The rear of the camera is dominated by a large, 3in LCD screen composed of 230,000 pixels. Images displayed on the screen are sharp and clearly defined. On top of the body is a small slider button for selecting camera, scene or movie modes, a tiny power button and a zoom rocker control.
Canon's Ixus 860 IS: sexy beast
Around the back is the ubiquitous multi-function controller, along with buttons for playback, direct printing, menu selection and display mode. Hidden behind a (rather flimsy) plastic flap is a mini USB port and an AV socket, while underneath the camera is another flap, this time concealing the battery and SD card slots.
You get the usual assortment of accessories - connecting leads, battery charger, and PDF manual and software on a CD. Canon also throws in an SD card as the Ixus 860 has no internal memory. With memory prices so low these days, it was disappointing to find Canon providing a measly 32MB card, which will record just eight images at the highest resolution or 14 seconds of moving pictures.
The LCD's nice and big
When it comes to features, the 860 IS offers quite a lot. There’s an eight-megapixel CCD fed through a 3.8x optical zoom lens equivalent to 28-105mm on a 35mm camera, allowing users to pull in extra detail from the side. You also get a 4x digital zoom; shutter speeds from 15s to 1/1600 of a second; ISO ratings from 80 to 1600; a variety of shooting modes, including auto, manual (although not manual exposure), Stitch Assist, and scenes such as Night, Kids and Pets, Snow, Beach and Underwater. Of course, the last one of those should probably only be used in addition to the optional underwater protective cover...
COMMENTS
32MB card
Amusing - I bought a Canon compact camera back in 2003 which came with a 32MB (CF) card!
Still feeling good?
I don't know why this camera is so special.
In April this year I bought a Panasonic FX3. The Canon is very similar in features and capability. OK so the FX3 is only 7m and the zoom is x3 and the screen is slightly smaller. But it has got anti-shake which is essential with a camera of this type. Pocket cameras are too small to hold properly and without a viewfinder cannot be stabilised easliy (against the face) so camera shake is a problem. It also has a handy illuminator so you can see what you are photographing in the dark. It also came with a 200 shot card.
The point is that I only paid £100 for this camera and I believe it was much better value for money.
I agree with Anonymous Coward
With all due respect to the writer but this review sucked.
Sample photo's should be the original size and not down-scaled. (1000x750 wth)
Photo's of people, please!
Macro pics should have something in it so we can compare the size of the object photographed.
Eh... Movie sample?
Please!
Re: No Viewfinder
Second that.
Call me old fashioned, but I hate to extend my arms and look at a little screen when composing a photo -- and it makes it harder to steady the shot and get better sharpness too.
Nice enough "on the run" camera otherwise. I can't have my DSLR with me all the time after all... But a bit too expensive for what it does. Now if it had a more powerful zoom... I've seen compacts around doing 7x optical and 7 Mpix for a lower price than this (at least here in the US...).
No Viewfinder
Shame this camera doesn't have an Optical viewfinder.
