The camera’s CCD shift-based image stabilisation (IS) system helps to keep things steady and you can opt for continuous, shoot-only or panning modes. Canon’s i-Contrast is designed to improve contrast and exposure and works reasonably well, although it can be overpowering at times and make shots look a little anaemic.
HD movie recording is appealing, but has its quirks
The Stitch Assist panoramic feature worked a treat, although sadly, there’s no in-camera stitching and you have to use the supplied software. A pity, as the widescreen display would have been ideal for checking results in the field.
Movies ran smoothly, although we did notice an occasional thin vertical band triggered by bright pinpoints on some recordings. Sound quality was adequate, but you wouldn’t want to replace your dedicated camcorder with the Ixus 200 IS.
Verdict
While some touch-based functions – such as touch focus and scene selection – are great to use, others – like image delete and tagging – are clumsy. Surely, Canon could have made more of the touch technology. The lack of manual control and a mid-resolution screen are a let down on a camera costing more than £300. Indeed, the Ixus 200 IS is really an ordinary camera with an extraordinary interface. Stylish looks apart, we think Canon can do rather better than this. ®
More Camera Reviews...
Nikon Coolpix S1000pj |
Canon Powershot S90 |
Fujifilm Finepix F200EXR |
Ricoh GR Digital III |
Canon Digital Ixus 200 IS
COMMENTS
Snow
I got one for Christmas - grey import from America so a lot less then the uk rrp
We have had a lot of snow and the snow mode it offers is excellent took a fantastic photo of my wife and son just by pointing the camera at them - don't really need a viewfinder just experiment with the settings!
Overall I'm very impressed with the camera
No viewfinder ..
.. won't buy!
Bought an Ixus without viewfinder and it's hopeless on bright days when there's all that snow about - also hopeless when you're in the hills trying to quickly line up a summit photo in a force 9 gale !
Viewfinders and Pocket Lint
Just to fuel the viewfinder discussion...
I've owned two Canon pocket cameras over the past 8 years, models S200 and SD600. The optical viewfinders on both quickly collect pocket lint and obscure the small viewing hole. I'll admit, I'm pretty rough on my cameras, carrying them in my jeans pocket pretty much every day. Nonetheless, it seems to be a consistent design flaw ("under engineered feature?") on the models I have owned. Perhaps they've revised this since the mid-2000s models, but I doubt. And honestly, I don't think they expect anyone but "old people" to be using viewfinders these days. Personally, I wouldn't miss it if it were gone.
The underwhelming specs sound about like what I'm used to in a Canon pocket camera. But they have treated me well. I'll be keeping this one in mind for when my old SD600 finally bites the dust (it's close!).
Tilt
The problem with compacts when you can't see the image is that due to the way people hold them, usually at arms length but not level with the eye, it's very easy to tilt them up or down.
But
A set of eyes will also do the same job. I'd have said that on a bright day with plenty of snow about focussing it would be more of a problem than pointing it in the right direction. I'd get used to missing viewfinders - they're a thing of the past on compacts.
