The Canon Digital IXUS 80IS

Cameras seem to be getting more and more compact these days!  The Ixus 80 is up there with the smallest.  Known as the Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS ELPH in the States, this camera is the size of a pack of cards!  But, despite its tiny size it packs a punch and shooting photos and videos of your pals is easy and fun!

It has fantastic image quality, a 2.5-inch LCD monitor, Face Detection, an optical view finder, 640 x 480, 30 frames per second movie mode, built-in optical image stabilization (hence the IS) plus a 3X optical zoom which is expandable by 1.6X and 2X.

Still with me?  Good!  Because there’s a ton of other cool and handy features too, so carry on reading my review to find out more.

FEATURES

Lets start with the really interesting stuff!  Face Detection is the new zap word at the moment regarding the current compact cameras.  The Canon Digital IXUS 80 IS is fantastic at detecting faces, even at quite a distance too.  It will set exposure and autofocus for you. 

The Canon IXUS 80 has a really good movie mode too with the image quality giving MiniDV recordings on camcorders a run for their money!  The resolution is 640 x 480 at 30 frames per second.  There are lower resolutions which are handy if your plan is to upload your images onto the web.

If you want to view your shots on your HDTV then the IXUS 80 has 2 features for you - the Stitch Assist Mode and Widescreen Mode.  As a side point, once you get used to shooting in Widescreen mode, normal mode may seem a thing of the past as you may want to watch the image playback on your HDTV.  Or you could get creative and make a DVD slideshow based on your widescreen photos.

LOOK AND FEEL

The Canon Digital IXUS 80 IS has a simplistic design and feel.  Its body is a little deeper than its predecessor and this may be to allow room for the new, internal image stabilisation system.  You'll find the Mode switch on the right and from here you can select Still Record, Playback and Movie modes.  The shutter button is flush with the body of the camera and easy to locate.  The rear panel holds the LCD screen and a range of controls. 

The Transfer button has a handy feature because you can reprogram it to a different function, namely: EV compensation, Custom White Balance, Face Select, White Balance, Red-Eye Correction, Display mode, Record Movie, Digital Tele-converter, Display Off and Play Sound Effect.

You will also find an optical viewfinder on the rear of  the  IXUS 80 which isn't all that common these days in the compact camera range.  The fact that Canon can still find room for it on such a small camera is rather impressive!  It is a very useful feature to have especially when in bright sunlight, as this can obscure the LCD screen making it hard to view.  Plus, when in dark environments the framing can be hard to judge.  So I am in favour of an optical view finder along with the LCD screen

There is a metal tripod socket on the underside of the IXUS 80 too.  A nice upgrade from the plastic one on the IXUS 70!

LENS

The main point of note here is the amazing Optical Image Stabilisation that Canon has developed, originally for their camcorders and IS lenses.  Now they have developed it so it can fit inside this tiny camera!  This feature stabilises any shaking.  The zoom lens is a 3x optical zoom, equivalent to a 38-114mm lens.  It has digital enhancements of 1.6x and 2x.  Therefore the zoom is approximately 183mm on the telephoto end and 60mm on the wider end, at 1.5 zoom.

INTERFACE

There are many options on the Canon Digital IXUS 80 IS.  The old adage ‘practice makes perfect’ holds true here!  Then using the IXUS 80 will become like second nature.  Basically there are 2 menus and 2 ways to access them.  Press the Func/Set button to enter the Function menu.  Here you will find options used to set all the controls, including Manual and Automatic Mode.

You will also find Scene modes for more control when shooting in various conditions.  These include Kids and Pets, Portrait and Night Snapshot.  When in the Manual Mode you have access to more controls.

On the left column you will find the metering which is Centre Weighted, Evaluative and Spot.  Spot is good for challenging prevailing light and Evaluative is the default mode.  White Balance is also available here in Daylight, Automatic, Fluorescent, Cloudy, Tungsten and Manual.

If you want to print your images then shoot in Large/SuperFine resolution.  For use on the internet then use Small/Normal.

There is a four-way control which allows you to navigate the menus displayed on-screen.  Plus, you can access the usual shortcuts from here: flash auto/off; normal or macro shooting; self-timer and ISO auto/"Hi".

You can select an ISO up to 1600.  This does however introduce a lot of noise.  If you prefer auto mode then select "Hi" ISO, which will pick an ISO for you.

BATTERY

The charger and battery are supplied with the camera.  It is a rechargeable Li-ion Battery NB-4L.  The battery life lasts for approximately 240 shots and for around  360 minutes of playback.

A 32MB memory card is also supplied so you can get started straight away!  However, this will only get you around 14 pictures so make sure you get a separate SD card with more memory.  The Ixus 80 is compatible with SD and SDHC memory cards.

CONCLUSION

The Canon Digital IXUS 80 IS is an easy-to-learn compact camera for the user who wants to be up and running, taking good quality pictures immediately. 

Its controls are somewhat fiddly, but that is somewhat expected on cameras this size!  However, this is not at all prohibitive and its ease of use and functionality easily make up for it.

The build quality is excellent, and the camera’s operation speed is fast. 

With the many cameras currently on the market I hope this review has been useful for you.  I hope you have a lot of fun capturing some fun and memorable photos!

Canon Ixus 80 Features
and Technical Details

Ixus 80 Features

Technical Details