Typical price: £259
What is it: Stylish 10-megapixel compact
What we think: When a camera is this good-looking and takes respectable pictures, we'll forgive the lack of features
Canon Digital IXUS 90 IS Review
Reviewed on: 14 March 2008
Performance
We found the autofocus on the IXUS 90 to be fast and decisive. The onscreen focus zoom, which magnifies the centre of the screen,
really helps in this regard even if it does take some getting used
to.
The IXUS 90's speed is adequate. Start up is close to instantaneous once you disable the Canon-branded start-up screen, but shot-to-shot time is an uninspiring 3 seconds. The burst mode ticked along at a steady if underwhelming shade over 1 frames per second, but kept that up for a worthy 15 minutes with no sign of stopping. With more than 1,200 images and counting, the IXUS 90 looked set to fill the 16GB Kingston SDHC card we were using, although the battery indicator was flashing rather urgently by that point.
Images come out generally crisp and colours are accurate. Predictably, image noise is a big problem in high ISO mode, completely negating its usefulness for low-light shooting -- best avoided. Noise at ISO 1,600 isn't much better, but at speeds of 800 and below, you'll find it's well controlled without too much smearing of detail.
Conclusion
The Canon Digital IXUS 90 IS is a worthy addition to the IXUS line-up, in that it's every bit as stylish as the brand requires. Despite a paucity of features, the IXUS 90 feels substantial, thanks to its sturdy build, quirky controls, large screen and respectable picture quality.
Still, it doesn't do much to shake our nagging feeling that the IXUS range demands a price premium for style and branding rather than outstanding qualities. There are other point-and-shoots around with extra attributes that give them the edge, like the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W130's longer lens or the Samsung L830's manual controls. Still, there's something about IXUS that's hard to resist.
Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday
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