The Canon IXUS 900 Ti is a ten megapixel digital camera with a 3x optical zoom lens. One of the main selling points that Canon are pushing is the fact that the body of the IXUS 900 Ti is made of titanium. Although this does not have any impact on the picture quality and as far as I am aware has no clear benefit if the camera is dropped it is likely to appeal to anyone who is especially style conscious.
I am sure the fact that the camera offers ten megapixels will also prove attractive to many potential buyers.
Image Quality
There were no surprises with the test photos I took with the IXUS 900 Ti. Focusing was sharp, colours strong and the photos had a vibrant, bright look to them. In terms of picture quality this camera is comfortably above average.
Starting off with the outdoor scenic shots these highlight the colours and also the sharpness the camera is capable of. A good guide to the focusing capabilities of the camera is the clarity of the bricks in the building in the first test shot. On the whole focusing also stays sharp up to the edge of each photo as well. I like the colour of the skies and also the foliage in these photos. This suggests that you should be able to produce your own well balanced landscape shots.
One area I have noticed where the IXUS 900 Ti has struggled is with the reflection of the sun from white areas in the outdoor shots. This is especially noticeable on the beams under the roof of the building in the first test shot and there is also a fair amount of reflection from the boats themselves. A lot of this problem is down to the time of the year the test shots were taken with the sun getting lower in the sky. The majority of cameras I have tested recently have found this problem impossible to overcome.
Good levels of detail are shown up in the darker areas of the photos, although the second outdoor shot is a little darker around the edges than I would like to see. The third outdoor shot again highlights how well the camera is capable of focusing.
The two portrait shots are my favourite pictures from the IXUS 900 Ti. I especially like the colours in the two photos. They have a very natural look and the skin tones are more or less spot on. Lighting conditions for both photos were not perfect so I am very happy with the final results. The indoor portrait is another to underline how well the camera is able to focus even when the lighting is less than perfect. The downside is some red eye showing in the shot.
My other indoor/lowlight shot is of some beer bottles. This photo is taken in more or less complete darkness. Again it is impressive how well the IXUS 900 Ti is able to hold the focus as you move away from the centre of the shot. This is another above average effort. Combined with the indoor portrait it appears that this camera is likely to be one of the best performing consumer level digital cameras in lowlight.
The dedicated test for colour supports the findings throughout all the test shots. Colours are strong without being overbearing. Blues in particular show up well and this should help with skies in landscape type shots.
For close up photography it is hard to find better cameras in this price range than these Canon IXUS models. The 900 Ti produces a very clear shot with plenty of detail.
Shots that do not work quite so well are the higher ISO shots. Although the one taken using ISO 400 is more than acceptable when compared against many rival cameras there are clear levels of deterioration in the ISO 1600 shot and I would suggest only using this setting when there is no other way of getting your picture.
Having just reviewed the Canon IXUS 850 IS I can see virtually no difference between the photos taken with that cameras and the IXUS 900 Ti. There is no real surprise in that outcome. Therefore if you are trying to decide which one of these two cameras to buy it is a case of looking at the features. For example the IXUS 850 offers a wide angle lens and images stabilisation while the IXUS 900 Ti has more megapixels and a titanium body.
Shutter Lag and Recycling Times
I was able to take a single photo in 0.49 seconds and five photos in 9.78 seconds. The time taken to take a single photo is a little above average. The time taken to take five photos is average. This is one of the slowest IXUS models.
You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.
Features
The 3x optical zoom lens has a focal length equivalent to 37 - 111mm in 35mm format. You also have the option to reduce the number of megapixels you shoot at. If you take this option the camera is able to increase the amount of zoom at its disposal. Canon describe this as Digital Tele-Converter (1.4x) and Safety Zoom (2.3x). This extra zoom can be increased to a maximum 4x if you also use digital zoom. The maximum aperture of the lens is f/2.8 - f/4.9. For close up shots the camera can focus from 3cm away from the subject.
Unlike the majority of current digital cameras the IXUS 900 Ti has a viewfinder. This is a real bonus on a bright sunny day when the LCD screen can become difficult to see. Canon have still managed to squeeze in a large 2.5" LCD screen despite finding room for the viewfinder. The screen is made up of around 230,000 pixels.
The built in flash unit has a maximum range of 5.1m. This falls to 3.1m when the zoom lens is in use. To boost the power of the flash unit you can buy an external flash unit (Canon's High Power Flash HF-DC1) to go with the camera. The flash modes are On, Off and automatic. Red eye reduction and slow sync speed can be turned on and off.
There are a number of preset scene modes. These help you to take the best possible photos by indicating to the camera the type of photo you are about to take. This allows the camera to use what it considers to be the best possible settings for the shot. The scene modes available are Portrait, Night Snapshot, Kids & Pets, Indoor, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater and ISO 3200. Other settings are available for Digital Macro, Color Accent, Color Swap and Stitch Assist.
A number of colour effects can also be applied to your photos. These are Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green and Vivid Red. There is also a custom colour setting.
Other useful features include being able to add up to 60 seconds of commentary to a photo you have taken, a self timer with a two or ten second delay (plus a custom setting) and a histogram. There is also a special image size setting that allows you to take photos that are an ideal shape for viewing on a wide screen television. These also produce wider, panoramic type prints.
Amongst the more advanced features are metering (Evaluative, Centre-weighted average, Spot), ISO (AUTO, High ISO Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600), white balance (Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom) and exposure compensation (+/- 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments). Continuous shooting at a maximum rate of 2.1 frames per seconds is also available. You can continue to shoot until the memory card is full.
Shutter speeds work in the range 15 - 1/2000 seconds. Speeds of one second and above are only available in Long Shutter Mode. All shutter speeds are set automatically by the camera and cannot be set manually.
There are two types of movie you can shoot with the IXUS 900 Ti. The first is a standard type that you will find on most digital cameras. This allows you to shoot at a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 and with a top speed of 30 frames per second. Sound can be recorded and digital zoom can also be used while the recording is in progress. The duration of each movie is up to a maximum of 4GB or one hour (whichever is reached first).
The second type of movie is at a higher resolution of 1024 x 768. These movies have a maximum duration of three minutes and a recording speed of 15 frames per second.
Canon supplies all the cables and software you need to connect the IXUS 900 Ti to a television set, computer and PictBridge compatible printer.
You can also pick up a waterproof case for the IXUS 900 Ti. This is the WP-DC7. It is waterproof to a depth of 40m. There is also a weight (WW-DC1) to go with the case.
Ease of Use
As much as I like Canon digital cameras I cannot claim they are most easy to use. The main factor you need to get the hang of is that there is a separate function section and a menu section. The function section contains features such as exposure compensation, white balance and metering. In the menu section you will find a number of features you can turn on or off. These include digital zoom, red eye reduction and the AF assist beam.
Other standard features for zoom, flash, ISO and self timer are controlled through buttons, rings and dials on the top and back of the camera.
Cost
You can pick up a Canon IXUS 900 Ti for around £270. This compares to around £265 for a Sony DSC N2, £190 for a Pentax Optio A20 and £190 for a Casio Exilim EX-Z1000.
As you see the IXUS 900 Ti and the Sony DSC N2 are far more expensive than other 10 megapixel digital cameras with a similar specification and body shape. It is very hard to say whether or not this camera others very good value for money.
Probably the best advice I can give you is not to get over excited by the number of megapixels the camera offers. Unless you are planning to make massive prints seven megapixels is normally more than enough. Having said that I accept that Canon are at least making the most of the megapixels with the safety zoom and digital tele-converter features.
Style
Canon's IXUS range offers some of the most stylish digital cameras you will find. As mentioned at the top of the review the 900 Ti has a titanium body. This is the only digital camera I am aware of that has been made this way. This helps to make the camera stand out in an increasingly crowded market. As with other cameras in the IXUS series the build quality appears to be of a very high standard.
The camera has dimensions 91.2 x 59.6 x 28.2mm of and weighs 165g.
Batteries and Memory Card
Power is supplied by a rechargeable lithium ion battery (NB 5L). Both a battery and charger are supplied as standard. Canon estimates the IXUS 900 Ti should be able to take around 230 shots before the battery needs to be recharged.
The camera is compatible with SD cards and also the new SDHC (High Capacity) cards. A 32mb card is supplied with the camera. I was able to take 14 shots before the card was full. This is just about enough to test out the camera, but you will need to pick up a larger card before you can carry out any more serious photography.
Click here to save money on SD cards.
Points I like:
Build quality
Picture quality
Advanced movie features
Design and style
Viewfinder
Where it is not so hot:
It's not cheap!
Red eye
Small memory card supplied
Summary
The Canon IXUS 900 Ti is a high quality digital camera. It also has a high price! Picture quality and build quality are impressive and this is also a very stylish camera. Although I am not a big fan of ten megapixel, consumer digital cameras purely for printing purposes Canon have added worthwhile features with the Digital Tele-Converter and safety zoom.
Front View
Back View
Top View
Sample Menus
| Canon IXUS 900 Ti Summary |
| Description: | 10 megapixels and a 3x optical zoom lens |
| Ease of Use: | 7 |
| Features: | 8 |
| Colour: | 9 |
| Macro: | 9 |
| Indoors: | 9 |
| Value for Money: | 7 |
| Style: | 9 |
| Movie Mode: | 9 |
| Image Quality: | 9 |
| Build Quality: | 9 |
| Total: | 85 |
| Verdict: | The Canon IXUS 900 Ti is an impressive digital camera. It has a very stylish design and with its titanium body the build quality is excellent. There are also 10 megapixels packed inside. Picture quality is up there with the very best for this type of camera and I would be more than happy to own one. Recommended. |
| Review Date: | November 2006 |
| Click for: | Specification Sample Images |
|
