The Canon IXUS 750 is a stylish digital camera with a very good build quality. This is a seven megapixel model with a three times optical zoom lens. The IXUS 750 is slightly larger than an ultra compact, pocket sized digital camera, but is still small enough to make it easy to carry around. With a straightforward set of features it is aimed more at someone who is prepared to pay that bit more for a good quality camera to take every day photos with rather than a more serious photographer.
Image Quality
The one point that really strikes me with the images I have produced with the IXUS 750 is the clarity and sharpness of them. This says a lot about the quality of the lens. The colours are very strong too.
The first photos to highlight the sharpness of the images are the outdoor scenic type photos. In the first shot of boats there is a building behind the boats and the brickwork really stands out. This underlines the strength of the lens. This bodes well for every shot you will take with the camera. The colours are strong especially blues and greens. This helps to give a pleasant warm feel to each shot. The camera also handles contrast as well as most cameras and does a fair job of capturing detail in very light and dark areas.
The dedicated test for colour highlights the strength of the blues in particular. In fact blue colours are so strong there is a hint of blue carrying over into areas that should remain white.
The outdoor portrait works well. The picture was taken on a cloudy afternoon in autumn. These conditions tend to create a dullness to the shot. To compensate for this I have used flash. This helps to give the picture a warmer tone.
The indoor portrait again highlights the clarity of the lens. This is certainly one of the sharper images I have managed to produce in these conditions. The level of red eye on the shot is noticeable though. This goes to show how difficult it can be to produce red eye free shots in these conditions.
The indoor shot of bottles taken in more or less complete darkness is excellent. It is sharply focused and the camera lights the picture well to. This is one area I think digital cameras are starting to improve in.
My final test was for a macro shot. This gives an indication of how well the camera can produce close up shots. The result was a bright and sharply focused shot.
Shutter Lag and Recycling Times
The IXUS 750 managed to take a single shot in 0.39 seconds. This is average time. To be honest I would have liked to have seen a time a little faster. It took 7.32 seconds to take five consecutive shots. This works out at a rate of one photo more or less every 1.46 seconds. This is a very fast time. Although I would have liked a faster time for a single shot this camera compares very well with other models when it comes to reeling off more than one shot at a time.
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. The aperture has a maximum f number of f/2.8 - f/4.9. For macro and close up photography the camera can focus from a minimum of 5cms away. There is also a 4x digital zoom feature.
For composing images, reviewing photos already taken and for accessing the menu system there is a 2.5" LCD screen. This is made up of approximately 115,000 pixels. The LCD screen also has a brightness control. There is also a QuickBright function to brighten the screen in bright outdoor conditions. Night Display helps to improve visibility in low light situations. As well as the LCD screen there is an optical viewfinder.
The built in flash unit has a maximum range of 5m. This drops down to 3m when the zoom lens is in use. You can set the flash to always on, always off, automatic, slow sync and red eye reduction. To boost the power of the flash you can buy Canon's High Power Flash.
In addition to automatic mode there are a number of preprogrammed scene modes available to use. All you need to do is select the most appropriate scene mode for the photo you are about to take. This helps the camera to take the best possible photo in the conditions. The preset scene modes are Portrait, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Underwater, Indoor, Kids & Pets and Night Snapshot.
Stitch assist is available to help you create panoramic type shots. There are various photo effects available too. These let you take a picture in black and white or sepia, use vivid or neutral colours and low sharpening for a softer focus effect.
The movie mode is quite advanced. You can shoot up to 1gb of footage. The maximum resolution is 640 x 480 and the top speed is 30 frames per second. You can zoom in and out while shooting a movie. There is also a mode that lets you shoot one minute of footage at 60 frames per second. The footage can then be reviewed in slow motion. This can be useful if you are trying to analyse and action such as a golf swing.
To help preserve the memory of still shots you can add up to sixty seconds of commentary to a photo. If you would like to appear in the photo yourself there is a self timer mode. The self timer can be set to a delay of two or ten seconds. There is a custom mode as well. This mode allows you to set a delay period of up to thirty second and to specify up to ten photos to be taken in quick succession by the camera.
Among the more advanced features are three metering modes (Evaluative, Centre-weighted average and Spot), exposure compensation (+/- 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments) ISO equivalents (AUTO, 50, 100, 200, 400) and shutter speeds ranging from 15 seconds to 1/2000 seconds. There are white balance settings for auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H and Custom.
There is a continuous shooting mode. This lets you to take up to two frames per second until the memory card is full.
Ease of Use
All the key features are covered by buttons on the back of the camera. There you will find buttons for flash, zoom, macro, self timer, deleting an image and zoom. When it comes to using the menu system you will find this is split into two with camera functions accessible under their own button. Although I don't find Canon digital cameras as straightforward as other makes you can find what you are looking for with a bit of effort.
Cost
You can pick up a Canon IXUS 750 for around £285. This compares to around £225 for a Nikon Coolpix 7900, £200 for a Sony DSC P200 and £270 for a Panasonic DMC FX9. At the time of writing this review the IXUS 750 is still a relatively new digital camera. Over time I would expect the price to fall. As it stands even though I really like the image quality of this camera I would find it hard to part with the extra £85 I would need to pay to get this instead of the Sony DSC P200.
Style
As with just about all cameras of this type the build quality really stands out. It has a metal body with a very attractive design. On picking the camera up you immediately get a good feeling about it. It only comes in silver and has a very smooth finish with rounded edges. It weighs in at 170g and has dimensions of 89.5 x 57.0 x 27.4 mm
Batteries and Memory Card
Power is supplied by a rechargeable lithium ion battery. Canon supplies both the battery and a charger with the camera. Canon indicate you should be able to take around 150 shots before the battery needs to be recharged.
SD cards are used for storing images on. Canon supplies a 32mb card with the IXUS 750. I was able to take 14 shots using the default settings before the card was full. Although 32mb is more generous than most manufacturers are I would recommend picking up a high capacity card to go with your camera.
Click here to save money on SD cards.
Points I like:
Build quality and design
Pin sharp photos
Where it is not so hot:
A bit expensive at present
Summary
The Canon IXUS 750 is a very impressive digital camera. The images are really pin sharp and the build quality of the camera is equally impressive. At current pricings levels this camera certainly comes at a hefty premium. This is a very high quality digital camera nonetheless.
Canon IXUS 750 Front View
Canon IXUS 750 Back View
Canon IXUS 750 Top View
Sample Menus
| Canon IXUS 750 Summary |
| Description: | 7 megapixel digital camera with a 3x optical zoom lens |
| Ease of Use: | 7 |
| Features: | 7 |
| Colour: | 9 |
| Macro: | 9 |
| Indoors: | 9 |
| Value for Money: | 7 |
| Style: | 8 |
| Movie Mode: | 9 |
| Image Quality: | 9 |
| Build Quality: | 9 |
| Total: | 83 |
| Verdict: | The Canon IXUS 750 is a high quality digital camera. Picture quality is excellent and this is matched by the build quality. Well worth a very close look. |
| Review Date: | November 2005 |
| Click for: | Specification Sample Images |
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