The Canon IXUS 200 IS is a 12 megapixel digital camera with a 5x optical zoom lens. The lens has a focal length equivalent to 25 - 120mm in 35mm format. This means it has extreme wide angle capabilities. This is likely to prove attractive if you enjoy photographing wide scenes where you need to squeeze a lot of width into a shot

The IXUS 200 IS will fit easily into most pockets. It has a metal body and is available in shades of silver, purple, light blue and gold.

Other key features include image stabilisation and the ability to shoot 720p High Definition movies. There is also a 3 inch LCD screen. Help text pops up on the screen to give you hints and tips. You can also select a small number of settings via the screen through touch control.

The IXUS 200 IS is a stylish looking pocket camera. The High Definition movie mode is likely to be attractive to many people.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
The camera handles the contrast in this scene well. Very little detail is lost in the lighter areas of the shot. The contrasting blues and greens look good too.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
With a 24mm wide lens Canon are really pushing the boundaries with such a small camera. It works for smaller prints, but if you are to blow your print sizes up you may notice a lack of edge to the sharpness and definition of the shot. I could also see what looked like noise near where the sky met the water in larger prints.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
Quite simply the test shots I have produced with the IXUS 200 IS are not as pin sharp as I am used to seeing from Canon. There is a haze around some of the boats and the sky starts to break up as you increase the print size.

Outdoor 4 (Building)
This is a much better effort. With the lens not pushed to its limits the picture is a good deal sharper and more in line with the standard I am used to seeing from Canon.

Outdoor Portrait
Moving in closer still the IXUS 200 IS has no problem with this standard portrait shot. The colours have been toned down from some of the scenic shots and take on a more natural look.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
Despite sitting the flash unit right next to the lens there is virtually no flash bouncing back into the camera lens. The IXUS 200 IS handles this shot well. The lighting is subtle enough to ensure there is plenty of colour left in the skin tones and sharpness is very good too.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
As I would expect some noise occurs in this shot and takes the edge off the definition. The photo is bright enough, but unless you are very near a window on a bright day you are likely to need to use flash to get the best results for this type of picture.

Colours
The colours produced in my outdoor test shots were very strong indeed. I cannot recall the colour of the sky being quite as dark blue as suggested by my test shots. Still, if you like strong colours this camera is likely to be a good choice.

Macro
Canon digital cameras normally take excellent close up shots. With the IXUS 200 IS I found it hard to create a photo that quite matched up to the best test shots I had taken previously. You should still be able to take a decent close up snap, but despite a number of attempts the quality of my shots was good rather than outstanding.

Noise
I found noise in some of my outdoor shots without pushing up the ISO setting. This camera falls in the mid range in terms of quality when you do increase ISO levels. I would suggest only doing this if there is no other way to get a photo.

Overall
Overall I am happy with the picture quality, but I feel this camera does not quite match up to other cameras from Canon in this range.

Shutter lag times without flash were about average. A single photo took 0.36 seconds and five took 15.09 seconds. With flash turned on times increased to 1.19 seconds (quite slow) for a single shot and 18.16 seconds for five.

I found the camera quick to start up and take the first picture at 2.25 seconds.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

The IXUS 200 IS looks stylish and has a well made feel to it. It has a reflective lens unit and one end of the camera is rounded.

99.9 x 53.4 x 22.9mm

130g

Lithium ion (NB-6L). Canon estimates you should be able to take up to 240 shots between charges.

The cameras is compatible with SD and SDHC memory cards. Canon does not supply a memory card and no memory is built into the camera.

Click here to save money on SD cards..

Good. Although perhaps not as intuitive as some pocket cameras it should not take you too long to find your way around.

Style, build quality, High Definition movies

I found the LCD screen hard to see in sunshine

A camera offering total control through a touch screen is the Sony Cybershot TX1. The Cybershot TX1 has some interesting and different features too.

Although the Canon IXUS 200 IS does not quite hit the high spots that other cameras in the range hit, it is still a good quality pocket camera. How much this camera appeals to you may depend on the type of photos you enjoy taking and how useful to you the extreme wide angle lens may be.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menu

Description:	12 megapixels and a 5x optical zoom lens
Ease of Use:	8
Features:	8
Colour:	8
Macro:	8
Indoors:	9
Value for Money:	8
Style:	9
Movie Mode:	9
Image Quality:	8
Build Quality:	9
Total:	84
Verdict:	The Canon IXUS 200 IS does a decent enough job for a pocket camera. It has a good balance of features, appears to be well made and has a touch of style to it. Key features include an extreme wide angle lens and High Definition movies.
Review Date:	October 2009
Related Pages:	Canon IXUS 200 IS Specification Canon IXUS 200 IS Sample Images Canon IXUS 200 IS Features
Comparisons:	Canon IXUS 200 IS vs Sony Cybershot DSC TX1

	GBP 219.99
	GBP 241.62
	GBP 257.99
	GBP 259
	GBP 279.99
	GBP 306.26
Click a flag for prices from other countries:

Camera	Rating
Panasonic DMC FX60	86
Canon IXUS 120 IS	86
Sony DSC TX1	86
Canon IXUS 110 IS	86
Canon IXUS 100 IS	86
Panasonic DMC FS62	85
Samsung ST550	85
Nikon Coolpix S570	85

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Canon IXUS 200 IS