Megapixels and Zoom
The Canon IXUS 80 IS is an 8 megapixel digital camera with a 3x optical zoom lens. The amount of zoom available can be extended up to a maximum of 5x zoom if you shoot at lower resolutions. 4x digital zoom is another option for increasing zoom capacity. The lens has built in image stabilisation.
The focal length of the lens is equivalent to 38 - 114mm in 35mm format. The maximum aperture is f/2.8 (wide) - f/4.9 (tele).
Basics
- Special resolution for widescreen television playback
- Self timer
- Colour options - Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red and Custom Color.
- Up to 60 second voice memos per image
Focusing
When it comes to close up work the IXUS 80 IS can focus from 3cm away from the subject. If you are shooting portrait shots then the face detection focusing setting helps to produce sharper portraits.
LCD
The IXUS 80 IS is one of the few pocket cameras with a viewfinder. The 2.5 inch LCD screen is made up of around 230,000 dots. I was able to see the screen clearly even in sunny conditions when many other cameras were struggling.
Flash
The built in flash unit has a maximum range of 3.5m. This falls to 2m when the zoom lens is fully extended. The flash modes are automatic, on and off. Slow sync speed and red eye reduction are also available.
There is also a red eye correction feature. This can be applied automatically when a picture is being taken or it can be used to clean up the problem after the picture has been taken.
The power of the flash can be increased considerably if you buy an external flash unit. The IXUS 80 IS is compatible with the Canon High Power Flash HF-DC1.
Scene Modes
There are a number of preset scene modes you can use. These are: Portrait, Night Snapshot, Color Accent, Color Swap, Stitch Assist, Kids & Pets, Indoor, Sunset, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium and Underwater.
Movies
Movies with sound of up to 4gb or 1 hour in duration can be recorded. The maximum resolution of a movie is 640 x 480 pixels. The top recording speed is 30 frames per second. This should give you good quality TV playback.
Optical zoom can be applied before you start filming, but not whilst filming is in progress. Digital zoom can be applied while filming, but this does have a negative affect on quality.
You can also shoot time lapse movies. These are a series of still images taken at set intervals. A typical use is to plot the movement of clouds across a sky or a flower opening.
Advanced Features
There are a few more advanced options open to you. These include metering (Evaluative (linked to Face Detection AF frame), Centre-weighted average, Spot (centre)), exposure compensation (+/- 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments), ISO (AUTO, High ISO Auto (incorporating Motion Detection Technology), 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600) and white balance (Auto (including Face Detection WB), Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom).
There is also a continuous shooting mode that allows you to reel off photos at a top speed of 1.3 frames per second.
Shutter speeds are controlled automatically by the camera. These work in the range 15 seconds to 1/1500 seconds.
Computer - Printers - Television
All the necessary cables and software are supplied to attach the Canon IXUS 80 IS to a computer, television set and compatible printer.
Extras
If you are planning to dive with the IXUS 80 IS you will be pleased to know Canon have produced a waterproof case for it. This is the WP-DC22 and it is waterproof to a depth of 40m.
Canon IXUS 80 IS
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