Canon IXUS 80 IS Review

The Canon IXUS 80 IS is an 8 megapixel digital camera with a 3x optical zoom lens. It is small enough to slip into a pocket and has a smart looking design.

To get your hands on the IXUS 80 IS will cost you a bit more than for most pocket sized cameras. Just from the way the camera feels in the hand you can sense a bit of extra quality and style. Picture quality lives up to the price tag too and the LCD screen is much better than you will find on many rival cameras. There is a viewfinder as well.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
The brightness and colours in this shot catch my eye. Glare from the sun is handled without a problem. Sharpness is above average too.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
This shot is a lot sharper than I am used to seeing. In terms of focusing this wide angle shot pushes cameras harder than any of my tests. The IXUS 80 IS digital camera does a very good job though. This is a testament to the quality of lens.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
In terms of picture quality this is a great shot. This is the other extreme to the wide angle test as the lens is now zoomed into its full capacity. Sharpness is outstanding. I also like the brightness on the photo.

Outdoor 4 (Building)
As in the previous the combination of sharp focus and use of light are impressive. I have no problem picking out the individual bricks. You should be able to produce pin sharp prints with this digital camera.

Outdoor Portrait
Once again I can see sharp focusing in this shot. I like the skin tones too. If I could add just a bit more colour to the background it would be even better.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
I like this test photo. The colours remain vivid despite the use of flash. This Canon digital camera controls the level of flash it outputs so that the lighting is more or less spot on.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
This is the one test picture that I found a bit disappointing. With the indoor light not as bright as outdoors, the IXUS 80 IS digital camera is not able to hit the same heights when it comes to focusing.

Colours
The colours produced by Canon digital cameras in general are just about right for my own personal taste. They are strong enough without being overbearing. They have a good balance with no single colour being overpowering.

Macro
This is an outstanding close up shot for such a small digital camera. The level of detail captured is very good indeed. Once again it speaks volumes for the quality of the lens.

ISO 400
As long as the light is fair the IXUS 80 IS is still able to do a decent job at ISO 400. As noted from the indoor portrait when the light falls the camera is not at its best and you are likely to need to resort to flash once the light dips below perfect levels.

ISO 1600
At ISO 1600 picture quality has disappeared. It is extremely rare that I would use this setting anyway. Until the majority of manufacturers are able to improve on this level of quality I am not sure why they bother adding ISO 1600 to their cameras.

Overall
In terms of picture sharpness this is simply the best pocket camera I have tested in quite a while. Add in the impact of the colours and brightness and the IXUS 80 IS is a great little camera.

A single shot took 0.32 seconds. That's an average time. Five shots were a little speedier and took 8.07 seconds. As with other Canon digital cameras turning the flash on slows everything down. A single shot took 1.06 seconds with five shots taking 15.40 seconds.

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

I have always liked the design of the Canon IXUS range. They are somehow simple, but suggest real quality. The IXUS 80 IS is available in four colours Classic Silver, Candy Pink, Caramel and Chocolate.

86.8 x 54.8 x 22mm

125g

Power is supplied by a lithium ion battery (NB-4L). Canon estimates you should be able to take around 240 shots in between charges.

A 32mb memory card is supplied with the camera. This is enough for around 14 images. The camera is compatible with SD and SDHC memory cards.

Click here to save money on SD cards..

Good. You will find plenty of other pocket cameras that are easier to use than the IXUS 80 IS. It is simple enough if you want to use it in fully automatic mode, but there are some useful effects and features worth digging a bit deeper for.

Style - build quality - picture quality - viewfinder

Other pocket sized cameras now offer more zoom

Another pocket camera I rate highly is the Panasonic DMC FS5. This camera has a wide angle lens.

The Canon IXUS 80 IS follows a long line of pocket Canon digital cameras that do a great job. If you are looking for a pocket sized, snapshot camera you will be hard pressed to find anything better.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menu

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 80 IS