The Canon IXUS 850 IS is a 10 megapixel digital camera with a 3x optical zoom lens. The focal length of the lens is equivalent to 35 - 105mm in 35mm format. The maximum aperture is f/2.8 wide, f/4.9 (tele).

Additional zoom becomes available when shooting at lower resolutions. This can boost zoom by an extra 2.3x. 4x digital zoom is further zoom option.

• Special resolution for widescreen television playback
• Image Stabilisation
• Self timer
• Up to 60 second voice memos per image

Focusing options include a face detection setting for portraits. In macro mode the IXUS 85 IS can focus from 3cm away from the subject.

Viewfinder and LCD Screen
Both a viewfinder and a 2.5 inch LCD screen are available for composing photos. The screen is made up of around 230,000 dots.

As with other Canon digital cameras there are a few extra flash options. The maximum range of the flash unit is 3.5m. This falls to around 2m when the zoom lens is in use.

The flash modes are automatic, on and off. Red eye reduction and slow sync speed can be turned on and off as well. You also have access to flash exposure compensation and flash exposure lock.

A red eye correction utility can be used to clean up shots with red eye.

In order to boost the power of the flash you can buy an external flash unit. This is the Canon High Power Flash HF-DC1.

The scene modes you can use are: Portrait, Night Snapshot, Kids & Pets, Indoor, Sunset, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium and Underwater. There is also a stitch assist mode for putting together panoramic shots.

There are a number of colour options that let you change the way your photos look. These are Color Accent, Color Swap, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red and Custom Color.

Movies with a maximum speed of 30 frames per second and a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 pixels can be captured. The maximum duration of a movie is 4gb or 1 hour of video. Optical zoom can be applied before recording starts and digital zoom is available while recording is in progress. Sound is recorded as well.

You can also record time lapse movies.

Although this is basically a point and shoot camera you do have access to a number of advanced options. 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 sensitivity (AUTO, High ISO Auto (incorporating Motion Detection Technology), 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600)
• White Balance (Auto (including Face Detection WB), Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom)
• Continuous Shooting at a maximum speed of 1.4 shots per second

Shutter speeds are set automatically by the camera. These work in the range 15 seconds to 1/1500 seconds.

All the necessary cables and software are supplied to attach the Canon IXUS 85 IS to a computer, television set and compatible printer.

A waterproof case is available if you would like to take the camera diving. The case is the WP-DC23 and is waterproof to a depth of 40m. You can also pick up a waterproof case weight (WW-DC1).

Canon IXUS 85 IS

Description:	10 megapixels and a 3x optical zoom lens
Ease of Use:	8
Features:	8
Colour:	8
Macro:	9
Indoors:	9
Value for Money:	8
Style:	9
Movie Mode:	9
Image Quality:	9
Build Quality:	9
Total:	86
Verdict:	This is one of the very best pocket sized cameras on the market. Picture quality is excellent and the camera also has an attractive design. You will also find one or two extra features over and above those offered by other pocket cameras.
Review Date:	May 2008
Related Pages:	Canon IXUS 85 IS Specification Canon IXUS 85 IS Sample Images Canon IXUS 85 IS Features

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 85 IS