Overview
The Canon IXUS 860 IS is an attractive 8 megapixel camera. It has a 3.8x wide angle lens. Wide angle lenses are able to add extra width to a photo. This makes them a good choice if you like taking landscape type photos, groups of people, architectural shots or interiors. The IXUS 860 IS has a stylish, metal body.
Main Features
Megapixels:
Zoom:
LCD Screen:
Dimensions:
Weight:
8
3.8x
3 inches
92.6 x 58.8 x 25.9mm
155g
Macro:
HD Movies:
Manual Controls:
Batteries:
Memory Cards:
3cm
No
No
Lithium ion
SD/SDHC
Image Quality - See Sample Images Below
Outdoor Scenic Shots in Good Light
There are four factors I look for in this test. The first is sharpness, next is colour, followed by lighting and then sun glare. The IXUS 860 IS handles the first three well, but there is evidence of sun glare causing a loss of detail in some areas of the photo.
Canon cameras produce some of the sharpest photos you will find from a digital camera and the IXUS 860 IS upholds that reputation with a photo much sharper than standard. Colours are a fair reflection of how the scene looked on the day and the photo is bright.
Where the sun falls on the boats and also on the white woodwork under the roof of the building there is a loss of detail.
This can be a tricky photo for cameras as there is often a loss of focus when the lens is zoomed right out. This camera does a good job and overall I am happy with the levels of sharpness. The job is even tougher for a wide angle lens and there is a fall off in focusing levels towards the very edges of the photo.
In this photo the IXUS 860 IS does well. The photo is a fair bit sharper overall than I am used to seeing.
Portraits
What I like most about this photo is the colours the camera manages to draw out. I think these give the photo a pleasing warm feel. With face detection focusing on the camera has no problem with focusing. I have used the white balance cloudy setting for this photo.
As you can see when light is not perfect it can be hard for even the better cameras to focus sharply without flash. The photo has a pinky tinge to it as well.
With the flash on the focusing problems are overcome. Again I like the colours in the photo and it is pleasing to see the flash has been controlled well and hasn't washed the colour away.
Macro, Colours and Noise
This macro shot is someway above average. For any close up photo focusing is all important and this camera is right on the money.
As I have mentioned in a number of tests above, I like the colours the IXUS 860 IS produces. In each case they are a fair reflection of how the scene looked when the photo was taken.
Pushing the ISO setting up to 400 always has an effect on the photo. It introduces noise into the shot and leads to a decrease in overall quality. The IXUS 860 IS copes very well at this level.
Pushed up to the maximum setting and the photo quality really suffers. Noise levels are very obvious at this setting.
Summary
Overall I have few complaints about my test shots. Canon digital cameras perform well in most situations and this is a good quality set of test photos.
Style
Almost a typical digital camera, but Canon somehow manage to give it a bit of extra style.
Shutter Lag Times
Single Shot
Five Shots
Single Shot With Flash
Five Shots With Flash
0.28 seconds
7.27 seconds
1.03 seconds
15.2 seconds
Ease of Use
There are easier to use cameras around, but you should soon get used to the IXUS 860 IS.
Points I Like
Sharpness of photo - build quality and design - red eye correction tool - clear LCD screen
Where it Could Improve
Sun glare
Verdict
Yes I would happily own the Canon IXUS 860 IS. It is a good all round camera. Build quality is very good. Picture quality is up there with the better compact digital cameras too.
Product Shots
Front View
Back View
Top View
Sample Menus
Top Rated Cameras in this Category
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I really like this camera. It offers some extra zoom and takes excellent snaps. I found it easy to use and struggled to find anything I did not like about it. If you are looking for a smaller compact camera with some extra zoom then this one is a good choice.
Read Review: Panasonic DMC FS30 Review
Pentax Optio i-10 Rating 79/100
The Optio i-10 looks radically different to other digital cameras. It has a design based on vintage SLRs. In my tests I found more distant shots lacked sharpness. Aside from the design the features included in this camera are fairly standard.
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Related Pages
Canon IXUS 860 IS Review Canon IXUS 860 IS Specification Canon IXUS 860 IS Sample Images Canon IXUS 860 IS Features
Review Date
October 2007
