The Canon IXUS 990 IS is a 12 megapixel digital camera with a 5x optical zoom lens. The focal length of the lens is equivalent to 37 - 185mm in 35mm format. Additional zoom becomes available when shooting at lower resolutions. 4x digital zoom is also available.

• Image Stabilisation
• Self Timer: 2 or 10 seconds, Custom or Face Self-Timer
• Sensor Size: 1/2.3 inches
• Red-Eye Correction: During shooting and playback
• Special resolution for widescreen television playback
• Stitch Assist: For panoramic shots
• Colour Effects: Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom Color

You have access to AF servo to track moving objects. For close up work the IXUS 990 IS can focus from 2cm away from the subject.

The LCD monitor is 3 inches in size. The screen is made up of around 461,000 dots.

The flash modes are: automatic, on and off. You can also apply slow sync speed and red eye reduction. In addition flash exposure compensation and flash exposure lock are available.

The maximum flash range is 3.5m. This falls to 2m when the zoom lens is fully extended. To increase the range of the flash unit you can buy an external flash - the Canon High Power Flash HF-DC1.

There are a number of preset scene modes. These are: Portrait, Night Snapshot, Kids & Pets, Indoor, Sunset, Creative Light Effect, Fireworks, Long Shutter, Beach, Aquarium, Foliage, Snow, ISO 3200, Digital Macro, Zoom Blur, Color Accent, Color Swap and Stitch Assist.

You can shoot short, HD quality movies with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. The top recording speed is 30 frames per second. Sound can be recorded. Optical zoom can be applied before shooting and digital zoom can be applied while shooting is in progress.

Among the more advanced features are:

• ISO Sensitivity: AUTO, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
• Maximum Aperture: f/3.2 - f/5.7 (set automatically)
• Shutter Speeds: 15 to 1/1600 seconds (set automatically)
• White Balance: Auto (including Face Detection WB), Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom
• Exposure Compensation: +/- 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments
• Metering Modes: Evaluative (linked to Face Detection AF frame), Centre-weighted average, Spot (centre)
• Continuous Shooting: Approx. 1 shots/sec until card full
• AE Lock

All the necessary cables and software are supplied to attach the Canon IXUS 990 IS to a computer, television set and compatible printer.

Description:	12 megapixels and a 5x optical zoom lens
Ease of Use:	8
Features:	8
Colour:	9
Macro:	9
Indoors:	9
Value for Money:	8
Style:	9
Movie Mode:	9
Image Quality:	9
Build Quality:	9
Total:	87
Verdict:	This is an excellent smaller compact. I like the design, quality of the LCD screen, menu system and picture quality. It may not come cheap, but it scores very highly in all the key categories.
Review Date:	May 2009
Related Pages:	Canon IXUS 990 IS Specification Canon IXUS 990 IS Sample Images Canon IXUS 990 IS Features
Comparisons:	Canon IXUS 990 IS vs Panasonic Lumix DMC ZX1
Comparisons:	Canon IXUS 990 IS vs Panasonic Lumix DMC FX550

Click a flag for prices from other countries:

Camera	Rating
Panasonic DMC ZX1	83
Panasonic DMC FX550	83
Nikon Coolpix S630	81
Fuji Finepix F200exr	81
Olympus MJU 7000	81
Olympus MJU 7010	80
Olympus MJU 5000	80
Sony DSC W270	77

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 990 IS