The Canon IXUS 75 is also known as the Canon PowerShot SD 750 in the US. This is a stylish looking pocket sized digital camera. It has seven megapixels and a three times zoom lens. One of the attractions of this camera is the fact it has a larger than standard three inch LCD screen. In my view a larger LCD screen really does make a difference when composing and reviewing photos, so this gives the IXUS 75 an extra tick in the box. It also makes the camera's menu system that bit easier to read.
You should have no problem fitting this camera into your pocket as it is just 19mm wide. This follows the trend towards even smaller and more compact digital cameras. Without a battery and memory card the camera weighs 130g. The front of the camera is a very dark silver or grey. The area around the lens is black, as is the back of the camera. This combination helps to make the IXUS 75 stand out from all the other digital cameras around.
Power is supplied by a lithium ion battery. You will find a battery and a charger in the box. According to Canon you should be able to take somewhere in the region of 210 shots before the battery needs to be recharged. This will depend to a large degree on how you use the camera. Excessive use of features such as video and flash will reduce the number of photos you can take per charge.
There is no internal memory built into the camera. Instead Canon supplies a 32mb SD memory card. This is certainly more generous in size than you find with the amount of memory built into most digital cameras. The IXUS 75 is also compatible with SDHC cards. These are simply high capacity SD cards.
In terms of features this is really a point and shoot digital camera. You should find it easy enough to use. The only problem with ease of use is the fact that features can appear either in the camera's menu area or in the function section of the camera. Typical features to appear within the function area are exposure compensation, white balance, various colour options, including black and white and sepia, different types of metering, picture quality and being able to select lower resolutions. Within the menu system you tend to find more basic features such as red eye reduction, digital zoom and face detection focusing for portrait shots.
Other key functions such as flash, macro mode, self timer and continuous shooting are controlled through buttons on the back of the camera. Zoom is controlled through a ring on the top. I find once you get used to using a zoom ring it is a more convenient method than having to press small buttons on the back of the camera.
I have already mentioned the face detection software. This is something that is being seen more often. Its purpose is to help the camera focus sharply on faces. It should help if you are taking individual or group portrait shots.
A waterproof case is also available to go with the camera. It is waterproof to a depth of 40m.
One area where the IXUS 75 is more advanced than cameras made by other brands is in the options it has for shooting movies. As well as being able to shoot standard movies you can also shoot short one minute clips. These short clips can then be played back in slow motion. This allows you to analyse subjects such as golf swings and tennis serves. There is also an option for shooting time lapse movies. These are typically used to plot a flower opening or the movement of clouds across the sky. This feature works by taking a series of single still photos at regular intervals. You can set the delay time to suit your needs.
