Canon Ixus 860 Is Review

Posted on June 20th, 2008

Canon renews its best seller, Ixus 850 IS by the 860 IS. The manufacturer preserves the functionalities which made of them success while modifying ergonomics, the screen and the sensor.

Canon Ixus 860 Is Review

Ixus 850 IS approached compact perfect (at least in our eyes). The 950 IS while remaining very good, gained some pixels on its sensor but lost in the passing the great angle and a little in quality on the images. With the 860 IS, Canon carries out a scientist mixes of the two last. Take the focal beach of the 850 with the sensor of the 950 and you obtain the 860 IS: compact stabilized of 8 million pixels proposing a focal distance great angle (28-105 mm in éq 35 mm). An apparatus which causes enthusiasm immediately.

With its 9,26 X 5,88 x2,59, the 860 Is more cumbersome than its direct predecessor. Many a change compensate for this light plumpness. Do not seek them on the level of the functionalities.

Put aside the definition of the sensor, 850 and 860 show the same characteristics. Zoom 3,8x; sensitivity of 1600 ISO, 17 scenes modes, graphics processor DIGIC III find on Ixus 860 IS. It is the ergonomics which undergoes a radical update. Good-bye serrated roller of selection of mode ! Canon chooses a switch with three positions much more practical. The user reaches directly the automatic mode, the video mode and the scenes modes. Visualization gains its short cut. One without fault! One likes.

The remainder of the orders is composed of the direct impression of the paving stone of navigation multidirectional, and the keys “Small” and “Display”.Navigation and handling gain there in clearness. A pressure on “Function Set” in the middle of the paving stone, and the parameters suitable for the mode are posted (definition, balances white, correction of the exposure, quality of compression…). The order “Small” gives access to the basic adjustments of the apparatus (activation of the numerical zoom, detection of face, dates, hour, mode of stabilization…).

The other great innovation, at the sides of the new ergonomics, is the appearance of a screen LCD of 3 inches (7,6 cm) of a definition of 230.000 pixels and 15 levels of adjustments in luminosity. The comfort of use is optimal, with very good angle of vision and a good framing, and this under all the conditions of luminosity.

Inheriting the sensor of the 950 IS and same image processing, qualities and the defects of the image are found. The quality of image is really excellent but the stereotypes are more disturbed than those delivered by Ixus 850 IS. A true reference in this field in our eyes. Only one regret, the video mode loses the possibility of once playing with the zoom the launched recording.

Verdict

Bet successful for Canon with the successor of the 850 IS. Ergonomics is improved, screen LCD a treat with the use and the quality of image follows. Only the video mode suffers from a rather odd defect on this level of quality: impossibility of using the zoom.

More
Compact, quality of the screen, photo quality, optical stabilizer, wide-angle finish.

Less
No active zoom in movie mode.

Filed under Canon, Digital Cameras |

• Canon Digital IXUS 950 IS Review
• Canon HV30 Review
• Canon PowerShot G9 Review
• Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS Review
• Canon XH A1 (and XH G1) Review

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