Canon IXUS 220 HS Black

Product Information

That said the screen provides a bright contrasty view which is easy to see in most conditions with the usual exception of direct sunlight. Whilst the right hand side of the camera, if viewed from the back, features the output ports and a lug for attaching a strap, the opposite flank of the camera is devoid of features entirely. Though the rear screen isn’t the largest or the highest resolution, it does the job, allowing you to assess detail after you’ve taken the shot, and compose with relative ease.

The built-in flash is located on the top left corner and, as with all the current ELPH / IXUS models, you need to be careful not to obscure it with your left index finger. Movie shooting employs Dynamic IS which provides extra stabilisation to iron out wobbles caused, for example by walking and shooting a the same time. In the end, I find that IXUS 220HS has pretty good characteristics (and often extraordinary, even in low-light conditions), but it`s definitely not for everyone.

Have a scour around the net and you’ll see countless glowing reviews for the Canon Ixus 220 HS camera. But as soon as there is a slight need for more light (maybe unnoticeable for us, but very important for the camera), the results can be pretty various. As would be expected, images look best when viewed at a reduced resolution for web or small print sizes. When everything is fine, the result is pretty much great, but when the process fails, the picture can look unnatural, with colors being washed-out or having smudgy details, sometimes looking like the picture is made using the water colors. ISO1600 and ISO3200 images have plenty of noise and the images produced at these levels are best for use on the web or small prints.

In summing up, whilst the Canon IXUS 220 HS is not the most innovative model of recent months to land on our test slab, all things considered it's another Recommended award from the Photographyblog team of testers for anyone looking for an undemanding good value pocket camera that will deliver decent image quality with the minimum of fuss. And so we’ve tried shooting our test image with Low Light mode selected, which effects an image drop to three megapixels. The audio was also surprising - I was dubious the sound may be less than adequate considering the small two pin-prick holes for the microphone on top of the camera. The IXUS line of compacts has proved very successful for Canon, with the first iconic models appearing in the late 90s. Combine documents such as PDFs and image files onto one page on your Windows computer before printing.

At the rear, there’s a choice between Auto and Program, with the Auto mode using the Smart Auto features to detect and select the correct scene mode for the shot.