Canon Digital IXUS 55 Review

(Canon PowerShot SD450 Digital ELPH in the USA)

Review Date: March 23rd 2006

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Conclusion

(out of 5 stars)

The Canon Digital IXUS 55 is a a good-looking and incredibly well-made point-and-shoot digital camera that thankfully doesn't sacrifice substance for style. The IXUS 55 is a tiny camera that both looks great and works well, with a number of innovative features on offer. On paper it doesn't seem to offer anything different to a lot of other, cheaper cameras - 3x optical zoom lens, 5 megapixel sensor, large 2.5 inch LCD screen - but pick the IXUS 55 up and there is an undeniable sense of quality which far exceeds the competition. Just as impressively, Canon have managed to include a large LCD screen and small optical viewfinder despite the tiny dimensions of the IXUS 55. Unfortunately image quality isn't quite up to the high standards set by the rest of the camera. Due to the small 1/2.5 inch CCD, the 5 megapixel images are noisy at ISO 200 and 400, and they are also a little soft out of the camera with no option for increasing the sharpness level. If you want a camera with similar build quality that is also pocketable but with better image quality, I would suggest that you take a look at the slightly bigger and more expensive IXUS 750. So the Canon Digital IXUS 55 is obviously not going to satisfy everyone, as it doesn't offer full manual control over aperture and shutter speeds and the image quality is not best in class, but if you want a stylish ultra-compact camera, the IXUS 55 is well worth considering.

PhotographyBLOG is a member of the DIWA organisation. Our test results for the Canon Digital IXUS 55 have been submitted to DIWA for comparison with test results for different samples of the same camera model supplied by other DIWA member sites.

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