Canon Digital IXUS 70 Review
(also known as the Canon Powershot SD1000)
Review Date: April 9th 2007
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Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were captured using the Superfine JPEG
setting with the large (3072 x 2304 / 7.1M) image size option
producing a file that is between 2-4Mb.
Noise
The Canon Digital IXUS 70 has
7 ISO settings. There
is virtually no discernible noise at the slowest settings
of ISO 80, 100 and 200, but noise
and slight loss of detail is apparent
at ISO 400, particularly in the shadow areas. At ISO 800
image quality has deteriorated quite a lot as the camera
blurs detail
to try and hide the noise. ISO 1600 should really be avoided
at all costs. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise
levels for each ISO setting.
Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops which have
been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand
image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the
camera images at the default setting are soft and benefit
from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop.
Alternatively you can change
the in-camera sharpening level if you don't like the default
results.
Chromatic Aberrations
The Canon Digital IXUS 70 handled chromatic aberrations quite well during the
review, with some limited purple fringing present around
the
edges of objects in certain high-contrast situations. Here
are some 100% crops which show the typical chromatic aberrations
that you can expect:
Macro
The Canon Digital IXUS 70 offers
a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that
is 3cms away from the camera. The first image shows how close
you can get to the subject in Macro mode (in this case a
compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.
Flash
The flash settings on the Canon Digital
IXUS 70 are Auto, On, Auto Red-eye Reduction, Slow Synchro
and Off. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken
at a distance of 1.5m.
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Auto
Flash - Telephoto (105mm) |
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And here are some portrait shots.
As you can see, the Flash On setting caused a small amount
of red-eye, with the Red-Eye Reduction option virtually removing
it.
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Flash
On (100% Crop) |
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Flash
- Red-Eye Reduction (100% Crop) |
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Night Shot
The Canon Digital IXUS 70's maximum
shutter speed is 15 seconds in Long Shutter Mode, which is
good news if you're interested in night photography. The
shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 0.5 second,
aperture of f/4.9 at ISO 80. I've included a 100% crop
of the image to show what the quality is like.
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Night
Shot (100% Crop) |
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Overall Image Quality
The Canon Digital IXUS 70 produced images of good quality during the review
period. As expected from previous use of Canon cameras,
colours are naturalistic bordering on warm, especially when
it comes to skin tones, which is no bad thing. And of course
there's the added ability to adjust these in camera if so
wished. The Canon Digital IXUS 70 dealt quite well
with chromatic aberrations, with limited purple fringing
effects appearing only in high contrast situations. The built-in
flash worked well indoors, with a small amount of red-eye
and good overall exposure. The night photograph was good,
with the maximum
shutter speed of 15 seconds allowing you to capture enough
light in most situations. Macro performance is above average,
allowing you to focus as close as 3cms away from the subject. The 7 megapixel images were quite soft straight out of the camera at the
default sharpening setting and ideally require some further
sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you
can change the in-camera setting. Utilising the new face
detection feature didn't make a great deal of difference
if I'm being honest, as there's the tendency
of the user to pre-focus on the subject – and obviously a
face if taking a portrait – before fully pressing the shutter
button anyway. The Canon Digital IXUS
70 produces noise-free images at ISO 80, 100 and 200, with
ISO 400 showing some noise and slight blurring of detail.
ISO 800 has quite visible noise and ISO 1600 is best
avoided
at
all
costs.
 PhotographyBLOG
is a member of the DIWA
organisation. Our test results for the Canon Digital IXUS
70 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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