Image Quality

All pictures were taken at full resolution unless otherwise stated. A JPEG recorded at superfine quality produces images with wildly varying sizes. We recorded images between 2.8Mb to just under 5Mb in size. Typically, knocking down to Normal compression roughly halves the file size which means more information is lost.

Noise

Choose ISO 80 for all your shots and you'll see that noise isn't a problem with the Canon IXUS 255 HS. Lines are sharp and clear while dark shadowy areas are colour-free. The same can be said for ISO 100 although it's only knocking it up a third of a stop. Typically, a camera will start to show signs of weakness at ISO 200. However, the IXUS 255 HS shows no signs of letting any colour noise destroy it's pretty pictures and works hard at this setting to retain the same quality that we see at ISO 80. If we were to be hyper-critical, then when viewing the images at full magnification, it's possible to see faint blobs of colour  at ISO 400. However, unless you're going to print very big, it's unlikely that you'll view the pictures at that size, so it won't be noticeable. It gets slightly worse at ISO 800, but the results are still very impressive.

It's worth noting that the point of focus is on the top extending bellows arm of the folding camera we used as the subject. The lens is out of focus, not breaking down in edge detail. The sharpness of the arm is just as good at ISO 800 as it is at ISO 80. It's lost some of it's gleam, but what do you expect at ISO 800. We actually expected a lot worse than what the Canon IXUS 255 HS is giving to us. The darker areas of the bellows and shadows start to get noticeable noise on them at around ISO 1600. The fuzziness of focusing is getting worse by the pixellation of noise. Edges are still sharp in mid and highlight areas. At ISO 3200 noise starts to take over, but still when viewed at normal viewing size, they look great. It's not until you zoom in 100% that you can see the degradation.

ISO 6400 is a massive shift in image quality with coloured blobs of noise showing up in random areas, not just shadows. Noise reduction software has desaturated the colours to try and nip it out but it's still quite strong. It's easy to get lost in the disappointment of getting noise. We need to keep in mind that this is a tiny sensor on a digital compact camera and the setting we're looking at is ISO 6400. The results from this are equal to ISO 800 on other similarly priced cameras.

ISO 80 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)
ISO 3200 (100% Crop)	ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

Sharpening

The Canon IXUS 255 HS is adequately low in noise to see a benefit from sharpening in an editing suite such as Adobe Photoshop.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

Focal Range

The Canon IXUS 255 HS has a 10x optical zoom. It's a 4.3–43mm lens, but we always go on the 35mm equivalent focal length which is 24-240mm. There's a degree of barrel distortion at wide-angle – which is to be expected –  but that disappears when zooming out. There's no pincushion at full zoom.

24mm	240mm

Chromatic Aberrations

Chromatic aberration is handled very well on the Canon IXUS 255 HS. We only found evidence of it on the macro test shot which has a lot of lens distortion to it because of the close focusing and wide-angle lens setting. In real-life situations, chroma doesn't seem to be something you'll have a problem with.

Chromatic Aberrations 1 (100% Crop)

Macro

The close focusing of the Canon IXUS 255 HS is 1cm from the front of the lens. However, with enough patience, it's possible to creep the subject slightly closer. At that stage as we said in the chroma section, there's a lot of lens distortion with sharpness falling off quite near the centre of the frame.

Macro	Macro (100% Crop)

Flash

The Canon IXUS 255 HS suffers from some vignetting at wide-angle and using flash doesn't get rid of this. It does steady the light, making it more directional to the centre of the frame. At full zoom, the light has lost the vignette and it seems that using flash or not, you get a well exposed image.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (24mm)	Flash On - Wide Angle (24mm)
Flash Off - Telephoto (240mm)	Flash On - Telephoto (240mm)

Red-eye is turned on or off in the Main menu. However we didn't get any red-eye whether it was on or off. It means that the flash has been positioned enough distance away from the lens to obviate the issue.

Flash On	Flash On (100% Crop)
Red-eye Correction	Red-eye Correction (100% Crop)

Night

The Canon IXUS 255 HS has been fitted with a Long exposure mode. This means you get to control the amount of time that the camera exposes for. It affords you so much more flexibility that there's no need to use the program mode. We used ISO Auto mode to compare the shutter speeds and Program mode used a higher ISO setting to keep the shutter speed up. Because the Long exposure assumes you're using a tripod, it knocks the ISO down to avoid noise.

Night Program	Night Program (100% Crop)
Night Long Exposure	Night Long Exposure (100% Crop)

 

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Canon IXUS 255 HS camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel Superfine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movie & Video

As of February 2025, we are no longer providing full size sample images or videos for download.

Please contact us if you have any feedback on our new policy.

Product Images

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera / Turned On

Isometric View

Isometric View

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

Rear of the Camera / Turned On

Rear of the Camera / Function Menu

Rear of the Camera / Camera Menu

Rear of the Camera / Playback Menu

Rear of the Camera / Print Menu

Rear of the Camera / Settings Menu

Rear of the Camera / Wi-Fi Menu

Top of the Camera

Bottom of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Canon IXUS 255 HS is a joy to use. It's small and lightweight but has that presence of weight that gives you confidence that it's still in your possession. It's good looking enough to want to get it out at every opportunity when on nights out. There's enough modes and features on it to keep you entertained for hours and it has convenient features on it to help you get your pictures to a safe storage area. We found the menus are a breeze and well lit with contrasting dark grey and bright orange.

There are only two small gripes: The buttons are maybe a bit too small which is a sacrifice you have to make if you want a small camera. Also the battery door is a real metaphorical thorn in a garden of roses. It's badly made from flimsy plastic and has no lock. Arguably not essential, but it sticks out against the rest of the camera like a green hat with an orange bell..

Image quality is exceptional which we're putting down to the heady combination of a low(ish) resolution sensor and top of the line imaging processor. Noise is practically non-existent until you get to high numbers which is great. Colours are recorded faithfully with not too much saturation unless you choose it in the scene modes. iContrast works well to bring out more detail in shadowy areas.

The Canon IXUS 255 HS seems a perfect little camera for stealing away on holiday when you want exceptional picture quality without lugging all your gear around. The 10x optical zoom will bring far away wildlife to a comfortable distance without spooking them or without you actually having to walk to them.

For the price, it's a great little camera and if you're looking for a slim unit that has a host of features, good build quality and produces excellent pictures, then you need to take a look at the Canon IXUS 255 HS.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4.5
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	4
Image quality	4.5
Value for money	3.5

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Canon IXUS 255 HS from around the web.

Specifications

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