Canon IXUS 120 IS review

Canon cuts no corners with the latest in its IXUS range

Canon’s IXUS range has a long-held reputation for stylish compacts packed to the brim with features. The price is set high, but the evidence suggests that the Digital IXUS 120 IS is no different. It boasts that it’s the “slimmest wide-angle IXUS ever” at just 20mm thick, but Canon has still managed to upgrade the on-board technology to include a very impressive feature set.

Available in silver, black, blue or brown, the metal body and its rounded edges are so smooth that nothing protrudes out from the casing with the exception of the tip of the zoom lever. Similarly, buttons are sunken into the body but without being depressed too far that it makes it tricky to use them. The 2.7-inch PureColor LCD II screen is large enough to compose shots in the absence of a viewfinder, ousted from its predecessor, the Digital IXUS 100 IS. If other manufacturers used Canon’s Digital IXUS 120 IS as a guideline for designing their own compacts, the market would soon be saturated with a lot of very stylish, user-friendly models.

The zoom range is a passable 4x optical and 4x digital, which should be enough to crop scenes enough to capture a decent portrait photograph. However, an increase even of one or two steps would solve our only gripe with this otherwise pleasing camera. Indeed, the 28mm wide-angle lens allows sprawling landscapes to fit in the composition without missing out essential details at the far ends, so we were mollified once more.

Omnipresent features like Auto Red-Eye Correction and Face Detection Technology perform well on the Digital IXUS 120 IS, the former working as soon as a shot is taken and the latter achieving best results by adjusting numerous settings, including white balance, exposure, focus and the flash settings. Blink Detection can be turned on from within the menu settings, too. Available from the D-pad, the self-timer allows the option to vary the number of shots taken, with the choice of up to ten in one sitting giving more wiggle room to allow for the best photograph possible. A separate FaceSelf-Timer option lets the user casually stroll back to the focal area, with the camera taking the shot when it detects an extra face in the composition.

The on-board i-Contrast feature increases the user’s ability to get a great shot. This works by automatically compensating when an area in the image is either too light or too dark, preventing details from getting lost. This runs in the background so you don’t need to activate it manually, and is a welcome addition as seeing it be applied to a high- or low-contrast scene on the LCD screen helps with your knowledge of composition for future shots.

Something that’s fast becoming standard on compact cameras is an automatic scene mode selection, incorporated in the IXUS 120 IS under the guise of Canon’s Smart Auto feature. This technology transforms the camera into a point-and-shooter that produces fantastic pictures whatever the environment when placed into a beginner’s hands. Thanks in no small part to the DIGIC 4 processor, the delay is minimal as the sensor opts for the most appropriate scene mode of the 22 different types available, making it ideal for unmissable photographic opportunities that present themselves at the very last instant.

We found that the images produced tended to be free from motion blur on the whole, with a deserved nod to the on-board Optical Image Stabilizer as well as Canon’s Motion Detection Technology, which can be activated in Smart Auto mode and sets the optimum ISO level for the environment. The 12.1 effective megapixels contributed to some fantastically detailed photographs without many adjustments being made in-camera, which adds to the appeal for the more fashion-conscious photographer. Additionally, like its recent predecessors in the IXUS range, the 120 IS includes an HD movie mode set as the default option so no time is lost in rooting through menus to find it. Video includes audio shot at a resolution of 1,280 x 720 at a rate of 30fps, and users will get a great kick out of seeing their movies hooked up to an HDTV.

With its ski-slope-smooth surfaces, it exudes style, and being just 20mm thick enhances its attraction for Generation F (for Facebook) – it’s probably the only compact thin enough to fit into the pockets on skin-hugging jeans that are popular with both sexes. With well-exposed images and high-definition videos available at the touch of a button, if you can afford it then the Digital IXUS 120 IS looks set to be this season’s trend-setting compact.