Canon Ixus 170 Review

I have bought this camera for £80. Its price on Amazon is £86. I don't think this is a lot of money for the camera. However, you should take into consideration that it will be a camera only for £80, not more! Moreover, it is Canon, so I think, they have taken some money for the brand name.

                                          Product Specification

-20 Megapixels
-Steady shots in every situation
-720p movies
-Energy saving for more shots
-12x optical zoom with ultra-wide angle
-Powerful DIGIC processing
-Optimises people shots
-Instant help
-Zoom to 24x with great quality
-Auto mode with 32-scene detection
-Instantly capture movies
-Compatible with Canon Connect Station
-Flash Modes: Auto, Manual Flash On / Off, Slow Synchro
-Shooting Modes: Smart Auto (32 scenes detected), P, Portrait, Live View Control, FaceSelf-Timer, Low Light (5.0 MP), Fish-eye Effect, Miniature Effect, Toy Camera Effect, Monochrome, Super Vivid, Poster Effect, Snow, Fireworks, Long Shutter

What I like Most About It

Surely, Il liked its style. I looks better than typical digital cameras, as for me. It has a thin, compact construction with a metal trimming. Its pocket size is also convenient . Moreover, you can choose a color you like (black, blue, grey)! It is also easy to use having Intelligent IS. You can shoot objects that are located far away in a good quality due to 12x optical zoom. It takes rather sharp photos.

Shooting Close And Distant Objects

I think, this camera is the best for landscapes, portraits/people. You can take pictures of close and distant objects with the help of the 12x optical zoom. You can get closer using 24x ZoomPlus. I like this function since it lets me get images without theloss of quality. 20 Megapixels is quite okey. It provides very detailed pictures. So, I can crop the photos of even print them out in a poster size without quality loss. The biggest image I have pronted out from the camera was of the album size. It was a picture of my family. The quality of it was nice! I am not sure, it will be the same if you print out the wall poster, but the album sized picture will look well.

Intelligence & Smartness

The camera has an intelligent optical Image Stabilizer. What is it for? It is made for people whose arms shake when taking photos. This function allows you to be sure that even if you shake it a little, it won't harm the photo.
If you are not an expert in photography, you can apply Smart Auto mode. It will choose all proper setting for you. However, I have used it once or twice. To tell the truth, I do not trust auto settings a lot. I prefer to adjust all the settings myself and be sure that I apply Portrait Mode when shooting people, for example. Moreover, this camera can 'teach' you how to settle everything. You should just use a Help Button, and the guidance will open.

Videos

This camera provides HD movies but only of 720p maximum. It is pretty nice for a digital camera, but if you are going to shoot videos for a long time, you should take a charger with you since it discharges quite fast. Moreover, some videos turned out to me not very clear, a bit dark. I don't know why it was so. Perhaps, the reason was that they were shot in the evening. This fact dissatisfied me a bit.

People Shots

As I have already mentioned, I think this camera is suitable for shooting people, first of all. As all modern cameras, it has a face detection function. It can also detect multiple faces in a single frame. I like this mode since it does not distort the colour of skin. Portraits look very natural.

Creative Filters

I suppose, I will not amaze you if I say that the camera has an option of fish-eye lens and fish-eye lens. After applying any filters, you can look at the image in the Live View mode. As far as I know, there is a possibility to connect to Canon Connect Station and sare the images in social networks. However, I like to be sure that my photos are nice and do not need any correction (in Photoshop). That is why, I always use the cable to connect to my PC and view the images in full size first.

Minuses

Some settings are not very convenient. The functions of macro mode and picture correction are hidden very far in the menu. However, the "so important" Eco function (that allows to make photos all day long) is visible. I do not think people use it too often, as macro mode, for example. For me, it is a big disadvantage. Also, you cannot take pictures under water.

Verdict

The camera is not bad for a digital camera. However, I would not buy it for taking professional photos or videos (especially!). It is suitable for travelling, walks, sightseeing, and landscapes. In particular, it is very comfortable to take it in the trip since it has a small 'pocket' size.

This review can be also found on Ciao under my nickname AliceBond.