♥ Princessa's Royal Diary ♥ - Royalty has never been so PINK!

The aesthetics of a camera should be a long way down any intending buyer's checklist. Unfortunately, for someone like myself to agree to such a statement would be a little contradictory. After all, I did set a "colour requirement" during my camera hunt a couple of weeks ago.

That said many have implied that the Canon Digital IXUS 870 IS appeals to them as a "pretty piece of technology", especially since the gold finished version "looks almost like a piece of jewellery".

I for one prefer a touch of "pink-ness" when it comes to my electronic devices even though deep down I know that the colour pretty much does nothing at all.

So if I were to rate this camera based on my colour preference, the IXUS 870 IS will probably fall short of the mark.

Putting bias-ness aside and forgoing the fact that it comes only in silver and gold, in terms of image quality this camera definitely sets a pretty high standard.

But before I begin my testing, I think I should have dinner first. Although the camera doesn't require much strength to hold up but the extra energy may come in handy in time to come, and who knows, the meal itself may come in handy for my "testing" as well.

... An hour later.

Here, let me share with you what I had for dinner.

Looks good doesn't it?

For an inexperienced photographer like myself, basically what you see is what you get – no angles, no lighting, just point and shoot. So basically, if this looks good, it probably is.

To really see-see how good the image quality is, I guess the easiest way to go about it would be a simple comparison as show below.

The left was taken using my boyfriend's (the Teddybear) IXUS 70 (aka PowerShot SD 1000) and the right was using the IXUS 870 IS - same brand, same lighting, same dish, same settings, same photographer, but apparently, different results.

The images are taken using digital macro. The image on the left reflects a duller overall, whereas the one on the right shows more vibrant colours. From the comparison, you can also see that there are fewer traces of film grains (sharper) on the right image as compared to the left.

Now to go into a "higher-level" of "geek-talk".

The Canon Digital IXUS 870 IS (aka the PowerShot SD880 IS Digital ELPH in North America) measures at 9.4cm x 2.4cm x 5.7cm and weighs in at 155g. It is a new Digital IXUS compact camera re-energised by Canon to replace the Digital IXUS 860 IS.

This 10-megapixel digital camera features a 4x zoom lens that covers an angle-of-view range equivalent to that of a 28-112mm lens on a 35mm camera. It is also packed with Canon's optical image stabiliser technology (hence the IS abbreviation in the product name), and a high-resolution 3-inch PureColour II LCD.

In this "version", the camera uses Canon's new DIGIC 4 processor and it boasts some cutting-edge features like Face Detection, i-Contrast, a new FaceSelf-timer function, Servo AF, H.264 compression for movies, and it comes finished in gold or silver.

The speed of the IXUS 870 IS is rather impressive. It started up in roughly a second or so and you can shoot right after. The shot-to-shot time usually doesn't exceed the 2 seconds mark - a single picture took less then half a second, while five took about 8 seconds. Flash does somewhat slows the camera down, but not as much as it does with other Canon digital cameras.

More impressive than the IXUS 870 IS's speed would probably be, Canon's new DIGIC 4 (Digital Imaging Core), which can also be found in the G10 and EOS 50D among others.

Technically, a DIGIC unit is a proprietary application-specific integrated circuit designed to perform high speed signal processing as well as the control operations incorporated in the respective product.

In DIGIC 4, Canon claims improvements such as faster image processing when compared to previous processors, better focusing of moving subjects (Servo AF), improved noise reduction in high-ISO images, improved performance while handling larger 14-bit RAW images, Live Face Detection AF during Live View, and H.264 1080p encoding.

The improved Motion Detection technology delivers pretty sweet results - I was able to take a couple, fairly sharp photos, of a street act while walking down Orchard Road. How it works is that it registers movement, then automatically adjusts ISO to prevent image blur - similar to logic of using the flash (not referring to lighting reasons here of course).

Now, combined with the new Servo AF - which continuously adjusts focus on subjects moving towards or away from the camera - blur is pretty much lowered to the minimum, but of course it does still exist.

To explain the improved Face Detection technology briefly - it detects faces positioned at an angle as well as side profiles. This works pretty well, especially when taking photos of ladies in make-up - their face features are enhanced, which makes it easier to detect.

The new FaceSelf-Timer function definitely “makes group shots and self-portraits easy”. How it works is that it first detects the faces of your group, waits until it detects a new face, wait another 2 seconds, and then takes three shots in a row. Sounds complicated but once you get the hang of it, you no longer have to run to take a group shot.

Another interesting feature is i-Contrast - Canon's new Intelligent Contrast setting. It brings out great, natural-looking detail in dark areas of pictures - without blowing out lighter areas.

Theoretically this feature opens up shadow areas. It can be applied either automatically when you're shooting or after during playback. In playback you can apply the effect in gradual levels as well and create a copy, whereas when shooting the camera decides on the level.

Image noise handling is supposedly one of Canon's strong points - I pretty much have to agree. Shots with IXUS 870 IS at 80-200 ISO are more or less noise-free. But of course, as the ISO increases the effect that resembles film grains starts showing up - still good at 400 ISO.

We've pretty much covered its performance as a still camera, but in case you didn't already know, it does allow you to capture videos as well.

The resolution on movie mode can be set to either VGA or QVGA (no HD mode) in the function menu, but the frame rate is fixed at 30fps. Apparently with “its superior compression technology” it allows you to store up to 40% more footage than its predecessor, with no reduction in video quality - the maximum clip length is limited to about an hour or 4GB, whichever hits first.

The camera uses the H.264 codec to compress video. As stated in the user guide, files may or may not play back smoothly when viewed on a computer, depending on the computer's capabilities. Sound is monaural and is stored in the same MOV file as the video data.

Focus lock, auto-exposure lock and exposure compensation, AF lock and AE lock are all available for movie mode. AF lock works the same way as with stills. As for AE lock, you simply need to push the up button (there isn't other function anyway).

Honestly, the video capability is kinda secondary to me. As far as I'm concerned (tested of course), the image quality in video mode is pretty decent and the sound recording isn't too bad. In conclusion – it works for me! After all, if I do buy it, it wouldn't be for its video capabilities, would it?

The Canon Digital IXUS 870 IS is probably the best-designed IXUS to date, in the functional sense. The lens of the IXUS 870 IS goes wider, has a better macro mode and produces better off-centre sharpness at most zoom settings.

That said, I would still pick the Canon PowerShot E1 over the IXUS 870 IS any day, anytime.

In terms of design the PowerShot E1 clearly beats the IXUS 870 IS hands down with the PINK colour option (personal preference). And although, the image quality of the IXUS 870 IS is superior to the PowerShot E1, but on macro mode (which I use the most) the fine details are kinda insignificant for one like myself that takes photos mainly for the web - to reduce file size image, quality is kinda compromised.

Ultimately, the fact that the IXUS 870 IS (priced at SGD549) carries a 40-50% price premium over the PowerShot E1 concluded my decision - my budget at SGD300 only.

Nonetheless, if you don't have a colour preference, don't have a budget, and have a need for superior image quality - the IXUS 870 IS is definitely a better digital compact camera choice for you.

PS: More images to be updated soon...