Canon Ixus 900 TI Digital Camera Review

Design

 We were glad to see that the optical viewfinder has made an appearance also, although you might never use it we like to have it just in case.  Like everything Ixus – Canon have kept this little beauty completely pocket-friendly, measuring at just 91.2 x 59.6 x 28.2 mm and weighing 165g.  The controls are extremely responsive to your touch and accurately placed to keep the ergonomic world revolving.

You couldn’t ask much more of the Ixus 900 TI.  It does everything short of making you a cup of coffee and giving you a foot rub.  By throwing in 10 megapixels, Canon has started on a good foot.  The words 10-megpixels and £300 are rarely heard in the same sentence so we were overly excited to find that Canon had made this possible.  It has a 3x ultra compact optical zoom keeping in line with the slim line design.  It also uses a safety zoom that utilises the 10 megapixels for extra zoom magnification without impairing image quality.  Whilst on the subject of zooms, the Ixus 900 TI also boasts a Digital Tele-Converter.  This can be used if you need that extra telephoto reach, almost like attaching an additional lens on to your camera.  Tucked away inside is the DIGIC III Processor, this provides speedy response times, superb image quality and tackles noise very well indeed.  Another smart piece of technology is the ISAPS, this analyses each situation to optimise the camera’s settings before the photo is taken.  Like other cameras in the Ixus range, the 900 TI has the face detection feature which automatically detects a human before providing optimum focus and exposure in the right places.  After you snap a picture you can utilise the image inspection tool, this allows you to check the picture for sharpness instantly after shooting it.  If you’re like most people and have problems getting your flash to perform well when shooting indoors or in the dark, you will like the low noise ISO 1600, it allows you to take the photos without using the flash at all.  Like most amateur photographers, a little bit of camera shake is not unfamiliar so you’ll enjoy using the high ISO auto mode.  This automatically sets an optimal high ISO setting to allow for faster shutter speeds reducing the effects of those shaky hands.  Once you’ve got to grips with all the features you can start to experiment with the 18 shooting modes to enhance your snaps, or shoot a mini video maybe.  The ‘my colours’ feature allows you to change and enhance colours both before and after the photo is taken.  You can expect to find the usual white balance settings, however we suggest you do your homework to really make the most of what they can do.  We really liked the ‘My Category’ feature, it allows you to manually assign categories that give the camera enough information to automatically categorise your photos on your behalf as you snap away.  For storing all your pictures you get a 32MB Secure Digital card included in the box but it is also compatible with SD High capacity and multimedia cards.  The Ixus 900 TI’s menus are completely hassle-free and a pleasure to use, you can customise the start-up image and camera sounds to make it more personal too.  Both Mac and PC users will be pleased to hear that the software is not discriminative and is available for use by all.  We got 212 shots out of the Lithium-ion battery before recharging it.