To be ultra-slim in today's world is apparently much to be admired, whether it's women's figures or the latest compact digital camera. In a market that's overflowing with pocket sized cameras, Canon still believes that slimness is a good selling point, so its latest Digital IXUS is trumpeted as the thinnest yet.

Certainly its 87 x 54.5 x 18.4mm chic stainless steel body fits snugly in the palm of your hand, weighing a mere 115g. Released as a replacement for the IXUS 85 IS, the IXUS 100 IS is as much about style as features, with its smoothly curved edges rounding off a casing that's available in brushed metal silver, black, gold or red.

The controls are simply and smartly laid out round the back, alongside the bright, 2.5-inch, PureColor LCD II display. Unusually, the AV Out port is positioned top right together with a very welcome HDMI output which will play back your HD movies, which you can capture at 1280 x 720 resolution with 30fps.

In addition to the usual Playback, function wheel, Display and Menu buttons, there's a mode switch to juggle between auto, camera and video functions as well as a (largely redundant except in very bright conditions) mini viewfinder.

With a resolution of 12.1-megapixels you know the resulting images will be high in detail and this camera is clearly designed with absolute simplicity of shooting in mind. The default shooting mode is Smart Auto which makes use of Canon's latest Scene Detection technology to gauge the correct brightness, contrast, distance and overall hue.

In the same mode, Motion Detection kicks in to combat blur and adjust the optimum ISO setting, auto Face Detection reconfigures focus, exposure, flash and white balance, and Blink Detection does what it says on the tin.

If you do want to have some manual control, you'll find around 18 shooting modes with a curious range of exclusions and inclusions. For example, there are no Landscape or Sports settings, yet you can shoot Underwater (though you'll need a protective case for the camera), use Colour Accent, Colour Swap and even Stitch Assist, as well as Canon's My Colours photo effects which will enhance skin tones plus blues, greens and reds.

Overall, the quality of the finished images is well above average, with detailed definition and vibrant colours. On the negative side, you're saddled with a 3x optical zoom which means that most of your snapping will be aimed at relatively close-up subjects. As a cool party camera, though, the IXUS 100 IS should guarantee you lots of respect.

Verdict
Canon's latest Digital IXUS is targeted at the style-conscious snapper who wants to look cool while letting the camera do most of the work. It's a shame about the limited zoom and slightly hit-and-miss shooting mode selection, but the end quality remains impressive.

Company: Canon

Contact: 01737 220000

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