This IXUS device that came to us for review is a continuation of the IXUS generation known more for its stylish and sleek design along with its performance. However, what strikes you first is the 24k price bracket that makes you mindfully want to reject the camera, thinking as to why one should pay so much for a normal digital camera instead of buying a DSLR. But on probing further, we find that it is laden with more interesting and advanced features than the previous models. The IXUS 300 HS features a 10MP CMOS sensor and has a 3.5x optical zoom. Canon with the 300IS decided to focus only the sensor for better light sensitivity with the CMOS sensor and f/2 lens this time around.
The Canon IXUS 300 HS does look quite like an IXUS device, a bit fatter but still quite portable. It has a smart black matt body that both looks and feels sturdy. It has the sensor hosted in front with the flash and auto focus assist beam above it. The back has the 3-inch TFT wide view screen and we were glad that this one has a minimalistic design, with the LED indicator, playback, d-pad/scroll pad and the menu button on the right side of the screen. The top features the shutter button, zoom rocker, on/off button and the mode shifter slider on the top. The right has the HDMI and the AV out slot covered with a plastic cover. The cover is the only glossy thing on the camera body and the rest is thankfully matt. Though the optical viewfinder is missing here.
The device starts up pretty quickly and is ready for the shot. The auto mode does not allow a lot many experimentations and one can play around with only the timer, image size and image quality. The flash and display can also be altered and the modifications stop at this.
The shoot settings allow the change in the digital zoom, AF assist beam on/of, flash settings (red eye correction and red eye lamp), review, review info, blink detection, display overlay and date stamp. The camera settings can be altered in terms of sounds, hints and tips, brightness, format, file numbering, lens retract among other things.
What is impressive is a good bunch of other features that this one has on offer and all the modifications almost justify the price of the device. It has options like the light metering mode where the brightness is adjusted according to the overall scene, centre of the scene or centre of the frame area. Then there is the ISO mode where one can set ISOs starting 125 upward to 3200. The continuous shot mode is interesting with shots at 3.7shots/second. The camera kept on clicking some 50 shots the first time I tried it and it was amazing. Then comes the program mode where the new additions are the Shutter priority, where you set the aperture and the camera decides on the shutter speed. The other is the Shutter speed priority where the aperture is set by the camera. The high speed burst mode records at 2.5 MP and is amazing for recoding moving objects. The fisheye and miniature effects are interesting too to have some fun with.
The video mode has a bunch of modes on offer as well. At 30fps, the HD videos are recorded at 720p and go to as low as 320x240 pixels. The playback allows you to view the video in slow motion and one can edit the video directly on the device as well. One can select the part one wants to keep and save it as a new file. One can also self time video recording along with changing colour settings and white balance in the videos. What you can also do is to record videos at 320 MP in super slow motion as well.
In terms of performance, with all the modes, the device does not compromise on it at all. With clear images even during night shots courtesy the CMOS sensor and f/2 lens. There is minimal noise and colours are captured vividly at all times. The scroll is interesting in terms of the image transitions and moving from one option to the other. You can have some fun by scrolling the wheel faster to view a reel like effect in the images taken in the continuous shot. But, there are times while shooting you find the auto focus working slowly that gets annoying.
To sum up, though the IXUS 300HS features many options to play around with, it does price itself around some entry level DSLRs available in the market like the Canon 1000D or the Nikon D3000, it wins on counts of the portability and the performance it has to offer. However, the model that's next in line is the IXUS 1000 HS that at just 1k more gives you a 10x zoom and more features added on to it.
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