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Canon Digital IXUS 980 IS

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By Leonard Goh
Nov 24, 2008

The Canon Digital IXUS 980 IS was announced in September, and it succeeds the Digital IXUS 960 IS, which shutterbugs have come to love for its manual exposure function. The new IXUS 980 IS features an improved resolution and several some new functions including the face self-timer which makes taking group photos easier. The lack of a wide-angle lens and somewhat confusing shooting operations may deter new digicam buyers. But if performance and image quality are your primary concerns, this point-and-shoot will not disappoint.

Design

If Batman were to choose a digicam, the IXUS 980 IS would probably be on top of his list. Encased in a solemn black shell, the curves on the shooter reminded us of the Batmobile in earlier movies of the Dark Knight. Although there is a silver color option available for this snapper, we preferred it black as it looked sleeker with its dark tones.

However, the Canon is not a slim shooter. In fact, it is a little bit chunky and weighed us down a bit. But this actually complemented the overall design of the point-and-shoot.

What we found irritating was the zoom lever and the power button--they were simply too difficult to operate. The power button is almost flushed with the casing and pressing it required a fair amount of effort. The zoom lever's handle is so small we had some difficulty adjusting the zoom.

On the rear are controls that would be familiar to anyone who has used a Canon point-and-shoot. The mode switch gave excellent feedback and we could access it easily with our thumb while shooting. The scroll wheel didn't have enough feedback and we had experiences when we turned it too fast and missed the option we wanted to choose.

A nice touch to the IXUS 980 IS would be at the bottom of the shooter. There are four "feet" at each corner to prop the camera from the surface it is resting on and prevents it from getting wet on damp surfaces or scratched from rough planes. However, it can be difficult to balance the shooter on uneven surfaces.



Tags: Zoom, Camera, scroll wheel, Canon Inc., Power Button
 
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