Compared to its siblings in Canon's IXUS line of compact point-and-shoot cameras, the top-end IXUS 800 IS packs more features into its small frame than higher resolution. It shares the same 6-megapixel sensor as its peers, the IXUS 60 and IXUS 65 but has a longer zoom lens and image stabilization to curb blurry photos.

Design
The Canon Digital IXUS 800 IS is compact, though slightly larger than the other two models. Still, it's the right size to slip into a jacket or a loose pants pocket. At 193g, it's a bit heavy for its small size, giving it a nice, solid feel.

The camera's intelligently laid-out controls are comfortable to operate, though with a few minor annoyances. Most of the controls are located on the back panel, leaving only the shutter release and zoom rocker on the top edge of the camera. I'm not crazy about the zoom rocker, which encircles the shutter release. Though its small nub makes it easy to find and responsive to use, I'd have preferred it to be slightly larger. You select among the shooting and playback modes via a half-covered, View-Master-like wheel on the right side of the camera.

The main camera controls rest in a four-way-plus-Ok pad, while menu, print, and display buttons sit next to the LCD screen. You change the flash, timer, macro, and ISO sensitivity settings directly through the control pad, while more technical settings such as exposure compensation, white balance, and color adjustment are accessed via the function menu. The buttons are round and responsive, and they feel comfortable even under large thumbs. My only real quibble with the IXUS 800's control layout is the tiny, finicky power button, which is wedged in an uncomfortable position just above the LCD screen and to the right of the viewfinder.

Features
The Canon IXUS 800 IS is packed with handy features. Its 6-megapixel sensor works with its image-stabilized F2.8-to-F5.5 35mm-to-140mm lens (35mm equivalent) and can hit sensitivity settings as high as ISO 800. Its 2.5-inch LCD screen is nice and bright, and it leaves just enough room for an optical viewfinder. Unfortunately, the viewfinder is just above the center of the LCD screen, forcing you to turn your head uncomfortably or polish the LCD with your nose.

Beyond the standard automatic and manual-ish settings--it lacks shutter- and aperture-priority exposure modes--the camera offers a nice handful of scene presets. Included are standard shooting modes such as nighttime, portrait, and kids and pets. It also includes Canon's Color Accent and Color Swap modes, gimmicky but fun options that let you switch colors in photos or take artsy, everything-is-black-and-white-except-for-a-toy shots. The IXUS 800 IS can also shoot video at a standard 30fps in VGA resolution or at 60fps in QVGA (320 x 240) for effects such as slow motion. The camera offers Canon's thorough color-adjustment settings. If manual and preset white-balance options aren't enough, you can tweak individual colors until they look just right.

Performance
The IXUS 800 IS's quick and responsive performance hits the right note. A shutter lag of 0.5 second in bright light and 0.8 second in dim light are about average for an ultracompact, but its 1.5-second time to first shot and 1.6-second shot-to-shot time definitely rise above the crowd. Even with the onboard flash enabled, shot-to-shot time rose to only 1.9 seconds. And it keeps up the pace in continuous-shooting mode--about 2.1fps in burst mode for an effectively unlimited number of shots.

Shooting speed
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Typical shot-to-shot time

Time to first shot

Shutter lag (typical)

Casio Exilim EX-Z850

2.7 

2.1 

0.5 

Canon PowerShot A530

2.8 

2.1 

0.5 

Fujifilm FinePix V10

2.0 

1.5 

0.5 

Canon Digital IXUS 800 IS

1.6 

1.5 

0.5 

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ3

2.6 

2.9 

1.0 

Image Quality
Though it's the first IXUS to use Canon's optical image stabilization system, the 800 IS does a very good job of minimizing blur. Zoomed-in photos look crisp and clean with image stabilization, and wide-angle, low-light photos suffer less blur than usual.

Image quality, much like performance, rates as excellent. The IXUS 800 IS reproduces color very well, and images are clean with few processing flaws. Photos remain consistent and noise-free at low-to-moderate ISO speeds and are acceptable even at ISO 400. At ISO 800, we noticed some distinct noise in our photos, but it was a clean, grainlike noise that left the images very usable. Furthermore, lens sharpness remains relatively consistent around the edges, unlike with some similar cameras. This helps keep fringing to a minimum.

The Canon Digital IXUS 800 IS is a very strong, compact digital camera that produces great pictures. Its price is a bit high compared to that of its little brothers, the IXUS 60 and IXUS 65, but its great image stabilization and subsequent blur-free photos are worth the extra few quid.