My New Camera: Canon IXUS 265 HS

I have a new camera. It has taken me a long time to get around to buying a new one, and I settled on the Canon IXUS 265 HS.

I’ve been considering replacing my little point-and-shoot  (a Nikon Coolpix S3100) for a while, but I had trouble justifying it. There was nothing wrong with the Nikon. It worked; it was a small, easy-to-use camera that I carried in my handbag; I got photos I liked from it. Most of the photos you see my previous posts were taken with it, and it’s what I used in my recent filming experiments. But it also had its foibles, which were becoming increasingly irritating. Photos with the zoom (5x) were almost never clear, and the autofocus could take a while, meaning the moment had often passed before I could take the photo.

Choosing a New Camera

I had already decided that when I replaced my camera, I wanted one of the Canon IXUS range. Everyone we know with a Canon point-and-shoot likes their camera. Graham has been particularly happy with his PowerShot.

Once I had decided to buy a new camera, choosing one wasn’t difficult. I initially looked at the Canon IXUS 150. It also has the advantage of larger zoom.

First Impressions

I’ve had the Canon for about a week and half, and so far, I love it. It feels responsive, and fast to take photos (no more missed moments waiting for the autofocus), and the photos look clean.

It has 12x zoom, which I appreciated at the zoo last weekend. And unlike my previous camera, the zoomed in shots are still clear.

I think my favourite feature is the hybrid mode. It takes a few seconds of video with each photo, and creates a movie for you at the end of the day. I’m looking forward to trying it out at parties and events; I imagine it will be great for really capturing the moment.

The only problem I’ve had is with the WiFi photo transfer. Setting it up on my iPod Touch was easy, but setting it up on my laptop was impossibly complicated.

After hesitating for so long about buying a new camera, I couldn’t be happier with it.