Reviews : Hardware : Digital Cameras : Compact Digital Cameras
Digital Cameras Buying Guide: There are many makes and models of digital cameras on the market. Read on to determine the right digital camera for you. Read more...
Stop and read this buying guide!
Compact Digital Cameras
Click images to select and enlarge
Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS - Left
Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS - Right
Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS - Front
Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS - Back
Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS - Top
Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS - Bottom
Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS - Perspective
Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS - Perspective
Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS3.00Explain star rating
RRP
$749.00

Price range

Review Date

Wednesday, 24th of January, 2007

Features

Camera Resolution : 7.1 MP
Digital Zoom : 4x
ISO Speeds : 100
ISO Speeds : 1600
ISO Speeds : 200
ISO Speeds : 400
ISO Speeds : 80
ISO Speeds : 800
Optical Zoom : 3.8x

What's Hot

Nice colour in shots, great design, fast

What's Not

High chromatic aberration, some sharpness issues, noisy at high ISOs

The Final Word

The IXUS 850 IS is a very speedy camera that sports a stylish design and offers good colour representation. Image quality problems including chromatic aberation and noise at higher ISO levels do however impact on it's performance.

Notes

# This product is no longer available directly from the manufacturer. It may be available in retail and distribution channels, or second hand. The price displayed is the price at review time and the last available recommended retail price.

View test results ...

All of our cameras are tested using Imatest, which provides standardised benchmarks that can be directly compared across models. By generating a specific score we can give you hard facts to support our reviews and make sure you make the best decision possible.

Sharpness

Sharpness is potentially the most important element of a picture. The sharper a shot, the more depth and clarity it will appear to have. Sharpness is a term used to describe the boundary between one section of colour and another. The more defined this border is, the sharper the shot. It is measured by comparing the distance it takes a pixel to change from one colour value to the other. All cameras will blur to some extent, but in good models it won't be noticeable until you really zoom in to extreme levels. The higher the value, the better the camera; anything over 1300 should be considered excellent.

Chromatic Aberration

Cameras with Chromatic Aberration are often attributed as having poor sharpness, but this is not the case at all. Chromatic Aberration is caused by light refracting at incorrect angles as it passes through the lens. It occurs around the edge of a shot and presents itself as colour fringing, which can destroy the clarity in those areas. Chromatic Aberration is measured in terms of its distance from the centre. A lower percentage is good. Anything below .05 should be considered fairly good.
Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS - SFR Test Photo
Sharpness score: 1312 LW/PH
Chromatic aberration score: 0.157 % of dist. to corner
Photo used for this test. Download original image (0.00MB).
Sharpness Graph
Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS - Sharpness Graph
Chromatic Aberration Graph
Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS - Chromatic Aberration Graph

Please see the Imatest Web site for more information on this test suite.
Compare Prices - Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS
Comparison Shopping: Prices and Stores

Store Price Total price  
Canon Digital IXUS85 IS Camera Black
Buy it at Tassietek Online
in Australia
5.0
trusted store
$301.14
+
Shipping:
Check site
Check siteBuy it at Tassietek Online
Tassietek Online
CANON IXUS85ISB BLACK CAMERA BONUS 2GB SD CARD
Buy it at Wireless 1
in Australia
Arr
$309.00
+
Shipping:
Check site
Check siteBuy it at Wireless 1
Wireless 1
Canon IXUS85ISB Black DiG!C III, 10MP, 3x Optical Zoom, 2.5 inch LCD, SD, O...
Buy it at Inprintations
in Australia
Arr
$382.00
+
Shipping:
$10.00
$392.00Buy it at Inprintations
Inprintations
Market Place
 
close