Ixus 800 IS

[tks]

How's the batt life of the 800IS? I read the Ixus 65 can only take 160 shots. That's very few.

I don't know about the Ixus 800IS but I used to own the Ixus V3, and I suppose the batteries are about the same... small and proprietary. And the case metallic.

After some months, the batteries can take less than 50 shots, when flash is used. And under winter conditions, where the camera is very cold, the batteries can take like 5 to 10 shots before it dies. Put it in your pocket and take out again, maybe you can take another 2 to 3 shots. Both old and new batteries behaved similarly. On the other hand, my S1 IS, with its plastic body and AA batteries, had absolutely no problems at all.

That was my experience. I think if you can get 160 shots, that is very good already, for a camera of this size.

 

[ricleo]

opps! missed out your question on battery life and histogram.

1) There is no live histogram while shooting, only histogram for review after shooting.

2) From the first initial charge, my ixus 800 lasted just over 320 shots before the low battery warning started flashing. I changed batteries immediately upon the low battery warning, so i have no idea how many more shots can it go on for.

This 320 shots consisted of 80% non flash and 20% flash shots approximately, and with plenty of image review by me and my friends on the 2.5 inch LCD as we were on an overseas trip.

Over the 4D3N trip, I took about 650 images, and survived on one original battery and one OEM battery. 2 fully charged batteries for 4 days and 600+ images, pretty good battery life i must say

 

[kiwi2]

Thanks ricleo!

Oh I see, I'm impressed with your Chinatown shots! Cos it was not stated which ISO setting u used then. Indeed, at ISO400, it looks clean. It really puts the Panasonic one to shame.

The battery life sounds encouraging too. 300+ images sound very reasonable to me.

I have no doubt now.. Was initially thinking of getting the Panasonic due to its wide 28mm but I do place emphasis on image quality. It is clear to me now that the Panasonic performs miserably compared to Canon. Glad Canon still rockz!

 

[daphz]

Thanks ricleo!

Oh I see, I'm impressed with your Chinatown shots! Cos it was not stated which ISO setting u used then. Indeed, at ISO400, it looks clean. It really puts the Panasonic one to shame.

The battery life sounds encouraging too. 300+ images sound very reasonable to me.

I have no doubt now.. Was initially thinking of getting the Panasonic due to its wide 28mm but I do place emphasis on image quality. It is clear to me now that the Panasonic performs miserably compared to Canon. Glad Canon still rockz!

Yes kiwi2, canon over panasonic, anytime!

btw, I am no photography guru, but Canon Ixus 800 has a WS(widescreen) feature too. However I think it is less 'authentic' than the Panasonic one. Canon just crops out the top and bottom to give you a so-called 'wide screen'. But good enough, I say.

 

[kiwi2]

Haha, fellow Canon supporter!

Daphz, I tink u are referring to the 16:9 landscape format is it? I dun really know how it works, yes like u said, they probably crop the top and bottom but I tink it should be the same with all digicams rite?

When I referred to the 28mm wide angle earlier, I meant the smallest focal length of the cam, not the 16:9 image format. The Panasonic one is one of the rare compacts that has such a wide perspective.

 

[ricleo]

to tell you the truth, i would have gotten the Fx-01 over the ixus if the panasonic sensor was better at handling noise, and if the operation of the camera was faster... I like the field of view of a 28mm lens, and somehow the OIS feels slightly more effective than the IS on the IXUS.

during my trip, i felt the limitations of the 34mm lens (at wide angle) on the ixus prevented me from getting some of the shots/perspectives I wanted. some people will say, just step a few steps backward...but when you are in an enclosed area, you don't get the luxury of space.

 

[rvf79]

how abt sony W50>? any comments comparing with FX01 n ixus60?

 

[Hexlord]

to tell you the truth, i would have gotten the Fx-01 over the ixus if the panasonic sensor was better at handling noise, and if the operation of the camera was faster... I like the field of view of a 28mm lens, and somehow the OIS feels slightly more effective than the IS on the IXUS.

But does noise matter? Or taking great photographs?

Great photographs = low noise? ;p

 

[daphz]

how abt sony W50>? any comments comparing with FX01 n ixus60?

Sony? As much as I love the aesthetics of Sony, I can't help but agree that they are expensive and do not produce as good as Canon...

 

[ricleo]

But does noise matter? Or taking great photographs?

Great photographs = low noise? ;p

similarlly, does more noise = great photos?

but if given a choice would you prefer less noise in the panasonic series of sensors?

I agree that noise levels of panasonic sensors, although higher than other sensors between so 80-100, is still not very obstructive, so i can still accept it. 200 gets abit bad...but if lighting is still ok, still acceptable...

But! at iso 400 and above, noise becomes a very big issue....the chroma noise, and poor noise reduction algorithms really destroys alot of detail in the images.

For the new venus III, it gets worse at ISO 800-1600. the "Pixel binding" process panasonic usees removes all noise, all also in the process destroys all fine detail.....

If you shoot in low light conditions often enough, you'll know that an ISO usable up to only 100-200 is not enough. Without a tripod, not even OIS will allow you to shoot at shutter speeds of 1 sec and more.... the most i can manage is half a sec.

what do u think?

 

[rvf79]

Sony? As much as I love the aesthetics of Sony, I can't help but agree that they are expensive and do not produce as good as Canon...

w50 is cheaper than ixus60
430+ le

 

[mpenza]

during my trip, i felt the limitations of the 34mm lens (at wide angle) on the ixus prevented me from getting some of the shots/perspectives I wanted. some people will say, just step a few steps backward...but when you are in an enclosed area, you don't get the luxury of space.

can consider the Ricoh R4 too which has a 28-200 lens and CCD stabilisation. Pretty fast operations and not too noisy (at least compared with earlier Ixus series).

 

[ricleo]

can consider the Ricoh R4 too which has a 28-200 lens and CCD stabilisation. Pretty fast operations and not too noisy (at least compared with earlier Ixus series).

Yup! I was considering the R4 as well, went on down to best denki to play with the cam, but found the build quality and speed somewhat lacking. On paper specs, this cam was the best, with a 7x zoom from 28mm and CCD shift IS. But i was not sure about the image quality. Images posted on online reviews all seemed abit dark and gloomy (perhaps due to the weather), and the shots I took in best denki looked dull and blurry (no thanks to the lousy screen protector they had on.) Operating speed was acceptable, but when I played with the Ixus, wow... the speed difference was big!

For those looking to buy a compact camera, take a look at this comparision between 10 different compacts, pretty useful and not too unbiased

http://www.behardware.com/articles/620-1/survey-10-stabilised-digital-cameras.html

 

[Hexlord]

similarlly, does more noise = great photos?

but if given a choice would you prefer less noise in the panasonic series of sensors?

I agree that noise levels of panasonic sensors, although higher than other sensors between so 80-100, is still not very obstructive, so i can still accept it. 200 gets abit bad...but if lighting is still ok, still acceptable...

But! at iso 400 and above, noise becomes a very big issue....the chroma noise, and poor noise reduction algorithms really destroys alot of detail in the images.

For the new venus III, it gets worse at ISO 800-1600. the "Pixel binding" process panasonic usees removes all noise, all also in the process destroys all fine detail.....

If you shoot in low light conditions often enough, you'll know that an ISO usable up to only 100-200 is not enough. Without a tripod, not even OIS will allow you to shoot at shutter speeds of 1 sec and more.... the most i can manage is half a sec.

what do u think?

Actually to be honest, I don't really know about noise until someone mentions about it last time. And that is after I really peep into the photo itself.

Now, choosing a camera based on the noise level itself is not a good idea, as there are other things to consider too, such as colour, detail, sharpness, etc.

ISO 400 images are pretty bad, this I agree, but once you print them out would it really be something that stands out (noise that is)? I made some prints before and they all turn out rather nicely.

 

[kiwi2]

to tell you the truth, i would have gotten the Fx-01 over the ixus if the panasonic sensor was better at handling noise, and if the operation of the camera was faster... I like the field of view of a 28mm lens, and somehow the OIS feels slightly more effective than the IS on the IXUS.

during my trip, i felt the limitations of the 34mm lens (at wide angle) on the ixus prevented me from getting some of the shots/perspectives I wanted. some people will say, just step a few steps backward...but when you are in an enclosed area, you don't get the luxury of space.

Yes I agree with you. I was almost prepared and made up my mind to get the Panasonic one over the 800IS. Cos the FX-01 is similar in functions with the 800IS except that it has the advantage of the 28mm wide angle. Slightly cheaper too.

But luckily I decided to read more and discovered to my "horrors" the noise issue. I'm actually surprised Panasonic even dare to advertise their ISO1600 capability with that kind of noise level. In fact, even at ISO400 already, it's quite unacceptable by today's standards. At least the one set by Canon.

So I think I'd rather sacrifice the 28mm for something with nicer image quality. To me, u can have all the fanciful bells and whistles in a cam, but if the image is not of standard, can forget about it. The noise of the Panasonic just puts me off.

Well, I guess no cam is ever perfect. We have to see what our priorities are and go for the one that meets them best.

Has anyone considered Casio EXSlim?

 

[daphz]

w50 is cheaper than ixus60
430+ le

oh I didn't know that! Anyway, to recall what a salesman once told me, even if Sony is upfront cheaper, their aftersales is more expensive, parts, etc. No grounds for me to believe him, just my 2 cents anywayz...

 

[ricleo]

oh I didn't know that! Anyway, to recall what a salesman once told me, even if Sony is upfront cheaper, their aftersales is more expensive, parts, etc. No grounds for me to believe him, just my 2 cents anywayz...

I think for sony, the more expensive stuff are the original sony accessories and the memory sticks, which costs more den CF cards and SD cards.

 

[mpenza]

Yup! I was considering the R4 as well, went on down to best denki to play with the cam, but found the build quality and speed somewhat lacking. On paper specs, this cam was the best, with a 7x zoom from 28mm and CCD shift IS. But i was not sure about the image quality. Images posted on online reviews all seemed abit dark and gloomy (perhaps due to the weather), and the shots I took in best denki looked dull and blurry (no thanks to the lousy screen protector they had on.) Operating speed was acceptable, but when I played with the Ixus, wow... the speed difference was big!

For those looking to buy a compact camera, take a look at this comparision between 10 different compacts, pretty useful and not too unbiased

http://www.behardware.com/articles/620-1/survey-10-stabilised-digital-cameras.html

My experience with the images for the R4 was pretty ok (my other main camera is the Canon 20D) The "screen cover" is not meant to be used as a protector for everyday use lah.

Canon Ixus 800 IS looked fast from the review Btw, R4 has a newer and less noisy sensor compared to the R3 (where sensor noise was a big problem) reviewed in the link. Read that the sensor could be from Sony and the same as the one used in the new Canon Ixus series.

Btw, saw the Panasonic LX1 going for $699 at Courts, Centrepoint. It's worth a look too for those who don't mind a slightly bigger body.

 

[daphz]

A couple of night shots with the Ixus 800

Click for larger photo

Click for larger photo

I played around with one of the scene modes, and these were the best two results.

 

[ricleo]

hi daphz! nice pics, wow where're you now? Dubai?