Canon Ixus 1000 HS

The Ixus 1000 HS is the second addition to the HS series, alongside the Ixus 300 HS we tested this summer. Both models have a 10-Megapixel backlit sensor, but the 1000 HS can also boast a powerful 10x zoom lens (36-360 mm) and an HD video mode.

Handling

We weren't entirely convinced by the angular, chiselled body of the Ixus 1000 HS. The slightly retro look doesn't really work, and in spite of its sleek metal front, the camera's overall design failed to impress us. Obviously, that's a matter of personal taste, though. The screen only has 230,000 dots, which is a little low for a 3-inch display. Plus, we found that the screen reproduced colours in a rather haphazard manner. The on-screen picture flows smoothly in bright daylight but becomes fuzzy and lacks sharpness in low light.

The 10x zoom and the zoom controls are pleasant to use (two speeds for greater precision), but the lens has no real wide angle at just 36 mm. The controls and interface are simple, and the camera is easy to get the hang of using. The Auto mode works like a dream and you can start recording video at the simple touch of a button—what could be easier? There's a P mode that lets you change a few settings and chose a specific scene mode or effect. However, there are no A or S modes for more creative photographers.

Responsiveness

There's good news and bad news here. Although the 1000 HS takes just over 3 seconds to start up, once it's up and running the autofocus is fairly responsive in bright light. However, in low light we found this little compact couldn't lock on to subjects particularly easily, and in our test studio, it wasn't able to focus on the Barbie head with lighting under 3 Lux. Another disappointment is the burst mode, which barely gets over 3 fps—that's really quite poor compared to the likes of the Sony WX5 and its 10 fps!

Picture Quality

We've already seen this 10-Megapixel backlit CMOS sensor in the 300 HS. Noise is therefore handled in exactly the same way, with granularity kept well under control up to 400 ISO, and at 800 ISO the pictures are still perfectly suitable for A4 prints. Beyond that, smoothing becomes stronger but there's still very little granularity. In fact, you could still get some pretty decent 4" x 6" prints with these shots. Typically, the backlit CMOS sensor shows the same problems we already noticed in the 300 HS: at 125 ISO and in bright sunlight, pictures noticeably lack contrast and will need to be retouched on a computer afterwards.


The 10x f/3.4-5.6 zoom lens only starts at 36 mm and therefore offers no real wide angle. It ensures good image quality with plenty of detail, consistency across the frame and no distortion. With the zoom half way out, picture quality starts to suffer and the shots lack sharpness. Things are no better in telephoto (360 mm) either, and coloured fringes are clearly visible in all highly contrasted zones. However, we do like the 1 cm macro mode, which makes this zoom lens even more versatile.

Exposure is just about OK and white balance is acceptable in good light conditions. Under tungsten lighting, you're better off switching to the appropriate pre-set mode.

Video

The Ixus 1000 HS is a real HD pocket camcorder. It films 1080 video at 24 fps (too bad for action scenes!) with decent stereo sound and an optical zoom. The zoom lens can be used nice and slowly for smooth transitions and it doesn't make too much noise. Automatic focusing works well but it's not possible to take a photo while filming. There's also a 30 fps mode that films in 1280 x 720 pixels.

Videos are recorded as .MOV files with H.264 compression, which makes post-editing easier than with AVCHD files. The picture quality is pretty good too, with noise in low light better controlled than in many models we've tested. However, it's still no match for a stand-alone camcorder.