Canon Ixus 310 HS

Zitat: Highly Pro: + 24mm super-wide-angle. + Fast f2.0 aperture (when zoomed-out) + 1080p movies at 24fps. + Excellent still and movie quality. Contra: - Touch screen a little insensitive. - No physical movie record button. - Relatively large and heavy. The Canon IXUS 310 HS / ELPH 500 HS is a 12.1 megapixel compact with a 4.4x zoom lens and a 3.2 inch touch-screen. This latest touch-screen Canon is packed with features that will appeal to both casual snappers with a little extra to spend as well as photo enthusiasts. The zoom lens provides a 24mm super-wide-angle field of view and has Canon´s optical image stabilisation for stills and Dynamic IS for movies. It´s optically bright too at f2.0 when zoomed-out. As well as fully automatic operation with Scene detection and Face AiAF it has Program auto and Aperture and Shutter priority semi-auto modes. Preset modes include Handheld Night Scene, which produces a composite image from a sequence, and a range of creative filter effects. The IXUS 310 HS / ELPH 500 HS can also shoot Full HD quality video at 1080p and additionally has a super Slow motion movie mode.

Zitat: Pro: + Good image quality + Stylish form factor + 1080p recording + Large touch screen with good visibility. Cons: - Noise in images and videos - Screen not very responsive - No dedicated video record button - Limited manual focus - Video capture file size restricted to 4 GB - Expensive.

Zitat: The Canon IXUS 310 HS´ swollen proportions suggest a 16x travel zoom capability might lurk beneath its exterior so it´s a slight disappointment to find a 4.4x optical zoom in its place. Whilst this is adequate for everyday snapping, it´s therefore left to the rear 3.2-inch, 461k dot LCD to deliver the wow factor. This monolith-like screen swallows up almost the entire backplate, just like on Panasonic´s FX77 which has the edge for portability. That said we preferred the larger function icons of the Canon for usability. In the final reckoning though, whilst doing away with most physical controls can make for a cool and minimalist appearance, when you´re in a hurry to find the setting you want it can be very easy to start to miss those dedicated physical function button and controls at your fingertips. Strip away the IXUS 310 HS´ touch screen control and by and large you have the cheaper IXUS 220 HS model lurking underneath, which boasts a slightly better battery life. In terms of handling we prefer the broader build and more solid feel of the IXUS 310 HS over its svelte sibling however, but there will be those who take the opposite view. As there is currently around £80 between them going by street prices at the time of writing, that may well be the decider for those seeking the best deal.