Canon Digital IXUS 980 IS Reviews: Digital Compact Camera

+ There are numerous good points. The camera is feature packed and spec'd to a level which you'd expect to find in a DSLR. The pre-programmable print button is great feature for assigning various options (I've assigned mine for one touch manual white balance control- great for vivid underwater shots [although the scene underwater mode is also excellent]). The battery life is great, build quality superb and image quality fantastic. Having just returned from a diving trip to Scapa Flow (Orkney's) I now have a SDHC card with over 300 high res images both on land and underwater. It'll be a struggle to decide which ones to print, as there are many gems! These cameras are a must for any diver wanting to purchase a camera with manual white balance control, without running to the expense of a DSLR. The camera is a doddle to operate and the supplied software allows for a good degree of post image editing.....not that you should really need to with this camera in your pocket! For those wishing for a similar spec but with a large zoom I'd suggest the G10, which has the same number of features but comes with a larger zoom lens.

- Due to its compact architecture, the flash is a little close to the lens. Consequently when used with an underwater housing a shadow effect occure owards the lower right hand side of the image. This can be eliminated with the use of a separate underwater strobe, a worthwile investment for any keen underwater photographer. The digital zoom isn't worth using unless you have a very steady hand or tripod, as the noise created even in lower res shots can dramatically reduce the quality of the image. VGA movie recording rather than high definition has its drawbacks (although the camera was launched in October 2008, and technology has moved on. HD isn't the be-all and end-all in fact I've heard that people need to reduce the number of frames per second in order to playback many HD movies shot on cameras as their frame rate exceeds current DVD playback speeds.)

+ I was able to try out all the functions and get to grips with most in one Sunday afternoon. The controls and displays were easy to use and the manual surprisingly easy to follow.
When using the underwater housing it was easy to use all the buttons, to change settings/functions when wearing 3mm diving gloves, more difficult with thicker gloves.
The macro was brilliant, very easy to check live focus, it will be great for small criters like the Pigmy sea horses and nudibranch.

- I had read the Canon website about the produst and expected to be able to choose/define a white balance setting when using the Underwater mode, this is not an available option. However the Underwater setting does seem to compensate to a limited degree for white balance problems.
If using the flask and the underwater housing a shadow is produced by the lens extension 'tube'.. I will need to buy an external strobe.

+ Viewfinder, and predictive focussing.

- Reviewer left no comment

+ Image Quality above all, great build quality, excellent features

- for a pocket camera - none

+ Size. Manual controls

- Image noise