Canon Ixus 120 IS help

[poolzey89]

Just wondering if anybody could give some feedback on this compact camera and some reviews.

I am looking to spend no more than £200, and wanted a camera to use when I go travelling in a few months time through England. After that, I will be taking it to university for 4 years. My main points are decent photos and fairly good short movies, build quality as I want to have it for hopefully 10+ years, easy to use and VERY, very small and light.

I am a real camera phobe. I know some basics, but nothing more.

I saw the canon ixus 120 IS, and fell in love with it.

Can someone give us a helping hand, and any other cameras they would recommend.

Cheers! Much appreciated!!

[chris-p]

There are several cameras I would recommend over the Ixus 120 for your £200 budget but if you want HD video (like you get on the Canon) your options are a little more restricted.

For my money the best one out there is the Panasonic DMC-FS33. It's around £180, has a touch screen, 720 HD video (same as the Canon), a storming 8x zoom (twice that of the Canon), is higher resolution, has a more powerful flash, manages 4.6 fps continuous shooting (the Canon does 0.8 fps) and has a considerably bigger screen on the back.

[poolzey89]

Hey thanks chris, much appreciated.

I have had a look at the fs33 that you suggested and it does look very smart and everything seems to be higher spec than the ixus 120. The only thing putting me off is the size, (not that it's huge). One of the most important things is size. I really want it to fit in my pocket, wearing fairly tight jeans, and the lumix looks a bit chunkier.

But thanks all the same, and I'll definately be considering that camera!

There are so many out there!!!!
So confusing

Cheers again chirs, and any other input is greatly welcome.

[chris-p]

If size is a big issue then it's hard to beat the Canon. There are other cameras that offer better zooms (for example) but they don't do 720 HD video (or some other feature).

To be honest there are hundreds of potential options and if you like the feature set of the Canon and it's within budget then you may as well go for it. Otherwise you'll spend days (or even weeks) on a forum with everyone telling you what they think you should buy.

I suppose the best advice is to prioritise your list of specifications. If size is more important than zoom range, the Canon wins. Is video more important that something else? etc. etc. But, as I said above, you could end up going roud in circles!!

[chris-p]

Or, to put it another way....

The Canon is the probably the best all round spec camera for its size, if not for it's money...

[poolzey89]

thankyou so much chris!
You've helped a lot.

Still not made a final choice, but now narrowed it down to some panasoincs, canons and a casio, but I'm still loving the ixus120.

Thanks again. (Plus I now know, what things to look out for)