Canon Digital Ixus 100 IS in Digital cameras

While Casio lays claim to having some of the thinnest models around in its Exilim range, for our money the Ixus 100 IS is the sexiest. At about 17mm thick and almost exactly the same width and height as a credit card, it's the smallest Ixus Canon has made. Its rounded edges and the gorgeous champagne-gold finish of our review model mean that as soon as you get it in your hand you simply don't want to give it back.

Being so tiny does bring a few feature compromises, but not many. The lens is limited to a 3x optical zoom, and bearing in mind the 33mm-equivalent setting when fully wide, that means you don't get much magnification at the zoomed-in end. In practice, though, you'll probably find the wide-angle setting more useful than a super-long zoom.

The megapixel count is 12.2, which is far more than most people need. You get all the features that are now standard across the majority of the Ixus range, including optical image stabilisation, plus face-detection and tracking. Like the Ixus 95 IS it also has an auto-macro mode, which we love. Image quality is great and more or less identical to the other Canon cameras here.

So there's no doubt the Ixus is a gorgeous piece of kit and, in most areas, it's lacking nothing. The only question is over its value for money. There's nothing this camera will do that the slightly cheaper - and almost as desirable - Ixus 95 IS won't do, and that means it doesn't pick up an award this month.

Author: David Fearon