Canon Ixus 870

Admittedly, appearance should be one of the last factors considered by prospective camera buyers but there is no doubt that the Canon 870 is a fairly attractive piece of technical equipment. Also available is the "gold" finished version, which looks almost like a piece of jewellery. In terms of size, it's about the same as a pack of playing cards, which means it fits easily into a pocket or handbag.

The Canon Ixus 870 is more than just a good looking digital camera, it packs serious photographic technology. The lens is the equivalent of a 28 millimetre-112 millimetre, which provides a much wider angle of view than most of its competitors. Previously only available on high-end models is Canon's image-stabilization technology. Now also a feature of the Canon Ixus 870 IS, his means that with a bit of effort you can produce acceptably sharp images without a tripod down to about 1/25 of a second.

Also available in the Canon 870 is automatic face detection. This works pretty well and usually can detect a face even in part-profile. There is even a gimmicky Face Self-Timer function that will wait for you to rejoin the group before it photographs the group. It has 19 scene modes as well as a handy macro setting and a 30fps VGA movie mode.

Boasting Canon's DIGIC 4 processing technology, the Canon 870 provides less noise at the top end of ISO settings though at 1600 there is still a lot of noise but still not bad for this class of camera.

Featuring an 28mm wide-angel lens, the Canon Ixus 870 IS takes great photos of beautiful landscapes and great group shots. Viewing your favorite photos has never been so good with the awesome 3.0 inch PureColor LCD screen.

It's not a "serious" Canon Digital camera in the usual sense and no one is going to mistake the Canon 870 for one. There is no manual mode and no optical viewfinder for example. But no biggie if all you want are fabulous photos, then this camera won't disappoint.