Canon IXUS 220 HS Review

Value for money: 17 out of 20 points, "Highly Recommended"

Canon's IXUS 220 HS is a beautiful little compact which, according to Camera Labs, seems to balance dimensions, features and usability perfectly. It feels great in the hand, boasts excellent video recording capabilities, including a super slow motion mode, and has a rather useful zoom range. The 2.7in screen feels a bit small, but overall, they wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

Using the automatic settings, the Canon IXUS 220 HS proved to be a capable little pocket camera which makes it difficult to take bad pictures, especially when using auto-scene select and the HS System to improve low light performance. IT Reviews believe that with some practice in using the different features, the special effects will provide lots of enjoyment as well.

Value for money: 5 out of 5 stars

It's hard to go wrong with the IXUS 220 HS and its full HD video recording capabilities, 32 scene modes, excellent image quality, superb picture noise control and good performance in high contrast situations. It's not as cheap as some of its rivals, but Digicambuyer reckon that as far as value for money is concerned, few other cameras can offer what this Canon does at the price.

Aside from the ability to zoom and autofocus while recording video, the Canon Ixus 220 HS doesn't present much of an advancement over its predecessor, the Canon Ixus 115 HS, says ExpertReviews. However, they point out, that this doesn't mean that this isn't an excellent camera; remarking that they could find very little to fault it for, and that its image quality is top-notch.

Aside from its brilliantly compact, attractive design, good range of shooting options and nice usability, CNet didn't think there was anything really exceptional about Canon's IXUS 220 HS. There are some welcome features such as 1080p video capture and an HDMI output, but overall, they don't think it does enough to justify its high price tag, and they'd suggest the IXUS 115 HS instead.

Value for money: 3 out of 5 stars

The best features of the IXUS 220 HS according to ePHOTOzine are its full HD video mode, macro capabilities and abundance of fun creative modes such as Toy Camera or Miniature, but it is somewhat of a letdown when it comes to picture quality, since it is too prone to chromatic aberrating, lens flare and ISO noise, besides having very poor battery life to boot.

Value for money: 8 out of 10 points

Cameras.co.uk decided that the Canon Ixus 220 HS makes a solid choice if you're in the market for a decent, pocketable digital camera, thanks to its great styling, overall quality, and solid performance. It proved quite adept at handling most photographic situations, provided images that were of printable quality, was easy to use, and had a decent selection of advanced options.

While it may come off as a bit pricey, the Canon IXUS 220 HS makes a decent choice if you want an automatic camera of reasonable quality, say the experts at MacWorld. They find that its slender design lends it true portability and are impressed by its clear, vivid photos; however, they also note that the shutter button seems a tad soft and that its tracking focus isn't perfect.

Pocket-lint really liked Canon's user-friendly, well-built IXUS 220 HS. Full HD video with stereo sound, HDMI output, and excellent low-light performance make it more than just another auto-compact, but its great Smart Auto mode means it's great for pointing and shooting too. There's no 3D feature, but that might be because Canon doesn't need to sell TVs. Overall, it's well priced.

Value for money: 9 out of 10 points

The IXUS 220 HS is another nice, pocket-sized point-and-shoot from Canon, according to TrustedReviews. They didn't find anything really spectacular here but it performed solidly and reliably. There's no 3D mode, but they really enjoyed its digital effects modes, and were pleased to find Full HD video recording, HDMI output and really low noise levels. It's reasonably priced too.

Value for money: 18 out of 20 points, "Gold Award"

The Canon IXUS 220 HS is described by What Digital Camera as an excellent choice if one wants a high quality, point-and-shoot camera, thanks to its great image results, stylish design and solid build-quality. They also note that in terms of features it's not too shabby either, boasting a 12.1Mp back-illluminated CMOS sensor, a solid ISO range, and full HD video capture.

“A good camera for on the go. Includes a super wide angle.”