A decade; It's a long time in any industry but it in the camera one it is a lifetime.
In the year 2000, 1.3MP was the norm for digital cameras, optical zoom scraped in a 2x and the chassis of a camera was positively brick-like.
The Canon Ixus 1000 HS is a celebration of the past 10 years of the digital Ixus range and, from first impressions, a decent marker for how far camera technology has come.
The Ixus 1000 HS is currently the slimmest camera on the market with a 10x optical zoom.
Looking at the casing, it is slim for the functionality it offers – the width of the camera is an impressive 22mm.
In the body you get some rather impressive functionality, including an ISO range up to 3200, a 10MP CMOS sensor and the ability to shoot 1080p Full HD video.
And when we say Fuill HD, it is at 24fps so it will look crisp when connected up to a Full HD TV.
This can be done via a mini HDMI, as there is a port for this on the camera.
The Ixus 1000 HS in the hand feels light, much lighter than you would expect from a cam packing a 10x optical zoom – considering the amount of glass that's needed to achieve this.
Flip the camera over and there's a nice and bright 3-inch screen on the back. Yes it is only LCD but the PureColor II G (TFT) technology seems to perk the colours up.
To scroll through the myriad menu options, there is a click wheel on the back. Situated on the right side, it's in just the right position to use with your thumb. Above this is the video record button.
The menu is as you would expect from an Ixus – functional but not flashy.
Options include around 20 scene modes, including the rather popular fish-eye effect and a miniature mode.
The demo we saw of the miniature mode was impressive, making real-life subjects look like they are on the set of Thomas The Tank Engine.
This is also an option which can be used in movie mode to impressive effect.
Add to this the Super Slow Motion movies at 240fps. This is one of the cooler features we have seen on a camera of this calibre – think Planet Earth style slow motion imagery and you are halfway there.
The video playback on this is smooth and the effect is fantastic. Originally designed with golfers in mind (so they can check out their swing in slow-mo) the effect looks just as good if you are, say, juggling. And we should know as a Canon exec tried it out.
The final feature which caught our eye was the camera's compatibility with Eye-Fi SD cards. Although this isn't a popular thing in the UK yet, the cards give your camera Wi-Fi capabilities, so you can upload photos on the go. Yes, it's a third part thing but Canon has introduced some extra functionality by allowing you to control the cards through the Ixus 1000's menu screen.
The Canon Ixus 1000 HS has a UK release date of September 2010, and is priced at £349.
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