Canon's IXUS 970IS is its latest compact digital camera that's aimed at those who want a stylish point and shoot that they can slip into their back pocket.
The 970IS is a sleek compact digital camera with a curved design that makes it comfortable to hold in your hand. The 2.5-inch LCD screen has great clarity and makes it easy to frame your images, as well as read the menu options with ease. Connectivity is kept simple with a single USB port on the right hand side of the camera that also serves as an A/V out to your television. The SDHC card slot and the battery both located at the bottom of the camera.
Canon has made the button layout clean, leaving the buttons uncluttered on the back panel with the majority of functionality centered on the MultiControl dial and the shooting mode dial. Navigating the various menu options was easy as they weren’t buried deep within menus.
The mode dial allows you to switch between Auto, Manual, SCN (scene presets) and movie modes. Unlike some other cameras on the market, the 970IS lacks a Program mode which provides the ease of Auto mode but allows you to get familiar with some of the settings, such as the ISO. This means that with the 970IS you either have to let the camera take care of everything or you have to be comfortable enough to work your way around the settings in Manual mode.
Once in Manual mode, settings such as ISO from 80 to 1600, white balance, exposure and continuous shooting can be modified. Using this mode also opens up additional options such as photo stitching and colour adjustment via the camera's circular dial.
