Canon Ixus 1000 HS review

Normal-speed video capture was a different story, with the 1920×1080 resolution capturing stacks of detail. Autofocus and zoom were active during recording, and their motors were inaudible on the high-quality stereo soundtrack. Low-light videos were noisy, though, particularly in the shadows. The 1080p video files are massive, with 34Mbit/s AVC video and uncompressed audio consuming around 250MB per minute. The upside is that this is one the best video modes we’ve seen from a pocket-sized camera, matched only by the 4x zoom Sony TX7. The TX7’s videos are cleaner but its wide-angle clips suffer badly from barrel distortion.

There are a few reasons why we’re in two minds about recommending the Ixus 1000 HS. The poor battery life is the worst offender, but the lack of manual controls or a proper wide-angle lens and the low-resolution screen also count against it. The excellent Samsung WB650 rights all these wrongs and now costs just £190. However, the Ixus 1000 HS comes out on top in the areas that really matter. Its image quality in low light is excellent, an area where all of its rivals struggle. Its 1080p video mode is a cut above the others’ 720p modes. Its continuous mode is seriously fast, and elsewhere, it’s fast enough. It’s also incredibly slim for a 10x zoom camera. The bottom line is that this is the best pocket-sized ultra-zoom camera currently available.