Canon Ixus 255 HS review

The Ixus 255 HS is the third ultra-compact camera we’ve seen in recent weeks that comes with a 10x zoom and Wi-Fi. It’s an appealing combination of features for casual snapping – the extended zoom gives a clear benefit over smartphone cameras, while Wi-Fi means you can transfer directly to a smartphone for instant online sharing.

In most other respects, the 255 HS resembles the Canon Ixus 230 HS, which we loved for its exceptional image quality and stylish design. The new model ditches its predecessor’s awkward side-mounted Menu button and mode switch for a more conventional layout of controls beside its bright 3in screen.

Once again, the mode switch only has two positions. This time, one accesses a Movie Digest mode that captures a couple of seconds of video just before each photo is taken, and joins these clips together into a single video file. In practice, our Movie Digest videos comprised lots of fumbling about with the camera mostly pointed at the floor.

We’d much rather have a switch for the Auto and Program modes – the former is fully automatic, while the latter unlocks various controls such as exposure compensation, white balance, ISO speed and continuous mode. The various modes, scene presets and photographic controls are accessed via the Func Set button, and Canon’s tried-and-tested menu system is reasonably quick to navigate.

Performance is a little faster than on the Ixus 230 HS, at 1.8 seconds to switch on and shoot, and the same time between shots. That’s slower than its main rivals, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ9 and Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-WX200, but it’s respectable enough. Continuous shooting is relatively slow at 2fps, but we appreciate how it keeps going until the card is full. There’s also a scene preset that captured 3-megapixel photos at 5.3fps.

Wi-Fi transfers are simple and elegant, with apps for Android and iOS giving responsive browsing and transfers at a choice of resolutions up to the full 12 megapixels. The app can also keep a GPS log, and use the data to geotag photos in the camera retrospectively. It’s not as neat as in-camera GPS but it’s nice to have the option when you find yourself in an unusual location. The camera can also join a home network for drag-and-drop access to files from a PC. There’s no remote shooting mode, though. Unlike most Wi-Fi cameras we’ve seen recently (including the Panasonic SZ9 and Sony WX200), you can’t use a phone or tablet as a remote control when taking photos.

Canon’s 12-megapixel HS-branded sensors have excelled for low noise over the last couple of years, giving crisp, lifelike details in bright conditions and serviceable results in low light where rival cameras have floundered. As such, we had high expectations for the Canon Ixus 255 HS, and it didn’t disappoint. It surpassed the excellent Ixus 230 HS in our studio scene with even sharper, more contrasted details while still maintaining a silky smoothness in block colours and tonal gradients. Comparisons with the Sony WX200 were harder to call – the Canon looked sharper at 100 per cent magnification but the Sony’s 18-megapixel resolution redressed the balanced. The Canon clinched it in subtle textures such as hair and foliage, though.

The dense, delicate details in this shot have been handled superbly, with no hint of speckled noise or smeary noise reduction

The same goes for these fine branches – it’s very rare to see this level of clarity from a compact camera

Low-light shots were better than both the Ixus 230 HS and the Sony WX200, with smoother colours and better detail retention at ISO 400 and above, and usable results all the way up to ISO 3200. It’s a stunning achievement for an ultra-compact camera, and means that there’s no need to use the flash when shooting under dim artificial lighting.

Shaded indoor skin tones are a particularly tough test, and this little camera passes with flying colours

There’s a little grain here at ISO 1600 but still plenty of detail – this is the best we’ve ever seen from an ultra-compact camera

The lens delivered superb results too, with extremely sharp focus at wide-angle and medium zoom settings. Details were slightly softer when zoomed right in, but the difference was usually pretty subtle. The 1cm macro mode produced superb results, too.

Crisp, smooth details at the wide end of the zoom…

… and not much to criticise at the telephoto end either

The powerful macro mode makes this moss look like strange alien flora

The 1080p video mode captured rich colours and extremely sharp details, and the powerful stabilisation kept handheld clips steady even when we zoomed right in. The autofocus was smooth and silent but the zoom motor was picked up by the microphone in quieter scenes. The ten-minute maximum clip length could be frustrating, though.

The Sony WX200 is an extremely attractive alternative with its even smaller design, faster performance, 30-minute videos and Wi-Fi remote viewfinder mode. However, the Canon takes the lead for image quality in low light, which is the toughest test for any compact camera. We have no hesitation in recommending either, but for us, the Canon Ixus 255 HS narrowly comes out on top.