Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon Ixus V3 Digital Camera [3MP 2xOptical]

I have recently bought the Canon Ixus V3 camera and am mightily impressed with its tiny size, sleek design, multitude of useful features and most importantly excellent picture quality!

I bought the camera as a 'step up' from my Kodak DC215 1 megapixel camera; it was quite difficult handing over that sum of cash when I already had an acceptable camera. However, any fears were instantly quashed when I took my first shots with this cam, it is a truly amazing piece of engineering that takes the most precise and clear shots. I favour the high resolution super fine shooting mode as it makes sense to take the best quality pics all of the time, there is little point in spending this type of money on a camera to limit it to 640x480!

One of the features that came with the camera is the 'movie mode' and to be honest I was sceptical about it before I bought it; presuming that the movie quality would be shoddy and hardly worthwhile. I have to admit just how wrong I was; the movies it can take are of an excellent quality considering they are shot from a tiny 'digital still' camera, the only drawback being slightly tinny audio, hardly a major problem!

The best accompaniment to this camera is a large memory card, preferably a 128 or a 256mb card. This is required due to the large file size of the snaps taken. I have also invested in a spare battery for the camera; this is a sensible purchase as it doesn't cost very much and provides a bit more piece of mind if you are away on a long trip and are worried your battery may run out at precisely the wrong moment (which is always the case!)

Overall I would recommend this camera to anyone who was in the market for a good quality camera at a reasonable price. It does everything you could possibly want a digital camera to do and is wrapped up in a super small shell that won't feel out of place in your pocket!

This has got to be the worlds best smallest Digital Camera, The ammount of features is incredible and i still wonder how it works, You have a camera no bigger than the size of your hand and inside you have the compact flash card and a battery as well as all the Lenses and circuitry! Plain Unbeleivable i think...

I normally use the Large/Super Fine Setting ( Hence why i just bought the 256 mb Viking Card from here ) and on 256 mb card at the max setting you would normally fit about 154 images.

The camera is a 3.2 Mega Pixel one and with this ammount of pixels you can have prints done at the size of 10' X 6' with no loss of detail... This camera is worth every penny as if you look at the 4 mega pixel ones your only talking slightly better picture definition but a more bulky camera and an extra £200 minimum outlay to purchase one.

It weighs not very much either ( 184g without the battery and flash card ) but like a mobile phone they dont weigh any noticable difference with the battery on / off.

I have waited a while to buy a digital camera and only had mine now for a few weeks, I have had the opportunity to play with a canon G2 for a few hours and personally think that the V3 is much better for the price you pay as the more expensive 4 mp cameras have too many features to actually know what your doing unless your a fully qualified photographer...

Buy this and a 256 mb compact flash card if you want a small light weight state of the art digital camera that will fit in any ladies handbag or your pocket with ease.

Until now I had been waiting for a couple of years for a digital camera to come out with the complete package. As a graphic designer my criteria for the camera was that it had to be quick and easy to use, take good quality images and was compact and small enough to take everywhere with me. I considered the Konica KD-400 and Kyocera Finecam S3/S4 for a while but they didn’t feel as solid as the Ixus series. I needed enough confidence in a camera to take good quality images for presentations and as reference source, the V3’s 3.2 mega pixels certainly provides this coupled along with the filming feature.

I have found it very simple to use, you can just use it as a point and click camera or use the other features in manual mode such as shutter speed and ISO settings to created something a bit more dramatic. While in playback mode you can view all the settings you have used for that particular shot, so if you want to reproduce it, you know exactly what to do. So whether you are a novice or an experienced hand, the V3 certainly has enough features to keep you happy. The automatic rotation feature in playback mode has been very useful too. This allows you to view all of your images the right way up no matter which way round you have taken them.

I would advise buying a 128 mb card or at least a 64mb card with the camera, as the 16 mb card that it comes with fills up in no time especially if you are thinking of taking it away with you. A 128 mb card in 640x480 mode will hold up to 1357 images, 2048x1536 will hold up to 274, not bad for a week away. I haven’t used it constantly yet, but no doubt if you are away for a while, it is a good idea to get a spare battery – just in case!

2 years later I’ve finally bought one, but I had to feel confident enough to part with my hard-earned cash. I think the Canon Ixus V3 certainly does this.

I short listed several cameras for my first proper digital camera, these were the Fuji F601, Minolta F100 and Ixus V2. The Ixus was preferred as I've already got an Ixus z70 APS camera and am fairly please with that and like the styling. So I was pretty much set on the Ixus v2 only problem was the low 2 mega pixels. So when the V3 was launched this seemed to be the perfect package and after more than two weeks I'm not dissapointed.

The camera is absolutely great, get yourself a 256Mb compact flash card which will store something like 156 shots at the highest resolution, or several thousand at the lowest. I have taken lots of photos (mainly of my three children) and have to say i have already got some of the best shots ever - even better than 'professional' photos. Sure the camera is great, but with the LCD screen and a never ending film you can just snap away until you get "The Shot".

The prints are sharp and clear and A4 prints from my Epsom 830 printer are indistinguishable from those from photolabs , they are also far superior to those taken on my APS camera or previous 35mm SLR equipment. Very impressed.

The Ixus V3 is also very tiny (perhaps too small), but all the controls are easy to use. The battery life seems quite good too, probably around 200 shots with mixed use of flash, reviewing shots, zooming etc.

The package is great, only criticism is 16Mb CF card is too small to be of any use, and ..it really wouldn't take much for Canon to have included a case!

It really is !! The Canon Ixus v3 really is a clever, compact and versatile digital camera. I looked at all the alternatives before buying and on comparison for my needs, the v3 came out in front. I've had it 3 days and been through all the options and tried various tests - I'm very happy with the outcome. I've only tried a few inside shots but these were very good. The numerous outdoor shots I've taken are simply brilliant, the detail is incredible.

I've upgraded to a 128Mb Viking compact flash card which I think is probably a must, I've also bought a non-Canon case to protect the camera when I'm out and about. As stated in previous reviews here, the only real letdown is the fact that Canon only supply a 16Mb card and no case with the camera but don't let that put you off buying it.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist and not easily impressed, but I am impressed with the v3.