Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon Digital IXUS 85 IS Compact Camera - Silver (10 MP, 3x Optical Zoom) 2.5 inch High Resolution PureColor LCD II

Bought this camera because of the good reviews it received and because I already have, and am impressed with, a Canon digital SLR.
The great thing about this camera is that it can be used as a "point and press" gadget, but with minimal effort, it can perform a lot of the operations my SLR can. I like the optical viewfinder for those times when there is a lot of ambient light, but the screen allow easy picture composition.
Picture quality is excellent, and with a 4GB card, you can take hundreds of pictures at high quality without having to download - a boon if you can't easily get to a computer.
Overall, an excellent camera at a good price!

Stop looking at inferior cameras from other manufacturers - you'll never go wrong with Canon.

I would not recommend buying a Cannon Ixus, after just over a year mine failed with a lens error, after searching online I found this is a known fault with the cannon Ixus line. I contacted cannon and they refused to repair it unless I paid a large amount.

How unusual that so many people report the lens error that makes the camera unusable just after a year.

Bought this camera after a great deal of research - not disappointed at all in the camera. Easy to use in point and shoot mode, good range of extras for the more experienced. Used the camera first time in Venice and the results were fantastic. Good metering on Flash setting- does not bleach out faces. Video images acceptable for quality of lens. Recommend this camera to anyone.

As a long time fan of canon cameras, this is my fourth ixus, and the 85 is, continues to raise the bar, successfully addressing some of the shortfalls of previous models.
The key features of the ixus range are here continued a rugged sturdy design, which can deliver excellent pictures in a range of conditions, and can either be used as point and click, or can be set to manual, where the user has a degree of control over the settings.
The picture quality, as ever with canons, is excellent. in comparison with pictures shot on my canon slr using lenses which cost many time the price of this compact, the ixus comes surprisingly close, and with a little patience in learning the cameras settings, professional quality pictures can be obtained.
The new features of this model are surprisingly good, the face recognition, is quick and effective, recognizing one or more faces in a variety of conditions and adjusting the camera accordingly for best results, which can be quickly seen by using the new display setting which checks for sharpness in the image. (incredibly useful).
the new time lapse setting for video is good fun, and the macro (close-up) settings continue to improve, digital macro feature can give some great extreme close-ups.
in terms of build quality, the ixus is very sturdy, but its worth getting a case as the lenses system can get jammed up if grains of sand or likewise find their way inside the body or lenses, the new battery, memory card cover design is also a weak point, the hinge broke after a couple of months heavy use on mine.
the design has also changed enough to prevent the use of older underwater cases, but the ixus with an underwater case continues to be virtually indestructible, have tested the old cases to 50m+ scuba diving and they remain fully functional and watertight, as well as being able to absorb a lot of knocks in activities such as canyoning.
a very powerful and feature packed compact camera with a big resolution and impressive picture quality.