And here she is. My eldest daughter, all of nine yrs old almost ran off with it. She adored the looks. Maybe not so strange the Design Centre in London selected this as an example of good design.
Of course she is auto everything. No exposure compensation, no selectable AF points, no nothing. You can select three image modes, which are really just imprints in the rebate telling the processor how to crop the negative. You can always print whichever size you want later. The panoramic mode is of course enticing, until you find out it only uses half the negative. APS film was mostly ASA 200 and up. And even at 200 the prints were grainy, full frame, not to mention what happened when cropped.
Auto flash of course. which is not much use other than for close-ups, certainly not fill. The lens is a 24-48mm (equiv?) zoom. 1:4.5 to 6:2. Not particularly bright. Nor very sharp when I look at the prints in earnest. Not very happy being pointed in the general direction of the sun, nor in bright diffused light. Could have done with a lens hood. But for a camera that would fit into a 20 pack of cigs, It is not half bad. Mine saw more action in its day than any other camera I have used before or since. Been on travels across half the world, dropped on ski slopes, trodden on, bashed against rocks, used in the mountains at 20C below, and in deserts at 50C above, and underwater in the red sea in a plastic bag. Changed the CR2 battery, and found a cartridge still loaded with 5 shots left. Fired her up and she works. Even the wireless remote still sets the camera off, in either red-eye pre-flash mode or just instantly.
Might very well consider going over to FPP and ordering some APS film for her. I still have a shop that processes APS down the road.
IXUS by
Eirik0304, on Flickr
