Canon IXUS 185

Really poor quality pictures and case – I didd't want to insult or upset any Opshop buyer so just left this camera in a "street library" box where anyone can take or swap items for free. It went. I hope whoever took it enjoyed it more than me ... I'm not any Canon, i have th tiniest compact they ever made (even has a view viewfinder!) a EOS DSLR and a G9 (cross between DSLR and compact, think micro 4/3). I have what is now a relatively old iPhone (XR) but I expected the Canon IXUS 185 to outperform it. It doesn't. Don't waste your money go for either abetter phone and expect t get 3-4 years use from it or better still something with 1nch or above sensor in it ... they can be pricey but second hand got for probably the same price as the Canon 185.

Good Cheap Travel Camera – Pros: Shoots crisp, clear 20MP quality (for less, technical people thats about 60% better than an iPhone) Shoots HD (good, not as good as a newer iPhone) Small and cheap (its smaller and cheaper than a new phone) Cons: ONLY 720p (not 1080p which is full HD or 4K/UHD ) Charges via a removable battery (for an entry level camera it would be better if you plugged it in via USB)

Cheap feeling (feels cheapish but for under $200 i dont think thats and issue

Cheap and meh. Really don't bother with it – Interesting side-note to start off with: I tried to post the following review on JB Hi-Fi's website where I purchased the camera from - and it got rejected. Gee, I wonder why? I bought this camera on sale from JB Hi-Fi because i needed something better quality than my cheap smart phone camera. The Pros: Small, light, compact. easy point and shoot.

Photo quality varies depending on the subject of your photo.

Camera is better at taking some low-light photos than my smart phone. Text on images are slightly sharper and less blurry - text can be read without too much distortion/ noise.

Good for taking ebay photos i.e. dvds, video games boxes etc; or outdoors happy- snaps of your mates and family or the environment.

The Cons: Many.

First of all the camera does not come with any connection cable for your PC. This is a relatively cheap camera with no Wi-fi function, it should of at least come with a cheap USB transfer/ charging cable.

Second problem: No on board memory storage - not even a few measly kilobytes. So, you better have a spare SD card lying around if you want to test or use this camera at all.

Third problem: The battery. Since the camera does not come with any USB cable, the battery must be taken out of the camera and placed in the charging cradle provided.

What was the point of this charging cradle at all? It would of just been easier to include a cheap USB charging cable to plug into the computer. (you can get a cheap one from ebay for a little as $3.00 AUD or less)

Forth problem: The zoom function. While the camera can take fairly clear photos using the default settings, it has a real issue with the clarity of the photo when using the digital zoom. It doesn't seem to matter how far or close you are to a subject, the second that you try to use the zoom function more than 1x or 2x digital the distance, the image just goes grainy. If you want a decent close-up shot of anything you have to physically bring the camera close to the subject. The camera will detect that you are holding the lens close to an object and automatically change the focus to "close-up mode". Some items will come out good and some will come out mediocre.

My final thought is don't bother with this camera.

If you're interested in taking some really basic ebay/online photos that are clear enough, it's ok for that; but if you need to take good, high-quality photos for an online store or product photography then i say it's a better idea to invest in a high performance compact or DSLR camera. They cost over $500 or more but it's an investment and at least you won't be wasting your time with this.

Thanks for reading.