The Canon Ixus 255HS camera is novice friendly. Courtesy Canon
The Canon Ixus 255HS camera is novice friendly. Courtesy Canon

Canon on a winner but takes it too far



At first glance the Canon Ixus 255 HS appears to have it all - and then some.

At a time when compact digital cameras are competing with smartphones capable of taking photographs and catapulting them to social media sites in seconds, it is not enough just to point and shoot - or is it?

I have been a fan of the Ixus range for some years. Having owned a couple (I still pack my Ixus 210 whenever I travel) I find them versatile and they take a great picture.

But the 255 HS suffers similar downsides to my 210 - they are simply not simple to operate.

The 255 does, however, take steps to alleviate this.

The 210 uses a touchscreen to navigate through the settings, meaning there have been times my fat fingers struggled to press on the right option. As such I leave it set on auto - particularly since it resides in my belt pouch and is thrust into action when I have no time to set up a shot.

The 255, however, uses a series of buttons on the right of the screen. Again my fat fingers don't really come to grips with this but since the 255 HS uses new Canon technology dubbed Smart Auto, I can leave it on the auto setting more often. Smart Auto can detect 32 different scenes and applies the most appropriate settings to the shot. As I walked from a dimly lit room to a bright one, the camera adjusted its settings for my pictures.

For an entry level camera this is brilliant. I was extremely pleased with the results of just pointing and clicking. The 255 HS boasts a wide 24mm lens with 10x optical zoom with a 12.1MP CMOS, making it perfect for lowlight situations such as in a restaurant or at a concert.

However, having come up with a "foolproof" system, Canon then went and added Wi-Fi. And here is where it tries too hard.

Setting up the Wi-Fi system was not intuitive and despite repeated attempts it was almost too complicated to bother.

As with my 210 I found the easiest solution was plugging the 255 into the computer. In short this is a cool camera for a novice. Images and video are high standard and I was impressed by the zoom range and the Smart Auto is a gem. But the Wi-Fi system seems a bit redundant.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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Business Insights
  • Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
  • The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
  • US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
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TO A LAND UNKNOWN

Director: Mahdi Fleifel

Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa

Rating: 4.5/5

The%20specs
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MATCH INFO

Day 1 at Mount Maunganui

England 241-4

Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28

New Zealand 

Yet to bat

From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

Manchester City (0) v Liverpool (3)

Uefa Champions League, quarter-final, second leg

Where: Etihad Stadium
When: Tuesday, 10.45pm
Live on beIN Sports HD

AUSTRALIA SQUAD

Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry

Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000

Engine: 3.5-litre V6

Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm

Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km

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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Rating: 2/5
 
Results
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Racecard
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Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.