Canon IXUS 980 IS Digital Camera

The first impression of holding Canon IXUS 980 IS in my hand is the solid metal feeling. Canon IXUS 980 IS has 14.7MP 1/1.7 inch CCD image sensor which is larger than the most popular 1/2.3 inch type used in compact size digital cameras. The other important feature of Canon IXUS 980 IS digital camera is its full manual control, users can manually adjust the aperture and shuttle speed to achieve different effect. The manual control mode and slow synchronize flash mode of Canon IXUS 980 IS are very helpful features for advance users. In the following sample images, I am trying to achieve the background blur portrait (usually created by fixed focal length portrait lens in DSLR) with the Canon IXUS 980 IS compact size digital camera.

Now let's have a look at some of the photos taken by Canon IXUS 980 IS digital camera. All photos attached in this article have been resized to 500X332 pixels for quicker download purpose.

Auto Mode

Focal Length: 7.7mm

Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec

Aperture: F8.0

Sensitivity: ISO80

Weather: Sunny

Auto Mode

Focal Length: 28.5mm

Shutter Speed: 1/320 sec

Aperture: F5.8

Sensitivity: ISO80

Weather: Sunny

This is a normal photo with deeper depth of field.

We can achieve the back ground blur by zooming in, but the area of background is limited.

Program Mode with Macro on

Focal Length: 7.7mm

Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec

Aperture: F8.0

Sensitivity: ISO80

Weather: Sunny

Manual Mode with Macro on

Focal Length: 7.7mm

Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec

Aperture: F8.0

Sensitivity: ISO80

Weather: Sunny

Therefore, I use the P mode with Macro activated and move the camera closer to the subject until the sweet spot (minimum distance).

Thanks to the manual control, I can increase the image contrast and achieve better colour saturation by increasing the shutter speed by one stop and create a portrait similar by using DSLR.