I am treating myself to a new camera. It will allow me to take great photos of action. Wildlife and birds, rarely pose for the artist.  It will also assist me to produce print quality images up to A2 size.  It is a perfect compact digital, camera for the travelling artist who does not want to fiddle with controls but just point quickly and shoot when the opportunity presents itself for a great wildlife, bird, pet or even child at play (with permission from the parents), photo.

Top of the IXUS range, here's what Canon has to say about the IXUS 990 IS...

Elegant design, most powerful zoom in the IXUS series and High Definition movie recording, perfect for travelling

• 12.1 megapixels
• 5x Optical Zoom
• Optical Image Stabilizer
• DiG!C 4
• Intelligent Auto
• Intelligent Contrast Correction
• Motion Detection Technology
• Servo AF
• ISO 3200

The IXUS 990 IS boasts the most powerful zoom in the IXUS series and High Definition movie recording in one elegant package. The 12.1MP sensor, 5x optical zoom lens with Optical Image Stabilizer ensures clear, sharp shots at a distance. Photography is made easy with Intelligent Auto, advanced face detection with blink detection and a huge 3 inch PureColor II LCD display. This stunning camera is a must for those who demand the ultimate in performance and style.

With the new Intelligent Auto mode you can take photos while letting the camera adjust the optimum settings; detecting faces and scenes (macro, backlit, sunset etc) ensuring you get the perfect shot.

Key Features:

• 12.1 megapixels deliver outstanding quality images and stunning photo prints up to A2 size
• Genuine Canon 5x optical zoom lens (37mm-185mm) to get you closer to the subject
• Optical Image Stabilizer for crisp shots even at high zoom or in low-light conditions without flash
• New Auto mode with Scene Detection, Face Detection, Motion Detection and Noise Reduction makes it even easier to get the perfect shot
• High resolution 3.0" PureColor LCD II screen with wide viewing angle to easily share your photos
• Face Detection for perfect focus, exposure and lighting when photographing people
• Automatic red-eye correction gives you more natural-looking portraits
• Blink detection warning signal when detecting closed eyes in the photo taken
• Shoot High Definition movies and view easily on TV with a HDMI terminal

Perfect portraits of family and friends

• Face Detection and Selector
• Face Detection Self-timer
• Red-eye Correction
• Blink Detection Digital photography made easy
• 3.0" LCD screen
• MultiControl Dial for easy operation
• My Colors, Creative Light Effect and Zoom Blur for creative options
• My Category for easy image sorting

What's Included:

• Canon IXUS 990 IS digital camera
• Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery NB-5L
• Battery Charger CB-2LXE
• USB Interface Cable IFC-400PCU, AC Cable, AV Cable AVCDC400
• Wrist Strap WS-DC7
• Digital Camera Solution Disc - ZoomBrowser EX (PC), ImageBrowser (Mac), PhotoStitch

ensor / Image Processor :

Effective Number of Pixels :

Approx. 12.1 MP CCD

Size / Filter Array :

1/2.3 inch / Primary colour filter (Bayer)

Processor :

DiG!C 4

  Lens :

Focal Length (optical) :

6.6 (W) - 33.0 (T) mm

35mm film equivalent :

37 (W) - 185 (T) mm

f/number :

f/3.2 - f/9.0 (W), f/5.7 - f/16 (T)

Shutter Speed :

15 - 1/1600 sec.

Zoom :

Optical approx 5x; Digital approx 4x

Image Stabilizer :

Optical (Lens Shift Type), approx 4 steps

  Focusing :

Focus System :

TTL Autofocus

Focusing Frame :

Face Detect AiAF1,2, Center

Focusing Range :

Normal: 50cm - infinity, Macro: 2cm - 50cm (W), Digital Macro: 2cm- 10cm

  Shooting Functions :

Face Detection :

Auto Focus, Auto Exposure, White Balance, Flash Exposure, Auto Red-Eye correction, FaceSelf-Timer3 Blink Detection

Other Shooting Features :

Servo AF, AF-Point Zoom, Size Select, AF Lock, AF Assist Beam, i-Contrast, Date Stamp, Digital tele-converter, real time histogram, Image Inspection Tool, Creative Light Effect, Zoom Blur

Continuous Shooting (Large/Fine) :

Approx 1.0 shots/sec

Self-timer :

Approx. 10 sec or 2 sec delay, custom, FaceSelf-Timer

  Control/Balance :

Light Metering Method :

Evaluative4, Center-weighted average, Spot5

Exposure Control Method :

Program AE, AE Lock available, i-Contrast

Exposure Compensation :

± 2 stops in 1/3-stop increments

Sensitivity (Equivalent Film Speed) :

Auto6, ISO 80/100/200/400/800/1600

White Balance Modes :

Auto , Daylight , Cloudy , Tungsten , Fluorescent , Fluorescent H , Custom

LCD Monitor :

3.0 inch Pure Color LCD II monitor with wide viewing angle (approx 461,000 dots)

  Flash :

Flash Modes / Functions :

Auto, on, off, Slow Synchro, Auto Red Eye Correction, Red Eye Reduction, Face Detect FE, FE Lock

Flash Range :

Normal: 30cm - 3.5m (W) 30cm - 2.0m (T)

  Selectable Shooting Modes :

Shooting Modes :

Intelligent Auto, P, Portrait, Night Snapshot, Kids & Pets, Indoor, Sunset, Creative Light Effect, Fireworks, Long Shutter, Beach, Aquarium, Foliage, Snow, ISO 3200, Digital Macro, Exposure Zoom, Colour Accent, Color Swap, Stitch Assist, Movie (Standard, Color Accent, Color Swap)

My Colours :

Vivid, Neutral, Serpia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red

  Image Recording Format :

Still image :

JPEG Compression (EXIF 2.2 Compliant)

Colour Space and JPEG Compression :

sRGB; Fine, Normal

Movies :

MOV (Image Data: H.264; Audio Data: Linear PCM monaural)

  Recording Pixels and recording capacity on a 2GB card :

Still Images and Capacity (at Fine Image Setting) :

Large: 4000 x 3000 (626), Medium 1: 3264 x 2448 (930), Medium 2: 2592 x 1944 (1365), Medium 3: 1600 x 1200 (3235), Small: 640 x 480 (10245), Widescreen: 4000 x 2248 (830)

Movie Frame Rate :

HD 1280x720: 30fps (10min 53sec), 640x480: 30fps (23min 49sec), 320x240: 30fps (1hr 13min 10sec)

  Other Operations :

Playback Operations Direct Printing, PictBridge :

Red-eye Correction, Intelligent Contrast Correction, Trimming, Resize, Slideshow, Index, Magnified, Image Inspection Tool, Advancing and Reversing through magnified images, Jump, Auto Rotate, Rotate, Histogram, Overexposure Warning, Sound Memos, Auto Play, Transition, MyCategory, MyColors, Filter by Date, Image advance with tilt of camera Yes7

  Interface :

Supported Operating Systems :

PC: Windows XP SP2/SP3, Vista incl SP1; Mac: OS X v10.4- v10.5

Computer I/F :

USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (mini-B compatible), HDMI (mini-connector)

Video Output :

PAL or NTSC selectable

Audio Output :

Monaural

Memory Storage :

SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, MultiMediaCard, MMCplus card, HC MMCplus card

Menu Languages :

26 languages English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Greek, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Thai, Arabic, Romanian, Ukrainian, Farsi and Japanese

  General Features :

Battery :

Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery NB-5L

Shooting Capacity (full charge) :

LCD Monitor On 270 shots; Playback 6 hours

Dimensions (W x D x H) :

94.8 x 56.8 x 26.3 mm (ex. protruding parts)

Weight :

Approx. 160g (camera body only)