Canon IXUS 75 Review, from a guy who bought one

I was hunting around for a new camera to take overseas and I bought the Canon Ixus 75 model.
My camera had not been upgraded for about four years, so I did some research and the Canon IXUS 75 came up trumps

When I went to Ted’s Camera Stores I had a short list, and with their help I was able to arrive at my decision.
I really wanted something that would be able to shoot HD video as well as stills.
Technology has progressed to the stage that consumers are dumping video cameras in favor of pocket size still cameras that can record DVD quality movie clips.
I originally had the Canon TX1 on top of my list but sometimes the hype and new gadget euphoria exceeds the reality.
This was the case with Canon TX1.
The salesman at the store was kind enough to let me demo the TX1.
What drew me to it were the awesome specs.
The camera had a 10 times optical zoom and 7.1 mega pixels.

A 10 times optical zoom is ground breaking but unfortunately does not measure up once it is out of the box.
The salesman and I took turns but could not focus beyond 3 times zoom on the Canon.
We tried it in the shop and lighting conditions were good, however the focus was blurry beyond 3 times zoom.
Another disappointment was the viewing area. The LCD monitor was only 1.8 inches. A major disadvantage of this is that you cannot appreciate your images or videos in playback until you find a computer to replay them in a larger size.

The Canon TX1 was difficult to hold. The design is such that it is meant to be held with one hand, and the other hand used to navigate the controls.
The result was camera shake that the image stabilizer was not able to prevent.
The salesman who was assisting me in choosing between the two models seemed particularly interested because it was his first experience in actually using the Canon TX1.
After we had played with both cameras, he admitted to me that he did prefer the Canon IXUS 75.
The Canon IXUS 75 won me on the LCD playback monitor. With its lovely 3 inch LCD screen, the playback experience is maximized, especially on video.

If you transfer the videos to your computer, they are clear as a bell even played back on 10 inch a window.
The Canon fits easily into a front pocket, ideal for when that special photo opportunity arises.
It supports the newer high density SD cards. I got mine with a 4 gig card because I love using it in movie mode. Shooting movies fills up the card very quickly.

To my mind the Canon IXUS 75 is the perfect pocket size camera to take on your vacation.