The original IXY / IXUS Digital, 10 years later

I was Julia’s fourth birthday a little way back and I had been thinking of what to buy her, when I remembered that she’s always fiddling with my iPhone and taking pictures with it.

So I decided to get her a secondhand camera. The problem with that is that most shops only stock decent and recent models at fairly hefty (for a four year old) price.

Thus, when I found that my favorite junk shop, Shop Inverse in Akihabara had a little box of old cameras in one corner all going for 1000 yen, I started digging though.

The majority were around 3MP, early fujifilms a couple of old casios of unknown sub megapixel vintage and some cameras so worn out as to be unrecognizable. There were a few newer cameras among them, too, but nothing could see my daughter using.

Then I found a little black, almost cube-like case. Curious, I opened it and found an IXY Digital in pristine condition, complete with a lithium ion battery and battery cover. A quick search online reveals spare lithium-ion batteries and a charger for less than 1000 yen! Bargain.

I had had the good fortune of using a first generation IXY  when Sam came to visit in 2000 and remember it survived serious drunken droppage, down stairs and on to concrete. Perfect for Julia.

IXY / IXUS Digial Overview

The Bad News

If one is to compare with today’s cameras, one might say the following:

• Low resolution
• Tiny, noisy image sensor
• Chunky build
• Heavy for its size
• Tiny view finder
• Tiny display
• Slow to start up
• Long recycling delay between shots
• Wimpy flash
• Eats batteries at a rather astonishing rate – so much so that the camera could be used as a hand warmer in the winter.

The Good News

So, what’s to actually like about it? Quite a lot actually.

• It’s solid, all-stainless-steel construction is an eye-opener in today’s world of the plastic fantastic. The build quality is truly something to behold.
• It is heavy and tough and should be able to take a battering.
• It is small but chunky… Ideal for wee little hands.
• It takes Compact Flash cards, which are also solid and chunky.
• The screen is small but relatively clear.
• It is simple, with few functions, again perfect for a first camera.
• The flash won’t burn your retinas out if released in front of your face.
• It is shiny and cute. Julia loves it.
• Accessories like batteries are dirt cheap.

IXUS / IXY Main Features

• UXGA 1600 × 1200 image size (1.92MP)
• 2.11MP, 0.37″ image sensor with CYGM filter.
• 2 × optical zoom (35mm ~ 70mm equiv)
• Bright lens, F2.8~F4
• ISO 100
• 1~1/1500 shutter
• Macro feature with an impressive 10cm minimum focus range.
• Fill flash
• Centre weighted metering
• ±2EV exposure adjustment
• Compact Flash Type I slot

Image Quality

Since I bought the camera, I have taken a few photos, mostly just to test it, but also a few family snaps.

One of the interesting things about this camera is the rare CYGM filter which has a significantly different gamut to the standard RGBG Bayer filter used on practically every modern digital camera except for Simga’s Foveon.

Due to the more serious colour conversion required to shift between CYGM and RGB, the IXY Digital has a distinctive, almost cyan cast to overexposed highlights.

Colour balance is definitely a little “off” but it’s actually quite a pleasingly smooth colour balance.

The other issue is that the CYGM sensor has a wider dynamic range than standard, thus there is a distinctive HDR feeling to the photos. i.e. a little flat and low contrast.

The pic below shows both the bluish tinge and the slightly off cast to the colours.

Here is the original IXY image, showing realistic colours, but lacking in contrast.

However, the high dynamic range means lower noise in the darker areas and a smoother overall image. This makes the IXY photos remarkably amenable to Photoshopping.

Images taken by the IXY can be adjusted significantly without jpeg or other artifacts showing

Final Virdict

Although it’s minuscule size and both tiny finder and rear screen make this an occasionally squint inducing affair and both the autofocus and zoom are lethargic, pictures taken with it remain sharp and crisp. There is the added benefit of wide dynamic range and lack of JPEG artificing means that despite its age, the IXY is more than adequate for the occasional snap.

More importantly, the sheer Premium-Canon quality, stainless-steel build and overall toughness make you feel that this is a camera you can really rely on. It’s weight also makes it feel stable and solid, even in larger hands and makes both taking slower exposures and using higher zooms a little more straight forward.

Finally, compatible batteries and compact flash cards are two a penny, which means this camera can continue to be used for the foreseeable future.

I would put the picture quality generally on par with the iPhone, but it pushes ahead with the 2 x zoom and semi-decent flash. Of course, it is a Canon digital camera based on a “real” Canon film camera and not a computer peripheral.

New October Julia Gallery

Added an October picture gallery for Julia and also finished uploading Julia’s photos from September.

Julia’s Gallery Online

I’ve uploaded Julia’s Gallery to the new Lloydie Gallery Actually, Julia’s Gallery is the only gallery at the moment but this, I hope, will change soon as I put more material on line.

Trip to Kyoto

Just got back from a long weekend in Kyoto. Wow, what a place. I must have been there a dozen times by now, but it never fails to impress me.

We went there to see the changing of the autumn leaves or “Koyo” as they are called here. Breathtaking. Although the weather was dull and overcast most of the time, there was thankfully little rain. It is the first time I have been to Kyoto during the Autumn, and it wasn’t a disappointment. The colours were almost surreally rich and deep with a saturation that belied the dull weather. There were points during my trip where I felt that I was walking though an oil painting, the colours were so vivid.

Ogasawara

Just got back from Ogasawara, a tropical island 600 miles to the south of Japan. The island is part of Japan and falls under Tokyo jurisdiction. It was very strange going all that way and seeing Tokyo number plates on cars, speaking Japanese and hearing “Tokyo-ondo”, a famous, traditional Tokyo folksong, at the “OBON” festival.
The island itself is only a few miles long, has a population of several thousand and is one of the most remote sites on earth. Without an airport and strong laws blocking the construction of one, Ogasawara is blessedly free from tourists.

It’s one of the few places on Earth where you can swim with whales: Not the piddly little ones, the big buggers!

I managed to swim with a troup? school? pack? gaggle? murder? of dolphins and got a few shots in with a disposable underwater camera.

All this without leaving Tokyo!

Fortia… cool or fool?

3012Fujifilm has released a new and limited edition of it’s popular Velvia reversal film. Called Fortia, it apparently emphasises the already strong colours seen in Fuji’s reversal films.
Just what you’ve been looking for in a film, or overblown gloss? You decide.