The unit that came to the Technews Lab is a stunning silver-faced S65. the back portion, where the noticeable 3.0" LCD display is located- has a black gloss finish. From afar, one might think that the camera's has a steel casing. I asked Karen, Canon Marketing, Philippines' Product Supervisor said that the mechanism inside is reinforced with a steel casing.

CANON DIGITAL iXUS S65

So the iXUS S65 is a sturdy one. We tested it on several press conferences and events, and we found out that it shoots photos faster than the other camera we normally use. It stores the images either on SD or MMC card about 2 seconds max, whatever the picture quality is.

The camera packs a whopping 6-megapixels with 3x digital zoom and 4x optical zoom. It can also act as a pocket video camera - good for capturing those "emergency" moments in video - with either 640x480 or 320x240 video quality.

The iXUS S65 has a compact form factor which allows you to place it in you pocket for easy storage. A good companion for gimmicks and sudden happenings. Since this is a point-and-shoot camera, non-professionals will surely benefit from its automatic features and presets.

I noticed that when taking photos on Automatic mode,  pressing the shot button halfway doesn't only focuses the lens on your subject but also shows you the subjects that the camera detects by placing boxes at the LCD. By the way, the camera doesn't have a viewfinder so everything that the camera sees is shown at the LCD. This is helpful when you take pictures above your (or someone else's) head.

Also, users may find that the buttons are not that hard to master. the round portion at the right side of the LCD display is actually a four directional button which has functions depending on what mode you are on. The center of it is the function button which gives you access to settings like picture quality, resolution, and the different modes. On Manual mode, you can change/configure settings like the ISO rating and white balance.

Since the package only contains a 16MB card, you might want to get an extra card with a bigger capacity. If not, you can always back up the photos directly to your computer or notebook using the USB cable. The S65 is also Pictbridge compatible, which means you can directly print photos to Pictbridge-compatible printers without the need of a computer.

I must say that the iXUS S65 is a great, all-around photo companion. With easy-to-use buttons and features, you don't just get your money's worth but good quality pictures as well.