Editor's note: due to similarities with the recently tested IXUS 100 IS, portions of this review (not including analysis of image quality) are the same.
Design
The 120 IS loses the optical viewfinder that the 100 IS had, making way for a slightly bigger screen. (Credit: Canon)
Take note, camera buyers — this snapper is not for the faint of heart, the wallflower or the shy retiring type. As with many of the other cameras in Canon's IXUS range, the 120 IS boasts good looks, a compact form factor and sleek design. This is a camera that will turn heads, and it's pretty much the only camera we've toted around with us that has without fail elicited a continuous "ooh, pretty" response from people. It's hard to find anyone who doesn't find this look and feel appealing. Size-wise, imagine a credit card but a little bit thicker, around 2.0cm (up from the 1.8cm on the 100 IS), and you're on the way to understanding how diminutive this body is. So it's definitely the epitome of a pocket-sized camera, with its slim profile and weighing 120g.
It's available in silver, black, blue and brown, in a nice matte metal finish, whereas the 100 IS can be found in colours as garish as bright red and gold. The camera has lost the optical viewfinder that set the 100 IS apart for many, but has gained an extra 0.2-inch in the screen, now measuring 2.7 inches. The button configuration is standard IXUS fare, with a very small switch used to flick between automatic, program and movie mode. Playback is relegated to a dedicated button beside the switch. The buttons are rather lovely, sitting flush with the camera body, but the text on them is rather dull and dark, which could make night-time usage difficult (note that our review unit was the black model — this may not be so much of an issue with the other coloured models).
Also at the back is a slightly fiddly output arrangement with the AV and HDMI interfaces covered by a small flap. The camera is serviced by a Lithium-ion battery that slots in underneath, next to the SD card. As striking as its looks might be, the 120 IS suffers the same fate as the 100 IS in terms of scratches. Due to the brushed exterior, we found that within a few days of normal use it had developed quite the battle scars.
Features
Funnily enough, our only real complaints about the 100 IS were to do with specifications — and they have been answered with the arrival of the 120 IS. There's now a wide-angle lens, though only 28mm, and the optical zoom has been extended to 4x rather than the 3x that graced the 100 IS. Frustratingly, optical zoom during filming has been disabled like it has been in all the other Canon compacts, replaced with digital zoom during recording. However, you can zoom in to your desired focal length before hitting record. Video recordings are recorded in .mov format, H.264 with mono audio captured by the microphone at the top of the camera.
The IXUS range usually runs fairly well through the style gauntlet, but fortunately there's also substance beneath their svelte exteriors. The main talking point is HD video at 720p at 30fps, fully automated though, as are the rest of the options available to you in program mode — no selection of aperture or shutter speed. Scene modes, white balance, ISO selection and metering are the only real things you get to determine. The megapixel count is 12.1 on a CCD sensor, and image processing is taken care of with the Digic 4 processor.
Things start to get a little more interesting when you flick the switch into automatic mode as the 120 IS will choose the right scene mode for you depending on the subject. And, while we're still adamant that blink detection is a fairly useless feature unless the camera is able to automatically take another photo if a subject has blinked, it actually does work, displaying a little warning in the corner of your screen — provided you turn the feature on.
Lens aperture now opens to f/2.8 at the widest end and the whole unit is slightly bulkier with a slightly more prominent front panel thanks to the extended lens specs.
Performance
The 120 IS looks like a zippy little performer, but its looks don't always tell the right story. It starts up and takes its first shot in roughly 1.5 seconds, and shot-to-shot time is slower still, taking 6.2 seconds to recycle when flash is used, and 2.9 seconds without. Shutter lag measured 0.6 second, which is relatively slow on this sort of nimble point-and-shoot, but this was reduced to 0.1 second with pre-focusing. In continuous mode the 120 can take a shot around every 1.15 seconds. As for battery life, Canon rates the 120 IS's battery at 220 shots, or six hours of playback, slightly better than the 100.
Image quality
It is difficult assessing the image quality of the 120 IS without bearing in mind the pictures that the 100 IS produced as both cameras are so similar, using the same sensor and image processor. High hopes are held for the 120 given that the 100 rendered such nice pictures.
Firstly, as the lens has widened slightly to 28mm, there's a moderate amount of barrel distortion along the left side of the frame. Funnily enough though it's no more pronounced than what was exhibited on the 100. Images at ISO 100 are beautifully noise free, very crisp and have brilliant tonality. Noise begins to exhibit itself at ISO 200, at ISO 400 there's a fair amount of softening, but still delivers a very usable print. ISO 800 begins to affect the quality of the image with coloured flecks, and ISO 1600 is much the same, though for a compact camera the 120 performs admirably.
Click image to enlarge (Credit: CBSi)
There is a fair amount of chromatic aberration exhibited at full magnification, perhaps slightly more than the 100 showed which we're putting down to the wider lens.
(Credit: CBSi)
In terms of colour and overall impressions on image quality, the 120 produces lovely punchy pictures in most shooting situations, good sharpness across the frame, and good colour rendition. Greens and blues, a particular strong point of Canon cameras, continue their dominance with some very nice and natural tones throughout. While the video quality is fairly good, the camera does have the propensity to blow out highlights, with just passable audio and a fair amount of digital artefacts across the frame that look like low-level noise.
Conclusion
Considering the similarities between this camera and the 100 IS (which is cheaper and only has a slightly less zoomy lens and smaller screen), it's difficult to say which one is better. That said, the 120 IS offers a wider lens and its picture-taking base is just as competent. It might just come down to which colour scheme you prefer, because suffice to say we like both these cameras. The 120 IS just takes the cake though, hence the Editors' Choice award.
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