Square compact camera: CANON IXY3
Canon compact digital camera IXY 3 review and photo examples
Table of contents
Gallery
Review
1．Overview
The Canon IXY 3 is a compact digital camera released by Canon on March 9, 2012.
The 1/2.3-inch, 16.8-megapixel CMOS sensor is cropped to record 10.1 megapixels. The lens is equipped with a 12x zoom lens equivalent to 28-336mm in 35mm format.
The focal length starts at 28mm in 35mm format, but in reality, a focal length of 4mm is used at the wide-angle end, and if the 1/2.3-inch sensor is fully used, the wide-angle end is equivalent to 22mm. However, this camera crops the periphery of the sensor to achieve a focal length equivalent to 28mm. This is the same as the IXY1.
The camera design uses the golden ratio (aspect ratio 1.618:1) for the horizontal to vertical ratio, and the surface treatment is “spin cut” to give it a unified shine. This “spin cut” is only available on the IXY3, and the IXY1 has a glossy paint treatment.
The main features are listed below.
- The aperture blades are two, but hexagonal.
- The minimum shooting distance is 1cm from the tip of the lens at the wide end in macro mode.
- Image recording is compatible with the micro SDXC standard, and large-capacity cards can be used, so if you have a 128GB card, you can record several thousand photos.
- The battery is an NB-9L, with specifications of a nominal voltage of 3.5V, 870mAh, and 3.5Wh. The IXY1, IXY50S, and IXY 51S all use the same battery.
- A fully charged battery is said to be able to take 190 shots in accordance with CIPA standards, but if the battery is slightly worn out, it will run out of power in about half that amount.
- The body is available in three colors: blue, red, and silver.
2．Usability
The Canon IXY 3 adopts the standard style of a compact digital camera, where the lens pops out when you press the start button, so you don’t feel like you have to wait until you can shoot. Also, there is no significant lag in the autofocus focusing time or shutter response when shooting, and there is no feeling of waiting for the image to be recorded, so the overall camera response is excellent.
The automatic white balance and color reproduction of the shooting results are not so good, and strange colors come out in auto mode. It is better to just accept it and set the weather to sunny.
The highlights, which are typical of compact digital cameras, are not sticky and get blown out, and the results of shooting dark scenes can be disappointing when displayed on a PC due to the noise. Also, the telephoto end has a dark F-number of 5.3, so you need to be careful about camera shake, and although it has a lens-shift type image stabilization IS, it doesn’t seem to be very effective.
You need to hold the camera firmly to prevent it from shaking. You can increase the ISO up to 3200, but unfortunately for a small sensor, ISO 400 is the limit for what you can see as a shooting result. The tolerance for high sensitivity varies from person to person, so this is merely a personal opinion.
The rear LCD has 460,000 dots, and when previewing the results, you can just about make out the focus position and blur in the photo.
This camera can only record JPG, but depending on the shooting distance, barrel distortion is noticeable in the images. It seems that cameras from the 2010s do not actively apply correction processing to recorded images. There are not many practical image effects, and they are also just a bonus feature.
The button layout is quite cramped to achieve a compact body, and small buttons are assigned to camera functions and cursor functions for moving menus. The tight layout makes it difficult to operate, but since the menu is not used frequently, it is tolerable.
However, the video record button is located very close to where you hold the camera, so photographers with large hands will have to be careful of the video record button when holding the camera. This button does not start recording unless you press it hard, so you don’t have to press the record button too often and get annoyed.
The clean, hexagonal design with sharp corners is appealing. The paint film is relatively strong, and if you handle it carefully, the paint will not peel off from the corners.
The longest end goes up to 336mm, but since I almost never use it for personal purposes, I would prefer the wide-angle end to be 24mm rather than 28mm.
3．Summary
In conclusion, to sum up the Canon IXY 3 is a compact digital camera with a high-magnification zoom in a compact body. It has sufficient quality for recording purposes, and if you cover the 28mm wide-angle side with a smartphone or something, it becomes a very versatile combination.
Above all, it is good that it is a product that gives you a high level of satisfaction, including the body design.
Specification
Its sister model, the IXY 1, is equipped with Wi-Fi and is primarily a touch-based camera. The camera body is available in two colors, white and black. The white is of high quality and pairs well with the body design of the IXY1, with its subtly rounded corners, making it very attractive. I generally prefer the edged body of the IXY3, but the white IXY1 is a product that stands alongside the IXY3. I don’t like the black, so I can’t recommend it that much.
I seriously considered buying the white-bodied IXY1, but it has almost the same specs as the IXY 3 and uses touch controls without physical buttons, so I didn’t end up buying it.
| Items | IXY3 | IXY1 |
| Zoom x | 12 | 12 |
| Focal length | 28-336 (4〜48) | 28-336 (4〜48) |
| lens brand | CANON | CANON |
| Lens Construction | 14 elements in 12 groups (1 double-sided aspherical lens, 1 single-sided aspherical UA lens, 1 single-sided aspherical lens) 2 hexagonal aperture blades | 14 elements in 12 groups (1 double-sided aspherical lens, 1 single-sided aspherical UA lens, 1 single-sided aspherical lens) 2 hexagonal aperture blades |
| Aperture | F3.4 (W)〜 F5.6(T) | F3.4 (W)〜 F5.6(T) |
| Numbers of pixels | 10.1 megapixels | 10.1 megapixels |
| Minimum distance | Normal: 1cm~∞(W)/1m~∞(T) Macro: 1cm~50cm(W)(from the tip of the lens) | Normal: 1cm~∞(W)/1m~∞(T) Macro: 1cm~50cm(W)(from the tip of the lens) |
| Image stabilizer | Optical method | Optical method |
| Sensor size | 1/2.3 | 1/2.3 |
| View Finder | none | none |
| Back LCD | 3 inch 461,000 dots | 3 inch 461,000 dots |
| Image Processing Engine | DIGIC5 | DIGIC5 |
| Touch panel | none | Equip |
| WiFi | none | WIFI |
| Battery | NB-9L | NB-9L |
| Recorded Media | micro sdhc,micro sdxc | micro sdhc,micro sdxc |
| Wight(g) | 155 g | 163g |
| Size(mm) | 87.1 x 53.9 x 19.2 | 85.8 x 53.5 x 19.8 |
| Release date | 2013.03.07 | 2013.03.07 |
| Body color | Silver,blue,red | white,black |
Options
- Battery Pack NB-9L
- Battery Charger CB-2LB
- AC Adapter Kit ACK-DC70
- DC Coupler DR-70
- Compact Power Adapter CA-DC10
- Waterproof Case WP-DC340L
- Soft Case IXC-480BL (Blue)
- Soft Case IXC-480RE (Red)
- Soft Case IXC-470BK (Black)
- Soft Case IXC-470WH (White)
- Soft Case IXC-470BL (Blue)
- Soft Case IXC-470PK (Pink)
- IXC Neck Strap IXS-110BK (Black)
- IXC Neck Strap IXS-110RE (Red)
- Leather Neck Strap IXS-300B
- Leather Neck Strap IXS-310BK (Black)
- IXC Chain Neck Strap (Silver)
- High Power Flash HF-DC2
- High Power Flash HF-DC1
- HDMI cable HTC-100
- Interface cable IFC-400PCU
- AV cable AVC-DC400ST
Reference links
- [Compact Digital Camera] Main Specifications (IXY 3)
- CANON CAMERA MUSEUM IXY3
- [Compact Digital Camera] Main Specifications (IXY 1)
- CANON CAMERA MUSEUM IXY1
Update history
- 2025.6.22
Affiliate links
- CANON COMPACT CAMERA・Ads by Amazon
- CANON IXY・Ads by Amazon
- CANON BOOKS・Ads by Amazon
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