Canon IXUS 240 HS Wi-Fi Digital Camera Review

Features
Handling
Performance
Verdict
Specification


The Canon IXUS 240 HS was released in February 2012 and is a premium compact camera with a 16 megapixel sensor and 5x optical zoom lens. It is available in a number of colours including blue, black, pink, light pink and silver for £259.00.

Canon IXUS 240 HS Features

The IXUS 240 HS has a 16.1 megapixel CMOS sensor with Canon's High-Speed (HS) System, aimed to excel in low-light conditions. Packed into the slim metal body is a 5x optical zoom lens, which is a 35mm equivalent of 24-120mm. The zoom can be extended to 10x with ZoomPlus. To help take the sharpest pictures possible there is Intelligent IS.

To make picture taking as easy as possible there is Smart Auto mode which selects the correct camera settings from 58 scenes. Face ID registers up to 12 family and friends faces, which are then automatically tagged. High-speed Burst can be used to capture fast moving objects. The IXUS 240 HS also comes armed with Wi-Fi so the camera can be connected with other devices in order to easily share your pictures.

Videos are recorded at full 1080p HD at 24fps with stereo sound and optical zoom as well as Intelligent IS. The camera can be connected via a HDMI cable to a HD TV. There is also the option to shoot Super Slow Motion Movies.

Key Features

• 16 megapixel CMOS sensor
• 5x optical zoom lens (35mm equiv: 24-120mm)
• Intelligent Image Stabilisation
• 3.2 inch PureColor II Touch LCD screen with Touch Shutter
• Wi-Fi connectivity
• Full 1080p HD video recording
• ISO 100 - 3200
• 3cm minimum focusing distance
• Smart Auto with 58 scenes
• Available in black, blue, pink, light pink and silver

Canon IXUS 240 HS Handling

The IXUS 240 HS is a very stylish camera with a metal body and 3.2 inch widescreen touch screen filling most of the rear. The touch screen is very responsive and easy to use which is used for operating most of the camera settings, meaning there are very few physical buttons. On the rear is a playback button, with the top of the camera hosting the on/off, shutter release, zoom rocker and mode select buttons. Thankfully the menus are easy to navigate as you'll need to use them to change every setting. The camera is easy to hold although there are no rubber grips to aid the user.

When in playback you can connect to Wi-Fi networks or create an ad-hoc network in order to share your pictures with another device, such as a smartphone or laptop. Set-up is easy, with software required on the device you want to share with, such as the dedicated iPhone app.

Main menu
WiFi Connection

The battery has a CIPA rating of 170 shots, and during testing it proved capable of achieving this amount, although consistent use of the Wi-Fi is likely to reduce this. We tested each camera's performance at focusing, shutter response, shot-to-shot time, continuous shooting etc. and have posted the results below. To test this we took 6 or more shots and calculated the average, so that consistent results were produced.

Shutter Response		0.1 secs
Wide - Focus and Shutter Response Average		0.4 secs
Full zoom - Focus and Shutter Response Average		0.6 secs
Switch on Time to Taking a Photo		2.1 secs
Shot to Shot (without flash)		2.2 secs
Shot to Shot with Flash		3.8 secs
Continuous Shooting (at full resolution)		1.6 fps
High-speed Burst (4 megapixels)		5 fps

Canon IXUS 240 HS Performance

Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review and product ratings.

Canon IXUS 240 HS Sample Photos

Sample Photos - Portraits have good skin tones with a slight hint of red-eye. Colour reproduction is good whether outdoors in good light or in low light and images are well exposed.

Canon IXUS 240 HS Lens test images

Lens Performance - Detail is really good whether shooting wide or with the full optical zoom, with very little sign of purple fringing in contrasting areas. The lens has a minimum focusing distance of 3cm which allows the camera to get close enough to shoot excellent macro shots.

Canon IXUS 240 HS ISO test images

ISO Noise Performance - With no noise at ISO 100, there is only a small increase when using ISO 200, ISO 400 then ISO 800. ISO 1600 sees a more significant increase in noise, but the images produced retain sharpness with fairly decent detail. At ISO 3200 the images are much softer with some detail lost.

Canon IXUS 240 HS White-balance test images

White Balance Performance - Under the incandescent lights the auto white-balance (AWB) setting produces an image with an orange cast, with the incandescent preset taking a much better image. Under the fluorescent lights, the AWB performs excellently, there are two fluorescent presets, with one producing a very similar image to the AWB setting and the fluorescent H setting giving a strong orange cast.

Canon IXUS 240 HS Digital filters

Digital Filters - The Canon IXUS 240 HS has a number of My Colour modes to add creativity to your images. There are also a range of scene modes which add a unique twist to your pictures, with examples below.

Video - Below is a video shot at full 1080p HD. The IXUS 240 HS allows the use of the optical zoom during recording, an example of which can be seen on the ePHOTOzine Youtube page. While there, you can also see a video taken using the Super Slow Motion Movie mode.

Value For Money

The Canon IXUS 240 HS is priced at £259.00 making it quite expensive for a compact camera. There are cheaper alternatives such as the Canon PowerShot A3300 IS (around £99), Nikon Coolpix S6150 (around £120), Samsung MV800 (around £194) and Canon IXUS 125 HS (around £199), all with 5x optical zoom and 16 megapixel sensors. Other options include the Nikon Coolpix P310 (around £235) Panasonic Lumix LX5 (around £349), Canon Powershot S100 (around £359) and larger Olympus XZ-1 (£309).

You'll also need to buy a memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.

Canon IXUS 240 HS Verdict

The Canon IXUS 240 HS takes excellent pictures and has some very appealing features such as its stylish looks, slim metal body and Wi-Fi capabilities. If these features are appealing to you then the camera won't disappoint, but up against others with the same resolution and zoom, there are many cheaper options. If you are out shooting for an extended period of time you might find the battery life quite restricting and therefore may need a spare, thus adding to the cost. The IXUS 240 HS also records at full 1080p HD and the touch screen is extremely easy to use.

	The Canon IXUS 240 HS is a Wi-Fi enabled camera that takes excellent pictures.

Canon IXUS 240 HS Pros

Slim metal body
Wi-Fi enabled
Full 1080p HD movie recording
Excellent image quality and colour reproduction
Responsive touch screen
Good noise performance at higher ISO settings

Canon IXUS 240 HS Cons

Low battery life expectancy
Fairly expensive for a compact camera
No rubber grip

FEATURES
HANDLING
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY
VERDICT

Canon IXUS 240 HS Specifications

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