Canon ixus 115 / elph 100 low light performance

Hi all,

Earlier this year I wanted a pocketable camera and bought an ixus 115. One of the reasons I bought this model was because of the praise it received for use in low-light conditions, presumably relative to other budget cameras. I've actually been a bit surprised by how bad low-light use has been e.g. in a moderately well lit room.

I was reviewing some of my photos yesterday and noticed that the camera was using a relatively narrow aperture in the aforementioned moderately well lit room. When taking a picture of an object about 2 meters away in the widest-angle setting the camera chose these settings:

• Exposure: 0"4
• ISO: 1600
• Aperture: F5.9

I'm not actually sure what that exposure length is (0.4 seconds?) but it was long enough that camera shake was unavoidable while I held the camera.

What I don't understand is the choice of aperture. The maximum aperture is F2.8 - F5.9 depending on zoom. Taking photographs of objects at similar distances in the wide angle setting uses a wider aperture in brighter conditions.

Does anyone have an opinion on whether the camera is faulty or whether I just don't understand the way this should work? (I could believe either.)

I went to Canon's site to look for a firmware update but, as far as I can tell, none were ever issued.

Thanks in advance for any help.