Compared to the Canon IXUS 300 (S300) & A20

The only other two megapixel compact cameras I had to hand for comparison were Canon's IXUS 300 (known as the PowerShot S300 in the US) and PowerShot A20. All three cameras compared below have the following features:

	Nikon Coolpix 775	Canon IXUS 300 (S300)	Canon PowerShot A20
Street price	US$ 430	US$ 500	US$ 400
Case	Ultra-Compact Plastic	Ultra-Compact Steel	Compact Plastic
CCD	1/2.7" 2 megapixel	1/2.7" 2 megapixel	1/2.7" 2 megapixel
Res	1600 x 1200, XGA, VGA	1600 x 1200, XGA, VGA	1600 x 1200, XGA, VGA
Lens	3x optical (38 - 115 mm)	3x optical (35 - 105 mm)	3x optical (35 - 105 mm)
Lens aperture.	F2.8 - F4.9	F2.7 - F4.7	F2.8 - F4.8
AF Assist Lamp	No	Yes	Yes
Shutter speed	1 - 1/1000 sec	1 - 1/1500 sec	1 - 1/1500 sec
White Bal	Auto, pre-prog, manual	Auto, pre-prog	Auto, pre-prog
Storage	Compact Flash Type I	Compact Flash Type I	Compact Flash Type I
Supplied	8 MB CF Type I	8 MB CF Type I	8 MB CF Type I
Movie Clip	15 sec, no audio	20/30 sec, with audio	None
Viewfinder	Optical	Optical	Optical
LCD	1.5 "	1.5 " (Anti-reflective)	1.5 "
Power	Lithium-Ion Batt & Charger	Lithium-Ion Batt & Charger	4 x AA batteries
Weight *1	233 g (8.2 oz)	275 g (9.7 oz)	365 g (12.9 oz)
Dimensions	87 x 67 x 44 mm (3.4 x 2.6 x 1.7 in)	95 x 63 x 30 mm (3.7 x 2.5 x 1.2 in)	110 x 71 x 38 mm (4.3 x 2.8 x 1.5 in)
Volume	256 cm3	179 cm3	296 cm3

Note: Some people have asked me to compare the 775 to the IXUS v (S110), unfortunately I didn't have one at hand for direct comparison but we know that its image quality is virtually identical to that of the A20.

Some crops below are of an 120 x 80 area of the image magnified 200%, some are straight 240 x 160 crops. Lighting - 2 x 800W studio lights with dichroic daylight filters bounced off a white overhead reflector (about as close as you can get to "indoor daylight").

Cameras setup:

• Nikon Coolpix 775 - Self Timer, Flash Off, Sharpening: Normal, Auto WB
• Canon Digital IXUS 300 - Self Timer, Flash Off, Auto WB
• Canon PowerShot A20 - Self Timer, Flash Off, Auto WB

Nikon Coolpix 775 F4.2, 1/6 sec	Canon IXUS 300 (S300) F4.5, 1/8 sec	Canon PowerShot A20 F4.5, 1/8 sec
Nikon Coolpix 775	Canon IXUS 300 (S300)	Canon PowerShot A20

The S300 and A20 both seem to produce sharper, more detailed images. Colour balance is good from all cameras, the 775 shows the same tendancy to undersaturate blues and even hue shift them towards turquoise. There's also visible vertical stepping on the Coolpix 775 images (compare the arc on the edge of the watch).