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Ixus 255 vs Ixus 310 vs SX 280

Started Jun 23, 2017 | Discussions
Marian Ilovan
Marian Ilovan Junior Member • Posts: 48
Ixus 255 vs Ixus 310 vs SX 280

Hi, I have a few questions relating these 3 models:

a) Canon Ixus 255 HS (ELPH 330 HS) - 12MP, 24-240 mm (10x), f/3-6.9, Digic 5

b). Canon Ixus 310 HS (ELPH 500 HS, IXY31S) - 12MP, 24-105 mm (4.4x), f/2-5.8, Digic 4

c) Canon SX280HS - 12MP, 25-500 mm (20x), f/3.5-6.8, Digic 6

Questions:

1. If you could only buy one of them and money won't be a problem, what would you chose?

2. What model produces the best image quality?

Thank you.

racollins Contributing Member • Posts: 600
Re: Ixus 255 vs Ixus 310 vs SX 280
1

I think that the Elph 330 HS (Ixus 255) is an outstanding pocket camera that yields very impressive results, not just for a camera in its class, but for any compact camera period! Its low-light performance is very good and its lens is sharp. It also fits unobtrusively in any pocket. Its 12.1mp sensor coupled with the Digic 5 processor seems to have been a sweet spot in the PowerShot line. That being said however, I would pick the SX280 HS over the other two. That's not a popular viewpoint, I know, but I don't shoot much video (if I do nowadays I use my iPhone 7 because it shoots in 4K) so the battery/video issue with the 280 wasn't a problem for me. I like that it has twice the zoom range and I like that you can have full control of what the camera is doing. It's also still small enough to comfortably fit in a pocket. Even though I wasn't a fan of Digic 6-powered PowerShots, the ones I didn't like all had a significantly higher megapixel count. The SX280 HS still had 12.1mp so picture quality was still excellent vs the 16 megapixels of its successor, the SX700 HS.

All of this to say that I love the 330 HS but I love the much better flexibility of the SX280 HS, and its IQ is excellent. Again, if you shoot a lot of video it's probably not the camera to get since it had an acknowledged problem with the battery related to video use.

Andy

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GeraldW Veteran Member • Posts: 8,872
Re: Ixus 255 vs Ixus 310 vs SX 280
1

The IXUS 255 was Camera of the Year in Europe in 2013.  I have the US version, the ELPH 330HS.  I also have the SX260HS.

I bought the SX260HS to go with my Canon G7X II to get a significantly longer focal length to make a better matched pair for light travel.

However, as an all round camera, I prefer the ELPH 330HS.  It does well to ISO 1600 and the lens is fairly fast up to around 120 mm equivalent; and then starts to get slow rather quickly from 120 to 240 mm.  Most cameras go the other way, getting slow pretty quickly and then leveling out at some slow F# the rest of the way.

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Jerry

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