Canon Ixus 130 review

An excellent point-and-shoot compact for beginners, with plenty of features and great image quality

Canon Ixus 130
Canon's Ixus 130 is light on options, but heavy on usability

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

youtube

Movie modes can prove an odd blind spot for Canon – although its DSLRs are class-leading, who can forget the top of the line G11 compact, which offers only 640 x 480 at 30fps?

Fortunately, the Ixus 130 offers a movie mode which, while not exactly cinematic, is at least HD-compatible. The maximum resolution on offer is 1280 x 720, with a fixed frame rate of 30fps.

There isn't a wealth of options – you can't choose a more cinematic 24fps, for instance – and, with the features lacking in stills mode, it's not surprising that the option to set your own shutter speed and aperture size are absent.

It underlines the Ixus 130's role as a fire-and-forget camera for those who'd rather capture a moment than agonise about their camera's settings.

As it is, though, the Ixus 130 offers good-quality video at high resolution, and while pernickety types would prefer a decent manual mode, for under £150 it's hard to argue with what you get.

Dave is a professional photographer whose work has appeared everywhere from National Geographic to the Guardian. Along the way he’s been commissioned to shoot zoo animals, luxury tech, the occasional car, countless headshots and the Northern Lights. As a videographer he’s filmed gorillas, talking heads, corporate events and the occasional penguin. He loves a good gadget but his favourite bit of kit (at the moment) is a Canon EOS T80 35mm film camera he picked up on eBay for £18.

Latest in Compact Cameras
Fujfilm GFX 50R
First Fujifilm GFX100RF images leaked in build-up to expected reveal – here’s what they tell us about the unique premium compact camera
Canon PowerShot V1 in user's hands, oudoors with a snowy Japan backdrop
I review cameras for a living, and the new Canon PowerShot V1 could be this year’s vlogging star – here’s why
Canon Powershot G7 X Mark III
Canon’s rumored PowerShot V1 point-and-shoot could hit the sensor sweet spot – and be first of two new PowerShots for 2025
Flashback ONE35 redisposable digital camera on a wooden surface
I tested the Flashback ONE35 "re-disposable" camera, and it's a novel idea let down by a shoddy app
Canon compact cameras tipped for a big return with rumored Powershot V1 – and I think that's Canon's most exciting play for 2025
Panasonic Lumix TZ99 point and shoot camera on a bright green / cyan background
The point-and-shoot is back: Panasonic launches new Lumix out of the blue, with iPhone-trouncing 30x optical zoom
Latest in Reviews
MacBook Air 15-inch with M4 chip on a creative's desk with screen open
I've reviewed the Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) - and it remains the best 15-inch laptop I'd recommend for most people
Samsung Music Frame on a table beside some books and a vase
I spent six weeks listening to the Samsung Music Frame and it kept missing the beat
GlocalMe KeyTracker
When I tested this global tracker, it trounced the Apple AirTag in so many ways
An AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D on its retail packaging
I've reviewed three generations of 3D V-cache processors, and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is the best there is
Mac Studio on a desk
Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra): the ultimate creative workstation
Apple iPad Air 11-inch M3 (2025) Review
I tested the 11-inch iPad Air with M3 for five days, and it stretches the value even further with more power for the same price