Canon Ixus 70 and 75
S$599 and S$529
Buy it at authorised dealers

Digital cameras are great icebreakers - snap and show. But most are bulky, and some have the sex appeal of stale red bean soup.

The original film-based Ixus blazed the trail for fashion cameras. The latest Ixus 70 and 75 carry on the good genes.

The Ixus 70 is all industrial chic. Clad in metal, it is composed almost entirely of circles and straight lines. I am not one for dinky cameras, I confess, and the Ixus 70 is tiny. Yet, this small slab with few curves feels at home in my hands.

Canon even managed to pack in an optical viewfinder, which is useful for extending battery life and minimising handshake.

The Ixux 75 dispenses with the optical viewfinder and, being slightly larger, can hold a 3-inch LCD (larger than those on most PDA phones). The LCD on the Ixus 70 is 2.5 inches across.

The Ixus 75's other outstanding party trick is its touch-sensitive dial. Run your finger round the dial to whiz through your menu choices and just lift your finger to select.

Other than that, both cameras share the same specifications. Both are 7-megapixel and powered by Canon's new Digic III engine.

Although compact, they were responsive. My macros of Thai beef noodles, shot without flash at a dimly lit restaurant, were enough to make me want to go back to Holland Village to eat that dish again. And don't get me started on my shots of roast meat at Taman Serasi.

I also loved the skin tones I got out of the shots of my children. Though these were taken with flash, they were expertly balanced to enhance colours and bring out details, but never to overwhelm.

The cameras are also beautiful from inside-out. When viewing photos, the photos do not just appear, but fade into view. The images follow the orientation of the camera, so that they are always shown the right side up.

The menu colours are cheerful pastels. All of Canon's engineering and expertise are there in the cameras, but they are transparent to the user, who needs to concern himself only with capturing the moment.

Both the Ixus 70 and 75 feature face detection - automatically seeking human faces to lock the focus on. But subjects must face the camera - no profiles, the lighting must be good, and movement cannot be too fast.

That said, the feature is just so entertaining you simply must try it. I even tested a portrait of my huge extended family, displayed on my computer monitor, and the Ixus tracked up to eight faces - no sweat!

These cameras are bundled with a 2GB SD card. That works out to more than 600 full-resolution, best-quality shots. Considering that last year's

6-megapixel Ixus 65, powered by the older Digic II engine, was priced at almost $100 more, you are getting more value with the Ixus 70 and 75.

FINAL SAY

A session with the Ixus 70 and 75 is like having a good conversation with a precocious but well-mannered young child - you come away stimulated and refreshed. With either camera, you get a petite class act at a nice price.