Canon IXUS 185

The IXUS 185 is a compact camera from 2017 with a fixed lens. It measures 95.2 by 54.3 by 22.1 mm and weighs 126 g, so it slips into a pocket and travels without extra kit.

Because the lens is built in, there is nothing to choose, carry or swap. That suits casual photographers who value a simple, complete package over the expandability of an interchangeable-lens system.

Daylight snapshot shooting plays to its strengths; indoors, the built-in flash carries more of the load. With no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, there is no wireless route for your photos.

Stills come from a 20 megapixel CCD sensor in the 1/2.3-inch format. That resolution leaves room to crop a frame or make prints while retaining plenty of pixels in the finished image.

Sensitivity runs from ISO 100 to 800, a narrow span that offers little headroom in dim conditions. The built-in flash is the fallback when that ceiling is reached.

Stabilisation is built in, and it counters the camera shake that creeps into handheld shots as light fades. It does nothing to freeze a moving subject, so a running child indoors will still blur.

Nine autofocus points handle focusing, and the shutter reaches 1/2000 at its quickest. The listed maximum shooting rate of 30 fps is a peak figure rather than a sustained burst promise. A Digic 4+ processor drives these operations.

The IXUS 185 records Standard HD video, a resolution that suits casual clips, family moments and straightforward sharing. Framing and review happen on the 2.7-inch LCD, since the camera has no viewfinder.

Recordings save as MPEG-4 or MOV files. Standard HD is the resolution ceiling and 30 fps the maximum frame rate, and no combined recording mode is specified.

The built-in stabilisation helps handheld footage stay watchable, which matters with a camera this light and easy to carry on the move. As with stills, it does nothing to freeze a moving subject.

There is no built-in timelapse mode, so interval sequences would need you to trigger the camera and assemble the frames yourself.

Framing and playback happen on a 2.7-inch LCD with 230,000 dots. The screen is fixed and there is no touch input, so menus and focusing run through the buttons.

The built-in flash adds light when a scene is too dim for the sensitivity range. There is no way to fit an external flash, so the internal unit is the only flash option.

The camera does not tag files with location data, and the body has no weather sealing, so keep it dry in rain or near the sea. Wireless is absent too, which means copying images to a phone or computer involves the memory card.

A single slot takes SD, SDHC and SDXC cards, including UHS-I types, so a wide range of storage cards works. There is no second slot for backup or overflow storage.

The NB-11LH battery is rated at 220 shots, a figure with no stated test conditions, so real-world endurance will vary with how you use the camera. A charged spare makes sense for longer outings.

USB charging means you can top the battery up from a computer or other USB source between shoots. It is a convenience for travel, though you should confirm any specific charger or power bank works with it before relying on one.