By Nurul Syuhaida

WITHOUT compromising on their stylish looks and slim designs, Canon is equipping its latest range of compact cameras with D-SLR features that offer photographers more creative possibilities.  

Click on thumbnails to view the Canon Ixus 130. More photos on the following page. [Photos: Canon, AsiaOne]

At an exclusive Canon product preview on Wednesday, AsiaOne Digital was one of the first in Singapore to have a 'hands-on' session of three new models - the IXUS 130, IXUS 210 and PowerShot SX 210 S.

All three cameras possess a neat Fish Eye function, which replicates - to some extent - an image which would have require an expensive fish-eye lens on a D-SLR to produce.  

Canon has also introduced - a first for compacts, we believe - a Miniature Effect function that transforms your photos into a diorama, making them look "Toy-like" and which is great for shooting landscapes.  

Creating a miniature effect is not new in the photographic community, many have experimented with pricey Tilt Shift lenses and laborious photo editing.

While you might have heard of smile detection and face detection features, Canon has introduced a new feature on top of that - the Wink Self-timer.

You can set yourself nicely in front of the camera and just wink at it when you are ready. This feature makes your remote control or self-timer to your current camera redundant, we would say.

Bells and whistles aside, the new IXUS and Powershot cameras feature the same sleek bodies, come in various colours and are equipped with SMART features and HD movie recordings.