When Canon first introduced its IXUS line of digital cameras, it delivered a gem of a design. The first IXUS, while offering a measly 1 megapixel of image resolution, was small and compact.

More importantly, it was the first model to abandon all curves in favour of a sleek, chiselled, box-like design.

It took a while, but Canon is finally returning to that design principal with the new Digital IXUS 90 IS, which apart from two slightly sloping ridges, is reminiscent of that first IXUS, which was a lot of people's first digital camera.

Despite its 'retro' influences, the IXUS 90 comes with all the latest features, including 10-megapixel imaging, a 3x optical zoom with Canon's unique lens-shift Image Stabilizer technology, and a 3-inch PureColor LCD screen that comes with anti-glare and anti-scratch coatings for better viewing.

The IXUS 90 also introduces a new scroll wheel control, which you spin to navigate through the camera's menus.

One impressive feature is Canon's new autofocus, which allows you to zoom into the focus area in the centre to show you whether or not it is actually focused.

Another cool feature is its time lapse movie mode, which takes a single frame of video every second and plays it back at 15 frames per second. That means what takes place in a minute in real time will be shown to you in 4 seconds during playback of time lapse movies.

The IXUS 90 IS is not on the market yet, but comes with a suggested retail price of about HK$3,300.

Pros: chiselled design, big screen, zooming feature for autofocus, time lapse movies

Cons: very slow (3 sec) between shots, grainy images when using high ISO setting

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