I lent my friend my digital camera, a blue Canon Digital IXUS 80 IS. I was quite reluctant to do so, not because I do not like loaning out my gadgets, but because the last camera she used was the one that you had to put film on that even looked like the telephone handsets of yesteryears. Knowing this, even you would be scared. Oh, but she is quite adept in handling a computer so I guess my fears are unwarranted. As long as she knows where the on, shoot, flash, and off button is, I guess she will be okay. One other thing that worries me though is that she might erase all files I have on the memory card, which makes me want to transfer all my files first before I give it to her.

Anyway, I explained to my friend that the Canon Digital IXUS is known to have a more friendly nature, especially with digital camera newbies like her. Since I do not want her to make any other adjustment to the camera while shooting pictures, I placed it on auto mode, for shooting, white balance, contrast, flash, and of course, focusing. I only taught her how to manually focus it, just in case she wants to capture something at a distance, which this digital camera does great.

I further explained to her that should she want to make a video, she can also do so with the digital camera. She got a bit surprised but eagerly listened to my instructions on how to do it. All she needed to do was move the switch from camera to video and she is all set. I warned her not to shoot too much video clips since this can consume much of the battery power. It can handle probably an hour of continuous shooting. I handed her the battery charger just in case she forgot what I said.

She also wanted to know if she would be able to view her pictures and delete them if needed. I showed her the switch to move to reach that feature. I also mentioned to her that she can also transfer those files afterwards to her computer. I gave her the cable and taught her how to do it. She uses Windows Vista as her operating system so I didn’t really worry about that. She thanked me and promised to return my digital camera in one piece. As she left, I shouted out to her one last reminder that although it came in a waterproof case, I wouldn’t want to test it. I hope she heard me.

So now, I am still waiting for her to return it to me. I guess she had a great time with it. I didn’t see it fit to mention anymore its other features such as it being Pictbridge compatible, with red eye reduction, viewfinder, slow sync speed, flash exposure lock, photo effects, and various shoot modes although I think she already discovered it on her own. Oh well, I do hope I get back my Canon Digital IXUS 80 IS in one piece.