Canon IVY REC Outdoor Camera, Riptide

Canon Ivy Rec Outdoor CameraI have not been paid for this review nor am I affiliated with Canon or any camera or phone manufacturer in any way.Why this camera?Well, I bought the Canon Ivy Rec for fun. At a cost of only $130 I was thinking it was little more than a toy, and maybe that’s the best way to look at this little gizmo. It basically seems to be a phone camera but without the phone. For this reason I don’t think the Ivy Rec can compete with today’s real pocket cameras, and I hope my reason for saying this will be clear from the rest of this review.Consideration of other reviewers’ comments:One reviewer reported that he couldn't get the micro SD card into the slot. Admittedly it's not easy to do, but it can be done. I found that after putting the card in and pulling it out a few times, it became distinctly easier. The label on the card should be facing the subject you are photographing, and I found that the card will not go in the wrong way.First, the obvious positive stuff:This little camera isn't “cheap junk” or even just "junk" as two reviewers have indicated. It appears to be well made, and all the switches and dials seem to work as they should. It’s a real camera that’s waterproof and shock proof and is very light weight. As for all the features such as 1080p video, wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity, etc., these can all be found in the camera’s description on Amazon and other sites.Now, the obvious negative stuff:>> There is no screen or viewfinder so one must experiment with the “window” to see what will or will not be in the shot. I found this to be perhaps the most challenging feature of this camera, and I’m still not comfortable with it. Still, it’s obviously something that can be mastered with time and practice.>> Moreover, without a screen there’s no way to review your shot. If the camera is in touch with your smart phone via the Canon Mini Cam App, you can review your shot on your phone. But if you’ve got your phone fired up and working, why not just take the picture with your phone? I don’t see the sense in this.>> The shutter release is hard to press, and I struggled with it quite a bit at first. I imagine this has something to do with it being waterproof. The force necessary to release the shutter, combined with the camera’s very light weight, makes it hard to hold the camera steady when shooting a still image. (This is a common complaint about lightweight pocket cameras in general.) I find I have to make a concerted effort to stay very still, otherwise the image is blurry. So far maybe only 2 out of 3 shots are usable. Again, I expect this to improve with practice.Image Quality:Ordinary people (not professionals or serious enthusiasts) usually want to know about image quality and portability, and almost nothing else. If the image quality is not good, no one will buy this camera. It hasn’t been out long enough for the experts to critique its performance in this area, but in the next few months expect to see a lot about that. So far I am satisfied with the image quality I am getting on my new “toy.”But don’t look at this camera as competing in any meaningful way with high-end pocket cameras such as Canon G7X or any cameras in the Canon “G” line. At best, this camera can compete with cell phone cameras and low-end or obsolete pocket cameras such as Canon SD1400IS (release date 2010). One review I read suggested that the Ivy Rec would probably not appeal to the professional photographer! Really?The Ivy Rec has a 13-megapixel CMOS sensor whose published resolution according to Nerd Techy is 4,128 x 3,096 pixels. Nerd Techy also says this is the same resolution as the Samsung Galaxy S7. The sample image I include here is 4,160 x 3,120 pixels which is 12.979 megapixels, exactly as advertised. How does this resolution compare with some “real” but lower-end Canon pocket cameras? Well, the Canon PowerShot S110 (release date 2012) is an excellent pocket camera with a 12-megapixel sensor. Also with a 12-megapixel sensor is the Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS (release date 2011). The iPhone8 camera also has 12 megapixels. I mention these particular cameras because I own all of them and can attest to their excellent performance.However, at this writing I haven’t been able to find any specs on the physical dimensions of the sensor of the Ivy Rec, although Nerd Techy hints that it is bigger than the iPhone sensors. This is an issue because 13 megapixels crammed onto a very small sensor will not produce the quality of images that those same megapixels will produce on a larger sensor, and the sensors in smart phones are notoriously small. The iPhone8 has a 4.8 x 3.6mm sensor, whereas the “G” line of Canon cameras has a 12.8 x 9.6mm sensor. The sensor area of the “G” cameras is over 7 times as great as that of the iPhone8’s sensor. But it’s more than just sensor dimensions because processors differ as to how well the image is rendered. Canon’s DIGIC processor is usually credited with producing Canon’s great color rendition, but nothing is said about the processor in Canon’s Ivy Rec camera.I also haven’t been able to find out about the lens on the Ivy Rec. The iPhone8 has a fast 1.8 lens making it very good in low light situations and for blurred background in portraits. It will be interesting to see the specs on the Ivy Rec lens when that information becomes available.Bottom Line:So is the Canon Ivy Rec worth $130? Well, not surprisingly it depends on what you want to do with your camera. If dangling something cute on your backpack appeals to you, then “yes.” If weight and simplicity of operation are your most important considerations, then maybe “yes.” If shooting underwater is a priority, then a definite “yes.” If ruggedness and durability are important, then again “yes.” But if image quality and features are important to you, the Ivy Rec is probably a bad choice. Still, you might think that for only $130 what could be better? Well, how about the 20 megapixel Canon PowerShot ELPH 180 with IS and 8x zoom (release date 2016)? It’s a better camera in almost every way yet sells for only $117 or less. The only places it fails to match or better the Ivy Rec is lack of connectivity and limitation to 720p video.I see the Canon Ivy Rec as a cute toy camera whose audience will probably be kids and teens who love to shoot video and share pictures while cutting up at pool parties and on the beach. Filming underwater antics of your friends seems like a fun thing to do, and if you happen to drop the thing in the ocean or the pool nothing bad happens. Drop it in the sand, and again the camera’s fine. It really is just a toy, but a fun and capable toy. So why did Canon come up with this gizmo? Well, people (and especially young people) are no longer buying pocket cameras; they rely almost 100% on their smart phone cameras for pictures and videos. Canon knows this, and as I’ve lamented in another camera review on Amazon, small point-and-shoot cameras will soon be gone. So maybe Canon thought that a cute but rugged toy camera will actually appeal to the younger generation who don’t want to risk damaging their cell phones. Fine, but from my senior citizen perspective, the Canon Ivy Rec rates no better than 3 stars.

Great camera! My spouse and I love the outdoors and we don’t always want to have our phones on us. I’ve read some reviews about needing your phone to activate the camera, and how it’s bad quality but I don’t agree! This camera, if used outside provides GREAT quality. This doesn’t replace a real quality camera, but for hikes and backpacking trips, it works WONDERS.Definitely could use some improvements with its accompanying app as it is a little glitchy. Always tries to reconnect, and it doesn’t always work. But it’s easy enough to just take out the SD card. other than that it’s a fun, sturdy little camera that works well for what we need. We take it when we don’t want to carry our phones. The pictures are pretty good- mostly for outdoor use as the lighting in homes makes it blurry. Awesome camera

I am a Canon lover. I have spent thousands of dollars on Canon SLR cameras and lenses. Thought I would give this one a shot, get something a little rugged for my daughter. However, this came out of the box with an SD card slot that was not aligned. I'm talking about eating the whole freaking SD card. It's not there, it doesn't register. It just fell into the cavity of this beautiful pink camera. Now there is no way to remove the card. I'd hold off for now. Hopefully, Canon can figure out what the heck happened in the manufacturing process. They are usually super spot on, but something slipped through the quality control on this one... It's a shame, I was so looking forward to letting the kids use this for their adventures.

Pros.The camera design is slim and nice to look at.Cons.The camera does not give you any feedback as to the quality of the pictures taken or even how many pictures can be further taken. You simply do not know what you took, what it looks like or even if it is out of focus or badly taken.The camera does not even give you an idea of how much battery power has been consumed or is left to be consumed.The camera is supposed to be waterproof and yet, it badly depends on your cellphone for picture quality feedback and battery status. Essentially, here you have a waterproof item that depends on a possibly non-waterproof item. Worst is to have to operate two different devices to essentially operate one device, the camera.The idea for me was to not have to depend on my cellphone for taking pictures AND hopefully get better picture quality and more battery life. With this device you have to depend on your cellphone, so now you have to charge, take care and interact with two devices for every picture taken.This item may nice to look at, but that is all there is to it. This item is highly impractical and I highly discourage other people from bothering with it.

I used to have an HTC RE camera that I carried with me everywhere. Since they stopped making them, I've been looking for a replacement. I found this thing, whose form factor I prefer, and thought I'd check it out.The biggest reason that the reviews are terrible is that the original firmware is NOT good - especially for Android users. Luckily I have an ipad that allowed me to upgrade to the latest firmware without much issue. Now the camera works perfect with my Android phone.This camera NEEDS lots of light to take good video/pictures. I think that is one of the reasons that it is called an outdoor camera.I currently am using this mainly for video. I keep it strapped to my belt loop all day everyday. Its super easy to whip out to grab a shot of whatever my little girl and/or pup are doing. The quality of the 1080P 60FPS in the sunlight is fantastic, especially to grab some great slow motion shots.

I use this camera on my bike, great cheaper GoPro like camera.-Pros- - The mounting screw on the bottom made it really easy to attach. - wireless, you don't have to have the camera in your hands to take pictures or video, just need to be in Wifi range of the camera with your phone (also has the viewport).-Cons- - Wish I could connect it to my PC as a webcam. It has everything built into it to stream video to a computer. - Can't connect to a router for more range.-Conclusion- - Use this camera as a cheaper GoPro. - If you are going to it for everyday photos, this not the camera for you. Go buy a point and shot, if you need something better than your phone.-non-points- - Viewport. If your complaint is that "there is no viewport 1/5", 1: it never said it had 1 built-in, 2: It's in the phone/tablet app.

I'm not really sure what the appeal of this camera is, but I can't find it. I'm a Canon-loyal pro photographer & I wanted to get something sturdy for my kids. I'm left dumbfounded at how anyone is supposed to estimate what is in frame and in focus when clicking the shutter, as there is no viewfinder. I'm guessing it's set to f/22 or some other small aperture to compensate for this and supposedly ensuring that you'll have a subject in focus, but I find it's so hard to press the shutter release that you cause blur no matter what. Photos from this camera are awful. I wish I had just got them a PowerShot. But, I guess they're inheriting my old SLRs, which I really didn't want to happen just yet.I bought these cameras in September for Christmas. Having the confidence that I did in Canon, I didn't dream that I"d want to return them. They sat here until Christmas and we're just getting to using them today -- and because it's 4 months after purchase, I can't return them to Amazon. If I had purchased from brick & mortar, I would be able to return these today. So I've learned lessons about brand loyalty and amazon loyalty.

I bought this camera for my kid and not knowing what it can do. As for the price, it was really good compare to Bestbuy (half price plus more). As I open it, I expected scuffs and scratches. Nope there was none of that, it was just perfectly new. Then I thought, hmmm there maybe internal problems and guess what there was none. Simply put it, best buck for the bang.

Product arrived in undamaged box. When I opened it to charge it. It has obvious dust under the charge port cover. I think this item was returned.It will not charge and after two hours of trying to connect it with blue tooth. I decided to send it back. Disappointed that amazon will ship a broken defective non working product at such a price point.