This image is full size superfine taken straight out of the camera. The lens is at its widest angle. It is a difficult shot for a camera as you would expect extreme CA effects on the left where bright light meets darker edges and you would expect graininess in the darker areas on the right but the lens performs very well across the whole frame. There is some reduction in resolution at the far edges but this is due to the rectilinear stretching of the image done by the lens rather than poor lens resolution. In the bottom corners the resolution is quite good for detail in the lighter wood so there is not the same sort of problem with lens resolution out to the far edges and corners that the 240 HS was having. At the centre of the image, the edges of the dark picture on the wall and where the wall meets the bamboo panelling are showing sharpening artefacts which is a fault of this camera. It might be a fault in the algorithm as there is some latitude for extra sharpening as the noise is so well controlled. The image is not as sharp and detailed as what you could get from full frame 35mm but this full-sized (12.1 Mpixel) superfine image is good enough for a respectable 8x10" print plus the image has the huge depth of field that these small sensor formats give you.

For pure online or computer viewing, the image looks better if adjusted to 75% of the dimensions. That way the artefacts are much less noticeable while at the same time most of the image detail is kept. At 70% the artefacts largely disappear at the expense of some image detail. The M1 size setting is 70% of full size. It would have been better if this were 75% of full size to keep more image detail. It is probably safer to keep the image at full size as it is a simple matter to downsize using an image editor. You just have to make sure your memory card is large enough.

When downsized to 75% the images show more density and detail and look like the equivalent of the quality you should get from a full-frame 35mm DSLR. This means the 12.1 megapixel image is the equivalent of 12.1*0.75*0.75=6.8 megapixels from a full framed 35mm DSLR. That seems about right. For publishing quality, a minimum of 8 megapixels is required and a tiny 1/2.3" sensor will never give a publishable image, although the image can look very good. A useful "plus" is that you have a much greater depth of field which can be an advantage where you want as much detail to be in focus as possible. This would be typical for travel photos where you are taking pictures of friends or family and you have interesting scenery of the place you are visiting in the background that you want to capture for memory's sake. That is why you should consider owning a high quality travel zoom such as the IXUS 255 HS. Not only is it extremely light and portable but for travel photography it may give you more pleasing photos than a more bulky DSLR, due to its greater depth of field, while giving you much higher quality than you can get from a smartphone. And maybe a small travel zoom is less of a target for theft so long as you don't leave it lying around for somebody to pick up.