Quite Possibly the First Perfect Digital Camera! And it made our Europe Trip
Written: Dec 03 '06 (Updated Apr 21 '07)
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Pros: Durable, Excellent features and picture quality. Holds up well to overbloated models.
Cons: Medium and High-resolution videos are too short.
The Bottom Line: 5 years later, this camera still sells for what I paid for it. Quality speaks for itself.
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| kengland4's Full Review: Canon PowerShot S330 / IXUS 330 Digital Camera |
I had long eyed my brother-in-law's Canon S330 digital camera--he was smitten with it, extolling the virtues, and showing off macro photos of real and social flowers and butterflies, alike. It was an instant classic, with all of those features jam-packed into a sturdy, brushed metal case. So I was elated when he offered to loan it to us for our honeymoon--a jaunt through Spain and Italy.
Getting familiarized with the camera made quick work of the 16 hour flight to Barajas International Airport in Madrid, Spain. The lowlights were being stuck in the middle row, behind a bald-headed Starbucks aficionado and flirt whose head kept bobbing and weaving, blocking the view to the television as he excitedly chatted it up with the young lady who made a point of changing her seat to sit next to him, right before take-off. I eventually dealt with him, but I'll get to that later.
The 2 megapixel camera also has low and medium resolution options that turn out fine images, whether viewed on a computer screen, or printed out via a service (I highly recommend Costco's service--our 2 megapixel prints are virtually indistinguishable from traditional film prints, and ready in an hour or less). Photos printed on my Epson Photo 820 printer on photo paper are of approximately equal quality, and it's borderless-capable; the very first 8X10 print blew me away. See my related review here--http://www.epinions.com/content_159245897348. One lowest-resolution photo that I printed (at 3X5 size) looks as smooth as any of the 2 megapixel ones--a lot seems to depend on focus, lighting, and how large you print the image. There are also options for compression of the images--really jagged, medium-jagged, and smooth. I always leave the settings on 2 megapixel (1600X1200) and smooth/low compression, and frequently transfer the images to my computer. These options, however, make it possible to squeeze MANY more images on a flash card when you are far from home, as I had to utilize during this 2-week journey, taking just over 1000 images (and those are the ones I retained). I estimate that I took an average of 100 pictures per day, erasing 30.
This unit has so many features (and a great software suite) that I didn't uncover some until after many years of use.
The very intuitive "Zoom-Browser" program allows you to view the pictures while the camera is connected to your computer via the included mini-USB cable. I, however, have equally used Paintshop Pro 3.11 and Adobe Photoshop, as alternatives, transferring the files with a flash card reader. Other Mac/PC software included is Quicktime 5.0, Canon RemoteCapture 2.4, PhotoRecord 1.4 and WIA and TWAIN drivers for Windows--I have not used this extra software. In addition, you can take panoramic photos, capturing one section at a time, framing them in the viewfinder as you match the edges. You must, however, later use the included "stitching" software to finish building the image. This is so inconvenient that I've never tried it. Also, the unit will take 4,10, or 30 seconds of video in low, medium, or high resolutions, respectively, at 20 frames per second. And pressing the "up" arrow during video review, I'd accidentally discovered, allows you to hear the recorded sound, as well--for many years, I thought the sound could only be heard after transferring the file to my pc. The actual video resolutions are 160X120, 320X240, or 640X480, and I've had acceptable results with even the lowest setting-- I'll attempt to submit one to America's Funniest Home Videos, after some tidying-up. The shutter speed ranges from a claimed 15 seconds to 1/1500, although I don't know how to get the elongated time. It also will print directly to certain Canon printers, and an optional waterproof case (to 30 meters!) is available.
As an owner of a Minolta Maxxum 8000i semi-pro SLR camera, a n excellent film camera with many digital features, I was very pleasantly surprised with all of the options jammed into this model of miniaturization and style (circa 2002, albeit). Suffice it to say, I haven't used the Minolta since, oh, about 2002 (partly due to the cost and wait associated with film and developing).
There are manual and automatic modes, with many sub-options. Besides compression and size, you can choose an ISO film speed of 50, 100, 200, or 400, turn off the intelligent autofocus (which I do, in order to snap pics quicker, and take more natural pictures with intentional out-of-focus subjects), defeatable digital zoom (it has 3X optical/3.5X digital zoom, for a total of 7X), a 10 or 2-second timer, options for 0, 2, or 10-second review of images, a defeatable autofocus beam, a file number reset option, defeatable auto-rotate of images, and a defeatable long shutter, useful only when capturing running water, or some other flowing imagery or intended effect.
Setup options include audible beep on/off, volume, auto power shut-off on/off, date/time setting, formatting of flash card,12(!) language settings, and NTSC/PAL selectable image output. Finally, you can set the theme of the camera, which includes both sounds and images, startup images and sounds, operation and self-timer sounds (my favorite is the howling wolf, which can capture some fairly unintended facial expressions).
The playback mode has an extra set of menu options--you can protect images from deletion, rotate them on the camera's LCD screen, add a sound memo, erase all of the files, set up and start a slide show, arrange a DPOF print order, which I've never tried, and presumably works through the Zoombrowser software and an Internet connection, and a DPOF Transfer order, which I've likewise never tried.
In automatic mode, up to three white squares meter your subject. You press the shutter down halfway until they turn green, then depress it completely when you want to capture the image. A very reaffirming confirmation beep will be heard as each operation is completed, or button pressed. Images captured in this way are almost completely idiot-proof.
Manual mode (I only use this) is more akin to traditional SLR operation. Only one central square meters the scene. The top button in the circularly-arranged quartet puts brackets in this square, which I presume activates a "spot-metering" mode, and I just confirmed this in an informal test in which text on a newspaper underneath a subject was much clearer when this option was not selected. It should be noted that manual and automatic modes retain separate menu settings, useful for 2 users with distinct preferences.
The LCD is bright and colorful. Details are clearly discernible, even at 10X zoom (in review mode). It looks fuzzy at times, but only the lowest resolution images occasionally look like that after printing or viewing on a larger screen--it's more a reflection of the available light, in my opinion.
Several other features round out the options. Four flash options-automatic, fill-in (I usually use this), red eye reduction, and "off"-illuminate your subject. Focusing options include macro mode, neatly indicated by a flower, near-and-far, and "off." Macro mode captures excellent images as close as about 6 inches. There is also a continuous shooting mode, which takes about 2 pictures per second in automatic mode with the flash off and adequate lighting (I have seen specs up to 2.5 fps--it feels pretty fast). You can adjust the white balance, manually from -2 to +2, or choose from the following presets--auto, daylight, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent (low and high), and there's even an option to "evaluate white balance." Photo effects include: vivid, neutral, low sharpening, sepia tone, black/white, and "off."
The unit fits nicely in my larger hands, not unwieldy or off-balance like others I've handled. It has a 5.4-16.2 mm lens with ratios of 1:2.7 to 1:4.7. The flash is adequate for most situations, and the standard battery lasts about 2 hours in normal use--they also recharge pretty quickly. It uses standard type-1 compact flash cards, and I utilize a 512MB one. An included video cable connects to a tv to preview photos and videos in mono sound. The picture quality in tv mode is excellent, limited only by the tv itself. There is also a threaded tripod mounting hole, which accepts standard tripods.
Replacement batteries can be expensive, but I picked up 3 premium replacements from http://www.batteryheads.com for about $5 each, and they work fabulously. With a big-enough flash card, and a backup battery or 2, you can blissfully snap away almost indefinitely. A lanyard is included, to safely tether the unit to you.
You're probably wondering about the bald-headed Starbucker on the plane. Well, my wife and I were getting really fed up with him and, I don't know if I'd consciously planned this or not, but after returning from the bathroom (I was approaching him from the front), I used the top of his seat as a handrest, pushing it WAY down--far enough until he was looking almost straight up at me, in full bug-eyed wonder. Looking down at him, I dryly said,"Oh, sorry..," and sat down. I didn't hear anyone laughing out loud, and I don't remember if that caused any behavior modification on his part, but I know I felt a bit better, and I get HUGE laughs whenever I recount this story.
After almost 5 years of use, the Canon S330 digital ELPH still looks and operates like new, and garners many positive comments, both on the style and operation, and all of the buttons work flawlessly. The only clue to its age is some wear of the rubber pad on the battery compartment, which doesn't affect it's operation at all--in fact, one would have to look closely to notice. It's one of the smartest purchases I've ever made.
Update-- we now own the Canon A630, an 8-Megapixel "smorgasganza" of features so complex, that it should include a separate manual for the learning curve. Yet we still fondly use and cherish the S330, for its simplicity, reliability, and beautiful features.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 299
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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Epinions.com ID:
kengland4
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Member: Kevin England
Location: Signal Hill, CA USA
Reviews written: 98
Trusted by: 40 members
About Me:
HAPPY B'DAY TO ME!BLACK FRIDAY!In lieu of a gift, read & rate a review--comments!
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