Excellent shots with fine tuning and practice
Written: Jun 20 '04
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Pros: Image quality! Ability to capture digital video, and easy upload of photos.
Cons: Autofocus settings are slow. Ships with 32MB CF card; need more memory to capture video.
The Bottom Line: Novices will find a challenge, Intermediates will find a good blend with options, and Advanced users should consider the overall package. ALL will enjoy the excellent image quality.
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| tartallini2's Full Review: Canon PowerShot® S5 IS Digital Camera |
"Read the book!" has never been my favorite thing to hear, but in the case of the Canon PowerShot S1 IS, it's certainly worth consideration if you want to enjoy your camera and get shots worth keeping.
I am a novice to intermediate digital camera user who purchased the Canon PowerShot S1 because of the 10X optical zoom and it's ability to shoot video. The Canon name has always said 'quality' to me, although I've never owned a Canon product until now.
Comparing this camera with the only other digital camera I've owned; a Fuji Finepix 2.1 megapixels, is unfair, so I won't even try. However it should be noted that Canon has 3.2 megapixels on the PowerShot S1, and when I have edited my photos using Microsoft Picture It or Adobe Photoshop and been using the highest resolution setting on the camera (2048 x 1536), it takes quite a bit of magnification before the pixels even show up to the naked eye. Compression of the photos (normal to superfine) will also be a factor in the clarity of the image, and can be adjusted per instructions in the book that comes with the camera.
The PowerShot S1 is a good looking camera, full of features... not a simple out of your pocket, point and shoot one. It looks more like a traditional SLR camera, with it's weight being slightly lighter than an SLR.
If you are like me and do not know how to set things manually, you will end up using the 'modes' which are on a dial on the top of the camera. They include: landscape, portrait, night scene, fast shutter, slow shutter, switch assist (to combine into a panorama) and movie modes. Each mode is designed to preset the camera to give you the best photo under varying conditions. The camera also has a self timer, combined digital and optical zoom of 32x, and a bright and clear flip out LCD screen. A pop-up automatic flash seems to work ok, but if the image you are shooting is too close, images are sometimes washed out. This can be fixed with imaging software such as Microsoft Picture It and Adobe Photoshop.
Setting up the camera requires you to format the included 32MB CompactFlash card. It's easily accomplished with the buttons on the back of the camera: SET and MENU. If you find it difficult to see the settings, you can flip out the LCD screen for easier viewing of the screen.
It took me some time to figure out how to delete images off the card... despite reading the book. Finally, I figured out that when viewing the images (turn 'on' to the right to do this...) if I hit the button on the back titled FUNC, it would then ask me 'delete?'. If I then hit SET, it would delete the image.
As for the 32MB CF card... it's a fast card, and it uploads your images quickly, but it's too small for movies, and will hold only about 30 images at a high resolution. I bought a 256MB card for $36 at a local store, and that seems to be adequate for my needs at this time. Ideally, if you wanted to take video consistantly with this camera, you would want to buy a 1GB HIGH SPEED CompactFlash card which would be approximately $150.
Uploading photos from the camera is very easy. There is a connection on the back of the PowerShot S1 (under a gray rubber flap) that is labeled DIGITAL; DC IN to the left of it and A/V Out to the right. Plug in the USB cord that is included in the packaging and it magically uploads your images. I did not install the included software due to Dell ImageExpert being my prefered software. The images were uploaded quickly and without errors. You can either delete them via the software or manually on the camera, but I prefer to make sure I have uploaded my images prior to deleting anything. You will also want to consider using a slightly lower compression rate and resolution if you don't want to invest in a larger CF card... but the images will not be as sharp.
The images obtained from one month of shooting with this camera are 85% great! I think the other 15% may be user error, more than the camera. I found that the lag time between me depressing the shot button and the time it took to actually take the photo was way too long. By the time the photo was taken, my subject had moved. Using the different modes didn't seem to help this, so I read a bit and decided to play with the shutter speed; putting it up to the fastest setting. This did the trick!
The camera has something called Image Stabalization (IS) and it's designed to help us shakey folks take great shots. It works; the button is on the left front of the camera lens housing and must be depressed to 'on' before taking the shot. There is also a 'manual' operation mode for this camera; MF for manual focus is a button that is located above the IS button in the same location.
Overall the camera is comfortable to hold, fairly lightweight, and with good button placement. On and Off are clearly marked and your zoom adjustment dial surrounds a button that is depressed to take your shot. For the autofocus to work, you must lightly depress the shot button prior to depressing it fully to take the shot. If it's taking too long to get it's ducks in a row... change your shutter speed and or mode and see if that helps you.
The battery life on this camera with ordinary alkaline AA's has been terrible. It's a HUNGRY camera! I'm going to be investing in rechargeables for this reason, and would highly recommend you consider doing so as well. The battery compartment is easily accesible and is located on the bottom of the camera housing, right next to the hole used for mounting the camera to a tripod (not included). The camera is retail packaged with 4 AA's, and it's been my experience thus far, that no matter what brand you use... if it's an alkaline battery, you'll get about 30-45 shots with this camera on a high resolution setting, per battery change. I do tend to flip back to the LCD to review and delete if necessary, and you can get more shots on per battery load if you wait to upload and review your photos. Both the movie mode and viewing on the LCD will eat up batteries very quickly!
The CompactFlash card is a Type I card, and loaded on the right side of the camera housing. The door to the slot is a bit flimsy, and I have to remind myself to use a gentle hand while removing the memory. There is also an 'eject' button (black) near the actual slot for the memory, that must be pushed down to release the memory card.
Advanced users will find the changing of the AF frame, the changing of light metering modes, adjusting the exposure and white balance all to be of interest. Changing the ISO speed and using photo effects such as: Vivid, Neutral, Low Sharpening, Sepia, B/W, and custom effects to be useful as well. Within the range of three shots, this camera can also automatically change exposure using AEB mode. Automatic flash can be adjusted as well; adjusting the timing of the flash manually. You can shoot images at timed intervals and save custom settings once programed into the camera.
Sound can also be attached to images in the form of a .WAV file. If you take a photo and you want to save it with a sound or voice file... you can do it! This is a great feature for emailing photos to people far away, who otherwise would not see AND hear you.
If you own a compatible Canon printer (I don't...) you can also directly print from the camera to the printer. The retail packaging comes with both the software and the cables necessary for this.
While the Canon PowerShot S1 IS isn't the 'easiest' digital camera to use, it's certainly one of the most feature packed. Some people will think that 3.2 megapixels isn't enough, but unless you plan on printing billboards... it's more than adequate. The 10X optical zoom is great, and while using it eats up the batteries quickly... those action shots at the swimming pool this summer will convince you this camera was worth every penny!
It is a camera to grow into if you are a novice, and one that won't bore you if you are an intermediate user. Advanced users may like it too, since it has so many opportunities for manual setting adjustments, and I'm convinced that all users will like both it's looks and the overall quality of images it takes no matter what the setting.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 394.15
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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Epinions.com ID:
tartallini2
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Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 0 members
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