Canon's first P&S Prosumer compact digital camera (the S30) was designed to blend the diminutive size and ease of use of the tiny digital elf digicams with the creative capabilities and advanced imaging technology of the G family. The new Powershot S80 may be the ultimate realization of that design concept, an almost perfect general use imaging tool that provides virtually all the creative potential of the G6 in a unit that's smaller, lighter, easier to use, and cheaper. If that's not enough, the S80 also provides several genuinely useful improvements over the very popular (and now discontinued) S60 and S70 models while retaining just about everything that made those two cameras so popular with savvy consumers.

What's New? How does the S80 differ from the S60/S70?

At first glance the S80 looks a lot like it's "S" family predecessors, although it is slightly smaller and a bit lighter. The primary visible differences are the snappy stylistic fusion of the S60's utilitarian brushed aluminum finish and the "pro" black finish of the S70 and the 2.5 inch LCD screen (the S60/S70 had a 1.8 inch LCD screen) that dominates the S80’s back deck. Under the hood, the S80 sports an 8.3 megapixel CCD sensor, Canon’s faster and more powerful second-generation DIGICII processor, and USB 2.0 High Speed connectivity. For the icing on the cake Canon’s design folks added a live histogram, an EOS SLR style omni selector Command Dial (for super easy access to menus, shooting functions, and scrolling through captured images during playback) and a new compass switch (four-way control pad). So what did Canon dump (that they shouldn't have) in the re-design? The S70's ability to capture RAW image files -- the S80 saves only JPEG image files.

NUTS & BOLTS

Viewfinder/LCD

The S80 recycles the S70's slightly squinty tunnel style optical viewfinder which covers about 80 per cent of the image area and zooms with the lens, but provides no parallax correction marks (for more accurate close-up framing). There's also no diopter correction for eyeglasses wearers.

The S80's new hi-res 2.5" LCD screen is bright (screen brightness can be adjusted over a 15 step range), sharp, color accurate, and fluid. The S80's improved default full info LCD display provides all the data most users are likely to need. Canon finally added the live histogram "S" family fans have been clamoring for and there's also an on demand grid line overlay to help create compositional balance and level horizons.

Zoom

What really sets the S80 apart from its competition is its all-glass (8 elements in 7 groups with 2 aspherical and 1 UA element) f2.8-f5.3/28-100 (35mm equivalent) moderate wide angle to portrait telephoto length zoom. The S80's zoom utilizes Canon's advanced Ultra high refractive index aspheric lens element molding process to create a very compact lens with lower levels of optical distortion than similarly complex ultra compact zooms. This zoom was specially designed (for the S60 and S70) to provide a true wide-angle (28mm) perspective, making it very useful for landscapes, group shots, and travel photography. The 100mm telephoto length is perfect for formal portraits, environmental portraits, and street/candid/event photography. Like the S70/S60 (and unlike the S50, S45, S40, and S30), the S80 permits the use of photo filters, a 2X extender, and auxiliary close-up, wide-angle, and telephoto lenses.

Minimum focusing distance (in macro mode) is 1.6 inches. Chromatic aberration (purple fringing) is a bit higher than average (due primarily to the complexity of the lens design). Barrel distortion (straight lines bow out from the center) is noticeable, but not obtrusively so and pincushion distortion (straight lines bow in toward the center of the frame) is remarkably well controlled at the telephoto end of the zoom’s range. The S80's optical performance is consistently excellent, but the painfully slow f5.3 maximum aperture at the telephoto setting may limit usefulness, especially as a bar/party/indoor camera. The S80's zoom (not surprisingly for an optic this small and complex) creates images that display minor, but consistent softness in the corners especially at f2.8.

Auto Focus

Auto Focus with the S60 and S70 was very fast, but the S80's AF is noticeably faster (Canon claims 20 per cent faster, under some circumstances) than it's predecessors. In addition, low/dim light AF is also visibly improved.
In all auto exposure modes the S80 defaults to Canon's proven nine focus point AiAF (Advanced intelligent Auto Focus) system. The AiAF system analyzes the scene in front of the camera and accurately calculates camera to subject distance to determine which AF point is closest to the primary subject and locks focus (closest focus priority) on that AF point. Experienced photographers can choose which of the 9 focus points they want to manually line up with the most important element in the composition (like the eyes or face in a portrait).

In aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual mode, the S80 utilizes Canon's proprietary Flexizone AF, which defaults to the center focus point or permits users to manually shift that AF point around the image frame for maximum creative control. When Spot metering is enabled, the metering spot can be set for the center of the frame or linked to the active Flexizone AF point, allowing the photographer to align the AF target with the most important element in the composition and tie the camera's metering to that same spot.

The S80's AF Bracketing (AFB) function allows the camera to capture three exposures in rapid succession (with a single push of the shutter button) marginally shifting the focus for each (one just slightly in front of the optimum focus point, one at the optimum focus distance, and one just slightly behind the optimum focus point), virtually guaranteeing at least one sharply focused image even in rapidly unfolding action/sports situations. This is an especially useful feature when focusing is critical.
Auto Focus is very fast and consistently accurate (virtually real time with pre-focusing and almost instantaneous from scratch) noticeably faster than the S60/S70.

The S80 also provides users with manual focus capability (stepped distance type MF with a reference scale displayed on the LCD), which is useful when tack sharp focus is important, but slow and somewhat cumbersome irl use. In MF mode the image displayed in the center of the LCD screen is enlarged as an aid to precise focusing.

Flash

The S80's built-in multi mode (Auto, Redeye reduction, Slow-sync --1st and 2nd curtain synch effect, Fill and Off) flash does a pretty good job, considering its tiny size. Users can select first or second curtain sync effect (the S80 like virtually all P&S digital cameras has a combined iris/shutter rather than a true focal place shutter so there are no actual shutter curtains) allowing the camera to mimic SLR flash timing (first curtain synch fires the flash immediately after the shutter opens and second curtain synch fires the flash immediately before the shutter closes). Second curtain synch is great for showing a sense of motion (blurred areas of runners, race cars, bicycles---for instance--- are behind the subject). Manual flash mode the S80's on board flash fires only a single burst (there's no pre-flash), so Canon's nifty HF-DC1 (optional) external slave flash unit will synchronize properly with the on board flash. Canon claims the S80's built in flash has a maximum reach of about 14 feet, but based on my limited use 10-11 feet is a more realistic maximum flash distance.

Macro images (minimum-focusing distance is 1.6 inches) are very sharp (although corners are slightly soft), but flash coverage up close is uneven and balancing hot spots with underlit areas will be a real challenge. Flash exposure can be adjusted up to -2/-2 EV (in 1/3 EV increments) and flash output power can be manually reduced from full power to 2/3 or 1/3 power, just like the G6.

The S80's Focus Assist function automatically projects a beam of patterned light that helps the AF system to get a lock on subjects in low light.

File Formats/Memory Media

The S80 captures images in JPEG format (what happened to the RAW option?) and saves those images to SD/MMC (previous "S" family cameras used CompactFlash) cards. Canon includes a 32MB SD starter card.

Connectivity

A/V out (for connection to TV), USB 2.0 High Speed (it's about time Canon!), and DC in (to use the camera with the optional AC/DC adapter).

Power

The S80 recycles the NB-2LH (the older NB-2L can also be used) Lithium rechargeable battery from the S60/S70. Battery life is slightly improved over the S60/S70 because the DIGIC II processor more efficiently manages power, however I would still recommend that heavy shooters and serious travelers buy a back-up battery. My friend and I used the S80 very heavily over the course of our test and battery life was remarkably consistent -- 150-175 images (full time LCD use, occasional flash use, and moderate to heavy image review). The included charger needs about 90 minutes to fully re-charge the NB-2LH battery.

EXPOSURE

The S80 (like its predecessors) provides a full slate of exposure options (Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual exposure mode, and Scene modes (Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Underwater, Indoor, Kids & Pets, Night Snapshot, & Digital Macro). The S80 utilizes Canon's proprietary Intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space (iSAPS) technology to produce consistently super "auto easy" exposures in all scene modes. The camera matches the scene in front of the camera to an on board database of categorized images and then compares that information with data provided by the S80's DIGIC II processor (contrast, lighting, color, and subject/focusing distance) to automatically optimize all exposure parameters for ultra simple shooting in a wide variety of specific exposure situations. Canon's second generation DIGIC II processor improves auto focusing accuracy and processing speed while simultaneously processing images that are optimized for ultra sharp resolution, excellent contrast, low noise, and bright colors. The DIGIC II processor also reduces power consumption (35 per cent, according to Canon) by more efficiently managing camera operations and conserving power resources.

The S80's Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) function allows users to automatically capture a series of 3 images, each at a slightly different exposure setting. Users can manually set the exposure variables from 2/-2 EV in 1/3 EV increments. The camera captures all 3 exposures with one press of the Shutter button, which virtually guarantees at least one "right on the money" exposure even in tricky lighting or with subjects that are noticeably darker or lighter than their surroundings.

Movie Mode

The S60/S70 Movie Mode (640 x 480 @ 10 fps for up to 30 seconds at the highest resolution) was nothing to write home about and many Canon users have complained bitterly that the "S" model line's movie mode needed to move into the 21st century. It took them a while, but Canon finally provided "S" fans with a movie mode that (according to Canon) "rivals the video output of some high-end digital camcorders." The S80 captures video at a special (XGA) 1024X768 pixels @ 15 fps setting or standard video at 640X480 pixels @ 30 fps (and lower resolutions). Clip duration is limited only by the size of the installed SD card (up to 1 GB).

Metering

The S80 (like the S70) offers three user selectable metering modes (Evaluative, Center-Weighted Averaging, and Spot). The evaluative (default) metering mode is consistently accurate and dependable, even under difficult lighting. When Spot metering is enabled, the metering spot can be set to the center of the frame or linked to the active Flexizone AF point (allowing users to tie metering and auto focus to the single most important element in the image). The Center-weighted averaging mode is super for shooting traditional "look" landscapes and portraits.

White Balance

The S80 provides TTL Auto WB and several pre-calculated white balance settings (Custom/Manual, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, flash, and underwater) designed to cover most shooting situations. Select Auto WB and the S80 splits the image area into segments and then evaluates each segment for more accurate color balance, even in tricky lighting. Users can select the Custom White Balance mode and point the camera at a white wall or ceiling (or a 3x5 white index card) and store the reading. The custom white balance mode can store two different (custom 1 & custom 2) lighting situations, making switching between indoor and outdoor shooting environments simple.

Sensitivity

The S80 provides an adequate, but fairly pedestrian range of sensitivity settings, including Auto, 50, 100, 200, and 400 ISO (35mm equivalent).

In-Camera Image Adjustment Options

The S80's My Colors mode allows users to choose their preferred color balance, swap one color for another, or select Vivid or Neutral color, Low Sharpening, Sepia, and B&W options.

The S80's exposure compensation (exposure can be adjusted through a +2/-2 EV range in 1/3 EV increments) function can also be enabled to help manage difficult lighting (by allowing users to quickly and easily lighten or darken exposures).

CONTROLS, DESIGN, & ERGONOMICS

The S80 is an elegant little digicam that's compact enough to drop in a shirt pocket or small purse. All controls are logically placed and quickly become intuitive and the ergonomically contoured camera body is comfortable to hold and use, even for extended periods. Canon's engineers designed the S80's improved user interface so that most shooting functions could be accessed via external controls, making the S80 simpler to use than previous "S" models. The S80's aluminum magnesium alloy and high-gloss black aluminum body is durably constructed and should be tough enough to go just about anywhere and capture stunning images when it gets there.

Technical Specifications

Resolution: 8.3 Megapixels (3264 x 2448)
Viewfinders: Real-image Optical and 2.5 inch TFT Color LCD
Lens: f2.8-f5.3/28-100 (35mm equivalent) all glass (8 elements in 7 groups) optical zoom
Exposure: Auto, program, shutter priority, aperture priority, and manual
Flash: Built-in multi mode
Metering: Evaluative (default), Center Weighted Averaging, or Spot
White Balance: TTL Auto and Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent Hi, Flash, Underwater, and Custom 1 & 2)
Auto Focus: TTL 9 point AiAF
Exposure Compensation: Yes (+/-2EV in 1/3 EV increments)
Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB): Yes
Sensitivity: Auto, 50, 100, 200, and 400 ISO (35mm equivalent)
Image File Formats: JPEG
Image Storage Media: SecureDigital (SD) or MMC cards
Connectivity: USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, A/V out, DC in
Power: 1 NB-2LH Lithium battery

Street Price Range $529.00 -- $549.00

Included

NB-2LH Lithium-Ion battery, CB-2LT battery charger, 32 MB CF card, Wrist strap, USB & AV cables, Software CD-ROM, printed User’s Manual, and software manual

Optional/Accessories

HF-DC1 slave flash unit, Soft Case, Conversion Lens Adapter, Waterproof Case, compact Battery Charger, Car Battery Charger, AC/DC Adaptor, supplementary lenses, and a wireless remote.

In the Field/Handling & Operation

I have an old friend who sells new and used (digital and film) cameras. He shares my fascination with new techno toys so when he stopped by to ask if I wanted to help him check out the new Canon Powershot S80, he knew my answer would be in the affirmative. I've used (and liked) each of the S80's predecessors (S30, S40, S45, S50, S60, and S70) so I was pretty sure I'd like the newest member of the tribe.

In Louisville, one of the first dependable signs of autumn is the annual St. James Court Art Fair. The SJCAF is consistently rated one of the best fine arts shows in the U. S. and usually draws around 300,000 spectators, special event fans, and patrons of the arts for the three-day show. My friend and I both enjoy it because it is one of the best "people" shows in the central U. S. The crowd is always an eclectic mixture of young and old, hip and square, and everything in between.

Among the many offerings (paintings, drawings, prints, hand blown glass, wood carvings, hand made paper and textiles, furniture, and hundreds of other art forms) are the works of numerous fine art photographers, so it is always possible that we'll get to see the early work of a budding Helmut Newton, Robert Doisneau, Jock Sturges, Eliot Porter, Eve Arnold, Judy Dater, Duane Michals, or Ernst Haas.

Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous fall day, warm and sunny with blue skies and exceptional light. We parked on Burnett Street near Juanita's Burger Boy and walked up to Louisville's funky retro-hip Magnolia Bar & Grill for the Un-Fair, a low key counter art show staged each year by starving local artists who feel they’ve been frozen out of participation in the upscale St. James Court affair. My friend and I spent about half an hour shooting environmental portraits of the local cognoscenti seeing and being seen checking out the un-art and the un-artists. When we were finished at the Unfair we walked up to St. James Court, for the real deal.

St. James Court was built on the site of the 1883-1887 Southern Exposition (the first major U. S. industrial exhibition to be completely lit by electricity. President Chester A. Arthur and Thomas Edison threw the switch that lit up the grounds and opened the exhibition) staged to honor the post Civil War rebirth of Southern industry). As the World's very first electric trolley hauled tourists around the brightly lit Southern Exposition grounds, General George Crook and a huge force including the revenge driven remnants of Custer’s 7th Cavalry were in hot pursuit of Geronimo and a tiny band of defiant Apache warriors 1500 miles west of Louisville in the Arizona Territory. After the Southern Exposition a business syndicate bought the property and built St. James, Belgravia, and Fountain Courts and lined them with scores of magnificent Victorian and Edwardian era homes. The area is one of Louisville’s most beloved landmarks.

St. James Court was alive with art sellers, art buyers, and thousands of folks just out enjoying the beautiful day. We spent several hours just making booth loops and shooting the most interesting of the local characters in attendance, some art work, several buskers, architectural details of some of the lovely old houses, and close-up shots of the colorful fall floral displays under the oblique afternoon golden light. The S80 was up to every challenge we threw its way. When the light started to fade we called it a day.

When we got together Sunday morning, it was another beautiful fall day with blue skies and wispy white clouds. We headed for Cave Hill Cemetery to search for the first signs of the changing season at Louisville's unofficial arboretum. The old cemetery is filled with rare plants, trees, and bushes (in addition to thousands of 19th century grave markers, hundreds of mausoleums, and a rustic groundskeepers cottage) so the first signs of autumn tend to appear at Cave Hill a week or two before they are visible anywhere else. We did find a handful of individual trees (Dogwoods, Sourwoods, Black Gum, and a couple of exotics) that were starting to show some color, but in truth the trip was a bust. After we failed to find any autumnal landscapes we spent a couple of hours shooting interesting old native limestone grave markers and the ever-present families feeding the ducks, geese, and swans at the small lake just under the hill that gives this old cemetery it's name.

PERFORMANCE

Image Quality

We reviewed all images we'd shot over the course of the weekend on a 19" NEC CRT monitor and printed two 8X10 enlargements with an Epson Stylus Photo 2200 (on Epson glossy paper) printer. Image quality should always be the number one consideration when assessing camera performance. The S80 consistently delivered well above average image quality. Both enlargements were sharp as a tack when viewed through a Mamiya 4X loupe (designed for checking out medium format prints)with bright slightly over saturated picture postcard like colors. ISO 50 is the S80’s sweet spot, but ISO 100 images are almost equally appealing. Noise begins to show a bit at ISO 200 and can be off-putting at ISO 400.

Timing/Shutter Lag

The S80 is noticeably faster than the S60/S70 (due primarily to the more powerful DIGIC II processor) and shutter lag is perceptibly shorter than average. The S80’s from scratch AF times are slightly better than the S60/S70 and with pre-focus AF response is essentially real time. Shot to shot times are slightly faster than those of the S80’s predecessor and write to card times are a good deal quicker than those of the S60/S70.

A Few Concerns

I don't have any serious concerns with the S80, but that doesn't mean it is a perfect compact prosumer digicam. The built-in flash is too close to the lens (so red-eye will be a problem in portraits) and battery life could have been better. While I'm pleased with the addition of the live histogram, I'm a bit irked that Canon decided to do away with the S70’s RAW image format.

Conclusion

The S80 provides almost the same level of creative capability as Canon's Flagship G6, plus it’s smaller, lighter, cheaper, easier to use, sports a true wide-angle zoom, and looks better than its older sibling. Serious photographers who want a compact digicam with a high level of individual creative control, casual photographers who want the current "it" camera, and hikers/bikers/backpackers/travelers who want lots of photographic options in a small tough "take it anywhere" package will love the S80. There are higher resolution digital cameras, smaller digital cameras, and cheaper digital cameras, but the snazzy little S80 is simply the coolest and most capable digital camera available at this point in time (and just in time for the holiday gift giving season). Don’t look for much of a discount on the S80; I'm guessing the price won’t fall below $499.00 until after the first of the year. Recommended without reservation.

Links

If you would like to see a selection of images that are very similar to and typical of the sort of test pictures I shoot for my epinions digital camera reviews, click on the first link under Favorite Links on my profile page (to get to my EPS profile page from this review, just click on my name under about the author). The Favorite Links link will take you to my forum page at DCR. Click on the “find all posts by Howard Creech" (under Forum Info). My DCR reviews each feature a selection of my images.

The observations, opinions, recommendations, and conclusions provided in my digital camera reviews are based on more than 30 years experience as a photographer and extensive hands on testing of each of the cameras reviewed. I receive no compensation from DCR.com for your visit or any subsequent purchase you may make. You can return to epinions at any time (either open the link in a new window or hit your back button). The Canon Powershot SD500 and the Canon Powershot A520 posts were submitted as text only reviews and the images that illustrate those two posts were shot by a DCR.com staffer.

For definitive advice on How to Choose a Digital Camera please see my review:

http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-2E46-17B174E2-39A418E3-prod1

Don’t need 8 megapixels? Check out Canon’s snazzy A620

http://www.epinions.com/content_197079174788

Want more zoom (and Image Stabilization)? Take a look at Panasonic’s amazing FZ30

http://www.epinions.com/content_195479506564

or Canon’s nifty S2-IS

http://www.epinions.com/content_185621319300



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 549.00
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts