Canon PowerShot S80 Digital Camera

Pros: 8 megapixels, DIGICII processor, compact, user friendly, and a true wide-angle zoom
Cons: No RAW format, squinty optical viewfinder, image noise unacceptable at highest ISO setting

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 ...

Pros: Picture detail, ease of use, tons of manual options
Cons: Bulky, LCD not the best, Low light/indoor not great.

About PowerShot S-Series: The canon PowerShot S80 is the replacement of the much acclaimed PowerShot S70 (7 MP). The characteristics of this Series is the sliding lens cover & the oblong shape and offering tons of manual settings. The S70 ...

Pros: Excellent image quality, fast, easy to change settings, continuous mode indefinite, pro-level controls.
Cons: Easy to accidentally change settings; no RAW mode.

I have owned the canon powershot series since the S30, and have upgraded to each new model (see my past reviews), and must say that the improvements in the S80 have made the biggest step forward of any model in the series. The controls are well ...

Pros: Great picture quality, fairly easy to operate.
Cons: Expensive, slow shutter speed and poor red eye quality.

I have to admit I am not the biggest fan of Canon. I received a Canon Powershot S20 for a gift and bad is an understatement. So I was reluctant to try the Canon Powershot S80. It has a hefty price tag of $500-600. So it needs to provide some bang ...

Pros: Very robust
Cons: Bulky

The first thing you will notice on the camera is that this camera has many features. As expected, you have the ability to set shutter speed, f stop, focus (MF or AF), and ISO speed. There are other features like video capture, photo stitch, specific ...

Pros: Near great image quality, lots of options.
Cons: Clumsy and overly big--not really a pocket camera--and perhaps too many options!

This isn't a bad camera, and the image quality is very high, but it's imperfect and big for its talents, and it doesn't have image stabilization. Would I buy it again? No, but I'm still using it. The camera is complicated but has features galore, it is ...

Pros: The S80 exuded quality. It was easier and more intuitive to use than the Nikon.
Cons: The softness of the Canon lens and the weak flash adversely affect picture quality.

I purchased a PowerShot S80 and a Nikon 8700 8 megapixel set at the same time. I wanted the Canon 28-100 mm lens to complement the Nikon 35-280. I also wanted a pocket sized camera to carry when the larger Nikon could not be used. On paper, the Canon ...

Pros: Great features, great pictures, lovely to see and own.
Cons: Unreliable and useless for actually taking pictures anywhere you might want to actually use it.

I really loved this camera. Bought it for my wife to take on her first trip to china with my daughter. It is less than two weeks old and on the first day of the trip she tells me that it is not working and shows "E18" in on the screen.
Turns out this is a problem with Canon cameras. It has been around for years and seems to happen to many, many people sooner or later, and often sooner. I can probably get it fixed under warranty but who could ever trust it again? I wish there was more warning about this. On CNET they give this camera an extremely high review. But now I wish I had seen the sob stories of the other poor schmucks before I became one too!

Pros: Excellent lens, no shutter lag, SD memory, rechargeable battery, overall design
Cons: Low optical zoom but in such a compact camera it would be nearly impossible

I purchased the Canon S80 because of past experience with Canon cameras, the enormous 8 megapixels and the ability to record video. Along with the camera I purchased a 2gb memory card to make sure I had enough memory for the 3 minute video clips. I thoroughly enjoy that I can take wide angle shots without changing the lens and in less than a second, hit the flower icon and take an ultra close up pic of a butterfly. Camera versatility is a 9 out of 10 for me, no matter the setting, I am able to take an excellent picture (without that annoying shutter lag either). It is also versatile in it's operation, allowing it to be the simplest point and shoot, to a sophisticated manual operation, although with how well the camera performs in Auto, I feel that I would need the desire for the abstract to use the manual setting. This has been an excellent performer camera, small enough to fit in my pocket and the ability to turn on in seconds I take it everywhere I go to get those unexpected pictures.

Pros: nice compact size, auto lens closing, 8 MP
Cons: pictures to bright

I got this camera as a gift and loved it at first. After a few days though all the photos came out way too bright. I tried every adjustment and could get it to work correctly for a bit but could never depend on it to get a decent picture.

Pros: Love the size, shape, LCD and simple controls
Cons: 'Busy'layout in back requires focus on setting controls before shooting. Not as good as S50.

I now own an S50 and have been trying out an S80 and can't decide whether to step up or not. Ultimately I spend hours in Photoshop and want the better quality pix to begin with. Both are user friendly but I find the S50 slightly simpler to navigate (USB port on S80 seems flimsy and controls are smaller and closer together). Any input would help re shutter lag, white balance ease of use, etc. Many thanks.

Pros: Outstanding pictures, large clear LCD, long battery life in a good looking compact digital camera.
Cons: Large hands can easily cover flash window or move lens cover shutting camera down.

I wanted a high end compact digital camera that I could take
anywhere and get results on a par with a digital SLR. The
Canon PowerShot S80 gives me the superior picture quality I
have been looking for. It is one thing to have 8.3 mega pixels but that alone will not translate into superior
results unless the camera has a superior lens. The S80 has
both and that is why the results equal a SLR. 28mm to 100mm (in 35mm film cameras) covers most photographic situations. The large LCD display is a pleasure to use.
I installed a 1GB memory card and this gives me 290 pictures with the camera set to the highest resolution.
A fully charged battery will take all 290 shots. I paid
$450.00 on the internet for the camera. This is about $100.00 higher than the average compact digital. $100.00
well spent. You cannot go wrong with the Canon PowerShot S80.

Pros: Fast operation, excellent lens, excellent light metering, size, decent battery life
Cons: Outside black material, no RAW format, small optical viewfinder, no decent case included

When I decided that I needed a new 'prosumer' camera I searched for a camera that had the following characteristics:
- Small size
- High resolution
- Decent battery life
- Zoom lens with at least 28 mm on the wide side
- The camera should operate on manual
From all the cameras I studied the S80 came most close to my requirements.
I have the camera now for two months and I cannot say otherwise than that it is an excellent little camera with very few quirks. All my requirements were met with this camera

Pros: Great photos, fast DIGICII processor, good battery life and LCD size.
Cons: Ergonomics, no anti-shaking system, exterior material, zoom in movie mode.

I bought a S80 about 2 months ago and still can't get used to the new controls Canon have introduced on this model. I's good in theory but it just don't work well in the real world. The ergonomics was so poorly designed that I frequently change camera's settings accidentally. It's frustrating when you figure out that this 640x480 AVI file was recorded in 160x120 just because the Multi Control Dial is too sensitive. I also have problems with the Mode Dial because it's badly located.

Canon also need to introduce an anti-shaking system and improve the sensor sensitivity like some competitors are really doing. The zoom in movie mode is fake because it only increase the pixel size. The lens cover is made of a plastic that looks horrible when you touch it. This camera looks more like a prototype than a commercial product !

Pros: Image quality, wide angle lens, 2.5 inch LCD, compact size, typical Canon quality and design.
Cons: Battery cover could be a bit sturdier.

I recently purchased the S80 and I could not be more satisfied. It is one of the best cameras I have ever owned. Here's why:
(1) Image quality: superbly clear with vibrant colors and detail.
(2) Wide angle lens - The most important reason for buying it and a great advantage for every conceivable shot except one that requires an UZ.
(3) Ease of use: very intuitive, clear, with a fairly low learning curve, but with numerous manual controls.
(4) Bright and beautiful LCD: I was worried that 115,000 would not be enough, but my concerns were groundless.
(5) Very nice and user-friendly optical viewfinder - larger than I expected.
(6) Compact size, but not really ultracompact.
(7) Build/quality: It is a little thicker than I expected, but it feels very solid in the hand. You can feel the high quality build of this camera.
(8) Sliding door to protect the lens: I did not think I would like this feature, but it is really cool, protects the lens and turns on the camera when you open it.
(9) Good battery life.