Superb Entry Level Digital Camera (Canon Powershot S10)

Member Name: latham101

Product:	Canon Powershot S10
Date:	05/06/01 (173 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Small size, Great Feature set for the price

Disadvantages: May not produce best quality images in low light

With the wide range of digital cameras to choose from on the market today, companies must cater to the needs of varying market determinants. Single companies can be seen offering digital camera products which hover on the edge of innovation for the gadget lovers and other cameras which attempt to satisfy the demand for more professional quality and control of the end product. With market share the ultimate goal of any of these companies, the entry-level consumer must be targeted as well. The average consumer today, and especially the average consumer in the rapidly evolving the digital camera market, cannot be enticed with a digital camera product which slashes its price at the expense of compatibility with current technology and quality which is on level with what is available now and will be for a year or two. A balance must be met between price and features which will satisfy the entry-level consumer. With a technology evolving as quickly as the digital camera there is a great opportunity to make last year’s cutting edge, this year’s standard in terms of features and functionality at a price which just can’t be ignored. Canon hasn’t missed this opportunity as is demonstrated clearly with their S10.

The S10 isn’t going to blow the mind of the guy down the street who scans epinions constantly for new innovations in the digital camera world, but it certainly will put smiles on the faces of a lot of people who are looking for a good quality digital camera which has enough features to keep their interest in the medium for some time to come and is attainable at a very good price.


Standard Digital Camera Features and Beyond

The Standard Stuff
This S10 is a 2.1 megapixel camera which means has the capability to produce a full color image at a resolution of 1600 x 1200 which although not nearly the best quality attainable in the market today will more than satisfy anyone intending to use this camera for
recreational purposes and will satisfy many who are using this camera to create digital images for web sites or other non-recreational purposes.

An optical as well as a 1.8” Digital LCD viewfinder allows shots to be framed in varying light conditions.

Digital zoom is available at 4x although I personally find this feature reduces the quality too much to be of any real use, alas a nice feature of the S10s is that the glass lens provides for 2x optical zooming which can be used with decent results.

Focusing of 18” to infinity as well as a macro mode for closer shots (rated for between 4.7 and 18”), ISO settings of 100-400, and shutter speed from 1/1000 of a second up to 2 seconds allow a decent level of flexibility for different lighting and/or subject movement etc.

The S10 also comes with a built in flash with 4 different modes, 5 different image quality settings, and 5 white balance adjustments for added manipulation of the resulting image.

Of course for those who don’t wish to be bothered with all of these settings, auto mode can be selected which basically allows point and shoot operation with results which won’t disappoint most consumers.

Batteries are standard AA which of course can be replaced with Nickel Hydride rechargeable batteries which is a good suggestion for any digital camera which doesn’t come with a rechargeable lithium ion battery pack.

Some of the Slightly Beyond Standard Stuff (at least for last year).
The file format is JPEG which is a standard but the storage medium support the standard Flash Type I (an 8mb card is included) and the advanced Flash Type II which makes it compatible with the IBM microdrive which currently has a model which allow you to store up to 1 Gb of data.

Another feature in keeping up with the times is that images are downloaded to your computer using a USB port, which attains very good transfer speeds.


A truly notable feature of this camera is its small size and weight. At a little over ½ lb it can be taken anywhere and it will fit comfortably in your pocket. As a matter of fact the small size of this camera combined with its reasonable price is what makes it a real consideration for anyone contemplating buying something with some enhanced features such as the Canon S20 or maybe the G1 (See my review). Although these others are great cameras for those who want to take advantage of the extra features and 3+ mega pixel of the G1, the feature set of the S10 will in my opinion prove to be entirely adequate for the vast majority and at a considerable savings which requires me to rate this camera as highly recommended.

Summary: