My Sunday Best Camera (Canon Powershot S100)

Member Name: andycharger

Product:	Canon Powershot S100
Date:	13/05/02 (331 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great performance, Sharpness of pictures

Disadvantages: None

While my Casio Camera is ideal for splashing around in the surf and dusting up on the dirt tracks, I also need a camera to take the clean,crisp shots that the Canon supplies. It also needs to look more attractive instead of a rugged all weather job. Somthing that fits in your pocket well at weddings and does not weigh you down.

I have found all of this in my Canon S200.

Dimensions/sizing.
------------------
A very dainty little camera that is just over 2.5cm thick and just a 250 grams, the S200 really is a lightweight digital masterpiece.
Whereas most small digitals are now looking very similar, Canon decided not to step too far away from the standard. Finished in a beautifully crafted Chrome and stainless steel, the plasticy appearance of many cheaper cameras is not reflected here.
Even the features and buttons on the camera add to its astetic quality rather than looking like an afterthought.

Features.
---------
The zoom on this camera is absolutely fantastic. using a combination of physical optical (2X) and digital (5X) zoom, the Cannon give a maximum of 10 times normal zoom.
Rather than using the fixed length lens option present in the Casio, the Canon is variable. This can be seen with the small lens zooming backwards and forward on the front of the camera. Although it slightly protrudes, this does not detract from the Camera's looks.
The small LCD screen on the rear of the camera is a nice touch if a little small. It is only 3cm high and wide. Here you can view your snaps or alter camera features using the push button menu.
I also use my screen to view the snap before I take it instead of using the viewfinder.

This camera also features the 2.0 megapixels system to give clear and sharp images.

The built in flash gives suprisingly good pictures indoors and in low light environments. However, its location means sometimes I end up with my hand over it and it ruins the
shot. The Anti red Eye function on the flash is a good idea, emmiting a few brief blasts of flickering light before the main flash.

Snap storage.
-------------
Quite good on its 8mb or optional aftermarket 16mb, 32mb, 64mb and 128mb flash cards. The images are stored on here as JPEG's which at what many of the images online are saved as. The camera can also save a short movie to the card which is saved in AVI format.
The maximum snaps saved on the standard flash card at the smallest thumbnail size is about 87. This is at very low resolution but still passable.

External connections.
---------------------
For hooking up to the Computer or Canon Printer for downloading the images, a USB cable is supplied. this allows for a very quick and efficient data transfer.
The option of using the canon printer is a great idea as it totally removes the need for a computer and allows direct connection.
For computers, it lacks any form of decent editing software. It does come with a piece of in house editing software but this is not as good as some of the photoshop suites.

Power supply.
-------------
YES! at last someone has realised in the camera world that we do not want to keep paying for throw away batteries. The Lithium unit included with this camera is fully rechargeable and the charger is even supplied.
It is not too thirsty on the power source anyway which is supprising due to its moving lens draining the power.

Picture quality.
----------------
Absolutely superb. Thanks to the picture orientation system, all pictures will end up the correct way up and aligned. No dodgy camera work can disrupt the quality of picture. In fact anyone can take good quality digital pictures with this camera, no matter what their skill level. The auto White balance feature eliminates pictures suffering from over or under exposure.
The sharpness and clarity are second to none and are far s
uperior to any standard film camera.

Pricing.
--------
Expect to pay between £350 and £400 for this camera but I think it is worth every penny. you will get some great pictures out of your camera and will never need another as long as you live. Simply the best.

Summary: