Canon powershot S80 review

PowerShot S80 perfectly embodies the compact design and superior handling that are the hallmarks of the S-series, and as the top model in the line, it's equipped to impress. The 8.0 Megapixel CCD and wide-angle, high performance lens ensure spectacular images, while the extra-large LCD screen makes shooting and playback easy and fun.

Canon PowerShot S80 detail:

• 8-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 16 x 22-inch prints


• Large high-resolution 2.5-inch LCD screen with wide viewing angle; 3.6 optical zoom


• Brand new,high quality canon NB-2LH lithium ion battery


• New UA lens technology for superior image quality


• 21 shooting modes, including Special Scene modes and My Color for customization while shooting


• Expand your shooting capabilities with optional wide and tele conversion lenses, wireless
  controller , and underwater housing (not included--must be purchased separately)


• DIGIC II Processor


• USB 2.0 Hi-Speed

One of the biggest differences between the old S60/S70 and the new S80 is the type of memory card used. While the old models used CompactFlash, the S80 uses Secure Digital cards. Canon includes a 32MB SD card with the camera, which doesn't hold very many 8 Megapixel photos, so buying a larger card is a must. I would suggest picking up a 512MB or 1GB SD card if possible. The camera takes advantage of high speed SD cards so it's worth paying a few extra bucks for one.

The PowerShot S80 uses the same NB-2LH lithium-ion battery as the S60 and S70 (not to mention the Digital Rebel XT). This battery packs 5.3 Wh of energy, which is pretty good for a camera in this class.

Quality build, quality optics

The sleek-looking S80 has been redesigned to give it a solid, high quality build and a more ergonomic, compact body that is over 8% smaller than its predecessor--despite the camera's improved performance. Its 28-100mm f2.8-5.3 (3.6x) optical zoom lens features Canon's advanced UA (Ultra High Refractive Index Aspherical) lens technology, which allows for true wide-angle capability without increasing camera size. The focal length range expands to approximately 22.4 to 200 millimeters with the new optional wide and tele-converter lenses.

The power of 8.0 megapixels plus DIGIC II

With a sensor that includes a massive 8.0 megapixels, the camera produces images for photo-quality 16 x 22-inch prints, and gives photographers more freedom to crop images.

Canon's advanced image processor, DIGIC II, has been incorporated to increase the camera's speed and responsiveness, while also improving image quality. Auto focus speeds are now up to 20% faster, and focusing performance in low light has improved by around 1 stop, offering better control in dim conditions. DIGIC II drives a 1.8 frames per second continuous shooting speed, and supports 9-point AiAF for fast, accurate focusing even when subjects are not centerd. FlexiZone AF/AE allows free scrolling anywhere within the frame's auto focus area to select the desired subject, for which exposure is weighted accordingly. Manual focus selection is also possible.

Hi-Speed USB 2.0 compatibility offers faster communication with computers, speeding up file transfers.High-capacity NB-2LH li-ion battery.

High level control and easy to use

The camera's smaller size has not compromised ease of use. A new large 2.5-inch LCD is adjustable to one of 15 brightness levels and has a Quick-bright function to facilitate shooting in sunny conditions. A real-time histogram, which appears on the LCD monitor, has been incorporated to allow the user to evaluate exposure easily when composing. The selectable grid line display helps with composition and levelling horizons.

With a newly designed user interface, the S80 offers faster and more intuitive operation. The Multi Control Dial allows quick setting of menu and shooting functions, as well as rapid scroll through images during playback. Conveniently, the mode dial is now positioned so it can be better viewed when composing shots. The camera's Shortcut function increases flexibility by allowing the Print/Share button to be assigned to any one of a wide range of still image or movie shooting setting functions.

For enhanced image review, the jump to folder button now allows jumping to the first image of specified folders. Folders can be defined to be created automatically as specified by the user, for example on a weekly basis, and now has a capacity of up to 2000 images per folder.

Modes, My Colors...and movies

The S80 incorporates a total of 21 shooting modes: in addition to the full Manual mode and other creative zone modes that photographers would expect on an S-Series camera, nine new special scene modes have been incorporated. Helping the user to effectively handle a wide range of situations, these scene modes include Snow, Portrait, Underwater and Digital Macro, plus others. Custom mode allows users allocate preferred shooting settings.

My Colors--located on the mode dial--allows the expansion of creativity in digital photography. Special effects, such as Color Swap or Custom Colors, which allows users to select their preferred color balance for any given shot, can be performed in-camera and viewed on the LCD while shooting stills and movies. These effects could previously only be achieved using PC software after shooting.

Extended movie shooting functions feature in the S80, including a first for the market: a high-resolution (1024 x 768, 15 frames per second) XGA movie mode, made possible by DIGIC II's processing speed. Movies in this mode can be up to 1GB in size and are ideal for viewing full screen on a PC or TV. High quality VGA (30/15 frames per second) movies with sound or QVGA movies (30/15 frames per second) are also possible, and a compact mode allows short clip capture at 160 x 120 for easy e-mailing.

As always, I recommend a trip down to your local reseller to try out the PowerShot S80 and its competitors before you buy!