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!

canon powershot s60 camera review

The Canon PowerShot S60 is the replacement to last year's popular PowerShot S50 model. Just by looking at the model number, you'd think that Canon just stuffed a 6 Megapixel sensor into the same old camera, as some other manufacturers have done. That's not the case here -- the S60 is a 5 Megapixel camera, just like its predecessor. Here's a list comparing the two cameras:

The Canon PowerShot S60 is a nice camera for those looking for a high resolution camera with a wide-angle lens, full manual controls, and a fairly compact body. Most compact digicams have lenses that start at 35 - 39 mm, but the S60's lens starts at 28 mm -- great for indoor shots.

What's in the Box?

The PowerShot S60 has an excellent bundle. Inside the box, you'll find:

• The 5.0 effective Megapixel Canon PowerShot S60 camera


• 32MB CompactFlash card


• NP-2LH lithium-ion battery


• Battery charger


• Wrist strap


• USB cable


• A/V cable


• CD-ROM featuring Canon Digital Camera Solutions, ArcSoft Camera Suite, and drivers


• Camera manual + software manual (both printed)

Canon includes a 32MB CompactFlash card with the camera, which is a good starting point, but you'll want a larger card right away. I'd suggest 256MB as a good place to start. The included card is marked as "high speed", and from my own experiences I think it would be considered 8X. The S60 can use Type I or Type II cards, including the Microdrive, and it supports the FAT32 format for cards larger than 2GB.

The S60 uses a higher capacity version of the NB-2L battery that was used by the S50 -- this one's known as the NB-2LH. Where the old battery had 4.2 Wh of energy, the new battery has 5.3 Wh -- a 25% improvement. Canon estimates that you can take about 395 photos with 50% LCD use (which is up from 335 on the S50), or spend 3.5 hours in playback mode (compare with 3 hours on the S50).

My usual complaints about proprietary batteries apply here. They're expensive , and you can't put in a set of alkalines to get you through the rest of the day like you could with an AA-based camera.

When it's time to recharge, just drop the battery into the included charger. This is my favorite style of charger -- it plugs right into the wall (yes, I know some don't like this).Canon nb-2lh battery is powerful rechargerable battery.It takes about ninety minutes to fully charge the battery.

A sliding metal cover protects the S60's lens and doubles as the power switch. It is pretty easy to accidentally bump the door and shut the camera off, though. As you can see, the camera is fairly wide.

Look and Feel

The PowerShot S60 has gotten a bit of a facelift since its predecessor. Let's take a look:

On the front of the S60, things have been moved around since the S50, and there's a brand new lens too. The differences that matter more in terms of usability can be found on the back. For example, the annoying four-way controller that's been on the S-series for years is gone. More on all this below.

The S60 is a midsize camera, fitting in somewhere between the A75 and G3 in terms of size. It's not Digital ELPH size -- not even close. Still, you'll find that it fits in most of your pockets. The camera is made almost entirely of metal, and it feels very solid. The important controls are easy to reach, and the camera is easier to operate than its predecessor.

The dimensions of the S60 are 114.0 x 56.5 x 38.8 mm / 4.5 x 2.2 x 1.5 inches (W x H x D, excluding protrusions), and it weighs 230 grams / 8.1 ounces empty. The numbers for the S50 were 4.4 x 2.3 x 1.7 inches and 260 grams, respectively.

You'll find out how Canon got the S60 to "thin down" in our tour, which starts now!

The PowerShot S60 has a totally new lens design, which is what allowed Canon to make the S60 thinner while adding more zoom power. This new lens uses something called "UA", which stands for ultra-high refractive index, aspherical (say that three times fast). Regardless of the technical explanation behind the name, the bottom line is that UA allowed for a compact lens covering 28 - 100 mm, instead of 35 - 105 mm like on the S50. The focal range of the lens in digital terms is 5.8 - 20.7 mm, and the maximum aperture is F2.8 - F5.3, with the latter being a bit slow. As I mentioned in the previous section, the camera supports 37 mm filters as well as a 2X teleconverter through the use of the conversion lens adapter.

To the upper-right of the lens is the built-in flash. The flash has a working range of 0.55 - 4.2 at wide-angle and 0.55 - 2.0 m at telephoto, a little worse than on the S50. You cannot attach an external flash to this camera.

Directly below the flash is the receiver for the optional remote control, plus the microphone. To the left of the flash (next to the optical viewfinder) is the AF-assist lamp, a useful feature which has been found on nearly all Canon cameras for years.

As always, I recommend a trip down to your local reseller to try out the PowerShot S60 and its competitors before you buy!