04.13.04
I like my PowerShot S1
After some research and help from friends and co-workers I was able to find out why I could not find the model to replace the PowerShot G5. It seems Canon has discontinued the G series and intended for the PowerShot S1 IS (announced in January) to take the place of the G5 in the upper-consumer range. During my initial research I had discounted the S1 IS because of it’s lower resolution (3.2 megapixels compared to 5 in the G5) but decided that if Canon thought it would suit my market I should give it another look.
Since the camera had just been announced and few models had been made available I did not find a lot of information from a source other than Canon but I did find a well detailed review at dcresource.com. The S1 is very similar to the G5 in functionality and use. Like it’s predecessor the camera can be used in a fully automatic mode or can be manually set to a specific aperture, f-stop etc.. As the review explains the S1 is not as effective as the G5 in low-light photography and is missing the AF-Assist lamp (found in most other Canon models and used to focus in low light) but it does add a number of other attractive features, chief among them a much higher focal length, an improved movie mode and the Image Stabilizing lens that gives it the IS name. Enchanted by the prospect of being able to shoot a few minutes of 640×480 resolution at a true 30 frames per second I decided to take the plunge and buy an S1.
Easier said than done. Though a number of online sites list the PowerShot S1 for sale most have a disclaimer saying it is not yet in stock but will ’ship very soon’. I decided to buy a week before the Norwescon 27 Science Fiction convention which offered the unique opportunity for taking snap-shots of all manner of long-haired-freaky-ass-people and decided it would be worth paying a bit extra to have the camera in hand right away. I grabbed a phone book and set to calling every camera shop within driving distance and found that the S1 is so new many shops did not even know about it and a single shop in Portland had any in stock. I ended up paying some $500 for the camera and another $150 for a tripod, carrying case, and battery charger. I am still getting to know my new toy but do have some early impressions to share.
* One thing I did not remember reading in the reviews and immediately impressed me is the incredibly quick wake up time for the camera. I have only been using it for a few days and have already had opportunity to take a quick shot of a passing action that may have been lost to a G5 or similar camera.
* The camera is very small and very light but still comfortable to hold. I have unusually large hands and at times feel a bit cramped trying to reach all the buttons but have quickly gotten used to their location and already can operate most of the camera without looking for button locations.
* I am very disappointed with the amount of noise that appeared in the dark areas of low light shots. I did a series of tests using the camera in automatic mode with the flash forced off and the camera mounted on a tripod and saw speckles in all of them. I am guessing that if I fiddle with the Aperture Priority I can find modes that will produce cleaner shots from a tripod… at least I hope so. (I just took a look at my test photo on a PC for the first time and find that the whole image is a LOT darker than it looks on the screen for my laptop, so dark in fact that the color banding is not visible, nor any of the other detail in the center of the image. It looks like there is more to learn about these images before I find the ‘right settings’ to use for low light/high contrast photography).
* The 10x Zoom has already come in handy a few times where I have been able to frame a subject across the room without having to move. The zoom is VERY fast and very quiet.
* I thought I wanted an internal battery so I could set the camera to charge while not in use. Rechargeable AA batteries are actually cheaper, easier to carry spares, useful for other things (like my wireless mouse) and give me a fallback in case I find myself away from a fresh set and need to buy some batteries to get me through the day.
* The image stabilizer rocks! I had read about these in PC World magazine and dismissed them as unnecessary bells and whistles but have since discovered that with the image stabilizer turned on I can afford to keep the flash off and take pictures without a tripod that would otherwise have been too blurry. What had not occurred to me and has since hit me over the head like a ton of bricks is that I NEED an image stabilizer. My hands (actually my whole body but it is only noticeable in my hands) have a natural shake, what my doctor calls a ‘familiar shake’ (so called because it is an inherited condition hence, in the family). The shaking is at times more or less pronounced but always present. I knew this at some intuitive level and realized I would need to buy a tripod right away, what I had not realized is that an assist like the IS works well enough that I can get away with a lot of hand held pictures.
* Even though the images are crisp I still find a bit of post-photography fiddling always makes them look even better. All the pictures in the Visit to Astoria Gallery had their levels monkeyed with and look better post-balancing. Special thanks to Mr. Hall for recommending the most excellent PixelNHance utility.
* I have tried carrying the camera with me so I have a chance at capturing some of those wonderful impromptu moments you see in your daily life. Even at 4.3 x 3 inches the camera plus carrying case is still a bulky bit of belt tumor to be hauling around town.
I know I have a lot to learn about digital photography and am totally psyched to have the opportunity for it. Keep an eye on the Geekroar.com Gallery and the Canon PowerShot S1 Test Gallery for my burgeoning career as an amateur photographer.
Mari said,
April 21, 2004 at 1:40 pm
I wish my Powershot A70 had Image Stabilizers, but sadly my camera is too low cost for that action…. I still love my camera
Scragbat said,
April 23, 2004 at 11:59 am
My first ’serious’ camera was the Olympus C-720. A fine camera with 8x opitcal zoom and a host of manual features that suited my needs at the time.
I always felt that this camera could offer me just a little bit more with just a few extra features and when the Powershot S1 IS came along, my immediate thought was this was the camera for me.
I was not dissapointed.
I’m UK based and Jessops did me a fantastic deal by price-matching and knocking £99 of the retail price (purchased for £379).
Manual focus was lacking in the C-720. Not in this beauty. Also an LCD that could be pivoted for composing the right shot without having to bend down and hurt your back (if you’re an old codger like me!).
Also the resolution is a little higher compared to the C-720. The S1 IS could have been higher, but I feel that this was the right compromise for me considering how much space a JPEG image of this size takes on a CF card. The resolution is more than adequate for the size of print I require.
From an aesthetic point of view the camera is gorgeuos. Everything is just where it needs to be, and holding the camera to your eye you can easily reach all the controls necessary to adjust and compose your shot.
You can also set a ‘favourite key’ with a function of your choice (I set this to ISO).
The zoom is amazing (10x) and together with the ‘Image stabilizer ’ quite often a tripod is not necessary where it would have been before.
Images are sharp and colourful, and ‘chromatic aberation’ (a necessary evil on high zoom compact digitals) is not that bad in comparrison to other cameras.
The camera also boasts HQ video capture at resolutions up to 640×480 at 30fps. This is captured in MJPEG format, but you are very limited on the quality setting for capture. Either ‘fine’ or ‘normal’. I would have liked more control of the compression settings as either setting eats space on your CF card very quickly. If only they had incorporated Mpeg4 as the choice of Codec then we could have more video capture time. Unless you have a very high capacity CF card, you will not be capturing a lot of video. Maybe a firmware upgrade could fix this. I don’t know.
Overall, I really cannot fault this camera. In the two days I have had it, it has done nothing but impress me.