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"Great camera for novice and professional alike" on by debbiesthemes
Pros: Beautiful pictures, excellent ergonomic design, and easy to use options. Some of Canon's cameras have attained cult status. I believe this camera is destined to be one of those cameras.
Cons: Can be pricey if you don't shop around. The lens cap doesn't securely snap on. It's lightweight plastic. I'd prefer that the cap strap not attach in the same place as the neck strap.
Summary: This beauty is brilliant! The body style is ergonomically pleasing and lightweight, the overall design is simple to use, it will satisfy a novice and professional alike, and
the pictures are beautiful! Even the manual is well designed. My long search for the perfect camera finally came to an end.
When I first took this camera out of the box I was in love with the design. Weight is important to me, and this camera balances beautifully. It's extremely lightweight and easy to grip. Obviously, a lot of engineering went into the body style. After trying out a myriad of cameras that fit my hand clumsily, this one fit like a glove. The only drawback is that it's meant to be gripped with the right hand, so it could take some adjusting for lefties. Otherwise, it's an ergonomic 10 out of 10.
The overall design of camera options leads the pack. It won't take long to master the operation of this camera. The most used options have their own buttons, so you don't have to wade through menus all the time. It is loaded with features, and sometimes this makes a camera hard to master for a novice. Not with this one! If you want a point and shoot camera that you can set and forget, this camera is for you. If you are a hobbyist or pro who wants the ability to easily switch from automatic to manual operation, this camera won't disappoint. It is also a camera that can grow with you. With a ton of add-ons and interchangeable lenses, you won't have to shell out money for a new camera as your skills improve. The zoom is more than you get with most cameras, and having a viewfinder is a must if you like to shoot outdoors in bright light. There's even a vision adjustment on the viewfinder. You may have read criticism of the lens cap. If you read the manual, you will see that it's meant to attach to the neck strap, so you really don't have to worry about losing the cap as some reviews state. I would prefer, however, a more secure snap on cover.
As we all know, the proof is in the pictures, and Canon is still delivering the goods. I immediately set out to shoot a little bit of everything. In my opinion, one of the hardest shots to get perfect with point and shoot is indoors at night with inconsistent ambient lighting. I used the low light option on the dial, and I was really impressed. The shots I took were very evenly lit and the flash hadn't overexposed my subjects. I took a picture of an outdoor scene through an indoor window using the zoom. The picture looked like it had been shot outdoors rather than from inside. I took a picture during the day in a well lit room with no flash and it was beautiful.
If you buy this camera, do yourself a favor and spend an hour going through the manual. You will find out how easy it is to control the many options, so you will be more apt to use them. I even liked the manual design. There are separate manuals in Spanish and English, so you can dispose of the one you don't need.
I know I will be happy with this camera for years to come. Some of Canon's cameras have become legendary in the photo world and still have an active life on Ebay years after their retirement. I believe this is one of those cameras. -
"Amazing Camera for the Price!" on by jsaah4
Pros: This camera has an amazing zoom, is light weight, and most of all I love the water proof cover that you can purchase separetly.
Cons: A little hard to work at first, but after refferring to the manual on a regular basis it is all clear.
Summary: This is a great camera for a person who wants a good zoom with all of the other functions, but not too high tech. IT ROCKS! I am commercial fisherman and this camera is a great boat camera, I can take pictures of things that you can't get close to with a 86 foot boat. I Love this camera and reccomend it. I had a A75 before and this one goes way beyond without going too far
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"Big Zoom - Great Video Feature" on
Pros: I've had this camera for about 6 months now and I LOVE it! (This is my fourth digital camera). It is very easy to use for the beginner, yet has MANY easy to use features that are great for more advanced casual photo enthusiasts. This camera has the BEST
Cons: Rechargeable batteries are a MUST for this camera. When I used regular alkaline, they were exhausted after just 4 short video captures; however, with the rechargeable batteries I have used my 512mb CF card MANY times and the batteries haven't needed a ch
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"Mini-Digital SLR without the price tag or bulk." on by jelavallee
Pros: TTL Viewfinder, full-manual modes, extremely quiet lens motor, excellent control layout, easy-to-shoot video mode.
Cons: Small ccd, poor flash compensation, low-light issues, AF sluggishness, IR remote not included.
Summary: I've owned this camera for nearly a year now and have shot well over 5000 photos with it in a mix of composed, candid and action shooting settings. My goal with this cam was to replace my aged circa 1997 2.1MP Kodak point-n-clicker and very aged circa-1972 Canon A-1 manual-only SLR 35mm cams with a single SLR-like digital camera. While I am a photo hobbyist most of my photography work is family/friend candid shooting with the occasional nature, collage, and multi/triptych photo outings.
I had been hoping to get a 5-8MP cam but after taking a PowerShot S1 IS and PowerShot Pro S1 for a test drive at a local electronics warehouse retailers ("BB" and "CC") I decided that the resolution issue wasn't all that big a deal. I highly recommend this if you have a spare memory card kicking around. I brought 512mb CF and SD cards I have for other devices with me and was able to shoot up a storm on various cameras and then see the results later on my home computer/printer. That being said, the price point between the S1 IS and Pro S1 (at the time ~$330 vs. ~$800 respectively) didn't justify the marginal difference in images from the two. Truly the only real side-by-side difference that I could see was merely in resolution. That being said, 3.2MP is fine for as large as 5"x8" prints and excellent for 4"x6" prints. 8"x11" and larger really does require atleast 5MP, but such is rare for my needs.
Functionally, the S1 IS took me less than a weekender/family wedding trip to get down. Full-Auto mode is solid and can handle various lighting conditions and situations. The action mode is spectacular for capturing high-speed motion, but be sure to use it only in very well-lit conditions. The various manual modes are easy to access and have intuitive on-screen controls.
Speaking of the screen, the thru-the-lens-like viewfinder is a dream for an old-school SLR user like myself. Counterpoint to that, the external LCD is great for previewing, tripod-based composition, over/under handed shooting (hip-level box cam style shooting is great) and menu-based config/setup. Finally, the manual focus feature is both easy to use and easy to control/set via a very creative zoom window in the viewfinder. I love that feature.
Video-wise, I tend to use this more than my camcorder for taking quick videos. It's a snap to switch modes and with 1-4Gb CF cards on the market now, one can shoot hours of video. By no means a 3CCD camcorder, but good enough for the occasional candid clip.
My biggest gripe is with the built-in flash and the compensation adjustment or lack there of. The flash itself tends to be a bit to powerful for close in shoots; washing-out rather than filling. Without the option of adding flash filters to mute/diffuse this, I've taken to taping thick layers of magic tape to the flash and/or tweaking the camera in apature-priority or shutter-priority modes. Non-intuitive for my wife who prefers point-and-shoot ease, but easy enough solutions.
I'm looking forward to the S2 IS coming out this summer with it's 5MP CCD and tweaked features. Chances are good I'll be upgrading given our great experience with the S1. -
"Would be a great camera IF IT WORKED..." on by amordica
Pros: Ease of initial use; Image stabilization
Cons: Total Failure (E:16 error)
Summary: Initially, this camera worked very well, and I took about one hundred photos total during the 18 months that it functioned. I treated it as if made of crystal; it was never dropped, bumped, nudged or mishandled in any way, and was kept in a drawer when not in use. After about 18 months of light use, the camera totally failed.
After taking some photos, I uploaded them to my PC, then turned the camera back on in the record mode. The lens failed to extend, and the display remained dark except for an error message in the lower left corner of the display: "E:16", and the camera powered off after 3 seconds.
After repeated attempts to restart with no change in symptoms, I searched the Web for any reports of similar problems. I found numerous reports of lens failures, almost all with an associated "E:18" message, but none with the e:16 code.
I e-mailed Canon tech support, and received a suggestion to remove, wait for 20 minutes, then reinstall the batteries. I confirmed that they were fully charged, and restarted the camera. The lens extended, but the display was now shot with horizontal lines resembling static, which were recorded in photos taken after. The camera now only starts up randomly, and the lines have not gone away. The only offer Canon has made after this was to offer an "upgrade" to a refurbished S2 IS for $299. That's about the price of a new one online! I have decided not to buy any Canon digital camera again.
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