| Design |
| We really like slim cameras but it’s not to everyone’s taste. If you want a camera that looks like the traditional image of a SLR then you’ll love the S2 IS. While it is small enough to hold in one hand the Canon digital camera looks and feels sturdy and more robust than its counterparts. The silver plastic body (it’s the only way they’re going to give it a light weight of 505g) boasts a fantastic handgrip and all the controls are placed at the top so you really can use the camera with just one hand. Canon have improved the Canon PowerShot S2 IS since the S1 came out. Firstly we've been given a larger, tilt and swivel LCD. It’s 1.8 inches large, which still isn’t as huge as the Sony DSC-H1 but not a bad size, however the fact you get an electronic viewfinder with an adjustable dioptre makes it better in our book. They’ve also added an SD card which allows a bit more room for photos which is discreetly placed at the bottom of the camera. The front of the camera has the lens with its 12x zoom, as well as a pop up flash. Moving on the top of the camera, positioned just above the hand grip you’ll find the chunky shutter button which is surrounded by the zoom rocker that offers users two speeds of zooming. Right next to this is the power-play-record button as well as the continuous shooting-com-self-timer button. At the back of the camera you have the 1.8 inch LCD which can be rotated around making it easier when taking photos. On the right of this LCD are the usual buttons you get including a small four-way rocker, menu button and display, a function button that takes you straight to the most frequently used settings and a short-cut button to the printer. There’s also the improved Jump button which lets you scroll through multiples of 10 or 100 images as in date order. There’s several modes and manual functions and the Canon S2 IS digital camera is powered by four AA NiMH batteries. |
| Setup/Installation |
| Setting up is not difficult. This is a simple point-and-shoot camera if that’s what you’re looking for, or you can make it more complicated by playing around with the manual modes. |
| Features |
| This really is a camera that can either be used by those who don’t have much camera experience by using the pre-set functions or by using the manual settings. Canon are proud of there IS or image stabiliser. We admit many cameras now have this function but it does make life easier when you’re on the move. With the Canon S2 IS, you could be in a car going over speed bumps but once you’ve locked the focus it keeps shake-free images. And the fact it has an Ultra Sonic Motor makes the zoom super responsive and silent. The five megapixel camera also come with the DIGIC II for better image processing (you can get 2.4 fps continuous shooting), as well as iSAPS, FlexiZone AF/AE, USB 2.0 Hi-Speed. In terms of shooting there’s 18 shooting modes as well as special effects such as black-and-white, sepia, vivid colours. There’s also extras like exposure compensation, a manual white balance, and ISO ranging from 40 up to ISO 400. Like some of the other Canon digital cameras the S2 has the My Colour function. A bit of a gimmick but fun this allows you to swap colours around so if you want the sky to be pink it will or if you want anything green to be purple, ever time you take a picture of grass it will be purple. The 1.8 inch vari-angled LCD can be rotated around and comes with Night Display for improved visibility in low lighting. And there’s a quick one-button function for recording movies, and you can shoot up to 60 minutes of VGA quality movie with full stereo sound at either 15 or 30fps. |
| Performance |
| Firstly the start up of this camera is very quick. It takes less than two seconds from the moment you switch on the camera to the time you can start shooting images. The LCD gives a clear, bright image even in low lighting and the addition of the EVF is ideal if it’s sunny out and you can’t see the LCD properly. Thanks to Canon’s Digic II processor you can be assured that images are of a good quality with colours and tones that are natural. And the anti-shake works brilliantly, even when going over bumpy roads, although we didn’t think it was as good as the Samsung NV3 digital camera. The zoom is brilliant. Not only does it go up to 12x but it moves really smoothly and quietly and can either be used slowly creeping in on your subject or zapped straight to them. And it worked well even in micro mode when we were right in the face of small objects. The autofocus is impressive even in low lighting and thanks to the additional AF illuminator lamp on the front you will get decent images even in low light. If you’re looking for a camera that works well on continuous shooting this S2 is what you're looking for - it could take around 1.6fps at high resolution and even more frames per second if you dropped the resolution down. The videoing facilities were very good too for a digital camera. There’s one single button to press to get going and the image quality of the movies is very good including stereo sound. The menu functions on the camera to enable you to use all these functions is easy to see on the LCD and even easier to navigate around, everything is self-explanatory. |
| What's In The Box? |
| Canon Powershot S2 IS Camera, lens cap, 16MB SD Card, neck strap, four AA Alkaline batteries, USB interface cable, stereo video cable, sotware CD |
| Overall Opinion |
On the whole this Canon Powershot S2 IS is a great camera for anyone who wants an intermediately digital camera. Because of the design it’s easy to use and hold in to with one hand and thanks to the functions you can either use it as a point-and-shoot for novices or if you’re a bit more adapt with a camera you can play with the manual functions to creative stunning images with good resolution. It comes with a 12x zoom, is packed with features, has brilliant movie mode with high quality stereo sound and some good features. |
