The Canon Powershot S110 “How Much is Cool Worth To You” part II
Written: May 05 '02 (Updated May 08 '02)
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Pros: Compact, tough, sexy, very good image quality, and movies with sound
Cons: Poor battery life and above average shutter lag
The Bottom Line: The little Canon Powershot S110 improves on its predecessor and oozes “cool” at a price that is sure to please
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| Howard_Creech's Full Review: Canon PowerShot S110 / IXUS v Digital Camera |
The Canon Powershot S110 is the updated version of Canon’s very popular Powershot S100 Digital Elph. At first glance, the S110 doesn’t look much changed, but beneath the shiny stainless steel shell the little digital elph offers some hot new features that make it significantly different. A movie mode (with audio), direct printing with Canon's CP10 card printer (you don't need a computer), a new DSP (digital signal processing) IC for faster image processing, an adaptive color filter(for better color), and an improved built-in flash. The new movie mode records action at a speedy 20 FPS @ 640x480 resolution (up to a maximum 30 seconds) which probably isn’t going to get you much attention at the Academy Awards but it is adequate for short clips of important events, email JPEGs of Junior’s first steps, and those once in a lifetime opportunities (like stumbling across alien invaders or discovering the lair of the Loch Ness Monster). There’s a small microphone on the front of the camera that records slightly tinny sounding (but acceptable) audio to enhance your video creations.
The S110 features the same 2.1 megapixel resolution, 2X zoom, and control layout of the S100. Many manufacturers are content to offer updates that feature mostly cosmetic changes, but Canon chose to add some important refinements and improvements to this update.
The little Digital Elph is almost as cool as its marginally smaller cousin, the Powershot S300, and it’s a heckuva lot cheaper. The S110’s 1.5” LCD does a pretty good job and if you use it judiciously and primarily utilize the optical viewfinder to frame your images, battery drain is greatly reduced. The included lithium-ion battery (like the batteries in all “small” digicams) won’t provide enough power to make it through a serious photo session, but the included two-hour battery charger will keep you in juice (once you cough up the dough for a second battery) for about two hours of heavy shooting. The 8MB CF card included with the S110 just barely makes a decent back-up for a (minimum) 64MB CF card, which you will also have to buy separately.
The S110's built-in flash is an improved version of the unit on the S100, with a maximum effective range of about 9 feet. The flash is fairly effective, but you should plan to experiment a bit in order to get a feel for what the tiny flash can do. The S110’s 2X zoom is relatively fast and the resolution is very good. Color is accurate and chromatic aberration (purple fringing) is well controlled. When not in use, the lens is retracted into the body and protected by a built-in lens cover
In the Field/Handling and Operation
I have wanted to test the Canon Powershot S110 for several months now, especially after getting to play with the very similar Powershot S300 recently. My friend (who sells and distributes digital and analog photographic equipment) brought one over the morning of the “Thunder Over Louisville” show and asked if I wanted to spend the day testing the camera and hanging out at the riverfront. The Kentucky Derby is Louisville’s premiere annual sporting/tourist happening and the two weeks leading up to big race are filled with neat events like the Great Steamboat Race, a marathon, and a hot air balloon race. “Thunder over Louisville” ends with the largest fireworks display in the U. S, thirty minutes of non-stop fireworks set off from two barges anchored in the middle of the Ohio River. The lead up to the fireworks display is an all day air show that is one of the most popular events of the annual Festival. The air show features precision aerobatic flying teams, the U. S. Army’s “Golden Knights” parachute team, fly-overs by U. S. Air Force F-16 and A-10 combat fighters, and the “Red Baron Pizza” Stearman Biplane Squadron.
Like many Louisville residents I usually try to avoid most of the Derby Festival events because the crowds are huge and the traffic is mind-boggling but I wasn’t going to miss a chance to check out a new digital camera. The “Thunder” show usually draws about 500,000 people to Louisville’s Ohio River waterfront but crowds were down a bit this year due to unease over terrorism in the wake of the events of 9-11.
We spent much of the day wandering around and shooting candids/street shots of the crowd at Louisville’s Great Lawn. The S110’s longer than average shutter lag did create a few problems for us. Candid shots don’t wait and the slight delay between tripping the shutter and taking the actual picture caused us to miss several shots. The shot to shot time is a bit slow too, causing some problems when trying to follow rapidly unfolding action.
Overall the camera performed very well and we had no problem filling a 64 MB CF card by early evening.
My friend had access to the roof of a four story building near the riverfront so we were able to set up the Canon Powershot S110 (mounted on a tripod) with a pretty good view of the northern sky near the Second Street Bridge. By setting the 2X zoom to its maximum length (70mm) we could frame the bridge, a little slice of the river just west of the bridge, and a nice portion of the sky above. Once it got dark and the fireworks display started it was pretty easy to get good fireworks shots because the more than 350,000 individual shells used for the show kept the sky lit up almost constantly. We managed to get several shots of really spectacular bursts (although not always the burst that we had expected to get, due to the S110’s shutter lag) colors were spectacular with good reflections from the water below the bridge. The overcast provided some nice colors in the low clouds that we had not expected. We printed a couple of 5X7’s the following day on an Epson Stylus Photo 785 EPX and the prints were great. An attempt to print an 8X10 didn’t go as well because the picture looked a bit grainy and burned out in brightest fireworks “burst” areas.
Technical Specifications
Resolution---2.1 Megapixels (1600 X 1200)
Viewfinder—Optical (real image zoom)
LCD--1.5” TFT
Lens--2X Optical f/2.8-4.0/35-70mm (35mm equivalent) all-glass zoom
Sensitivity—Auto ( ISO equivalent 100-150)
File format-- JPEG
Storage Media—CF (type I)
Shutter speed--- 1 second to 1/1500th of a second
White Balance--- Automatic and presets for sunny, cloudy, fluorescent, & tungsten
Flash---Built-in Auto, fill, night, OFF, & red-eye reduction
Exposure----Automatic
Metering---- Evaluative (center weighted)
Exposure Compensation +/- 2 EVin 1/3 EV steps
Connectivity---USB
Power—NB-1L 3.7v 680mAh battery
Street Price Range: $299.00--$399.00
Included
8MB CF (type I) card
Battery Charger (Canon CB-2LS)
Battery Pack NB-1L
AV Cable
USB Cable
Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM
ArcSoft Camera Suite CD-ROM
User’s Manual
Software & System Map
Optional
AC Adapter Kit Canon ACK500
A Few Concerns
The S110’s shutter lag/start-up/cycle times are a bit longer than average, which is certain to cause you a few missed photo opportunities and some frustration. Battery life is shorter than average (for 2 megapixel digital cameras) and it is mandatory to buy a back-up battery if you do not want to limit shooting sessions to 60 minutes or less. Default settings cannot be changed and custom settings won't be retained once you power down, you’ll have to re-set them each time you switch the camera on. The S110 really shoots the CF card out of its slot when you press the eject button. I missed catching it the first time out and it dropped to the floor, which is not good for CF card longevity.
Conclusion
Overall, the Canon Powershot S110 Digital Elph is a really neat camera. It is easy to drop the tiny S110 into a pocket (or purse) and take it with you anywhere you go. Picture quality is good, the color is accurate (if a bit flat) and operation is simple. The PowerShot S110 retains all the nifty features of the S100 and adds faster image processing, a better color filter, and video with sound at a lower price than the S100. If you really like Canon’s sexy little S300 but don’t want to hock the family jewels to buy one, the S110 is a practical alternative. The tiny little camera will attract as much attention as its more expensive sibling and the cool factor is roughly equivalent.
There are better deals available on two megapixel digital cameras (check out the Canon Powershot A20 and the Fuji Finepix 2600), so if you want the most for your digital imaging dollars, you’ll need to look elsewhere. But if you are looking for a tiny digital camera that is big on “cool” and fun, then the Canon Powershot S110 may be just what you’re looking for.
Are you considering spreading your imaging wings and setting up a digital darkroom? Check out my reviews of a couple of bargain priced and very capable photo quality ink-jet printers.
Epson Stylus Photo 785 EPX ink-jet printer
http://www.epinions.com/content_60776812164
Epson Stylus Photo 780 ink-jet Printer
http://www.epinions.com/content_54223670916
For information on How to Choose a Digital Camera please see my review:
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-2E46-17B174E2-39A418E3-prod1
For more information about specific Digital Camera models, please see my Digital Camera Reviews:
Nikon Digital Cameras
Nikon Coolpix 5000
http://www.epinions.com/content_52720406148
Nikon Coolpix 885
http://www.epinions.com/content_46290931332
Nikon Coolpix 995
http://www.epinions.com/content_40256769668
Nikon D1X
http://www.epinions.com/content_36023996036
Nikon D1
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-4868-E2433E5-38737CF8-prod2/tk_~CB003.1.78
Nikon Coolpix 880
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-2DA8-DF21E52-39E118CA-prod5
Nikon Coolpix 990
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-3B78-3C431D90-3A345313-prod3
Canon Digital Cameras
Canon Powershot S300
http://www.epinions.com/content_61364211332
Canon Powershot S40
http://www.epinions.com/content_59617087108
Canon Powershot S30
http://www.epinions.com/content_59041746564
Canon Powershot A20
http://www.epinions.com/content_56389701252
Canon Powershot G2
http://www.epinions.com/content_47646084740
Canon Powershot S10
http://www.epinions.com/content_7563808388/tk_~CB003.1.74
Canon EOS D30
http://www.epinions.com/content_11625991812/tk_~CB003.1.58
Canon Powershot PRO 90IS
http://www.epinions.com/content_30440001156/tk_~CB005.1.9
Canon Powershot G1
http://www.epinions.com/content_8768294532/tk_~CB003.1.70
Canon Powershot PRO 70
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-6496-25768DA-38C3E01A-prod9/tk_~CB003.1.70
Sony Digital Cameras
Sony DSC-F707
http://www.epinions.com/content_60512439940
Sony DSC S85
http://www.epinions.com/content_51957567108
Sony MVC-CD 300
http://www.epinions.com/content_45591793284
Sony DSC-S50
http:http://www.epinions.com/content_15885897348
Sony Mavica MVC-CD1000
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-5F01-365BA12-3980602C-prod3/tk_~CB003.1.14
Olympus Digital Cameras
Olympus Camedia C3020
http://www.epinions.com/content_57190944388
Olymous Camedia E 20N
http://www.epinions.com/content_54953348740
Olympus Camedia C3040
http://www.epinions.com/content_42675179140
Olympus Camedia C3000
http://www.epinions.com/content_26106105476/tk_~CB003.1.30
Olympus Camedia E10
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-59FB-183DFC73-3A17388F-prod2/tk_~CB003.1.42
Fuji Digital Cameras
Fuji Finepix 2600 Zoom
http://www.epinions.com/content_58485149316
Fuji Finepix S1 “PRO”
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-5591-16816C34-39047A87-prod5/tk_~CB003.1.18
Minolta Digital Cameras
Minolta Dimage 5
http://www.epinions.com/content_49104522884
Just “cut’n’paste” the URL into your browser’s address window.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399.00
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Epinions.com ID:
Howard_Creech
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Member: Howard Creech
Location: Louisville, KY
Reviews written: 333
Trusted by: 1274 members
About Me:
Photographer/Writer fascinated by Movies, Music, Books, American Diner Food, History, "Popular Culture", and Travel.
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