rambo77's Full Review: Canon PowerShot S2 IS Digital Camera
This is my third digicam. I started out with with the HP Photsmart 215, and thought I was onto something special. I followed this up a couple of years later with a Fuji Finepix 2650. I found that I wanted two things-optical zoom and more resolution, and the Fuji gave me both at a reasonable price. I was quite happy with it for some time.
Recently I began to feel "the itch" for a better camera due to my hobby of photographing trains. I watched on message boards and cruised the dealer sites looking for something that would fill the bill. I had been very happy with the Fuji so looked first at the 5100 and 5200, both of which were on sale cheap at Newegg. However, after some further research I found that at the maximum 12x zoom the likelihood of taking a blur-free picture without image stabilization was less than optimal. I began to think about taking the next step and looking at image stabilization in addition to the previous parameters I had set-5 megapixel resolution and 12x optical zoom. Dell offering a great deal that I picked up on through techbargains.com was the clincher. I ordered one.
First impression was there were a lot of buttons and the manual was thick. After installing the 4 AA batteries I found that you did not need to understand all the functions to take great pictures. I snapped away happily for the first evening with the camera set on auto. I did quickly notice that the lens cap fit very loosely and was in danger of falling off.
I also shot some video and was pleasantly amazed at the quality. I was also startled at how quickly the included 16 mb SD card filled up with stills or video. I soon ordered a 512 mb hi speed SD card and solved that problem.
I began to branch out, shooting in various modes including shutter and aperture priority modes. I found the camera to be very flexible in that it lets me do things I have never been able to do before with a point and shoot. I think the quality of the pictures is superb. They are better than what I thought I was capable of without dedicating my life to learning how to use the camera. However, there is enough flexibility that you will be trying new things for a long time.
In my opinion the best thing about this camera is the fact that it allows you to make great photos without a lot of effort. I also like the swiveling LCD display that allows you to take pictures from unusual angles while framing them correctly. I appreciate that this camera uses AA batteries, as have all my cameras. I have a charger and get more than 300 shots without flash before I even think about charging the batteries. It also means that if I ever do have battery problems I can get a new set of alkalines in an emergency almost anywhere.
The shutter lag is minimal, much less than I am used to with my previous point and shoots. I am very happy with this aspect.
The color is excellent. The two speed zoom lens is handy in framing photos and allows you to zoom while shooting video which many other cameras do not.
Image stabilization works great! I regularly shoot pictures using 12x zoom and find them coming out very sharp.
I shoot all my pictures in large mode and superfine compression. I figure disk space is cheap and I can resize them smaller if need be. I have no problem with speed, I can take these at about 3 per 2 seconds by holding the shutter button down in repeat mode as long as I have ever wanted- up to about 15 pictures. That is fast shooting and saving!
The autofocus works good. The only problem I have had is when I go from normal to max zoom it sometimes takes a while (2-4 seconds) to focus. This is one of the few times I have been frustrated by the camera.
It starts up much faster than my other cameras did. The neck strap that is included is a bit on the chintzy side in my opinion. If you buy this camera I would recommend that you plan on buying a lensmate adapter and a different lens cover to replace the factory one. This, the larger memory card, and rechargable batteries are things you should budget for when you buy this camera. All in all, a great camera and you will be very please with this purchase!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 289 This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
5.0-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 13 x 17-inch prints 12x optical zoom; 1.8-inch vari-angle LCD display Records VGA film at 3...More at Amazon Marketplace
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