A Great Camera For a Great Price
Written: Jun 21 '05
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Pros: Great pictures. Sturdy. Nice-sized viewfinder. Intuitive software included. OK battery life.
Cons: Slow cardwriting. Flimsy-feeling lens cover. Sometimes slow shutter.
The Bottom Line: Do your research first, but definitely don't pass over the S50 or ANY Canon digital cameras. They're worth a looksee.
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| donfucious's Full Review: Canon PowerShot S50 Digital Camera |
I've had my Canon PowerShot S50 for quite some time now. Probably about a year or so, and I'm on a reviewing binge right now, so I've decided to reflect on my experience with it.
The Canon PowerShot S50 was my first foray into digital photography. I was getting married soon, so I wanted to have a digital camera for the honeymoon and everything after that. I told myself that I was going to stick to a couple of big brands to choose from - Canon, Sony, Nikon, Fuji. After reading the reviews of what was out there (and what was in my price range of $200-$400), I chose the S50. I actually didn't have the chance to go to the store and hold it and look at it because the stores I went to didn't have anymore in stock. Thankfully, it worked out okay because the S50 isn't very bulky. It's not as minute as the ELPH, but it's far from a clunker.
The Life and Times of a Battery:
The S50 uses a rechargeable Lithium-Ion (LI-ION) battery, rather than generic AA batteries. I'm a fan of this because you don't have to keep buying new batteries and you only have one battery needed, instead of the 2 or 4 AA batteries that other cameras require. When fully charged, the supplied battery lasts a good while. I'm sure it's nothing spectacular, as compared to extended-length batteries, but I have rarely found myself reaching into my case and pulling out that backup battery. FYI - The backup battery I'm speaking of is a DigiPower LI-ION. There are LI-ION batteries made by third-party manufacturers, which will be somewhat more inexpensive than buying a second CANON brand battery. It's your choice, of course. I just didn't think it was necessary, no matter how much I really wanted a second Canon one. Anyway, my main battery usually lasts the length of 1 1/2 to 2 memory cards full at highest resolution and highest size. I use 256 MB cards, so that should work out to around 50 pictures per card. You do the rest of the math.
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom:
The S50 has a nice 3X zoom, which I have found suitable for family gatherings, decent scenic shots, concerts, and the occasional picture of a messy niece (I have two of them and they are both very photogenic young ladies). I wouldn't recommend it for extremely far distances, if you desire to get up close. If you're in nosebleed seats, don't expect to see the performer(s) sweat through this thing. But, on the flipside, I've taken some really nice shots from the upper balcony at some venues where I was a good 100 feet away. Mind you, they weren't CLOSEUPS, but they were detailed enough for you to see the target (and quite clearly, I might add).
Taking Pictures:
A slight downfall in the camera is that it seems to lag when it comes to in-between picture time. You sometimes have to hold the button down to take a picture, ranging from 1 second to 15 seconds. I have a feeling it stalls because it's still writing to the card. If you wait 3 seconds to take your next picture, it goes off without a hitch. The CompactFlash II cards might be worth a shot because they're supposed to be faster than regular CF.
Photo Finish:
Even if you didn't like anything else about this unit, the end results are phenomenal. It is a 5MP machine, so you're going to get a lot more detail than smaller, lighter cameras. I have taken some amazing photos with this thing and all without any serious photography experience. Definitely some great results.
A Body to Die For:
I bought the S50 in the black casing, not the silver. Overall, the body is quite sturdy and still doesn't have any nicks or scratches. Two things that might worry people are 1) the battery cover and 2) the lens cover. Because they're "moving" parts, they don't have as solid of a feel as the rest of the camera. However, after all the use that the camera has gotten, both covers are still intact and pristine. The only mark on my S50 is on the viewfinder. Unfortunately, when I was putting the camera into my case (sold separately - LowePro Z 20... fits perfectly), the zipper track scraped the viewfinder and it has a scratch on it now. But, that does not affect the camera's quality at all.
Media Frenzy:
The S50 takes CompactFlash. I use three 256MB CompactFlash cards. You can also use CompactFlash II cards, I believe, which are supposed to be faster, but I have yet to test those. The write speed to the CompactFlash cards I have is okay. It could be faster, I would imagine, but it's not slow to the point where I feel I should do something about it.
Included Software:
The software package that comes with the S50 is quite easy to use. In particular, I like PhotoStitch, which is used with the panoramic mode of taking pictures. You can put together some fantastic panoramic photos.
They're Gonna Put Me in the Movies:
If you're new to the world of digital photography, you might find the Movie mode pretty neat. You can take three-minute long videos using the camera. For a non-video camera, it takes some pretty darn good video! The video and sound are as good as you can expect from such a small unit. The only downfalls to the movie mode are 1) that you can't zoom during filming and 2) it takes up a lot of battery life. If you film a lot of movies with the S50, make sure you have that backup battery handy.
Epilogue:
For a first camera, the S50 is a great investment. It won't die out on you, it is easy to use, and the best part of it is... the pictures are amazing. If you're looking for a good unit to preserve your memories, this is definitely one you should consider. Because of this camera, I also bought a Canon printer (I860) and a Canon scanner (LIDE 80). Great products from a great company.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 350.00
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
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Epinions.com ID:
donfucious
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Reviews written: 13
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