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The Canon Powershot S1 IS was announced by Canon in February 2004 and hit stores at the beginning of March. The S1 retails in Australia for approximately AU$979 and in the US for around US$429.
Since its release I have been keen to get my hands on a Canon S1 IS as it is an interesting direction for Canon to take - producing a digital camera with a 3.2 Megapixel CCD Sensor and a 10x Optical Zoom Lens. I have to admit that when I first heard about the S1 I thought it was a strange combination to put a fairly average sized sensor with such a large lens - but having tested extensively this week I'm happy to report that it works.
The S1 IS is a camera that sits nicely in the hand with a good sized and rounded grip and most controls in easy to reach positions. The 1.5 inch LCD screen seems a little small on a camera this size but the swivel feature is handy. The same information as is shown on the LCD is also available for display on the Electronic View Finder.
On switching on the S1 (start up seems to take around 4 seconds) I immediately found myself reaching for the zoom controls to test this whopping 10x optical zoom that I'd heard so much about. My initial reaction was one of admiration - at 10x zoom I soon had a very close shot of my wife's nose despite the fact that she was on the other side of the room - the effect was impressive. Also of note was the speed at which the Canon Powershot S1 IS zooms - in comparison to other cameras that I've tested this was a very quick and quiet camera. It is worth noting that the S1's lens is made with 11 elements in 9 groups and includes an aspherical element to reduce size and weight. The lens itself folds away very nicely and rather compactly into the rest of the camera when not in use.
The other thing that quickly became apparent to me was that there were quite a few buttons and controls on this camera. In comparison to my trusty old A70 the back of this camera looks like something out of a boeing 747 cockpit. Controls were clearly marked however and I soon got the hang of flying the S1 IS.
The Canon Powershot S1 IS is a camera that is reasonably accessible for all users both those starting out in digital photography who want to shoot on fully automatic mode and those who are more experienced and want more control in using Shutter-Speed priority AE, Program AE, Aperture-priority AE, Stitch-assist, and Manual exposure and focussing modes.
The Canon Powershot S1 IS has a long list of specifications including some of the following:
Movie Mode - During my week of reviewing the S1 IS I spent one afternoon experimenting with the excellent movie mode which allows recording of video at 640 x 480 resolution at 30 frames per second. Coupled with my Apple ibook I soon had a quality mini movie that impressed all of those who I showed. Whilst still not as high a resolution as Mini-DV cameras the S1 definitely takes another step forward in blurring the lines between digital still and video devices.
Image Stabiliser - Much has been written about the Canon S1 IS's image stabiliser which is an important feature on this camera. Image stabilisation is likely to become a more and more common feature on digital cameras in the years ahead - especially on cameras with zooms of this size. On a cameras with 3x Optical zoom one can get away with out stabilisation but with the zoom fully extended to 10x camera shake definitely comes into play. It will also be useful in low light (and longer exposure) hand held shooting.
The majority of the S1's controls are easily reachable by using the thumb and index finger of it's user's right hand. The shutter release and zoom controls are situated on top of the right hand side of the camera in a fairly 'normal' position for a Canon digital camera. Shooting modes (Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Fast Shutter, Slow Shutter, Stitch Assist (Panorama), Movie as well as Program mode (Auto), aperture priority, shutter priority, manual mode and custom mode) are controlled by a dial on top of the camera (similar to that found on most other Powershot models). This dial is situated beside a switch that turns the camera on (to either shooting or viewing mode) and off. This switch is a little tricky to get the hang of but aims to ensure that the camera is not accidentally turned on in its case.
On the back of the S1 are a total of 8 buttons which control a variety of functions. If I was to have one complaint against this camera it would be the confusion caused by this set up. I asked the opinion of a beginner digital photographer in reviewing this camera and their main criticism was that they found navigating the menu systems very difficult - even on sitting down with the manual. I'm sure that with time operating this camera would become second nature to most users, but I'm left wondering why Canon took this approach. These controls include a Movie Mode shutter button (handy to have it separate from the normal shutter release - although it took me a while to get used to). Under the movie shutter release is a function button for accessing menus for ISO, White Balance, Effects, Flash Controls, Bracketing, Image Size etc. This button also functions as a 'delete' control in playback mode.
Under this is a Metering mode button, a short cut button (programmable to change image size, ISO, effects etc) and a display button to switch between LCD and EVF.
To the right of this is a 4 way control that allow for navigating menus and pictures in playback mode. It also control Exposure Compensation and White Balance in record mode.Under this 4 way control are the 'Set' (selects items in menus) and 'Menu' (calls up a variety of camera settings such as self timer, digital zoom etc) buttons.
On the left hand side of the lens are two buttons that turn on and off Manual Focus and the Image Stabiliser. On the top on the left hand side are a further two buttons for controlling the flash, self timer and bracketing.
Three ports are assessible on the back of the camera under the LCD that allow DC INput for an optional AC adapter, a USB 1.1 data port and an A/V output port.
Batteries (4 AA batteries) are accessed underneath the camera (I'd recommend investing in some rechargeable ones - mine lasted well) and there is a slot for the memory card (Compact Flash I and II and Microdrive) behind a door in the grip on the right end of the camera.
One other small gripe with this camera was that both the LCD and EVF freeze during auto focusing which makes shooting a moving subject a real challenge. This brings some guess work to the art of sports photography.
In well lit situations and at the wide angle end of its zoom focusing was reasonably fast but in low light and at the telephoto end of its zoom the S1 did struggle a little to lock onto subjects quickly. Canon has chosen not to equip this camera with an AF assist lamp which may contribute to its struggle in this area. Shutter Lag was reasonable as was time between shots.
The Canon S1 IS only allows users to shoot JPEGs which is a pity as with my 1GB CF card an option of shooting in RAW would have been good. However Shooting on the superfine setting did produce excellent results.
What I like about the Canon Powershot S1 IS:
Overall the Canon Powershot S1 IS is a camera worth considering. I've enjoyed my week with it and will be sad to send it back to Canon.
I'm interested to see if this is a sign of things to come from Canon and eagerly await news of a S2 or S3 model. The obvious way to improve the S1 would be to add a higher resolution sensor. A 4 or 5 megapixel camera with a 10x Optical Zoom would be a camera that would definitely impress.
See what others have written in their reviews of the Canon Powershot S1 IS
Posted by Darren in our Canon category on July 04, 2004