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by Michael Carr
for About.com

Canon PowerShot S1 IS Digital Camera
Canon

Canon PowerShot S1 IS Digital Camera

Guide Rating - rating

The Bottom Line

This is quite possibly the best 3 megapixel available for families with children in sports and bird or wildlife hobbyists.

Manufacturer's Site

Pros
  • Power image stabilized zoom with high resolution Canon optics.
  • Easy to operate plus a swivel LCD screen.
  • Excellent image quality even in low light.
Cons
  • No uncompressed TIFF file available.

Description

  • Resolution: 3.2 megapixel CCD, Image sizes; 2048x1536, 1600x1200, 1024x768, 640x480.
  • Lens: Canon 10x optical zoom 5.8mm-58mm (38-380mm equivalent to 35mm). 3.2x total digital zoom.
  • Viewfinder: LCD, 1.5” swivel LCD monitor.
  • Exposure: Program AE, Shutter Priority AE, Aperture Priority AE, Manual exposure, 7 scene modes.
  • Focus: Autofocus, Manual focus.
  • Flash: Built-in pop-up flash.
  • Storage: CompactFlash (CF) card type I or type II.
  • File Type: EXIF 2.2 (JPEG), Motion JPEG with sound.
  • Dimensions: 4.37”x3.07”x2.6”, 13.1 oz.

Guide Review - Canon PowerShot S1 IS Digital Camera

I didn’t think that Canon could top the A80 so quickly, but they have. The Canon PowerShot S1 IS is the ultimate family digital camera. The 10x zoom lens is powerful enough to get in close to the action of your children playing sports, while the image stabilizer will hold the shot steady, though sharpness will vary according to lighting conditions and shooting modes.

While this digital camera is larger than most models that I recommend for family use, it is still smaller than most 35mm cameras. The extra size will is not a problem when you consider the features you are getting that require the extra size on the camera. There is no way to pack a 380mm (equivalent) lens into an ultra compact camera.

The 3 megapixel sensor not only captures beautiful images with very little noise, but those images can be enlarged to 8”x10” without image quality loss. The color saturation and brightness produced by the quality Canon glass lenses and the digic chip are worth the extra money this camera costs.

Manufacturer's Site

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