I am a photography hobbyist and not professional and have use some SLR cameras in the past,
but most of my use went with point and shoot type of cameras. So many of my comparison also
goes from above point of view.
My requirement for the camera was a good quality high zoom digital camera with some decent
movie capability as I am not planning to purchase a Camcorder anytime soon. After lot of
investigation on the net I finally came across 5 models from Sony, Canon and Kodak camp.
These included Sony DSC H1, H3, H5, Canon S2, S3, Kodak Z612 - all with 12X zoom.
My requirement for image resolution was not any hard and fix, but anything above 3MP should
be good. As for printing on 5x4 size 3MP is more than sufficient. 5MP is good for 10x8
prints and take around 1.25MB on the memory card. More than that is good but not a
requirement for me.
Zoom was a requirement for me as the normal 3X zoom of the regular cameras gave not that
good images from a bit distance. Only compromise over here was the size of the camera. For
12X zoom no camera can fit in a pocket and that was a overhead I was ready to take (for the
returns which outperform any lesser zoom).
Another factor that I looked was Batteries. I have seen people with cameras having non
standard battery getting out of battery power while outdoors. They just cannot do anything
in such situation as it needs recharging. So using standard AA battery was another
requirement that I had in my mind.
Good Video mode was another requirement and 640x320 @ 30fps is quiet a standard now days.
In these requirement all camera other than the Kodak Z612 fitted. I dropped Kodak also
because of not that good picture quality. Then I dropped Sony H5 because of higher price.
So I was left with Sony H1, H3 and Canon S2 & S3.
Between Sony and Canon I found Canon to have better features. Apart from that Canon used
SD Card where as Sony used proprietary Memory Stick. And between S2 and S3, I found S2 is
almost same as S3 with only few feature upgrades that is of not much use to me. (see the link below where I have covered the difference in more details).
So finally I purchased Canon S2 from JJ Mehta and Sons, Mumbai ( http://www.jjmehta.com) for Rs.
18, 500/-
After purchasing I found it much better than I had though about it and I fully recommend
it.
Some of the Features that the camera has:
1. Very Good Picture Quality
Quality of picture is good, though there is some color fringing at high zoom,
otherwise everything works great.
2. 5 Mega Pixels Sensor
Giving 2592x1544 pixels at around 1MB.
Good for 8x10 size printed photo.
3. 12x Zoom with Optical Image Stabilization
Very good distant photography
Good for taking photos when you are on holiday
High zoom requires image stabilization otherwise a small shake of hand is also
magnified 12 times.
4. Use of Standard Battery
Uses 4 AA battery that is easily available at any remote location also.
5. Made in Japan
6. Video Functions are Good
Pro:
320x640 pixes resolution at 30 frames per second
You can use Zoom during recording movies
Image stabilization also works for movie
Cons:
1 GB limit that makes it record around 8 minute of movie. So on a 2GB card you can
record 16 minutes of movie, but it will be in two parts.
7. Swirl LCD
You can move the viewer LCD is any direction. Works great for Macro photography.
8. Macro Mode
You can have your subject 0 cm from your lens! Great for flower, and small insect
photography.
9. Pre-Programmed Auto modes and Full Manual control
Amateurs just point and Shoot, nothing else needed to be known
Pro can take advantage of all the parameters that can be set.
For the one in between (like me), there are also semi-programmed modes where some parameters are auto selected by the camera, and others can be set.
10. Directly View on TV
Use the supplied cable to connect the camera with the TV and view the shot images and movies on it.
11. No Live Histogram
Not very great loss, though there is workaround that can fulfill the gap to some extent.
12. Higher ISO levels are not good
Lot of noise at higher ISO level
13. Size of the Camera
Will not fit in your pocket.
14. What more is needed
Comes with 16MB SD Card, and You need to purchase a bigger one. Also you need to
purchase rechargeable batteries and charger separately. Bag is also not part of the deal and
is needed to be purchased separately.
These were the prominent features. Other subtle features that are quiet convenient I have
started to collect at the camera link given below.
For more Tips, Tricks and Pros & Cons checkout:
https://akhilesh.in/science/gadgets/canonpowershots2is.php
Hope this review was helpful.
Regards,
Akhilesh Singh
http://www.akhilesh.in
3 August 2006