I urgently needed to replace my Fujifilm A-205 Digicam plus My old Sony TRV238 Camcorder and wanted to lug only one digicam, requirement was a long zoom atleast 10X plus an excellent movie mode with sound. Last year I settled on Canon S2 IS, but it was quite expensive, but this year with intro of S3 IS the prices of S2 IS tumbled in US. I purchased one Online forUS $ 290 shipped eq. of 13.5 k, plus invested into 4 x 1 GB Hi Speed SD Cards a total of US $ 100 plus 12-NiMH AA Batt plus fast charger for US $-25- all items equivalent of Rs. 19000-00, have provided me with a Digital camera which has every thing possible under the sun.
This camera is really fully featured and outstanding are.
Supersharp Canon 12X Zoom
. Image Stablisation which really works even in Movie Mode
Stereo sound recording New "Night Display" feature brightens the LCD and EVF in low light More movie mode options: wind filter, selectable sound quality and mic level My Colors feature lets you highlight and even swap colors right on the camera Uses Secure Digital (SD) memory cards (instead of CompactFlash) USB 2.0 High Speed support
Battery life in S2IS is outstanding one can takeabout 400 pictures on 1 set of 4 AA NiMH battries.
Image Browser Software from Canon is truly outstanding
Something unique about the S2 (as well as the S1 before it) is the Ultrasonic Motor used for the zoom drive. This allows for variable speed zooming and very quiet operation.
Then we come to the Icing on this gorgeous cake- the MOVIE MODE-
Canon took one of the best movie modes on the planet (from the S1) and made it even better on the S2. You’ve still got that great 640 x 480 / 30 frames/second capability, but now there’s stereo sound recording (and higher quality at that), a wind screen, and the ability to take still shots while filming!Now on any trip I can carry just one camera and take care of all my Movie & still needs. S2IS is truly the Best Cam out there and of course the best value.