Canon PowerShot S100 2MP Digital ELPH Camera Kit with 2x Optical Zoom

by Canon

Product Details

Product Manual [2.99mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 1.1 x 3.4 x 2.2 inches ; 7.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004TS16
• Item model number: C831001
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (216 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,361 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1999

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Canon's latest crowning achievement, the PowerShot S100, packs a high-quality digital camera into the tiny, elegant body of Canon's Digital Elph series. With this item, Canon becomes the first to produce such a small digital camera with high resolution. The super-popular Elph APS cameras were favored because users could slip them into shirt pockets and take them anywhere. Now the digital camera has truly come of age with this ultraportable model.

The PowerShot S100 uses the same durable stainless-steel case as the traditional Elph series cameras. It offers 2-megapixel resolution for high-quality photos and prints up to 8 by 10 inches. Canon provides the PowerShot S100 with a high-resolution, low-distortion, all-glass aspherical 2x zoom lens (and a 4x digital zoom as well). The 1.5-inch LCD monitor displays most camera settings with easy-to-understand icons and minimal text. The PowerShot S100 features a 0.37-inch CCD that creates full color or black-and-white images up to 1,600 x 1,200 pixels (it also offers a 640 x 480 pixel image size). The built-in flash uses a light guide and does not need a fresnel lens or a large reflector, making the camera even more compact.

The PowerShot S100 stores images on an 8 MB CompactFlash card. Adobe PhotoDeluxe and PhotoStitch control image management, editing, compositing, and printing, while ZoomBrowser EX or ImageBrowser produce self-running screen slide shows, automatic e-mail preparation, and auto layout. The camera uses a high-speed plug-and-play USB interface, plus it has NTSC-out so you can view your photos on your TV. It's fully compatible with both Mac and PC platforms.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

188 of 192 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great camera, with only minor flaws, October 1, 2000

By 

"adpinc" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Canon PowerShot S100 2MP Digital ELPH Camera Kit with 2x Optical Zoom (Camera)

I saw this camera in a showcase at the Wiz, and was impressed with how small it was compared to the competition. Given that I have an infant crawling around my house now, I found that I wanted to take instant pictures more and more, rather than taking 35mm and then sending them off for development. I have a Canon Rebel-G, which I love, but is a bulky SLR and I found that I didn't just carry it around. A digital camera was exactly what I had been looking for.

Now I take this little camera everywhere I go. For an ameteur, this camera is all you will ever need. I use the medium quality (1600 x 1200 compressed) and the pictures are outstanding, especially for email and digital processing. I haven't even tried taking pictures in high resolution (1600 x 1200 uncompressed), the quality is so good. Friends and family are blown away at the clarity.The limitation on the quality would be the printer, which now I think maybe its time to buy a photo printer with higher resolution.

Disadvantages:

1) The flash card that comes with the camera is too small. A second 8MB or one 16MB would be better. That gives you an equivalent roll of film (20 shots or so on medium resolution). I need to buy one.

2) The battery supplied with the camera does not last long enough, especially with the LCD display enabled. A second battery is a must, especially if you want to take the camera with you, and you don't want to lug the charger. Fortunately, the battery is recharged within an hour.

3) The camera gets surprisingly warm during extended use (a small nuisance).

4) Switching to digital zoom mode feels like it takes too long, and the camera does not stay in digital zoom mode when switching between reviewing pictures and taking pictures.

5) Red-eye reduction really doesn't help at all.

6) I wish a power adaptor to run the camera was standard. It needs to be bought seperately.

7) A camera case should come with the camera and doesn't. I highly recommend one be bought with the camera as the elegant stainless steel finish is likely to become scratched when carried about without a case. (I'm a bit fanatical about my electronics when I like them).

8) When flipping through pictures previously taken, the camera closes its lens. Not only is this a waste of battery life, it is annoying to wait for the lens to reopen for new shots.

Advantages:

1) Small size is fantastic! You can take it everywhere.

2) Powerful flash. Brightens images even 10 feet away.

3) Super-clear image quality. It feels like you can reach into the picture when you see it on the screen.

4) Awesome software. The camera comes with a USB cable, and when it is plugged in, the computer wakes up and downloads the images. The software is very easy to use, and highly intuitive. It makes digital editing a pleasure. A great feature.

5) Viewfinder or LCD display are both available for use, and the LCD can be disabled to save battery life. Very nice.

6) Optical and digital zooms work very well (though a bit slow). Image centering seems perfect in viewfinder.

7) Image processing is quick. You can snap a picture every two seconds without waiting for the image to process.

8) The lens is protected when not in use, and is self-stored.

Overall, I am thrilled with this camera, given the misgivings of many others. Canon is a trusted name in photography, and I highly recommend this unit.

125 of 126 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic little camera - but needs a couple of accessories, November 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Canon PowerShot S100 2MP Digital ELPH Camera Kit with 2x Optical Zoom (Camera)

This is the camera that I've been waiting 18 months for - decent price, small but well built, high resolution and great quality. After a week of ownership, overall I'm delighted with the product. However, it was poor of Canon not to include a pouch for the camera - no more than a $1 cost to them but essential in protecting the camera from an occasional knock, IMO. Also missing is an AC adapter to power the camera - the included battery charger requires that the battery be removed from the camera, meaning that I can't be charging the battery while transferring images to the pc

Note: If you are planning on buying this camera (or any other digital camera), be aware that you will need to buy a high-capacity compact flash card. If you go on a vacation and plan on taking more than 15 pics or so before you get back to your computer, then the stock 8mb card included with the camera won't cut it. I got a 64mb card (About $120) which should do nicely.
Also note: The battery only lasts about a day of moderate camera usage - you might want to consider buying a second battery if you plan on taking a lot of snaps.

151 of 154 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Three Quibbles, June 26, 2000

By 

Sam Trychin (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Canon PowerShot S100 2MP Digital ELPH Camera Kit with 2x Optical Zoom (Camera)

I agree that this is an amazing camera for its size, but I wanted to add some caveats:

1) The quality of the photos is slightly lower than that of top-of-the-line 2.1 megapixel cameras (e.g., the PowerShot S10). This is due to the extreme miniturization of the lens and CCD. Keep in mind that this camera trades some image quality for convenience.

2) Only three image resolution/quality combinations: 1600x1200 hi-quality JPEG, 1600x1200 compressed JPEG, and 640x480 compressed JPEG. I would have liked a mid-range size between 1600x1200 and 640x480 (1280x960?), and the ability to choose image quality settings (hi/low is enough for me) on a per-resolution basis, for a total of six combinations.

3) Colors are not quite as bright/saturated as on the Nikon CoolPix 950/990, Olympus 2020z/3030z, or even the Canon PowerShot S10 & S20.

These three quibbles are relatively minor, but seemed worth mentioning.

Convenience is more important to me than absolute image quality, so I am extremely happy with this camera. Image quality is still remarkably good, and it is by far the most convenient (and cutest!) digital camera currently available.

Sam