Customer Reviews

Canon PowerShot S330 2MP Digital ELPH Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought the S330 3 days before leaving for Moscow & St. Petersburg. Based on reviews read here and at other sites I also bought a 256MB memory card and an extra battery. The basics of operation took about 20 minutes and 15-20 photos of the backyard, by the second day of my trip operation was effortless. The zoom is quite impressive and most pictures were flawless; whether from a boat, through glass, from a moving car, whatever, even an amateur like myself got some truly special photos. I had a 128MB card from another camera and took it with me, a bonus, the memory cards aren't specific to the camera and you can get real cheap memory on-line from secondary distributers or borrow the cards from freinds with other digital cameras. The batteries charge very quickly, and with two I was able to leave one charging at the hotel and the other in the camera, but I could've easily carried both all day - full charge takes less than an hour. I never had any power problems, I also got in the habit of turning the camera off between shots however. Which brings me to my only real complaint, the on/off switch requires sustained pressure for 2-4 seconds, its not usually problem getting the shot you want but it could be - and it was a little annoying. Since I had so much memory I used 1600x1200 and the finest detail for every shot, and I still took over 350 photos and had room for about 75 more. Now that I'm home its giving me all kinds of options for re-sizing and zooming into whatever details I like most in the picture. The picture review setting on this camera is one of its best features, you can actually zoom into the photo you just took to be sure you've got the level of detail or particular aspect of a subject that you might've wanted. I ended-up retaking several photos and getting precisely the picture I was hoping for. I own an older Sony and one of the original Kodaks, and I can't recommend this camera enough. Good Luck.

Canon has another winner in its new S330 model.

It has the following positives,
1. Excellent looks, build quality.
2. Great night shots, not found on any other compact 250gms camera, new long shutter feature in manual mode for upto 15 secs.
3. Very reliable and tons of features like charger works all over the worls, PAL/NTSC video out, all cables included (unlike Sony).
4. Accepts cheaper Compact Flash cards which are easily available in sizes upto 256MB. Not expensive 64MB sticks here :)
5. Very much pocketable. Easily goes into the trouser pockets. Slightly tough to fit into jeans pocket though. Look at S200 if you want even smaller camera.
6. 2.1 MP may looks low compared to other 3/4 MP cameras but this one offers more features without sticking you with any sticks ! Don't just use MPixels as your sole criteria when selecting camera. If you won't print them bigger than 8x10" then 2MP should be enough for now unless you have that extra cash :)
7. 3x zoom very faster to start and fold back. Works smoothly. You can turn the digital zoom off permanently.
8 LCD is superb, pictures look great on the 1.5" LCD. (a bigger 1.8" LCD on other need not neccessarily mean better quality, my last years Fuji had 1.8" and comes no where near this 1.5")
9. Great user interface... think of these Elph's as Nokia's of digicams. Other cheaper camera's out there might not have same reliability, features, user interface and picture quality.

Problems,
1. Battery... lasts on 120 shots or so... you WILL have to buy a second one for extra [money].
2. The battery/CF doors feel flimsy. There are not made of metal but of plastic which looks like silver colored metal. But this much better than an all plastic one !
3. Canon's ZoomBrowser EX software is very unstable. It keeps crashing every few mins on Windows XP. Canon needs to iron out the problems in this. After buying an expensive camera atleast its SW should be reliable ! (Atlhough I haven't encountered any problems downloading pics till now, I don't see any reason to buy a CF card reader, this works fine with the cable, took just 3 mins for 100 big pictures)
4. Price is still high for a 2MP camera, although its become much more affordable than last year.
5. Movie mode is almost useless because of 5 sec limit on decent sized clip. Its just a marketing thing. Same with the audio/mic on camera.
6. Included CF card is just 8MB ! (it costs [money] to get a 32MB card for bulk purchases). Someone has to start including these necessary things like a decent 64MB card along with new cameras.

Spend few extra bucks on this cool camera and you won't regret !

The Cannon PowerShot S330 is my first digital camera. I had it for about six weeks so far and I just love it. As a result of getting this camera, in the past six weeks I've taken more pictures at family events then probably the last 6 years combined using conventional cameras. To me, the best thing about digital photography is the instant feedback. You can see your picture as soon as you take it. And if you don't mind wasting some battery, you can use the LCD screen to frame your shots so every picture comes out exactly the way you like it. And downloading the pictures also makes things easy.

Basic Features
The camera is capable of 2.0-mega pixel resolutions and it has a 3x optical zoom lens and 2.5 digital zoom. The camera is small, I would say a little bigger then a cigarette box and fits in your hands or pickets easily. Both the front and the back of the camera are finished in metal so it weights a little more then other cameras but not to the point where it is heavy to carry. The S330 also comes with a very bright 2.5" LCD screen in the back. Even in direct sunlight you should still have no problem seeing the screen. With the LCD screen on all the time, I estimate that you should be able to get about 100 to 150 pictures depending how much flash you use. The S330 doesn't come with an AC adapter kit so when you need to recharge, you have to take out the battery and put it in the special battery charger that plugs directly to the wall jack. I thought this was kind of awkward but has since gotten use to it.

Advance Features
The PowerShot S330 is very easy to use as a point-and-shoot camera but it also has a number of advance features like shutter speed and ISO settings if you need it. It also has a number of white balance controls which helps compensate the different lighting conditions such as fluorescent, cloudy and etc. I've tried to use this features a couple of times but haven't quite master it. I would imagine that most people would never need this feature but if you are a tweaker, there should be enough options in this camera to keep you satisfied.

Besides the regular camera like features, it also has a movie mode and stitch assist mode that are interesting. The stitch assist mode is for panoramic shots and it's best to do this with a tripod so at the points where the pictures are stitched together, the object wouldn't look warped. The camera does not stitch the pictures, that process is done separately when you connect the camera to the computer. The stitched pictures will have a stitch line linking them together indicating that these pictures were shot in stitch mode. Clicking on the stitch line would launch the software program to for the panoramic picture. And you can stitch as many pictures together as you want.

The movie mode is something I've only used a couple of time. The camera stores short film clips and it limits how long you can shoot depending on the resolution of the film. The clips are limited from 10 to 30 seconds and in 640x480 resolution (which is the largest), it would only record for 10 seconds and not 30.

Pictures
In terms of the quality of the picture, I am pretty satisfied with it. Sometimes the picture is a little soft around the edges or kind of fuzzy but that's not every single time. The color of the photo is decent but IMHO, not 100% true to life. There are quit a few pictures I've taken the found it to be too red or yellow. But most outdoor shots in daylight that looks just wonderful. The flashlight packs a big punch for something so small. Anything within 8 feet is no problem at all in dark situations. The focus light has a slightly shorter effective distance so sometimes the camera can't focus so when you push the shutter and nothing happens. This is kind of frustrating but just try to take a few steps closer to your subject and it should be fine.

Just about every picture I take with this camera, I take it in 1600x1400 resolution and in fine mode. This way, any pictures that I like I can have it developed and look just like it was taken from a conventional camera. In this largest format, the photo is about 1MB each. So with a 128MB compact flash card, you can still store plenty of pictures. Unfortunately, Canon only provides a 8MB CF card with the camera so make sure you buy a CF card if you don't already have it. Also, because of S330's small size, it is only capable of accepting Type I CF cards and not Type II. So like IBM's 1 GB MicroDrive is not compatible with this camera.

Issues
Maybe I've missed this in the user's manual but I have yet to find a battery meter that shows me how much juice is left in the battery. When the power is running low, the camera would just shut down with very little warning. I guess Canon just didn't think this is a critical issue since the pictures are all already saved in the memory so advance warnings on the battery running low is pretty useless. But just be prepared and the best solution is to have a second battery so you can just switch it when one runs out.

For such a well build camera it's very disappointing to see the cheesy flap it uses to cover the USB and video ports on the side of the camera. Not a major issue though.

Canon did not include any bag or pouch for the storage of this camera. Even though the camera is small enough to fit just about anywhere, the metal finishing is brushed and can be easily scratched. A soft pouch would be perfect to protect the surface but not included so protect your investment and get one on your own.

I am not going to complain about the 2-mega-pixel limit because it's more then enough for an average user. A well taken 2-mega-pix pictures developed on 4x6 film would look no different than if it's taken on a 35mm camera. So don't buy more then you need because the higher the resolution, the more memory it needs and more time it takes to save a picture. So take a closer look at the Canon PowerShot S330 because it might be just what you're looking for....

I have been searching for a digital camera for over a year now. I have been close to buying many. Including Olympus, Sony and Kodak. None of them offered the portability and durabilty and yet maintained the picture quality I needed. When I saw the s330, I finally realized what I had been searching for... Great picture quality, digital/zoom, extremely portable and durable. Not to mention 2 megapix is way more than enough unless your thinking of starting a professional photo career. The pictures come out spotless everytime... Just shoot and put it back in your pocket. Another great feature is the battery charger... completely foldable in one piece. No cord involved, just plug directly into the wall. This is the ultimate travel package! Not to mention the additional speaker over the s300 model and the lower price tag, you have a winner here. Upgrade to the 128 MB card... I am averaging over 400 pics a card on medium resolution! Happy shooting friends!

"No way to go wrong with this baby..."
This is my second digital camera, and let me tell you, I am very impressed! My first camera was the s300 and I thought that I was never going to get another one as good, but the s330 excelled all my expectations. It is cheaper than the s300 and have more features and a better ISO, a problem that really frustrated me in the past with my S300. Overall both of them have the same specs but the additional speaker and the better menu made the s330 #1 in my list. Please remember that this is not a pro camera, but the photo quality is outstanding even at large formats like 8x11. The colors are better than the sony and olympus. I do recomend an extra battery if traveling and a way larger flash card. Newegg.com sell mr. flash 128mb for less than 60 bucks. I have bought 2 and have them for over 6 months and never had a problem with them. I did a lot of research before purchasing this camera and let me assure that this is the best digital camera for every day and even semi pro users. There is no need to follow the crazy trend of the more mega pixels the better. 2.1 is more than enough. I get the same or even better results than normal film. Because of the extra ISO options and the better price the s330 is a winner over the s300.

I had been looking for a digital camera for a while when I stumbled upon the Canon Powershot S330. At first glance [it] seemed a lot to spend on a 2 megapixel digital camera but being my first digital purchase I decided to try it out.

At first i just took pictures using the automatic function figuring that the manual controls would be too dificult but within the first day I was shooting pictures in manual mode, adjusting white balance and lighting and such, and printing them. I was very surprised by the quality that my two year old inkjet print the pictures at (as long as you don't look too close or print them over 8x10 which your not supposed to do anyways) on glossy photo paper.

I was also concerned because indoor shots came out very dark but I soon realized that the brightness could be adjusted with the included software which was very basic yet helpful. The movie quality is low but that's not what a camera is for so it's a nice little extra.

Overall I have had no problems with the camera and I am very pleased with my purchase. This would be an excellent camera for anyone looking for an easy camera for a novice with some advanced functions. If there was one thing I could change I wish it was a little smaller but besides that I am very happy and excited for that next oppurtunity where I can show off my new digital camera.

I am extremely satisfied with this digital camera. Personally, I like tiny little cameras that I can carry around evey day and Canon Digital ELPH is the best for this function. Since there had been so many reviews, let me just point out what I like this camera most and some of the downsides.

Pro
1. 3X optical zoom. DON'T purchase a camera with an optical zoom less than 3X, it's useless. This is one of the camera with the highest optical zoom availble. Not even the new ELPH 230 have this capability.
2. Very bright LCD and long battery life. I have tried at least 10 different digital cameras and this LCD is one of the brightest. Easily seem even under sunlight. And I can fill up my 128MB card withought recharging with normal LCD usage.
3. All metal!
4. Great manual functions for a small camera. I can easily take night and indoor pictures by increasing the exposure time.

Con
1. the macro mode is limited compare to other camera in the same price range. You cannot to close to the object.
2. comes with 8MB card!! Can you believe that?!
3. only 2MP. It is plenty for my need but 3MP seems to become the main stream these days.

All in all, I have taking a few hundred pictures with my S330 and the quality is excellent. Definately worth the money.

Great little camera! After months of research and deciding on buying a Canon S300, I was pleased to discover that they had released an updated model, the S330. Its resolution is 0.1 megapixle lower than the S300, but it includes many refined features.

I've used the camera for a little over a week now and have taken nearly 500 pictures and am still on my second battery charge (about 2/3 of the pictures I've taken have been with the LCD off). The included 8 MB compact flash card limits the number of hi-res, hi-quality pics you can take, but you can buy a 128 MB card for a little over 50 bucks (I recommend one from SimpleTech) and be able to hold from 128 to over 1000 pictures, depending on resolution & quality.

The camera has lots of options and is especially versatile in its "manual" mode where you have a little more control than you do in the full auto mode. It gives you freedom to lock the AE, focus and other settings, as well as apply special effects/enhancements. I leave the camera in manual mode most of the time, since it retains its point-and-shoot simplicity; that way there's one less step to take (turning the selector dial) when I want to change how the camera's taking pictures.

It also has a video mode and photostitch mode. In the photostitch mode the camera helps you line up multiple shots so you can merge them into a single panoramic shot using software on your PC (included).

If you're considering this camera but fear it may be too small to easily hold, don't worry. I have larger than average hands and have no problems at all with manipulating the buttons and taking pictures (although, as with all things, it takes some practice).

Enough rambling, the bottom line is....

This is definitely the BEST 2 MP, 3 x zoom, compact digital camera available at this time.

I have been a dedicated digital Elph user since the first S100 was released and have really gotten my money's worth from that camera. It was not, however, a perfect camera, and the S300 attempted to address its major shortcomings. First of all, the zoom jumped to 3:1 rather than the old 2:1, yielding a big improvement in utility. The S300 also added a 30 second movie function, which once you mastered the download process, really added zip to Internet photo apps. Lastly, the control wheel with embedded power switch worked far better than the old recessed power button, which in my mind was a real problem with the S100. Now, the new S330 updates the S300 with better battery management and higher amperage, and adds several new user controls. It does *not* add the anticipated 3 megapixel resolution, nor improve upon the optical zoom. The question now is whether the digital Elph series is worth the premium one pays for its compactness. For considerably less money, one can buy other digicams that are only modestly larger but rather better equipped. Personally, I would say that finding an S110 or even an S300 would be a better approach value-wise for someone intent on getting a camera of this size that is of good quality. I believe the S330 has merely gilded the proverbial lily.

I would like to rate this camera with 5 stars, but there are a few features that I miss.

1)No battery status. I have not yet found a way to find out how much battery is left at any given time. The camera suddenly alerts you when you have about 6-8 photos left to snap.

2)No case. Camera does not come with a case of any kind. I would like to protect the nice finish on the camera.

3)Problems to transfer the MPEG (the less than 30 second movies) to the computer. The MPEG movies did not automatically transfer to the computer with the rest of the images, not sure if you have to change the settings to do so??

4)No power cord. The camera does not come with a power cord, so you constantly have to run the camera on batteries, even when you have it hooked up to the computer.

However, I did a lot of research before buying this camera. It's my second digital camera, and I'm overall very satisfied!! The camera takes great pictures, the flash is strong enough at night, and the size makes it fit snuggly in your jeans pocket! I also bought a 256 MG flash card...This is a must!! The Flash Card works perfectly!! I have not yet bought an extra battery. The battery included in the S330 has 30% more capacity then the previous models in the powershot series. I snapped about 180 pictures with a fully charged battery, and when do you really to snap more than that during one day??!

I really recommend this camera! It's a go!

Good luck!...