Customer Reviews

Canon PowerShot S230 3.2 MP Digital ELPH Camera with 2x Optical Zoom and Coach Camera Case

5 star:		(96)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Wow. I got my s230 about five weeks ago, and have taken over 1500 photos already. I am thrilled with the quality of the camera. It is heavy, built with a very sturdy case, the buttons are quality, the menus (software) are incredibly concise and easy to use/understand. Of course, what most people are concerned with is the picture quality--for this type of camera, it is outstanding. Very few of my photos have turned out "flat" and looking like cheap digital pics. Most of them are vibrant and full of depth and detail.

Here are the only problems I've encountered so far:

1) The worst problem is the delay from the time you push the button to the time the photo takes. It is NEVER immediate, and often takes half a second or more. This is fine for a posed shot, but good luck taking action shots or candid moments. You have to learn the art of predicting where people and objects will be in a half second. Do not buy this camera if you intend to take photos of people in action, i.e. playing sports. You will miss every key photo. I have not found any way around this--playing with the settings does not change the delay.

2) Dust collects in the viewfinder lens (on the outside). Not a major problem, but it's very difficult to clean.

3) The 2x optical zoom is indeed small. You will have moments where it frustrates you.

4) The flash is weak and does create bad red eye.

5) The custom USB connection point seems very delicate. I am concerned that in the future this will wear out (however, that is just a guess--no problems have occurred yet).

6) The tripod mount is in an awkward position (on the left, but the trigger button is on the right, so the camera tends to wiggle while shooting on a tripod).

As for the battery life, I have no problems. I've taken dozens of photos and movies (using the flash and the lcd screen) and it has lasted fine. No complaints there. The memory card is very small for taking hi-res pics, so you will have to get a bigger one.

This thing has changed my life. I slip it in my pocket everywhere I go, and it has not let me down. I would highly recommend getting one. Incredible quality + very few complaints.

WHY I PURCHASED THE POWERSHOT 230:
I was never really a fan of Canon cameras, especially Canon digital cameras. It wasn't until recently that a few of my friends were sending me pictures via email that were taken with a Canon Powershot camera. I was pretty impressed with the results and decided to check out the newest Powershot; the S230. This camera packed a lot of features, but kept the bulk to a minimum. Producing images at 3.2 megapixels, the S230 was definitely appealing.

WHAT IT COMES WITH:
- Canon PowerShot S230 Digital ELPH camera
- NB-1LH Lithium-ion battery
- 16 MB CompactFlash (CF) Card
- USB cable
- A/V cable
- Wrist Strap
- CD with Canon software suite
- Users Manual

POCKETABILITY:
The first thing you notice about this camera is that it's small. Probably the smallest digital camera I've seen in the 3 megapixel category. You can truly put this in your pocket and not have everyone stare at the bulge...

DURABILITY:
I've already dropped this camera once on my hardwood floor. Amazingly, it still works like a charm. The S230 is encased in stainless steel with a few chrome accents and a couple of plastic parts (mainly the switches & dials). I expect this camera to last several years without any problems, if not longer. A buddy of mine has owned his Powershot S100 for over two years and he still loves his to death.

EASE OF USE:
The S230 was as easy to use (if not easier) as my previous Sony digital cameras. Before selling my Sony DSC-S75, I had the chance to compare the two, side-by-side. The size alone, gave the S230 an overwhelming advantage. The picture quality is very impressive with the S230. The indoor photos that I took without the flash turned out great. The auto-exposure, as well as the auto-ISO settings works fine, but if you want to manually set those on your own, it's easy to do. There are other cool features on the S230 such as picture effects (black and white, sepia, soft, sharp, etc.). The 1.5" LCD is very useful and is very clear, even in bright sunlight.

ADVANCED FOCUSING:
AiAF (Artificial Intelligence Auto-Focus) is a new feature found on the S230 that was not present in the earlier models of the Powershots. This function allows the S230 to select from one of the nine focus areas within the frame to capture the sharpest shot. It's pretty amazing how this works. This feature can also easily be turned off in the settings. This feature is found on the new Canon G3, as well, and is the flagship of the point-and-shoot digital camera line for Canon.

PICTURE QUALITY:
As I mentioned, I was quite impressed with the photo quality. I managed to print some of them on photo paper using my HP 960c deskjet printer. Printing them in 5X7 produced brilliant, almost photolab quality pictures. I might add that my Sony DSC-S75 also produces some of the best photos, as well, but I expect that from a camera that boasts a Carl Zeiss Sonar lens, 3.3 megapixel resolution quality.... If you own a Canon printer, you should be able to directly print off of your S230 using the supplied cable. I just ordered the Canon i850 printer, so I'm anxiously waiting to try it out.

VIDEO MODE:
The ability to capture 30 seconds of 640X480 AVI video (20 frames per second) with sound is awesome! My father was surprised at how clearly it captures motion video. Although you're able to capture the video with sound, you won't be able to play it back with sound on the camera itself, as it is not equipped with a speaker. The S230 is capable of capturing more than 30 seconds if you use smaller resolution. After visiting the Canon Powershot website, I learned that if you use a high-speed CompactFlash (CF) card, you should be able to capture more than 30 seconds of 640X480 video. Canon expects to market the high speed CF card soon.

BATTERY STRENGTH:
This is where I'd say that my Sony DSC-S75 shines. All of Sony's digital cameras display the remaining life of the battery in minutes. The S230 goes strong until there's about 5% or less power left. I've read a few articles and reviews stating that the battery life is the weakness of this camera, but it's not all that bad. It all depends on how much you use the LCD display, the flash, and how often you turn on/off the device. I quickly ordered an extra battery from buy.com and I'm perfectly happy now.

The S230 comes with a separate battery charger. This is very convenient, as you don't have to charge the battery using the camera, like most of the Sony cameras do (Sony sells the battery charger as a separate accessory). From a fully discharged battery, the charger is able to completely charge it in about two hours. There is an LED which displays in `red' when it's charging and `green' when it's complete.

OVERALL WEAKNESSES:
Some people will say that the small size can be a weakness, but I'd say that the size is definitely its strength. The optical zoom capability is only 2X, so you won't be able to zoom up very closely from afar. It does offer a digital zoom, but this may result in grainy photos. The macro mode of the S230 isn't as crisp as my Sony DSC-S75, but I can live with it. Also, the flash on the S230 isn't as effective as it should be. The flash tends to white out (too bright) close-range subjects, but is very weak for any subjects more than 6 feet away. I'll have to play around some more with the settings, I guess. Finally, the tripod mount is not positioned in the center of the camera. It's actually placed on the side, causing it to be off-center and hard to balance.

SUMMARY:
I mainly purchased this camera for its size, but it's turned out to be a much better camera than I anticipated. In terms of photo quality, it may not beat the higher-end digital cameras, but it will sure give them a run for the money. We have to hand it Canon for developing a truly pocket-sized 3.2 megapixel digital camera.

This is my third digital camera; I bought this because I wanted an ultra-portable, 3-megapixel camera. So far it's proving to be what I want -- high quality snapshots in a very small package.

Likes:
- It's truly small; very easy to carry in pocket, coat, briefcase or purse.
- Durable steel case
- Very easy to use
- Very good image quality.
- I am very happy with battery life. I do not agree w/folks challenging battery life on this -- I've used it liberally for a whole day of wandering around on vacation, taking photos, looking at images...more than 60 photos in a day. I have bought extra batteries for my other cameras but really haven't felt the need for this. (For me, having a big memory card and extra batteries makes a digital camera much more convenient for heavy picture taking dealing with a film camera and extra film).

Dislikes:
- Lots of red eye in indoor flash situations
- Some difficulty w/autofocus in low-light situations
- Relatively limited zoom (however, I don't think moving to the 330 with the 3x zoom is worth the tradeoff in size).

Recommendations:
- Buy a case. You'll want to carry this everywhere and a little case protects it from scratches and impacts.
- Buy at least 128MB memory card (256 even better if you don't want to worry about using up memory on a longer trip)
- Having experimented w/lots of digital photo editing software, I like using ofoto.com's software to pull photos off the camera, quickly look at snaps and upload photos online to share. It's very easy for the basics (crop a snapshot, zap out the redeye, upload some photos for sharing or printing 4 * 6's). For more serious editing, I use Adobe Photoshop Elements 2. The Ofoto.com software is free for the downloading off Ofoto's website; the Elements 2 software is reasonable if you take lots of photos and want to learn how to get the most from your photos. I find that Canon's software is too cumbersome for simple tasks and not flexible enough for heavier duty; Ofoto and Elements make a nice combination for me.
- If you're really just using this for casual snapshots, consider the Canon s200 for a significant savings. If you aren't going to blow up your photos the S200 would be fine for most simple shots. The 230 is great but may be overkill if you just want a fun, portable camera.

I have owned this camera for about six months now. I have taken over 2000 pictures with it, and very few have turned out bad. The detail this camera picks up is amazing! I am able to zoom in on objects in the photo and still have good detail. The 2x optical zoom is very disappointing and has been a limiting factor for some very nice shots while hiking. I have yet to use the included 16MB CF card. I ordered a 512MB CF card the same day I ordered my s230. At maximum resolution, and maximum quality, it takes over 300 shots! At maximum resolution, and standard quality, it will take 550 shots! (~15 rolls of 36 exposure film!) I have yet to find this to be a problem. A 256MB CF card is really all you need for this camera. A second battery would also be a good idea. You can expect about 100 shots from the battery with the flash and LCD on, along with constantly going to the picture viewer mode to show everyone the pictures.
The one major drawback that I have not seen mentioned is the mode selector switch. Its on the top-back edge. About 25% of the time when I pull the camera out of my pocket, the switch catches just enough to move from picture mode, to video mode. Then I take a nice video instead of a picture. This issue has been addressed with the s400.
I have also seen some complaints about the offset tripod mount and the picture button being on the other end so it shakes when you take pictures on the tripod. You can set the camera timer for two seconds of ten seconds. Set it up for two. Then you push the button, step back, and it takes a perfectly clear shot!
I have used many Canon digital cameras; they are a very good choice! Very solid, (I take mine mountain biking every weekend) and it takes great pictures.
The 100-240 volt charger works nicely too! Took it to china for a week, and had no trouble at all.

I just got my Canon s230 from amazon for a real low price. Anyway, I must say I am very pleased with this little camera. Here is Why:
1)Small yet durable. Well constructed metal body
2)Made in Japan (well know for high quality in electronics)
3)Takes video at 640x320 (with sound), very sharp video you just have to see to believe (highest resolution around, better than even higher end cameras like nikons and s50 and s400)
4)Softwares as well as camera menus and controls are easy to understand even for beginners. Instruction manuals are well written as well.
5)High resolution LCD screen so you can see your pictures crystal clear (unlike competitions such as Casio and Minolta which have very low quality LCDs)
6)9 point AIAF is great technology that allows for nine focus points, and the flexizone even lets you choose which zone you want to focus out of nine, so you don't have to worry about leaving out a part of a beautiful tree or roof of a house just because you want to focus on your friends and family members when taking picture.
7)Professional and Efficient customer's service. If you have a question go to canon website to search for answer. You can also ask them a question and they get back to you within 24 hours (I was surprised).

My Thoughts about Some Complaints Others May Have:
1)2x optical zoom: this is a mini point and shoot camera and most of the time you can just stand closer to your subject if you need a closeup. I mean, I also have a canon s30 which is 3x, but I personally could not justify much advantage with a single x higher. (if you want to see a real difference pickup a 5x-8x optical zoom camera and you will understand my point, but be ready to pay an extra 200+ dollars)
2)Red Eye: Small camera means close proximity of flash to shutter = red eye. What do you expect? Plus this only happens at night, and can easily be corrected with software provided.
3)Technology: which other camera gives you 9 point focus? (not to mention Flexizone). which other brand give you 640x320 video? How often do you actually want video clip longer than 30 seconds? (if you need longer, if would be great idea to buy a camcorder, cause 512mb flash is only going to give you 8min at max)
4)Proprietary Battery: I challenge anyone out there to fit 2AA battery in this thing. There is no way.

One misconception I see alot in reviews is that people don't see the overall funtionality and quality of a product base on camera class. You can't expect this thing to perform like a huge camera, at least not in today's technology.
1) Just because a camera has the same 3 megapixel doesn't mean their picture quality are the same ... Some camera over compress the file so it looks a little grainy at full size, which for me is annoying.

Finally, I read numerous reviews and saw various cameras before I finally decided on my s30 and now s230 (my second canon baby brother). I catergorized digital cameras in general based on overall feature and performance with 1 being the finest and 5 being the most basic as follows: (Note Canon and Nikon are tie at first place)
1) Canon (sharpest,most color accurate pictures)
1) Nikon (sharp, outstanding macro capability)
3) Sony (great laser and lens, picture quality can be better)
4) Olympus (AA battery and good picture, high optical too)
5) Minolta,Casio,Fuji,Kodak (these you have to enlarge their sample photos to see what I am talking about, and understand why they are in the last place)
Don't just take my word. I encourage you to read more professional reviews. Just thought my research can help give you some insight.
Wish you all get to own a great camera for keeping precious memories of life!

There are some faults with the Canon S230 but they don't diminish the overall quality of this little camera. I previously reviewed this in December when I first purchased it and still rate it as five stars, but I will comment on some disadvantages now.

First is the red eye that appears on indoor, flash photos. This is true of most small digital cameras that I have used. The problem is the location of the flash close to the lens- unavoidable if you want small size. I've mitigated this by putting translucent tape or paper over the flash to lessen its impact or taking pictures without flash if possible.

The next problem is the battery. It works great and stays charged through many photos, videos and reviews of my pictures. It does not let me know when it is about to run out of power. As soon as the indicator for a low battery comes on the camera dies. This does not allow much time for changing batteries in the midst of an important event. My suggestion is to have an extra battery and to always use a newly charged battery for important events.

Now for some great features; I dropped this camera twice onto hard cement and the metal casing and components survived unscathed. I take this camera with me to sports events, skiing and hiking. The humidity of our school pool at swim meets has posed no problem. Its nice to know that it can stand up to even my carelessness.

The video clips are great. At an event I simply video each part individually. Three minutes is long enough for each race in a swim meet- even the relays (Okay, not the 500 free, but my arm would tire from that one anyway). I taped my son's All County orchestra concert- each piece was about three minutes- and even the sound was pretty good. I use a 128 MB card and can get at least a few events on each card. The 256 MB can do more.

So far I'm still very happy with this camera.

it's amazing how fast new products are brought to market, especially in digital photography. the s230 was the first 3MP in canon stable of ultra-compact cameras. since then, they have brought out a 4MP s400, a slightly smaller sd100, and an even smaller sd10 (no zoom though). the s230 continues to be a strong performer and pricing has dropped to match the competition. this camera remains a strong value.

pros:
- very good photo quality.
- uses the same DIGIC image processor found in more expensive canon cameras.
- good metering and good tonal balance - maintains shadow detail.
- good natural light white balance, strong and balanced colours.
- all metal body, solid construction.
- low noise at ISO 50 (keep in mind that ISO 50 for this camera is actually ISO 100 for everyone else; likewise, ISO 100 is in reality closer to ISO 200, etc).
- the LCD monitor (1.5") is bright and has an anti-reflective coating - gives good live preview and review even in well lit situations.
- shooting priority play mode (a half-press of the shutter release always returns to shooting).
- fast shot-to-shot times.
- fairly good startup time, especially for an extending lens camera.
- minimal shutter lag.
- AF assist lamp works well.
- USB connectivity.
- good battery life, although i would recommend carrying a spare since canon's batteries are proprietary.
- as with most canon cameras, documentation and included software are very good.
- ultracompact: 3.4 x 2.2 x 1.1 in, weighing only 6.4oz.

cons:
- limited 2x optical zoom.
- redeye performance could be improved.
- average macro performance.
- average flash performance.
- you'll need to remove from tripod to open the battery compartment.
- AF Assist lamp doesn't have enough power at telephoto zoom.
- very few manual controls - this is okay if all you want is a point and shoot.
- RAW and TIFF formats not supported.
- the supplied 16MB CF card is inadequate - be prepared to shell out a few more bucks for at least a 256MB card.
- proprietary battery - again, a few more bucks for a spare.

as already mentioned, the s230 continues to be a good value but there are newer entries in the ultra-compact segment of the market. if you want 4MP resolution and 3x optical zoom, consider the canon s400 - the eighty dollar premium is well worth it, in my opinion. more comparable cameras at about the same price point would be the canon s100, pentax optio s, and the casio ex-z3.

i hope this helps you with your buying decision. peace.

My GOD. This is the best I've ever owned.

Goods:
1) The smallest camera/performance you can get. Period.
2) Camera is beautifully designed.
3) Software is not that bad.
4) Works with XP without software.
5) LCD screen is clear and useful.
6) Time between pictures is unimaginably short.
7) CF cards are cheap cheap cheap.
8) Fits in any pocket.

The Bad:
1) Battery is "so-so"
2) My nose keeps smudging the LCD screen!
3) I'm getting blurry pictures sometimes. (From lack of experience?)
4) Only 16MB CF Card

I've been waiting a long time for Canon to come out with a 3+ megapixel version of their Elph line of cameras and I wasn't disappointed when I recently purchased the S230.

I've always considered 3 megapixels to be the minimum required for photo quality 4x6 prints so when I came time to upgrade from my Kodak DC280, I went with the Olympus C-3000 over the 2 megapixel S110 despite the fact that I found the Canon's small size very appealing.

Now that the S230 has finally arrived, I can say that I am very happy with my purchase. The picture quality is not quite as good (a bit more 'noise' is noticeable in night shots) as my Olympus but still much better than my old Kodak DC280.

Just as a note to those who can wait: Minolta will soon be releasing the Minolta DiMAGE Xi 3 megapixel version of their popular DiMAGE X camera. This camera is thinner and features a 3x optical zoom as opposed to the 2x zoom on the S230. If it's priced competitively, it might be worth a look. Although for me, it didn't matter; this camera is small enough for me to carry around in my pocket...anything smaller really wasn't necessary and I really didn't want to wait with the holidays coming up.

So, I recently purchased a Canon Powershot s230 earlier this month (Feb/2003) after weeks of angsty buyer's indecision. I was torn between the s330 powershot (which has a 3x Optical Zoom but only 2 megapixels) and the s230 (which has a 2x Optical Zoom and 3.2 megapixels). This camera will go with me on an upcoming overseas trip, and I was torn by a single question: will megapixels or optical zoom give me a better photo? (as you can see, I am not an aficiando in digicams -- this purchase is actually my very first digital camera). For me, ultra-portability is a necessity as I need to pack as lightly as possible. I had decided against Canon's impressive, feature-laden s30 (which is only slightly larger than the s330) because the lens covers on the store models that I had seen had almost been ripped off, and I was concerned that it wouldn't stand up to moderate travel bag abuse (with or without a case).

I read every review of the two cameras that I could find, read a zillion newsgroup postings, and asked three people who work with cameras professionally what their opinions were. I had thought that I had made up my mind to go for the s330 and save myself $100 (the reviews of both cameras are excellent, and I had decided to use the saved $$ to buy accessories). But the 3 professional opinions that I'd sought out all agreed with buying the s230. Their reasoning? If you buy the camera with more megapixels, then when you use the _digital_ zoom to go to 3x, the extra megapixels will help give you the same image that would be gotten from a 2MP + 3x optical zoom combo. This makes sense if you think about _digital_ zooming as taking a cropped portion of a picture, and simply blowing it up. More megapixels means more granularity and picture detail -- so taking a piece of an image and making it larger won't affect detail and clarity as much as if you started out with fewer pixels in the first place. Either way, when I got my hands on a working s230 store model and tested what 2x (optical) and "3x" (digital) zoom looked like on that camera, I realized that the difference in what you can see via those telephoto settings isn't that important. In other words, both 2x and 3x aren't going to let you take a picture of someone from across a field -- they're snapshot quality zooms.

So that got me thinking. I realized, too, that 3.2MP means excellent 8x10 photos. I don't usually print that large, but hey! this is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime sort of trip, and I wanted the option to make a large print if necessary. Also, my normal 5x7's would come out supersharp. And 3MP also means that you can crop and edit pics without nearly as much loss in picture quality.

So I bought the s230. My impressions?

The camera takes amazing daytime pics. I was afraid handshake would be a problem, but I've had no trouble with that at all, except under low light conditions when I try to snap photos without using a flash (and then, it's not really "shake" that's the problem -- just lighting). Oddly enough, despite expectations, I have NOT had red-eye problems...yet. I've used the preset white balance settings, and my indoor pics have turned out with totally natural colors. The LCD is awesome. Panoramic pics are AMAZING (it is such a cool, cool feature). With the included 16MB CF card, I've taken 45" of video in 320x640 (I didn't expect to care about this feature, but I've had a BLAST taking quick videos). As for zoom, I've noticed that, if I take large, superfine shots and then crop what I want to focus on, the resulting image looks the same as if I'd zoomed A LOT. So, zoom has ended up being a moot purchasing factor for me.

All in all, this camera (and it's picture quality) have met and exceeded my expectations. I was nervous to plunk down $... for something so small and after reading so many mixed reviews, but I have not had one iota of buyer's regret. My advice?

Just buy it! :-)