Customer Reviews

Canon PowerShot S10 2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom Value Package

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Canon S-10 is perhaps one of the best compact digital cameras out there. Everything about this camera says canon quality. The body, except for the battery and flash storage doors is all around metal. Front plate, top, back plate, lens bezel, all magnesium and aluminum. Another reviewer talked about breaking one of the doors, I'm not quite sure what sort of torture test he was putting his camera through. It's a camera people. Not a hammer, or a brick. Dont drop it.

The next great thing about this camera is, well the lens and the CCD. Canon gained alot of experience in building small optics with their hit Elph Cameras, it is employed here. While small, the lens is a fast f 2.8 giving you an edge over most digital cameras, as you can better utilize existing light, without having to resort to flash. The CCD, image sensor is bar none. I think it may be the best 2.1 megapixel sensor made. This camera produces great images that unlike on other digital cameras, dont need to be sampled down. They're very low noise, and when printed produce good 8x10"s. I would say that the S-10's practical resolution is on par with most point and shoot APS cameras. Another plus is the Low-Glare Color LCD on the back of the camera. Best of any digital camera I've used, and I use it alot to frame pictures. For the more experienced photographers, the S-10 has some manual controls, Exposure compensation +/- 2 stops in 1/3 increments, Selectable White Balance, Spot Metering (with real time preview through the LCD screen) and Variable ISO 100-400.

Downside: This camera uses 2CR5 Lithium photo batteries which are expensive.. Canon does make a rechargeable battery, and a charger (Kit DK10) but it dosent come with the camera in the US. So you will probably want to spend a bit extra on one of these. My only other nag, is the lack of a PC connector for an external flash. But this camera is more of a point and shoot, so that's a little superflous.

Other nice things: USB suppourt, and suppourt for IBM's microdrive cards, so you can cram 1GB worth of picture storage memory into this little silver camera.

It dosent come much better than this.

First, a disclaimer: I've only been using the Canon S10 for about 10 hours after receiving the "value package". So, this review is based on first impressions, and not heavy usage.

That being said, I have to commend Amazon.com yet again for an extraordinarily quick delivery, and I appreciated the "digital camera phone help" line, since I used it, and enjoyed the conversation. I highly recommend the phone line if you're shopping for a digital camera, since the Amazon.com online resources are fairly thin.

The S10 value pack seems to be a great buy, in that the camera resolution, ease of use, quality of images, and peripherals are all very good to excellent. First of all, the extra 32Mb flashcard is de rigueur, since the capacity of the included 8Mb with the stand-alone camera has only enough onboard storage for a small roll of film. Second, the extra battery pack is welcome, since the battery life for this camera is quite short if you use the LCD display constantly. Third, the extra memory and battery pretty much make up the "value pack", since the carrying case is a nice but quite cheaply made nylon sheath that isn't large enough for the manual and camera together.

That being said, image resolution is excellent, both on the viewfinder screen AND in the finished product. Just for the hell of it, out of the box, I took a few shots using the AUTO setting, in the dark, with low incandescent lighting, and expected to see nothing. The shots were vibrant, bright, and quite clear, much more so than my eyes. After that joyride, I've been snapping various things between the hours of 8:00 PM and 1:00 AM, and the results are fun--the damned camera gets a good picture even when it shouldn't, and I'm left with having to decide how to deal with the downloaded picture.

Canon did a nice job with peripherals and software. Cables for USB connection, video connection, and serial connection are included in the box. The software includes Canon's own photo download and treatment software, as well as a version of Adobe PhotoWorks Home, which can be used together or separately for image storage, treatment, modification, or whatnot. Further, the Canon "Camera User Guide" and "Digital Software Starter Guide" (i.e. the manuals included with the camera) are concise, informative, and easy to read--quite unlike many electronic toy manuals which seem to have been translated by aliens.

Incidentally, I've only read the above manuals after setting up (in about 3 minutes) and using the camera for about 3 hours. If you have half a brain, you can set up the camera and get impressive shots in about 5 minutes after tearing off the Amazon.com tape from the outer box--that's what I did.

PROS: Easy to use, excellent quality shots at any resolution, onboard splicing features (for panoramas and conjugated shots including several combined photos), extremely clear viewfinder screen, understandable controls and input/output links. Camera can be set for different lighting and "image" situations, most of which are right on the mark. Images can be viewed and photographed in black and white. 2.1 megapixels provides photo results that are very good at 8x10 on a 19" monitor.

CONS: Battery hog--I just ordered the battery charger/AC unit, since the battery I installed 8 hours ago is quite low after only 50 shots. Then again, I've kept the viewfinder on for some time, so my stupidity might not reflect yours. The other con: though the camera body is for the most part metal, the cover for "digital" communication (i.e. USB or serial port) is a flimsy piece of rubber, and I'm sure it's going to drop off after a few uses.

This is the best digital camera that I have used. I have had the camera now for 14 months with great success. We purchased the camera when our child was born. We have taken around 600 pictures so far. We put the pictures on the web and email them to friends. I think the real advantage of the camera is the quality of the photos. We have printed alot using our color printer and they come out pretty good even at 8X10 size(very old printer). We have also had alot developed through Shutterfly and other developers that you cannot tell the difference between those and other 35mm photos. We even compared pictures with a friend who had a 35mm photo of basically the same shot and ours was better....Buy the camera you won't regret it.....

I looked at smart media vs. compact flash vs. sony memory stick and floppy storage. I looked at features on Olympus, Sony, Kodak, and several other brands. The only other camera that came close was a CoolPix. However, the coolpix cameras are more expensive and larger. We opted for the S10 and feel we got the best. Sm. size, great features and compact flash cards are easy to carry overseas. We cruise alot and in Feb.01 came home with 735 digital pictures using the medium pixel setting on the S10. We download the pics, then manipulate the images in Photoshop, import to Pagemaker where I add text for our memory pages. We print at 720 DPI and it is simply GREAT! You will love this camera!

I see most reviewers have written raved reviews for this Powershot S10 digital camera. I also find that it has no glaring weaknesses. It is an excellent camera and the price is just right. However, I would like to just point out a few minor weaknesses that prospective buyers might want to know:

Using the camera the first time is not easy. Navigating the camera software is accomplished by the mode dial and menu, which is shown on the LCD screen. Many of the buttons on the camera are unlabeled and can be confusing. Commitment to reading the manual is a must to utilize the potential of the camera. However, once the controls are mastered and settings adjusted, the advantages and benefits outweigh these minor flaws.

If the resolution and pixel settings don't meet your photography needs, the PowerShot S20 should be considered. It combines all the features and benefits of the S10 with a higher resolution, with a suitably higher price tag.

The Canon Powershot S10 is my first digital camera. I think it is great fun and really easy to use. After about ten minutes I was taking pictures and editing them on the computer. Although it is easy to use and takes high quality pictures, it sucks the battery dry in about an hour or so of use. So I would recommend buying the power supply kit and at least one extra rechargeable battery so the [disposable] batteries don't suck a hole in your budget.

Wow what a camera. The Cannon PowerShot S10 is a fantastic, made in Japan well designed camera. It is easy to operate, takes great photos and is built to last. Quality and ease of use are present in all parts of this product. The doors to access the battery and memory card are opened by moving a switch. No more turning red with anger opening those cheap plastic battery doors. A lot of the cameras out there only do USB, this camera does both Serial and USB connections. The sofware bundle is great. The ... Value package adds a 32 meg memory card, extra battery and case. The Memory card sells for ... ... if bought seperatly. I bought the power kit for the camera right away. Having recharable batteries is a must and being able to also run on house current is helpful if you use the LCD screen a lot. If you add up the value of the extras (memory ... extra batt. $10 case $10) and sales tax savings ... (in my case) how can you beat this deal. So after you get that headache from looking at too many Digi Cameras online, take two aspirin and get the PowerShot S10 you'll feel better in the morning!

I waited in anticipation for my purchase after intense reviewing on the internet. I am so impressed with this camera. I also purchased an additional 128 mb compactflash card. The "package" that I purchased from Amazon included an 8 and 32mb cards which I will store in the included case for backup.

The quality of the photos blows away any photo that I have taken on my 35mm. Your first mission should be to try the macro mode. The detail is great.

I am now hooked on DIGITAL...anyone want to by a used 35mm?

We've had TWO of these cameras for over a year and are very pleased. The best part of this camera is that it's small enough to fit in a pocket, while still being powerful enough to take great pictures! The 2.1 megapixels is more than enough to print out crisp 8x10 enlargements of your favorite pics.

And the current price is a steal! A year ago, we were willing to pay almost twice as much for this camera - and that was without the 32mb card bundled in. The 32mb card is such a great addition. It lets you shoot over 35 pics in one sitting on the best resolution. That's more than a roll of film! And that's in addition to the 8mb card that comes included with the camera.

Amazon has put together a great package. A powerful, compact camera, with enough memory to shoot to your heart's content.

i purchased this package last april. It is a great deal. the price of the canon powershot s10 without the extra battery and the bag and the extra 32mb card(which you really need).... The canon lense is great!!!! I take a lot of photos and it fills your hard drive so if you buy this camera get a cd burner or get like 50 gb hardrive. One cd holds hundreds of photos. also you should get the power supply kit. i think its around 90 dollars the batteries go very quick and they cost from 9 dollars all the way to 13 dollars and it really adds up. if your planning on taking more than 75 photos before you get back to your computer i reccomened another 32 mb card it will give you around another 50 photos. The software that comes with the camera is alittle confusing at first but its easy once you use it for a month or two. If you are planning on printing out your photos you should get a TRUE PHOTO QUALITY PRINTER. At least 2,400x1,200 dots per inch. If you have any less it looks really bad i know from experience. A very good one that is all in one and is photo quality( this means it prints scans and coppies) is the HP 750se.

Pros-
1. great qaulity
2. sturdy
3. looks nice
4. great for projects

Cons-
1.exspensive batterys
2.uses alot of hardisk space