Canon PowerShot S200 2MP Digital ELPH Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom

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Product Details

Product Manual [6.04mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 1.1 x 3.4 x 2.2 inches ; 6.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000645C9
• Item model number: S200
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (164 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,190 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 22, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Inch for inch and ounce for ounce, Canon's PowerShot S200 Digital Elph packs more power into less space than virtually any other digital camera, stuffing a feature-packed, 2-megapixel camera with 2x optical zoom into a diminutive brushed-metal case that slips easily into a purse or pocket.

Resolution
Like last year's S110, the S200 features a 2-megapixel sensor for sharp prints at sizes up to 8 by 10 inches. With cameras of up to 5 megapixels now on the market, some enthusiasts were hoping the Elph would make the jump to 3 megapixels, but it appears that Canon still believes 2 megapixels remains the best balance between performance and price for most consumers. We tend to agree. If you regularly print your photos at sizes larger than 8 by 10 inches, you'll probably want a camera with higher resolution and more manual controls than the Elph offers--we recommend Canon's 3-megapixel S30 or 4-megapixel S40.

Optics
A 2x optical zoom lens (35-70mm equivalent) aids in photo composition, and an additional 2.5x digital zoom (5x total) further magnifies your image. Remember, however, that digital zoom reduces the sharpness and detail of your image, so it's best used sparingly. Two systems help ensure your pictures will be perfectly focused, even in challenging conditions: a multizone autofocus works even when the subject of your photo isn't in the center of the scene, and in low-light situations (a particular weakness of many digital cameras), a focus-assist lamp sends out a small patterned beam to help the camera accurately determine distance. If you're hoping for a more powerful zoom, the S330 Elph has a 3x zoom and slightly larger dimensions but is otherwise nearly identical.

More Features
Though it's primarily designed as a point-and-shoot, the S200 includes several advanced features for photographers who want more creative control, including exposure compensation, low-light manual shutter speeds, manual ISO and white balance, and stitch assist, plus black-and-white, sepia, vivid, and neutral modes.

A movie mode captures video clips with sound. Depending upon resolution, these clips can last from 2 to 60 seconds. The limited length and resolution of these clips guarantees that this feature won't replace your camcorder, but it's perfect for when you just want to capture a quick movie and e-mail it to a friend or relative. In addition, you can add up to 60 seconds of audio to each still picture you take.

Power
The S200 uses a proprietary lithium-ion rechargeable battery, and both the battery and the charger are included. Though the new NB-1LH looks identical to (and is interchangeable with) the NB-1L batteries shipped with previous Elph models, the new battery holds 840 mAh of energy, a 23 percent increase. Because the battery is unique to the Elph cameras and can be nearly impossible to find when on the road, we strongly recommend getting a spare if you're planning to take the camera on extended outings.

Storage and Transfer
Images are stored on standard Type I CompactFlash cards. Consider the included 8 MB card a starter capacity, since its 12-picture limit means you'll need to return to your computer often to transfer images and free up the card for more pictures. A 128 MB card is a great size for this camera, storing around 200 images. To transfer images to your computer, simply attach the included USB cable between your PC and your camera. Your computer should automatically recognize your camera and let you move the pictures to your hard drive.

Printing
Canon has introduced a series of printers designed to work directly with the S200. Using these printers, no computer is required--simply connect the camera to the printer and start printing. The CP-10 produces credit-card-sized prints, and the CP-100 makes 4-by-6-inch prints. Both use continuous-tone technology for results that are indistinguishable from traditional photos. Of course, photos from your Elph can also be printed on any home computer system with an inkjet printer, sent off for online processing, or simply enjoyed on your computer screen.

Size
At just 3.4 by 2.2 by 1.1 inches and 6.3 ounces, the S200 is even smaller than its predecessor, making it one of the smallest zoom digital cameras on the market.

Contents and Recommended Accessories
The package includes the S200 camera, NB-1LH battery with CB-2LS charger, AV and USB cables, wrist strap, software suite, and 8 MB memory card.

Everything you need to get started is included in the box, but we strongly recommend the addition of a larger memory card (a 128 MB card holds around 200 images), a spare NB-1L battery, and a compact carrying case (to protect the brushed-metal finish and keep pocket lint out of the viewfinder). --Shane Burnett

Pros:

• Ultraportable size makes it easy to bring along
• Picture quality is excellent, even in low-light situations
• New features, a better battery, and slightly smaller size are improvements over last year's S110

Cons:

• 2-megapixel sensor is adequate for most users but starting to look low by today's standards
• 8 MB card is too small for more than occasional use

Product Description

Canon PowerShot S200 DIGITAL ELPH camera combines high performance with style and convenience. The model, designed as a "next generation" DIGITAL ELPH camera, retains and improves upon the stylish and elegant design that made the PowerShot S110 and S300 two of the most popular digital cameras in history. It offers consumers one of the widest selections of features, functions, and price-points of any digital camera line available today, making the enjoyment of digital photography more accessible than ever.The S200 includes an Intelligent Orientation sensor, which detects whether an image has been recorded horizontally or vertically. During image playback, the sensor detects the proper orientation of each image, and previews them accordingly without the need to rotate the camera for image viewing. It is also adjusts AF, AE and white balance accordingly. The PowerShot S200 can record movies with sound in VGA, QVGA and Q2VGA at 20 frames per second. The camera features a 1/2.7-inch, 2.0-megapixel CCD sensor that creates full color or black-and-white images up to 1600x1200 pixels when set to the camera's Large resolution mode. The camera also offers additional resolution settings of 1024x768 and 640x480 when set in the Medium or Small modes, which are ideal for on-screen applications, such as Web sites and CD-ROMs and allow more images to be recorded on a single CompactFlash memory card.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pocket-sized, but not small on features!, June 30, 2002

By	Jesse Garner (Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've had my S200 for three weeks now, and just had to post and let others know this is a great camera. This is my first digital camera, and after much research, I'm pleased to think I got exactly what I needed.

Pros:
- Sturdy! Portable! I work at a summer camp and wanted a camera I could take around with me and not worry about. I've already dropped this camera several times (pretty hefty drop once) but the metal casing is sturdy enough to take abuse. As always, be careful, but you won't have to worry about breaking this camera. You also won't have to worry about lugging a huge camera around and having to set it down everywhere. Shorts, swimsuit, whatever - it'll fit in your pocket.

- Print Quality: I got my first ofoto.com order the other week and the pictures look GREAT. I was worried that 2 mpxls wouldn't be enough, but even the 8x10 I ordered came out fine. Make sure you have a large memory card (I have a 128 mb one) and take pictures on the best possible setting.

- Good battery life: I've seen some bad ratings on this, but don't know why. I take lots of pictures and always use the LCD screen. With that usage, my battery lasts from about 7:30 in the morning until 11:00 at night. I just come home and charge it each night. If you turn the LCD screen off (and the camera off when you're not using it) it will last longer - I've used it for two days straight before charging it. Extra batteries are relatively inexpensive, so get one if you can, but you can always get one later and still enjoy your camera.

Cons:

- No case. You really need a case. I've gone caseless for three weeks now and there is a lot of lint inside my viewfinder (but no other problems). The Canon paperwork is a little confusing about which case is designed for the s200 (get a case designed for it - it's too small to fit anything but a made-to-order case), but check powershot.com to find out which one to order. It's a cheap way to protect your camera for a long time. Buy it online, too - I'm having a hard time finding a case in a store.

- ZoombrowserEX. The software program that comes with the camera to organize your pictures and take them off the camera is not designed well. Windows don't pop up right, and it's easy to permanently delete some of your pictures (no recycle bin).

- Slow. With the red eye reduction flash setting, it takes _forever_ to actually take a picture. Even the autoflash function is still slow. With plenty of light there's no problem, but the flashes tend to be a little slow (although, if you prefocus, there's not as much of a wait). Don't buy this for sports photography.

-Uploading old images. I've had problems with taking pictures off my SimpleTech card and then putting them back on. Half the time the pictures are squished or streched, especially portraits. I'm not sure who's at fault for that, Canon or SimpleTech, but it makes it annoying when you want to share images with your flash card.

Overall an excellent camera. I'm very excited about it and would recommend it to anyone who wants portability and great pictures. I picked the s200 over the s330 because of size (the s330 looks a lot bigger). None of the extra features on the s330 made up for the size difference.

I tried to cover all the bases here. Hope this review from an amateur photographer helps.

62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, January 17, 2003

By	Jeff (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews

You want the truth, can you handle the truth? Let's begin with my title, "The good, the bad, and the ugly"...THE UGLY-well, there is no ugly. The camera looks that good. Just taking the camera with you will make you cool (I mean, not that I needed any help or anything, but if you do, that's ok and this is the camera for you). The GOOD-for a camera the size of a, actually its the only little rectangular shaped thing I own that small. It is small, period. I carry it in my front jeans pocket when I go out and pretty much don't know its there. I bought this camera knowing that it will be going with me on trips to Asia, and Europe and around town. I don't like being a "tourist" (ie camera on shoulder, carry bags), so this camera is a dream. I will add, it is surprisingly durable as well, you can tell as soon as you hold it. OK, the Pictures. LCD screen, awesome. Bright, crisp, wish my TV was that good, hmmmm...wish my monitor was that good. The photos, here is the deal. You need to learn how to take pictures with the camera. Outdoors, no biggie. Takes great great pictures. I have even entered some in contests. Indoors-a little bit of a bummer. My only real gripe with the camera. Indoor pictures with any camera are not the easiest, but with digital, even harder. I don't know about other digitals, but with the elph, lots of red eye and dark background. A little trick-indoors in sufficient lighting situations, shut the flash OFF, and what you see in the LCD is what you get, usually a better picture than with flash. With practice indoor shots will be sufficient. Batteries, Cannon NB-1LH. Right. Because you don't know what that means, let me tell you. You are not going to find them at Target, or 7-11. They work pretty well though and the camera comes with a charger and one battery. You probably won't buy an extra battery now, but later you will want an extra battery...trust me, I'm telling you. Oh by the way...I am not a Cannon rep or anything, but ONLY buy the Cannon NB-1LH battery-again just trust me and listen. 8MB memory card-The camera comes with it, and it is enough memory for you to realize the camera is the greatest thing since sliced bread- you will want a bigger memory card. Well, in conclusion: Would I buy this camera again? 100% Yes. The camera is just awesome. You will have so so so much fun with it. That I can guarantee. Great pictures, video mode (with GOOD sound quality (only 12 seconds though)), comes with cables to hook up to the TV, probably one of the greatest things I have ever bought. It is one of those deals where after buying it, you won't know how you lived without it before. I don't know if a camera can add to the quality of a persons life, but you will definitely have more fun. By the way, be prepared for every person you take a picture of to want to see your camera. Prepare yourself now for the fact you are going to have other peoples fingerprints all over it. :) Peace out, and enjoy life!~

70 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fun and handy, room for improvement, November 5, 2002

By	Rachel Podolsky - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This camera is fantastic for convenience. It realistically fits in your pocket, and its compact brick-like shape means nothing is protruding and getting dented as you walk around. I take it places that I'd never take a larger camera, because I can bring it along without a big camera pack hanging off my shoulder.

The main complaint I have is that the image quality isn't great. It's good enough for snapshots, but I've had a lot of so-so pictures. My former digital camera, an Olympus D-460 with only 1.3 megapixels, took sharper and better-looking images. A lot of my pictures on this camera look all right from far away but up close everything is a little fuzzy.

Here's a summary of my pros and cons with the camera:

Pluses:
* Size -- it really can fit in your pocket.
* The charger is small and light-weight and works in standard 2-prong 110V outlets.
* Nice viewing of shots on the camera -- loads quickly and there is speedy and good navigation, even when I had 100s of pictures.

* Battery life is great.
* Video mode is a blast.
* Battery charges quickly, around 2 hours from totally dead.
* You can plug the camera into a TV with included cables and view your photos there.

Minuses:
* Picture quality isn't great.
* Sometimes when you take a picture with the flash, it takes forever (we're talking holding the button for 10 seconds or more) to take. I found I could improve this by depressing the button slightly to get the light setting, seeing the red light go one, and *then* pushing hard to take the picture, then waiting another second or two for it to take. But try explaining that to a Chinese person who you don't know who's taking your picture for you!
* No software included to create a slideshow. I was hoping for something that would make a nice picture-and-video slideshow.
* The video mode can't adjust to different light settings in the course of filming, so whatever setting you start with is the same one it will maintain even when the light changes.
* No warning before your battery dies. The warning light comes on and poof! 30 seconds later the camera's dead.
* No sound on video playback on the camera (there is sound when the clip is downloaded to a computer or played on a TV).
* Maximum imposed recording limit for videos, regardless of how much memory is on your memory card. At the middle quality setting it's about 10 seconds, and at the low quality about 30.

Overall I think the camera's size makes it a good camera, it could use some improvements particularly in picture quality but for casual snapshots it'll do the job. A similar camera worth checking out is the Minolta Dimage X. It's slightly smaller, has longer video recording capability, greater zoom, and audio on video playback, but I've heard the picture quality is worse than the Elph.