Canon S2 si - couldn't have been happier !

This is not a review for techies, for technical stuff see reviews from Howard Creech who is my Guru. I have followed his reviews and he has never let me down. This review is only my experiences with my latest upgrade from Canon A95 to Canon S2 IS. It is therefore meant for people who don’t have the budget for hi-tech DSLRs or the ambition of getting published in National Geographics. This is for dads and moms like me who wanted a camera that gives high quality pictures when snap-shooting around the house and that surprises you with its extensive feature range and ability when out alone letting your creativity get the better of you.
Canon S2 is not pocket sized. It is however very handy and any has a nice feel. It is quite sturdy and feels more like a smallish SLR then a P&S. OK its no Nikon N5, but way sturdier than the flimsy toy-like feel that we associate with compacts. The controls take just about half an hour to get used to. The menu is very friendly. Startup and picture-to-picture times are very good. Remember we are not talking about photographers to want 22 pictures of a pole-vaulter or high-jumper when he is crossing the bar. This camera is all you are ever going to need at home while horsing around with the kids.
The auto mode is great and gives great results. I am talking about results that make people remark, “you must have a very good camera”. The color rendition is rich, full and vivid. The details are exceptional for a camera in this category. You’ll know what “crisp” or “razor sharp” means. The lens is brilliant and has an amazing range of 35-430 mm in 35mm equivalent. And it is fast ! Fast both as in f/2.7 and actual movement. You can zoom in from 35mm to 400mm in a flash, no incremental step-by-step movement. There are tons of creative features like White balance (auto setting does the works though), Exposure compensation and Flash compensation. The flash is sufficient for indoors but a bit lacking outdoors. But how many of us want to cover a football field at night? The flash needs to be popped up by hand. No big deal, most of us can instantly tell while looking at the image through the screen, whether we need a flash or not. The 1.8” Vari-angle screen is bright both at night and in bright daylight. I read someone saying that the Vari-angle screen is just a gimmick. Anyone who said that hasn’t used one ! From advancing learners to dads and moms, the ability to hold the camera away from eye-level at an arm’s length, tilt-able is so convenient that personally I don’t think I could do without one now that I’ve grown used to one. Just imagine the angular advantage, if your tot is crawling on the carpet and all you have to do is sit beside him and put the camera on the floor and get great even-level pictures. The electronic view finder is good/so-so. Good in the sense that the menu can be seen and manipulated while keeping the camera at eye level. So-so in the sense that the resolution is on the choppy side.
But the greatest feature of Canon S2 IS is its closeup and macro AND SUPERMACRO modes. Canon says you can get up to 0cm close to the object. I have taken pictures of objects actually, yes physically, touching the lens ! Any closer and the object would actually have to be inside the camera body. The details on these super close-ups are excellent ! Still need convincing, just ask for a sample at shaukatniazi@yahoo.com and I shall send you a picture of a glass bead hardly 1 cm across, look at that picture and then imagine it touching the lens.
The Image stabilizer really does wonders. Not only you don’t need a tripod in most situations where you couldn’t have done without one, you get a few extra f-stops so that you get natural looking pictures indoors and in low light. In good light it gives you extra-sharp pictures even at 400mm ultra-zoom setting.
If you think close-up was great in this beauty, try its video ! With its stereo sound, this little gem shall make you leave your digicam in its box. And now imagine being able to take stills while shooting video ! And the video starts at the push of just one button. No more hunting and changing modes. A one gig card will give you 15-17 minutes of surprising high quality video footage.
So what else to say about a camera that integrates a digicam, three or four lenses, a flash and maybe a tripod. Unless you are into making your living taking pictures, this is all the camera that 90% of us are ever going to need.