I've owned my
Canon Digital Rebel for just over a year now and I love it. There's only one problem that I have with it - it's not a simple, small, point-and-shoot style camera. Not that there's anything wrong with that. The whole point of owning a digital SLR is to have the interchangeable lenses, the hot shoe flash and all the other goodies, which weigh down the whole camera experience considerably.
I noticed one other problem with my Digital Rebel while I was in Alaska. If I had my wide-angle lens on to shoot a landscape, I'd invariably see a bear that would only be visible if I switched to zoom. If I had my zoom lens on to catch wildlife, I'd inevitably see a breathtaking, panoramic landscape that demanded my wide angle lens.
So after getting back from Alaska and finding that I got a surprise $500 bonus at work, I set about to buy that point-and-shoot digital. After some research, I chose the
Canon PowerShot S60.
Why I Chose This Camera
Three main things attracted me to the PowerShot S60. First, it had the same style function dial as my Digital Rebel, so I was already familiar with it. Second, it is feature-packed and configurable enough that I felt I wouldn't feel "stuck" in an automatic setting all the time. Third, it takes CompactFlash memory, the same memory I use in my Rebel, and it's interchangeable between the cameras.
About the Canon PowerShot S60
Canon lists a number of specifications for the PowerShot S60. The ones that were most important to me are:
Total Pixels: 5.3 million
Lens Focal Length: 5.8 (W) - 20.7 (T)mm zoom lens (35mm film equivalent: f/2.8 - f/5.3 at 28 - 100mm)
Digital Zoom: 4.1x
Auto-Focus System: 9-point AiAF (Automatic Focus Point Selection)/1-point AF (Fixed to center)
Optical Viewfinder: Real image optical viewfinder
Equivalent ISO Speeds Auto and ISO 50/100/200/400
Light Metering Methods: Evaluative/Center-weighted Average/Spot
Exposure Control Methods: Program AE, Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual
Exposure Compensation: /1 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments
AEB - Auto-Exposure Bracketing: Yes
White Balance: TTL Auto, Pre-set (Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, or Flash, Underwater), or Custom White Balance (1 position)
Built in Flash Operation Modes: Auto/On/Off, Red-Eye Reduction On/Off, Slow Syncro
The PowerShot S60 has a unique lens that goes from a 35mm equivalent of 28mm to 100mm - this was exactly what I was looking for in a camera and such a wide-angle is somewhat of a rarity for digital point-and-shoots.
I also felt that all of the modes and controls were important. I've grown accustomed to keeping my D-SLR in certain modes, such as Aperture Priority, and I wanted the same functionality in my pocket.
I was reasonably certain that this would be the best camera for me, so it was with confidence that I plunked down my newly-earned $500 bonus for the camera.
How Does the Camera Perform?
Out of the box and charged up the camera is a compact, neat little gadget. The camera turns on by pulling back the front panel, which extends the lens and lights up the 1.8" LCD screen on the back of the camera. The LCD is bright and easy to read and displays useful information about the present camera mode.
Switching between Canon's default modes is very easy and the zoom function works terrifically, although it's a little loud.
AUTOFOCUS
I was expecting a lot from Canon's 9 point AF system, but I have to say of all the components of the camera, this is the one that delivers the least. The S60's AiAF (Advanced intelligent Auto Focus) feature divides the picture up into nine zones for the focus points. When it works, it works well, but I find it very tough to get auto-focus to work in a variety of situations ranging from low-light, to focusing on similarly-colored/lit objects. I am not nearly as impressed with this camera's Auto-Focus capabilities as I had hoped I would be.
MACRO MODE
AutoFocus capabilities actually improve slightly in Macro mode, but the default flash is a little too strong. Ironically, this camera has built-in FEC (flash exposure compensation) whereas it's higher-end Digital Rebel counterpart does not, so you can compensate in Macro mode by reducing the flash output. Minimum focus distance in Macro mode is 1.6" and the resulting photos are crystal sharp in the center with only a little softening around the edges.
FLASH
The camera's built-in flash is powerful. I've heard complaints of a lack of a hot shoe for an off-camera flash but I don't see that as a fault of this camera at all. This is a compact digital and as such, I expect that it wouldn't have a hot shoe port for a flash.
As I mentioned, the S60 supports FEC in 1/3 increments to /- 2 stops. This is a wonderful feature that means you can avoid the washed out photos so many point-and-shoots take.
Unbelievably, this camera also has first and second curtain flash, which fires the flash either as soon as the shutter curtain opens up, or just as it's closing, for great artistic effects that pro photographers love to catch with their fancier cameras. If you're starting out with this camera and want to experiment with flash photography, the 1st and 2nd curtain flash option is a great place to start.
The flash effects available with the S60 far exceeded my expectations for such a compact little camera. They all have worked very well, though the learning curve on mastering them might be a little steep for users new to digital cameras.
SHOOTING MODES
Canon went whole hog with the shooting modes, packing this camera with all of the exposure modes you find on their SLR's.
For the Creative zone, which allows the photographer to control the settings that take priority in a shot: P (Program AE w/shift), Av (Aperture Priority), Tv (Shutter Priority), M (Manual)and Custom
For the Image zone, which allows the camera to use pre-determined settings optimized for the situation: Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Fast Shutter, Slow Shutter, Stitch Assist and Movie
This illustrates two other things you just can't do with a true Digital SLR - Stitch Assist and Movie. You won't find Canon's Digital SLR's allowing you to take short movie clips.
These zones work exactly like they should, and it's easy to switch between them using the dial on the top of the camera.
PHOTO EFFECTS
The S60 supports the following photo effects: Vivid, Neutral, Low Sharpening, Sepia, Black & White and Custom
While this is a nice feature, it's also not one that comes with a digital SLR, and the reason for that is most pros and ambitious amateur photographers such as myself prefer to process these sorts of effects on the photograph after pulling it off the camera. For the more casual photographer, setting these effects in-camera will work just fine.
WHITE BALANCE
All of the custom white balance modes are here, for a variety of situations. Tungsten for indoors, flourescent and cloudy are some of the pre-set WB options. Auto WB usually works fairly well on its own. As a bonus, you can set two custom WB levels to be saved into the camera.
Picture Size & Quality
The 5 megapixel CCD generates images that look good even as 8x10's. Chromatic aberration (a purplish fringe on the edges of subjects) goes from almost unnoticeable to just slightly noticeable at lens extremes with the aperture wide open. This likely won't be a problem for the casual shooter.
The camera captures at three different sizes, each with three different JPG compression levels:
Image Size/JPEG Compression
Large, Medium, Small/Super Fine
Large, Medium, Small/Fine
Large, Medium, Small/Normal
The camera also captures in Canon's proprietary RAW format which takes up a lot more space on the card and requires more specialized software for image editing (i.e. Photoshop CS, etc.) RAW won't matter to the casual photographer, but for the pro or advanced amateur who wants the flexibility of adjusting exposure & white balance outside of the camera, RAW is an excellent option.
Aesthetics & Size
This is a very attractive digital camera. While not as eye-catching as the ultra-compact Elph, it is a good size for a compact digital at 4.49 x 2.22 x 1.53 in. The brushed metal silver body is sleek and accented by the polished silver PowerShot 60 badge. The buttons on the rear of the camera are easy to use and are somewhat intuitive if you're used to other Canon digitals. It's also light, with the camera body alone weighing just over 8 ounces. The battery and card will, of course, add a small amount of heft.
What's In the Box
The PowerShot 60 kit contains:
- PowerShot S60 Body
- Battery Charger CB-2LT
- Wrist Strap WS-300
- Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM
- ArcSoft Camera Suite CD-ROM
- CompactFlash Card CF-32M
- Lithium Battery Pack NB-2LH
- AV Cable AVC-DC300
- Interface Cable IFC-400PCU
Other accessories are available from Canon. About the only thing I'd recommend straight off is getting a larger Compact Flash card.
Warranty and Customer Support
The PowerShot S60 comes with a one year limited warranty from the date that the product was purchased. Warranty support should be handled with Canon direct.
Customer Service Number: 1-800-828-4040
Customer Support E-Mail Form: https://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=SupportMailerAct&fcategoryid=223&modelid=10149
