Canon PowerShot S60: Follow-up to the S50

Recording Features

The S60 can record images in different resolutions with quality options SuperFine, Fine, or Normal . The resolution options are below:

In RAW mode, you can also choose from the 4 JPG options above to be recorded along with the RAW file. This JPG is mainly used as the playback image in-camera (instead of showing you the larger RAW file).

The S60 has a great array of exposure modes from fully automatic to fully manual. To select a mode, you simply rotate the Shooting Mode dial to the setting you want. Canon has arranged the 13 mode options into three categories: Auto, Image Zone, and Creative Zone. We’ll begin with Auto.

In Auto mode, the camera basically does all of the work for you. Based on the lighting situation, the exposure is automatically determined, allowing the user to simply point and shoot. Although most of the camera’s settings are automatically set, the user has a few limited adjustable shooting options. For example, you can select a flash mode: Auto, Auto w/Red eye, or Flash off. The Macro mode can be enabled or disabled. Finally, you can set a 10 or 2 second self-timer.

In the Image Zone, there are 7 different shooting modes: Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Fast Shutter, Slow Shutter, Stitch Assist, and Movie. In Portrait mode, the camera automatically uses a large aperture (small f-stop number) to keep the subject in focus against a blurry background. The effect of the blur can be maximized by using the telephoto end of the optical zoom. With Landscape mode, the S60 will use a small aperture (large f-stop number) to produce an image with a larger depth-of-field in order to keep as much as possible in focus. Night Scene is designed to be used in low-light situations. The camera fires a flash to light up the main subject and keeps the shutter open to allow ambient light to fill in the rest of the scene. This two part exposure is referred to as “slow sync” and is designed to produce a more natural looking picture. Fast Shutter mode is basically the same as “Sports mode” seen on other cameras. When selected, the camera will set the shutter speed to the highest possible setting in order to “freeze” fast subjects in the picture. Slow Shutter mode is the exact opposite: the camera will select a slow shutter speed to create a blurred effect on the final picture. With Stitch Assist mode, the S60 helps to take pictures in a panoramic series that can later be “stitched” together with the included software.

In Movie mode, the S60 can record video clips (with sound) as AVI files in one of 3 resolutions: 640x480, 320x240, or 160x120. At 640x480, the video clip will be 10 fps with a maximum record time of 30 seconds. With the smaller resolutions, the video clips are recorded at 15 fps with a maximum time of 3 minutes. On our General Image Quality page, we will take a closer look at the capabilities of the S60’s Movie mode.

There are 5 available modes in the Creative Zone: P (Program AE), Tv (Shutter priority), Av (Aperture priority), M (Manual), and C (Custom). With the Creative Zone modes, the camera gives you much more exposure control than in Auto or the Image Zone modes. Also, there are several menu options that are only available in the Creative Zone. Each mode offers a different number of the options listed below:

Flash Sync tells the camera to fire the flash either with the first or second curtain. With Slow Synchro on, the flash will operate with a slow sync: the flash illuminates the subject and the shutter stays open longer to allow in ambient light. The Spot AE Point option refers to which point the camera will use to meter the scene when set to Spot metering mode. Safety Shift will automatically adjust the aperture or shutter speed in Av and Tv mode if the selected setting will produce a poor exposure. This is a safeguard that can be turned on or off. When using manual focus, if MF Point Zoom is on, the focus point will become magnified to assist in focusing the picture. The Intervalometer option is a time-lapse photography option. You can set the time from 1 – 60 minutes and the number of shots from 2 – 100.

In P (Program AE) mode, the camera automatically sets the aperture and shutter speed. It is different from Auto mode in the wide variety of options that can be adjusted. For example, the user still has control over advanced features such as white balance, ISO setting, metering mode, exposure compensation, etc. In Tv mode, the user selects the desired shutter speed and the camera automatically selects the appropriate aperture setting. The opposite is true of Av mode; the user selects the aperture and the camera selects the shutter speed. In Manual mode, the user has control over both the aperture and shutter speed. Custom mode allows you to customize settings, allowing you to switch to your own preset mode by simply turning the Mode dial to C. This is done by switching to C mode and setting up the options the way you want them. Then, by selecting “Save Settings” in the Menu, the options are stored for future use in C mode.

The S60 has a 9-point auto focus system that attempts to detect the subject based on the object in the frame that is closest to the camera. There are other options to choose from as well. For example, in Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Fast Shutter, and Slow Shutter modes, you can use the 9-point AF or the very center focal point. Pressing the “Set” button switches between these two options. In the Creative Zone modes, the camera will use the center AF point by default. However, pressing the “Set” button highlights the AF frame. Once it is highlighted, the AF frame can moved to one of 345 locations in the frame. This allows for quite a bit of control over the focusing point of the camera.

Center AF

Custom AF

The S60 employs the Function button on the back left side of the camera to handle all major shooting settings. The following settings can be adjusted via the Function button:

Exposure Compensation is the first option listed when you press the Function button. Compensation can be made for +/- 2 stops in 1/3 stop increments. It’s nice to see that Canon included so many options for white balance on the S60, including Custom and a new Underwater setting for the optional Waterproof Case (WP-DC40). For Drive mode, there are two types of Continuous Shooting modes: Standard and High. The difference between these two is that in Standard mode the camera will display a brief review of each image after it is taken. This allows you to monitor the pictures as you take them. In High Speed mode, the monitor turns off while capturing to increase shooting speed.

Setting the ISO mode to Auto will allow the camera to automatically choose the appropriate ISO for a given situation. The higher the ISO setting, the more sensitive the camera will be to light. Higher ISO settings also tend to yield noisier images than lower ISO settings. There are a good number of options for “Photo Effects” on the S60. The Custom Effect allows you specify a specific level of Contrast, Sharpness, and Saturation. These options are each adjustable to 3 levels: Weak, Neutral, and Strong.

The S60 has the ability to perform AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing). The AEB is adjustable to +/- 2 stops in 1/3 stop increments. After setting the AEB, pressing the shutter button will take 3 pictures in a row. The exposures will vary as follows: standard exposure, underexposure, and overexposure. Also available is Focus Bracketing. With Focus Bracketing, the camera will take 3 pictures in a row with the following focus changes: normal focus, front focus, and back focus. Focus Bracketing is only available in Manual focus mode. It is designed to help achieve a focused picture even if your manual focus setting is a little off. The focusing range can be selected from 3 levels. In addition to Exposure Compensation, the S60 offers Flash Compensation. When the menu option “Flash Adjust” is set to Auto, the Compensation can be set to +/- 2 stops in 1/3 stop increments. When Flash Adjust is set to Manual, the option changes to 1/3, 2/3, or Full Flash Output.

To change the camera’s light metering mode, you must press the Metering/Microphone button on the back of the camera. Each press of the button cycles through the following options: Evaluative, Center-weighted, and Spot AE Point. With Evaluative metering, the camera determines the correct exposure by taking into account such factors as subject position, backlighting, the background, etc. Center-weighted metering determines the correct exposure by placing more emphasis on the center of the frame. With Spot metering, the camera uses a small area of the frame to determine the proper exposure. In the menu, you can choose which area is used to determine the Spot reading. The options are Center or AF point. If Center is selected, the camera will measure from a small portion in the center of the frame. If AF point is selected, the camera will use the AF point to determine the exposure.

In addition to the Record Menu, there is a Set up menu and a menu called “My Camera” that allows you to select startup images and operational sounds. With the use of a computer, you can even use your own images and sounds. The Set up menu options are below:

There are a few addition features that we should mention. While recording in JPG format, pressing “Function” button immediately after taking a picture (during the review) will give you the option to save the image as a RAW file instead of a JPG. We found this to be a pretty cool option. Another feature that is worth noting is the S60’s ability to lock focus and exposure separately. Normally, focus and exposure are set when the shutter is half-pressed. With the S60, after you have half-pressed the shutter button you can press the Metering/Microphone button to lock the current exposure. Then, you can let go of the shutter button and recompose the scene. This feature really comes in handy when you are in tricky lighting situations. Another interesting feature is the ability to record a sound memo that will be linked to a picture. To do this, you simply press the Meter/Microphone button either immediately after taking a picture or later in play mode. The sound clip is recorded as a WAV file with the same number as the picture.