The Hunt for the Best Ultra-Compact Camera
by Stephen Caston on October 5, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Digital Camera
The Design: Canon PowerShot S410
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The front of the Canon PowerShot S410 houses its lens, which is capable of a 3x optical zoom of 36 - 108mm (35mm equivalent). The lens has a maximum aperture of f2.8 at wide angle and 4.9 at telephoto with a shutter speed range of 15 - 1/2000th sec. When the power button is pressed, the built-in lens cover opens and the lens extends automatically. Directly above the lens is the multi-purpose AF-assist/Red-eye reduction/Self-timer lamp. To the left of this lamp is the viewfinder window. In the upper-right corner is the built-in flash with a working range of 1.5 - 11' in wide angle and 1.5 - 6.6' in telephoto.
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The LCD monitor on the S410 is 1.5" with approximately 118,000 pixels. Below the monitor are 4 control buttons: Set, Menu, Display, and Function. The Function button also serves as the "Single Image Erase" button. To the right is a 4-way controller. Each directional button serves one or more purposes in addition to navigating through the menus. The up arrow selects the metering mode, while the down arrow changes the drive mode from Single to Continuous or Self-timer. The left arrow chooses between Macro and Infinity while the right arrow selects the flash mode from the following options: Auto, Auto w/Red-eye reduction, Flash on, Flash off, and Slow synchro. Just to the right of these arrow buttons is the Print/Share button.
Above the LCD monitor are the Mode Dial, two indicator lamps, and the viewfinder. On the right side is the Mode Switch that toggles the camera between Play and Record mode. Just below the Mode Switch is the release switch for the spring-action CompactFlash door.
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The speaker and microphone are located on the left side here. To the right is the camera's main power button. Just above the power button is an indicator lamp that stays lit whenever the camera is on. On the far right is the shutter button. Surrounding the shutter button is the Zoom lever that controls the cameras zoom capability in record mode as well as the magnification of images in playback mode.
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To open the battery compartment on the S410, you simply slide the hinged door and pull it back. The rechargeable Li-ion battery that comes with the camera is the NB-1LH 3.7 840mAh. We should also mention that there is a movable rubber tab on the sliding door that allows the optional AC adaptor to be used. To the right is a metal tripod mount.
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On the right side is the spring-action door that reveals the slot for Type I CompactFlash cards. There is also a post for the wrist strap.
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Here, we have a rubber tab that covers the A/V-out and USB ports.
Overall, the S410 has a fairly impressive build. Although it seems a bit heavy for its size at 7.9 oz., the weight along with its metallic casing make it feel quite sturdy.
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stephencaston - Wednesday, October 6, 2004 - link
#11: For the continuous drive section of the specs, we use the results of our test. Canon is rated at 2.5 fps, but we found that in the highest resolution and SuperFine mode, we were able to take 3 shots at 2.8 fps.Thanks, I'll add a little note in the specs table.
flexy - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
i love my S230 with its 640x480 video capability. Believe me, once you get started with vids and a good editing program like Vegas you wont get back and pics are only the bonus :) And all that fun with such a tiny cam :)I consider the picture quality/optics of the Canon Powershots "ok" - if you consider it's a shoot and point and not a SLR with hyper-great image quality/zoom etc.
Its picture quality is 'overall good' - a great allround camera with nice features (esp. the vids :). I would prefer my S230 (or newer) any time over a big/bulky camera.
Pros:
nice 640x480 vids
IQ good for a point/shoot
size
stylish
Cons:
weak zoom
xand - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
Also, the continous drive information for the cannon in the specifications table is wrong.xand - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
The "best pictures" of this lot of cameras are almost a given; the S410 has a sensor of the same generation with an area of 38.2mm(1/1.8"), as compared to the others, which have 24.7mm (1/2.5") sensors.What would be more interesting would be a comparison of newer cameras by major manufacturers; generally they now all come with 1/2.5" sensors, including the new canons.
stephencaston - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
#8, Unfortunately, we were limited by which cameras we could choose and the S4i was unavailable at the time. However, we feel that the S40 is comparable to the other two cameras with respect to exposure options, size, etc. The S4i would have been a good option and we would have included it if it was available.rliao - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
How come the S4i wasn't reviewed? Isn't it more of an appropriate comparison?SleepNoMore - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
I looked at the Canon S series - they are very nice - almost bought one - THEN I found the Pentax Optio 33WR (now it's upgraded to 4 MP and called the Optio 43WR).It's WONDERFUL.
First of all, it's highly water resistant, has gaskets all through it.
Has about 13 programmed modes but I never need them really I just point and shoot and things look great. White balance is always right on.
Panorama/stitch modes, close-up modes, etc.
Takes SD cards.
Quicktime movies are a bit cheesy (320 X 160) it's more the sound I have issues with than anything but most of the time it's acceptable.
I'm guessing the Pentax 43WR goes for around 280 bucks - havent checked lately.
If you want a camera you can take skiing, snowboarding, to the beach or stand out in the rain without worrying about damage to the electronics, this is the one. It's also not gooney looking (i.e. bright yellow etc) like some other water resistant cameras.
stephencaston - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
#5 thanks, I have fixed the mistakeGumbico - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
Actually, the S410 only allows 3 mins of vid time. That's my only gripe about this camera.TheAudit - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
I have the Canon and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve never been one to read through a manual and this camera was easy enough to figure out so I did not have to do so. I am always surprised at how crisp the pictures are. Of course, I am not a professional photographer but this camera provides everything that I want in a camera – good pictures and small size because I hate carrying stuff around.