Carter's Canon review (eeek)
Discussion
AS you know I've been looking for a compact (to keep in the glove box at all times) that will actually take some decent hi res pics. Having read all the reviews (which all seem to agree) I shelled out £332 on the Canon S80.
First up - there is no RAW support - so if that is essential, stop reading now.
Basic stats: 8.1 megapixel, f/2.8 28-100 lens, ISO 50 upwards, 64mm LCD.
The camera also has a wide angle & telephoto lens accessory and a waterproof case for underwater photography to 40 metres. (I wanted both these).
You can read all the reviews yourself, but from my point of view, the pics are extremely classy, sharp, bugger all noise. The camera is idiot proof in auto mode, but has quite a few overide settings (apature priority, exposure compensation, white balance, spot metering etc - right up to full manual) ...all in all it looks the biz.
Below a pic (croped, resized to 750 and sharpened) - then a 100% crop - straight out of the camera. Taken in auto mode except I turned the flash off.
REVIEW CONCLUSION FROM DP
Like the S70 before it, the S80's key selling points are the 28-100mm lens range (which is much wider than most zoom compacts), full photographic control and a build quality and design that oozes quality. The addition of dedicated ISO and AE-compensation buttons on the body make the photographic process a lot more fluid, and the results are superb. Most of the serious issues we had with the S70 - including purple fringing and focus problems - have been eliminated, and the result is a camera that seems perfect for the serious photographer itching for SLR - style control in a compact body.
Canon is also to be praised for the lack of heavy-handed image processing, with the S80 producing clean, artefact-free images that respond well to post processing and have a remarkably natural look. Of course many potential users will be put off by the lack of raw file support (an inexplicable omission given that the S70 had it), but the JPEGs are very good, and if you turn down contrast, saturation and sharpness you get an excellent starting point for some serious post processing.
There are inevitably some problems - the ambitious 28mm equiv. wide end of the zoom involves a certain amount of compromise; mild CA and the occasional softness in the corners of images can be reduced by dropping the aperture (and only really show up in big enlargements), but cannot be ignored or excused. I also found the new multi-function dial took a long time to master - you have to remember when you need to press it (using it as a standard 'four-way controller') and when to spin it, but I did eventually get the hang of it. Of course having so many buttons over the body means the risk of accidentally pressing one is fairly high, but I found this wasn't a problem as long as I held the camera with both hands.
So then, the S80 is a camera that proves there is hope for the new generation of 8 megapixel compacts. I was ready to blast Canon for another pointless upgrade, but as the review progressed I started to appreciate that this was not just a worthwhile upgrade, it was probably the first time I've found a PowerShot I'd actually lay out my own money for. I toyed with the idea of a recommended simply due to the lack of raw support, but given that - with careful exposure - the JPEGs are so good, I felt that would be unnecessarily harsh.
>> Edited by GetCarter on Thursday 29th December 15:18
First up - there is no RAW support - so if that is essential, stop reading now.
Basic stats: 8.1 megapixel, f/2.8 28-100 lens, ISO 50 upwards, 64mm LCD.
The camera also has a wide angle & telephoto lens accessory and a waterproof case for underwater photography to 40 metres. (I wanted both these).
You can read all the reviews yourself, but from my point of view, the pics are extremely classy, sharp, bugger all noise. The camera is idiot proof in auto mode, but has quite a few overide settings (apature priority, exposure compensation, white balance, spot metering etc - right up to full manual) ...all in all it looks the biz.
Below a pic (croped, resized to 750 and sharpened) - then a 100% crop - straight out of the camera. Taken in auto mode except I turned the flash off.
REVIEW CONCLUSION FROM DP
Like the S70 before it, the S80's key selling points are the 28-100mm lens range (which is much wider than most zoom compacts), full photographic control and a build quality and design that oozes quality. The addition of dedicated ISO and AE-compensation buttons on the body make the photographic process a lot more fluid, and the results are superb. Most of the serious issues we had with the S70 - including purple fringing and focus problems - have been eliminated, and the result is a camera that seems perfect for the serious photographer itching for SLR - style control in a compact body.
Canon is also to be praised for the lack of heavy-handed image processing, with the S80 producing clean, artefact-free images that respond well to post processing and have a remarkably natural look. Of course many potential users will be put off by the lack of raw file support (an inexplicable omission given that the S70 had it), but the JPEGs are very good, and if you turn down contrast, saturation and sharpness you get an excellent starting point for some serious post processing.
There are inevitably some problems - the ambitious 28mm equiv. wide end of the zoom involves a certain amount of compromise; mild CA and the occasional softness in the corners of images can be reduced by dropping the aperture (and only really show up in big enlargements), but cannot be ignored or excused. I also found the new multi-function dial took a long time to master - you have to remember when you need to press it (using it as a standard 'four-way controller') and when to spin it, but I did eventually get the hang of it. Of course having so many buttons over the body means the risk of accidentally pressing one is fairly high, but I found this wasn't a problem as long as I held the camera with both hands.
So then, the S80 is a camera that proves there is hope for the new generation of 8 megapixel compacts. I was ready to blast Canon for another pointless upgrade, but as the review progressed I started to appreciate that this was not just a worthwhile upgrade, it was probably the first time I've found a PowerShot I'd actually lay out my own money for. I toyed with the idea of a recommended simply due to the lack of raw support, but given that - with careful exposure - the JPEGs are so good, I felt that would be unnecessarily harsh.
>> Edited by GetCarter on Thursday 29th December 15:18
Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff