Canon PowerShot S2 IS

July 26th, 2005 | by David Elrich

Features and Design

The silvery-gray Canon PowerShot S2 IS is made primarily of plastic, but it still feels sturdy and has a nice grip.  Having a somewhat retro Machine Age design, it's powered by four AA batteries.  The shutter button is conveniently placed on the grip and the zoom switch is within easy reach.  For the record, the S2 has a focal length of 36—432mm and a maximum aperture of f2.7.  The top of the camera has a power on/playback switch, a mode dial, and a manually operated pop-open flash.  It also has a key that suggests the learning curve with this digicam.  The key is marked with a flash arrow and a microphone (that's as good as far as that goes, but what do they do and in what modes?) 

You run into similar issues on the rear of the camera, with buttons doubly marked for what appear to be red-eye and JUMP.  Then there's another perplexing button near the electronic viewfinder with a red dot on it.  What is this for?  Time to go to the 186-page (!) owner's manual.  Alas, the diagrams here are just as confusing.  I've waded through owner's manuals for many years and even learned how to program a VCR in pre-Guide Plus+ days.  This one is a chore.  Come on, guys.  Photography is supposed to be simple and fun, not like taking a calculus class.  Canon should follow Sony and even the PC companies by including a Read Me First diagram with basic instructions.  In case you are wondering, the red button starts movie clip recording, and what I thought was a red-eye icon handled metering modes.

There is also the usual four-way arrow key to move through menus, a .33-inch EVF with diopter control that adjusts to your eyesight, and a 1.8-inch Vari-Angle LCD screen.  The screen is very cool; it swings out and adjusts so you can take shots in unusual positions, such as holding the camera over your head to see beyond a crowd, etc.  The screen has a brightness adjustment for shooting in the dark or you can use the smaller viewfinder.  Screen quality is decent, nothing more or less. 

Another big difference between the S2 and older S1 is the fact that the newer model uses SD cards instead of the much bigger Compact Flash media.  When a camera maker moves from CF to SD, usually the newer model gets smaller—but not so in this case; Canon opted for a larger LCD screen (1.8 inches versus 1.5), a good move in our view.  A solid door snaps closed after you insert the card.  The camera comes with a puny 16MB SD card, so expect to budget around $100 for a high-speed 1GB SD card such as a SanDisk Ultra II. 

The carton also contains a lens cap with cord, USB and A/V cables, a strap, two owner's manuals (one for the camera, another for printing), four AA batteries and a CD ROM with a very good software bundle including ArcSoft PhotoStudio 5.5, which does a very nice job editing and retouching images.  Definitely plan to pick up a set of four NiMH batteries with a fast charger.

Image Courtesy of Canon