PowerShot S45, hard to resist point-and-shoot

Zatni Arbi, Columnist, Jakarta, zatni@cbn.net.id

Each time we see a truly great product, we may think it could never be improved. Time and again we are proven wrong. When reviewing Canon's 1.3-megapixel PowerShot A50 around two years ago, for example, I thought it was one of such perfect products and I finally bought one for my own use. It was a very well built, had all the features that I thought I would need, and it has given me decent photos since I bought it.

But technology advances faster than the thoughtless comments coming out from the mouths of our current politicians. Today, the charge coupled device (CCD) found in mainstream digital cameras are capable of packing four megapixels into each of the images- three times more than what my A50 is capable of achieving. The CCD is the electronic component that captures the images as they are projected onto its surface by the camera's lens. Today, some digital cameras already have CCDs with five-, even six-, megapixel capability, but four megapixels is generally sufficient to match film-based photos.

The general rule is that the more pixels (picture elements) we have, the more storage we would need. Luckily, storage is no longer a big problem today. Besides, transferring large files with the USB instead of the serial connection can be done very quickly, too. So, if you are looking for a new digital camera, do not go below the four-megapixel class. With four megapixels, you can blow up a captured image and print it in the 10x8 inch dimension without compromising image quality. Besides, the more pixels you have, the easier it will be for you to touch up the images using Photoshop, CorelPHOTO-PAINT or other photo editing programs.

When Datascrip, Canon's distributor for Indonesia, offered me the chance to test drive its US$630 PowerShot S45, I jumped at it right away. Who would not? The S45 is the successor of the immensely popular S40. Both are basically point-and-shoot cameras that fall somewhere between the ultra-compact, credit card-sized Ixus v3 and the semi-professional PowerShot G3.

Features Galore

Despite its very compact size, the S45 has a list of features that seem endless. This four-megapixel (2272 x 1704 maximum resolution) camera has a very solid and stylish body, a lens with 3x optical zoom, 3.6x optical zoom capability, a rechargeable battery, a very clear and detailed 1.8-inch LCD panel, a CompactFlash card to store the captured images, and the ability to capture and playback a three-minute audio-video clips. The brain of the camera is Canon's DIGIC processor, which really expedites a lot of processing operations.

The design has improved a lot from the PowerShot A50, naturally. It is easy to hold the newer camera, which weighs 320 grams with its battery in place, in our hand as we aim it at our object. One of the most notable improvements in S45 is its autofocus, autoexposure and auto White Balance that works faster and more accurate than earlier versions thanks to the DIGIC chip. The autofocus mechanism, for example, can break down the entire frame into nine areas and determines the focus regardless of its location within the frame. The Flexizone AF/AE lets us control the focus according to our wish.

Controls and more controls

The camera allows us to take pictures in a lot of different modes, including Creative Zone, and we can set the parameters such as exposure, aperture priority, shutter priority, Stitch Assist to create a panoramic image, Night Scene, and many other items. The White Balance control, which gives us more accurate colors by compensating for the lights, for example, incandescent, fluorescent and sunlight, allows us to create two custom presets to meet our specific needs.

We can also apply photo effects such as Vivid, Neutral, Low Sharpening, Sepia, B&W, or our own custom effects by adjusting the contrast, sharpening and color saturation. The camera is smart enough to sense whether a picture is taken in a portrait or landscape orientation, and compensate with White Balance and other effects based on the orientation. It will also automatically reorient a portrait shot into landscape when displayed on a TV set or transferred to a PC.

Images can be stored in Canon's proprietary Raw format or JPEG. We can select Super Fine, Fine and Normal types of file, and the file size varies accordingly. The included CompactFlash card has a capacity of 32 MB, which is not enough for all the shots during a day trip. You will need to buy one with a far larger storage capacity. The camera supports IBM's MicroDrive, and news has it that Hitachi, which has taken over the storage business from IBM, is working on a 4 MB version.

All of these controls will certainly be impossible to use unless they are also easily accessible. Here, too, Canon excels. The buttons are well placed and clearly marked. The round Mode button on top is a little bit overwhelming. It is what we use to change the camera's operating mode, and there are so many different modes that we can choose from using this single button. The FUNC menu, which is displayed on the LCD, is very user- friendly.

Wish list

Like other Canon cameras that I reviewed after the A50, Canon does not include a DC coupler, which would allow us to operate the camera without its battery. In the PowerShot S45, the coupler is optional. We simply plug the coupler's power cord to the battery charger, and the camera would be ready for action or for downloading files to the computer.

The lens cover, which also serves as the camera's on/off switch, does not feel as robust as the rest of its body. Because it is not motorized, it remains open when the camera is connected to my PC and the lens is retracted.

Perhaps the most pressing task that Canon should perform for their next generation PowerShot series is to redesign the five- direction button. We have to press this button down to select an item in the menu or to set the camera, but because of its location and the loose mechanism, I usually end up shifting it to the right or to the "south". It requires some getting used to before I could operate this button effectively.

The built-in flash is powerful but a bit too small for large areas, and there is no way we can attach an external flash. If you want to use an additional flash, you should opt for the US$ 780 PowerShot G3. The semi-pro, which basically has the same feature set, allows you to fit filters and additional lenses, as well.

Apart from these minor drawbacks, this is a hard-to-resist point-and-shoot camera. It offers far more features and setting possibilities than we probably will ever use, but it works superbly in its Auto mode. Datascrip gave me almost three weeks to play around with this camera, and that was not enough. If I had not spent so much money on my new LCD monitor, I would have let my daughter use the PowerShot A50 and, well, you know what I would do next. In closing, if you are looking for a four- megapixel digital camera, this one is highly recommended.