Rating: Summary: Love the Camera Review: A complete review of the camera is found at another camera review site which it seems Mr. Burke has visited to get some of his comments.
All I can say is have the camera and love it so far. Also have a G5 at work, S200 for portability. The S60 is my camera that melds portability and flexibility together. And most importantly for those who are familiar and long time Canon users. No E18 errors at all
Rating: Summary: Pretty good Review: I am in a YearBook Class and we use these digi cams. They are exclusively new. I like how they take pictures. At first, it was hard taking pictures, because I am new to the Digi cam world, and I have used good ol' film cameras for my entire life. Anyway, it was really hard at first, because I took several bad pictures, but finally I found out how to delete them. I would say that this inspired me to save up for a digi cam myself. The only drawback is the price, because my teacher said it cost $600, but then again, she bought it elsewhere.
Rating: Summary: The Best I Have Owned Review: I do not understand how anyone can criticize the quality of the photos from the Canon S60.
I just returned from Hawaii, where I shot over 250 photos, ranging from the beautiful scenery to the Hawaiian people to the hotels in which I was staying. Out of the over 250 shots I took, I may have blown 3 and those were my fault (mostly poor composition). Every shot was superbly sharp, perfectly exposed, even if flash was used, and perfectly in focus. The only criticism that I would make and that is the reason that I am considering a digital SLR, is that it is very difficult to frame each photo perfectly using the eye level viewfinder.
On the other hand, if I use the LCD, it is much more difficult to hold the camera steady, particularly in marginal light situations. Of course, this is not the fault of the specific camera, but occurs with all non SLR point and shoots. I have used
and owned many digitals and, in my opinion, the Canon S70 is the best!
Rating: Summary: Good but can be better Review: I have had it for 6 months now. I bought it to replace my A70, which took a beating during my 3 months vacation.
Pro:
Wide angle rules. Fast startup and shut down. Good quality in/our-door. AF assist light helps during poor light condition. Good battery. Panoramic/photo stitching is cool. Good software bundle. Good quality and reliable (from my prior experience).
Con:
No image stablization. Which would be very helpful at night shoots w/o tripod, max zoom, or any other conditions. Can not force flash at the "AUTO" mode.
That's about it.
Rating: Summary: A good overall value Review: I originally had an S50 until it was stolen, so after much new research I replaced it with the S60. The focusing is much improved over my original S50. Although friends who also had the same camera never seemed to have focusing problems. The navigation buttons on the back of the camera have been improved. It is definately lighter than the S50, which is a bonus for those carrying the camera hiking or climbing. And, its start up time is good if you need to capture a picture really quick. So far it has handled all sorts of lighting conditions very well, and the color definition has been excellent with very little (if any) purple tinting. This is a very feature rich camera, if you like gadgets. However, it is also easy to use when set to fully automatic. The photo software it comes with is much improved, and is an acceptable choice if you don't have the money to buy something like Photoshop. I like the rugged, solid feel of the camera overall.What I don't like about it is the slidable lens cover. I keep bumping it when it is open because of the way I like to hold the camera. The cover extends almost to the right hand side of the camera. If you bump it during picture taking, it shuts down the camera and you don't get your picture. This has happened to me maybe a half a dozen times. I have to consciously force myself to hold the camera as to not disturb the cover when it is open. Maybe in the future canon can move it back from the edge a bit, or reduce the sensitivity of the mechanism that shuts the camera down. Last, this camera isn't design for use in the shirt pocket. If you are looking for a pocket camera this one is a bit big.
Rating: Summary: Good camera Review: I was looking for a digital camera that has many features as SLR does, yet want it small enough that it's convinient for me to carry it anywhere to do a lot of photographs. I got S60 and so far I'm satisfied with it. The camera produced sharp images and good color balance. And the camera gets ready fast enough to shoot after we turn it on. Though I took many pictures with it and reviewed the images many times, I found out that the battery is long-lasting. I also like the software that puts the picture in folders titled by the date automatically. So I can choose not to print date on the pictures. However, sometimes it's quite hard to slide open your camera when your hand is sweaty. And also almost every single time I take the camera out of my pocket, I slide open the battery door. Yet, they are not a big deal to me.
Rating: Summary: A good overall value Review: If you're a digital SLR user with some old IBM Microdrives and high-capacity thick CF cards this is a good point-and-shoot camera. Most of the smaller P&S cameras today take the newer smaller xD cards so you end up having to manage an inventory of different kinds of storage devices. The S60 can share memory cards with full-size digital SLRs. How does the camera work? Like any other point-and-shoot at around the same price, more or less. It is more responsive than older cameras but still takes a second or two to turn on or wake up, long enough to lose the moment. The menus and controls will be intuitive for anyone who has used Canon digital cameras before. The 28mm equivalent perspective lens is a nice feature. You'll get better pictures with a Digital Rebel or Nikon D70 if only because those cameras have better viewfinders and controls large enough to operate by feel. But you can't fit one of those digital SLRs in your pocket...
Rating: Summary: smallest camera that takes old CF cards and microdrives Review: If you're a digital SLR user with some old IBM Microdrives and high-capacity thick CF cards this is a good point-and-shoot camera. Most of the smaller P&S cameras today take the newer smaller xD cards so you end up having to manage an inventory of different kinds of storage devices. The S60 can share memory cards with full-size digital SLRs. How does the camera work? Like any other point-and-shoot at around the same price, more or less. It is more responsive than older cameras but still takes a second or two to turn on or wake up, long enough to lose the moment. The menus and controls will be intuitive for anyone who has used Canon digital cameras before. The 28mm equivalent perspective lens is a nice feature. You'll get better pictures with a Digital Rebel or Nikon D70 if only because those cameras have better viewfinders and controls large enough to operate by feel. But you can't fit one of those digital SLRs in your pocket...
Rating: Summary: Great camera, great pictures! Review: The canon s60 feature & performance wise, falls somewhere between a point-and-shoot and a pro-sumer level 5MP digital camera. I had originally planned on getting a G5, but the G5's unwielding size and weight (although a great performer) made me consider the newly released s60. I was looking for a portable pro-sumer, 5MP digital camera, that was no bigger than our Canon SureShot 35mm film camera. The s60 (and the ultra compact s400) both have the same CCD imager as the G5, but I chose the s60's 28mm wide angle lens, extra feature set, and longer battery life over the p500's.
From my experience, taking pictures indoors with a flash seems to be the biggest hurdle for any digital camera to overcome, and the s60, while not perfect, is one of the best indoor cameras of its size I have tried. Indoors, in a moderately lit room, the s60 in AUTO mode takes true color, well exposed images within 10 feet of the subject(s). I have found that using "P" mode with the flash exposure compensation set up to + 1/3 or +2/3 works best if you are in a poorly lit room and you also wish to see the background.
While it is true that there is some barrel distortion at full wide 28mm mode, it is not enough of a problem detract from it's overall rating. All compact and ultra compact cameras I have tried have had some barrel distortion at wide field and chromatic aberation on bright objects. As far as one person's comment about the images being blurry because of inferior lens quality, I would have to disagree. The images I have taken are very smooth and have vibrant, true colors. The s60 does apply a sort or internal anti-aliasing to smooth out the images. Most of the professional portraiture cameras (like the Kodak pro cameras) do this either in software or by hardware, as most people do not wish to see every facial pore on their subject. You can chose to "sharpen" internally on the s60, or just use one pass of Sharpen in Photoshop to sharpen the images even more to suit your taste.
I also had the opportuntity to compare the G5 and s60 side-by-side, by taking photos of the same subjects both indoors and out. I could not see any noticeable difference between the two, image quality-wise. I have taken over 200 images within the last 5 days with my s60 and have been very pleased with both its image quality and ease of use.
Rating: Summary: Awesome! Review: This is my first digital camera. I delayed purchasing one until performance for value seemed to be just right. This camera does an outstanding job for a very fair price. Simple to use but still lots of added features if you wish. Beautiful photos are easy to take. And the small size makes it easy to carry along wherever you go. Only criticism is the shudder door easily opens whenever I try to slide the camera into the custom-fit carry case.
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