Average Rating: 
Rating:  - I love my little S45!
I've had my Canon S45 for about three months now, and I am still discovering new features that make it even more endearing.The picture quality is excellent under almost any conditions. The 4.1 megapixels are more than sufficient, in fact, I often dial down the resolution to save file space. The movie clips with sound are much better than I expected. The sturdy silver case with the clamshell cover is my favorite feature. It fits easily in my pocket, and is easy and quick to open for that first shot. The software was simple to install and use, and the instruction manuals (almost as thick as the camera) were nicely done. I ordered a 128mb card with the camera, which holds an amazing quantity of photos and film clips - highly recommended. There are only a few minor complaints. The viewfinder is very plain and doesn't display the digital zooming effect, so you are very dependent on the LCD screen. The screen is nearly impossible to see in direct sunlight, and the data is very tiny. Also, the low battery indicator doesn't seem to appear until there is only power for one or two more photos. Red eye can be a problem, although coaching the photographed people to look at the pre-flash srobe, as the directions explained, does work well. And some photos containing horizontal lines can have a jagged appearance at some resolutions, but it is usually minimal. But I have adjusted to these little problems and don't consider them reason enough to not recommend this little marvel of technology to anyone!
Rating: - Stunningly good product
I purchased this camera because it has most of the manual features of the Canon G2 & G3 models, but it is much more compact and has a reputation for taking great pictures at the automatic settings. That was a big plus as I'm new to photography as a hobby. I have not been disappointed. In fact, it has exceeded every expectation. Thus far, I have been unable to take a bad picture using the automatic settings! The downside of this (if you can call it a downside) is that it made me a little lazy about learning all the manual adjustments and features to customize a shot!...but I am learning them because this is the greatest, most fascinating little electronic gadget I have ever had! I Haven't had it very long, but so far a very reliable product. If you are like me and hestiant to pursue photography as a hobby because of the potential for wasting film and processing with a traditional camera while learning the craft, this is the ideal digital camera for a novice. For the money, I can't imagine a better product. Very high quality, hefty for its small size but it gives a sense of confidence. Some other cameras feel like toys compared to it. The only reason to avoid this model is that it doesn't have interchangable lenses--but that's the ONLY reason--and you have to get a larger, more expensive model to get that flexibility.
Rating: - Nice camera
I wanted a small compact camera with high resolution and compact flash media II compatible which can fit in your pocket. The S45 was the choice for me. If you used a Canon SLR you will see similar shooting modes on the S45, such as Aperture Priorty, Shutter Priority, and Programmed mode. The shutter speeds ranges from 1/4000 to 15 seconds and the aperture range is from f2.8/4.9 to f8. This will give you some exposure range to experiment with, just like an SLR. The image quality is good with 4mega-pixels. It will never match the high quality image of a SLR Lens and SLR Digital camera, but this is the compromise for all compact cameras. The battery life is good but I usually only take about 50 photos per day when on holiday. At the hotel I just recharge it for the next day. I'm using a 340gb microdrive and it can store about 150 high resolution photos. If you get this camera or any compact flash II camera get the 1gb microdrive, they are inexpensive and you can store some 400 photos at the max resoltuion for this camera. Another reason to get the 1gb microdrive is you can copy your favorite photos from your pc to the camera, then when you visit your friends/relatives you can watch then on a big tv. The video mode on the S45 is simple. During recording its only a 320x240. On TV its like an MPEG1 movie and quailty is very poor, really unwatchable. On the PC it looks fine but the screen is small. Also during video mode you cannot use the zoom lens so forget close ups during recording, unless you are physically moving closer. In this camera there is an automatic red eye flash reduction. Unforutnately I'm one of those people who will close their eyes during the pre flash so most of my flash photos of myself are with my eyes closed or squinted. I wish they would just allow regular flash like on the S20. There is a flash exposure control so you can either under/over expose the flash. I will usually under expose the flash when taking a portrait in sunlight to reduce the shadow. All in all this camera and the future Canon S series has SLR features to play with, if you chose, but still can fit in your pocket.
|
