In
line with its other small and classy cameras, Canon offers the PowerShot
S100 also called the Digital Elph (Digital Ixus in Europe)
after the very successful tiny 35 mm camera from the same manufacturer.
The camera takes up the characteristics of the PowerShot family, including
a high quality finish—brushed metal—but in an even more compact
package.
The S100 is built around a 2.1 megapixel CCD like the S10; but, in view
of its small size, a number of controls found on its larger sibling have
been removed.
Record or Playback Modes.
The zoom control is part of a ring that surrounds the shutter release—a
standard 2-step system providing autofocus and exposure lock with a half
press. The zoom control offers another function in playback: presenting
thumbnails (9) of captured images when pushed towards the wide angle position,
and single image magnification (2X) on the LCD screen when pulled to its
zoomed position.
The
viewfinder of the S100 is bright, retaining the quality of those found
on the larger S10 and S20, and is equipped with etched brackets indicating
the autofocus area.
To the exit pupil's left, 2 LEDs are used to indicate camera activity,
or condition:
The
top LED lights green when the camera is first powered up, and indicates
camera operation and memory card access. It also lights red to when
the camera has focused and is ready to take a picture. The same LED
is also used to indicate the flash is charged (red) and blinks red
when the ambient light is low.
The
lower LED glows orange and is used exclusively to indicate that the
Macro mode
is engaged.
To
the right of the viewfinder, the S100 is equipped with a bright white
light that serves three functions. Its primary use is as an autofocus
assist light, when ambient lighting is insufficient for the camera's autofocus
system to operate properly. Using the lamp, the S100 is able to focus
in complete darkness and capture sharp flash photos. The secondary use
of the light is for red-eye reduction. Its intensity causes the subject's
pupils to contract sufficently to avoid the red-eye effect, (caused by
the flash reflecting off the retina). Finally, the same light is used
to indicate that the self-timer is engaged, flashing slowly at at first
and rapidly when the photo is about to be taken.
The
S100 does not have a secondary LCD status display. Therefore, when the
camera is turned on, the rear LCD screen is activated for approximately
6 seconds and shows the current camera settings such as flash status,
shooting mode, image resolution and exposure compensation setting.
Even though the screen is small, 1,5 inch, it is quite bright and has
a fast refresh rate, making it very functional. Immediately below are
all the controls for the menus which access camera settings.
Canon has done an amazing job of miniaturization with the S100, but that
has entailed developing an interface that works with 5 controls which
access all the modifiable camera settings. The system can become,
at times, somewhat confusing.
