Canon's
newest Digital Elph is the PowerShot S230, also called the Digital
IXUS V3 in many countries.
Most
of the controls for the S230 are on the back of the camera. The top only
has 3 items: the power switch, the Shutter Release — AF
Lock at mid-course — and the zoom control around it. Pushing
it to the left moves the lens to the wide angle position, and to the right
towards telephoto. In playback, the zoom control serves to show thumbnails
of captured photos when pushed to the wide angle position, and magnifies
an image displayed on the LCD screen when pushed towards the telephoto
side.
The
Mode Switch is located immediately behind the shutter release,
on the upper back of the S230. It provides 3 modes:
Still
image capture
Movie
capture with sound
Playback
The other controls are distributed around the lower part of the 1.5
inch LCD monitor.
Starting
with the 4-direction control, which is used to navigate the menus
and has a small green LED at the centre to indicate that the camera is
on, each of its buttons has another second function:
Metering/AEL/FEL:
by itself the button serves to switch between evaluative
or spot.
With the shutter release held at midcourse, the button locks the
exposure (AEL). If the flash is forced on, then the button locks
the flash exposure (FEL)
Flash
Modes: cycles through Auto, Red-eye reduction Auto, On, Off,
Slow Synchro.
Continuous
Mode: shoots at around 2 frames per second for approximately
10 shots, depending on compression. (Manual mode only).
Self-timer:
provides a delay of 2, or 10 seconds, as set in the menu.
Macro
Mode: to capture subjects from 10 to 47 cm (4 to 18 in) with
the lens at the wide angle position, and 27 to 47 cm (10.5 to 18
in) with the lens at the maximum telephoto.
Infinity
focus: for landscape shots, uses the hyperfocal setting of the
lens.
The other
buttons, aligned under the LCD screen, control all other camera functions.
Starting on the left, they provide for the following:
Set
is to select a shooting mode when the camera is set to record
still images:
Auto
Mode: fully automatic picture-taking. Only the image size
and the flash and macro modes can be selected.
Manual:
allows full access to all the camera functions including white
balance, image effects, exposure compensation, long exposure
(up to 15 seconds), etc.
Stitch
Assist: to record panoramic images from left to right, or
right to left.
Calls
up the menu according to the current mode.
Display
control: cycles through LCD On, On with information overlay, Off.
Exposure
Compensation: ±2EV in 0.3 EV increments.
White
Balance: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten (incandescent), Fluorescent
(warm white and cool white), Fluorescent H (daylight fluorescent),
Custom (user set according to ambient light).
Picture
Effects: Vivid (emphasizes contrast and colour saturation);
Neutral (reduces contrast and colour saturation); Low Sharpening
(softens outlines); Sepia; Black and White.
Serves
to delete images one at a time in playback; or immediately post-capture,
and before the S230 finishes saving it.
As
with the S330,
the S230 has a much better ergonomic design than earlier Digital Elph
cameras, because of the use of a precise 4-direction controller.
Not
only does it make menu navigation much easier, the additional functions
of its buttons provide a fast and effective access to commonly used settings.
Superbly
compact, and very user-friendly, the S230 is a treat to use. Quick
and responsive,
it
slips in a pocket and hardly takes up any space.
