Canon PowerShot S2 IS

Reviewed July 2005

Interface & Software

Interface

The PowerShot S2's interface is typical of Canon cameras: in use, information is presented in a clear and easy to find manner, and is placed so that its intrusion on the content of the frame — the subject being photographed — is limited to the minimum. Moreover, the S2 is equipped with a slightly larger monitor that the S1, and this increase in size translates into characters that are a bit bigger on the monitor, and in turn which are easier to read.

As with most of its compact camera models, Canon divides the menu of the capture modes into 2 parts, placing less commonly accessed options in the Recording menu, and options that are accessed often in the Function menu. Likewise, the Recording menu and Playback menus are both structured identically, each composed of 3 separate sections that are accessed through tabs at the top of the screen, and where the first tab contain recording or playback specific options, while the other two (Setup and My Camera) are common to all modes; and which create a simple to understand and user-friendly system that is easily mastered.

As always, the Setup section of the menu provides options that allow for the basic configuration of the S2:

• Mute: On or Off, turns off all camera sounds.
• Audio provides three options:
  • Mic level: adjusts the sensitivity of the microphones over 5 levels.
  • Wind Filter: On or Off. Lessens the interference caused by air moving past the microphones.
  • Sampling Rate allows selecting the sound sampling rate: 11.025 kHz, 22.050kHz, 44.100 kHz.

• Volume: allows adjusting the volume over 5 increments for:
  • the Start-up sound,
  • the Operation sound,
  • the Self-timer sound,
  • the Shutter sound,
  • and the Playback volume.
• LCD Brightness: to adjust the brightness of the LCD monitor, Normal or Bright.
• Power Saving: opens a 2 option submenu to set:
  • Auto Power Down: On or Off.
  • Display Off: 10, 20, 30 seconds, or 1, 2, 3 minutes.

• Date/Time: to set the S2 IS's internal clock/calendar and choose the date format.
• Format: formats the memory card and displays the card capacity.
• File Number Reset: decides whether file numbering restarts at 1 when a new or formatted card is used, or continues being incremented.
• Auto Rotate: On or Off. When On the camera uses a sensor to keep track of its orientation while a photo is taken, and accordingly rotates the image upon playback.
• Distance Units: sets the units to be used for the Manual Focus mode (ft/in. or m/cm).
• Language sets the language for the interface: English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Finish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Greek, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese.
• Video System: NTSC or PAL.

Canon provides a clear and concise printed manual with the PowerShot S2. Explanations are given for all the camera's functions, and all of its controls. In addition, the manual includes detailed diagrams of the camera, identifying each part and control and links it to the relevant pages in the manual.

Software

A single CD was included with the Canon PowerShot S2 IS reviewed here. The disc, entitled Canon Digital Camera Solution v. 24, contains:

• TWAIN and WIA USB driver for Windows 98, 2000 and Me),
• ZoomBrowser EX version 5.2 (Windows and Mac),
• PhotoRecord 2.2.2 (Windows only),
• PhotoStitch 3.1 (Windows and Mac),
• and ArcSoft's PhotoStudio 5.5 (Windows and Mac).

ZoomBrowser EX is an image browser that also serves to launch a group of utility programs.

ZoomBrowser can be used to download images directly from the camera while it is connected through USB to the computer, or access images and videos already on the computer. Photos can be viewed using a number of different presentations — including one that includes a histogram for the image and the shooting data — or even as a slide show.

The program also allows some corrections to be made to an image, providing means to adjust red-eye, brightness, saturation, contrast, and RGB components.

Moreover, images can be printed directly, or integrated into a photo album and then the pages printed, or burned to CD.

The program also accesses the Remote Capture utility which allows the S2 to be controlled from the computer while the camera is connected to a USB port. All the camera parameters for shooting mode, aperture, shutter speed, zoom, flash, white balance, etc. can be set directly from the computer, and once the shutter is released images are transferred automatically to the computer.

Still another function, MovieEdit, allows assembling video clips, adding sound effects and transition effects.

Similarly, PhotoStitch, a program designed to assemble series of images captured using the Stitch Assist mode into panoramic images, can be launched directly from ZoomBrowser.

PhotoRecord is yet another application that can be launched from ZoomBrowser. The program serves to organize images and create photo albums, offering the possibility to add frames to the photos, or backgrounds to the album pages.

Finally, PhotoStudio from ArcSoft is a full-blown image editor that provides advanced editing tools and mechanisms such as layering, tools which are comparable to those offered with high-end image editors like Adobe Photoshop.