PowerShot S1 IS

[davekone]

Anyone using this camera yet? Bought it 4 days ago and not too sure its a keeper.

I bought my S1 IS for my wife to carry around as a Point and Shoot camera while I pack my 2 10d bodies, or for the days when taking DSLRs is not an option. I thought it would be an excellent purchase. I am not very pleased with the camera for taking action shots. The focus system is way to slow. For still shots, and shots where there is plenty of light I have gotten some excellent pictures. Where there is low light or a flash is needed the photos show plenty of noise. Not sure if I’m expecting to much of a compact camera versus my DSLR.

Its also very annoying that when taking a picture the view finder freezes just when it aquires focus and before the picture is taken, so following an object it nearly impossible.

Two shots taken with the S1, one indoor with flash the other outdoor on overcast day with flash. There is a huge noise difference between the two.

http://www.pbase.com/davekone/powershot_s1_is

I love my 10d bodies but I think this one is going back. Not sure what to buy, I want a small fast camera. Dont need a 10x zoom, I need low shutter lag.

Dave Kone

[kb244]

I am not very pleased with the camera for taking action shots. The focus system is way to slow.


Shutter Lag is always there in just about every P&S style camera. The S1 is "Supposed" to be like one of the fastest out of the P&S but its not going to come anywhere near a 10D. The image stabalization was more or less in my opinion there to aid you in the event that you are at a well lit sports enviroment, trying to take a picture at 10x but need a steady hand.


For still shots, and shots where there is plenty of light I have gotten some excellent pictures. Where there is low light or a flash is needed the photos show plenty of noise. Not sure if I’m expecting to much of a compact camera versus my DSLR.


This was similar case with the Pro1, with the canon P&S any ISO over 50/100 will have very apparent noise, so best to force ISO 50 or whatever the lowest is.


Its also very annoying that when taking a picture the view finder freezes just when it aquires focus and before the picture is taken, so following an object it nearly impossible.


This is another attribute to the shutter lag.

I would ask if you have tried any other Point and Shoots on the market, if not, the S1 IS may be very fast to people upgrading from another P&S , but blows to someone like yourself if you only had experience with your 10D in terms of digital.

[davekone]

Agreed on all counts. I'm going to trade it in for a Fuji F700, full autofocus shutter lag time is .51-.61 seconds depending on zoom, and .24 second delay between shots in continuous mode at fine quality jpeg for 5-6 shots before buffer fills. Its one of the fastes pocket digicams out there.

Dave Kone

[kb244]

Agreed on all counts. I'm going to trade it in for a Fuji F700, full autofocus shutter lag time is .51-.61 seconds depending on zoom, and .24 second delay between shots in continuous mode at fine quality jpeg for 5-6 shots before buffer fills. Its one of the fastes pocket digicams out there.

Dave Kone

I'm not familiar with that camera, and I usally detest the Fuji brand ( support reasons, I was reviewing one of their products for a hardware review site ), but it does sound like you did a bit of research to find what you wanted.

I dont think the S1 IS is a bad camera, but I think there is more hype to it than what most people will expect. A friend of mine is picking up one of these guys soon, but far as I'm aware I dont belive he'll be using it for fast action shots, but rather because the features included, the price point, and its one of the newer ones out on the market, and it would kick his old 1.3 olympus around either way.

[stopbath]

What does your wife feel about the camera? She's the one using it. Perhaps she's wants a compact and is comfortable with the limitations that the smaller compact body imposes. Perhaps she'll live with the lag just to get the 10 x zoom...

As for ISO noise: Small CCDs (like those in Point and Shoots) have much more noise than the larger CCDs and CMOS found in SLR. The smaller the CCD the more noise in the higher ISO settings.

As for Shutter lag during sequential shooting. Use the viewfinder to follow your prey. Using the LCD is as you found, difficult. The finder is much much easier.

[n3hle]

I am no fan of the S1 having tried and returned it, but the F700 fuji's image quality is horrible. I would recomend you keep looking. Have you considered and A80? Its image quailty is far better and you don't give up the flip screen feature which is great.

[DocFrankenstein]

I can attest to the "slow" focusing time on the S1IS. Have had it for a month or so, on the other hand the 10x zoom and the image quality bought me.

Takes up to one-two seconds to focus. Impossible to shoot fast action if it's close up.

[cords]

please excuse my ignorance, but i was under the impression that the S1 IS had only just been launched (March/April 2004)? i've been eagerly following its progress because living in a backwater of a country, the D30 and D10 are a little out of my league after forex conversions and i thought this would be a nice replacement for my old Epson PhotoPC800.

i've got a friend in the States bringing one over for me (it's already been bought) next week and i was really looking forward to it. now i'm not so sure... :(

dpreview.com's February preview can be found here http://www.dpreview.com/articles/canons1is/ and is quite favourable. no mention is made of slow focus or poor image quality.

were you guys really commenting on this camera almost a year ago or are the dates in the forum all messed up?

[hickory]

cords,

The dates look fine to me. Are you sure your not looking at the join dates?

Also, a guy at work just bought this camera instead of the digital rebel and he likes it a lot.

tom

[cords]

The dates look fine to me. Are you sure your not looking at the join dates?
/me hangs head

you're right, i was looking at the join dates... man it's been a long week!

Also, a guy at work just bought this camera instead of the digital rebel and he likes it a lot.
i've tracked a few more forums since my last embarassing post and it seems that while DSLR users aren't happy with the S1 IS, average joes like myself looking for a bridge between compact and DSLR seem to be well pleased. at this point, *anything* is just about better than my PhotoPC so i guess i'll have to wait until next week to see.

thanks for the heads-up Tom..

[DocFrankenstein]

Cords:

It's a VERY good cam. If you're not a super pro, I wouldn't worry about the camera being unsatisfactory.

The IS allows mad quality hand held at tele zoom. It's fully manual and it has nice optics.

It's a good cam, but if you want to take picture of celebrities when they're coming out of the limo, you'll have a bit of a challenge.

[cords]

It's a good cam, but if you want to take picture of celebrities when they're coming out of the limo, you'll have a bit of a challenge.
no worries there! i'd have to get into better shape before i chased after celebrities and by then i'll have a D10. :D