S30/S40 Questions before purchase

[digione]

I'm close to purchasing the Canon S30 digital, but in my research I've read about a handful of design or technical issues that are giving me some reservations before buying.
Specifically, I'm concerned about the reported difficulty in manipulating the multi controller button,the low battery performance,as well as some reports of a poor quality plastic sliding lens cover that might be prone to coming off or breaking.
This seems like a great camera but dealing with a finicky multi controller,when you're trying to snap important photos in a hurry,could be more hassle than it's worth.

I'd really welcome and appreciate any input or thoughts from S30/S40 owners. Just how bad is this multi controller I keep reading about,and how long does a battery charge normally last you?
Thanks in advance.

[octathlon]

For my purposes, the battery life has been fine. I do have an extra battery, which I think you would want with any camera. I haven't tried to figure out exactly how long the battery lasts, but I have shot pics for an hour or two straight without running it down. That is with the LCD on about half the time.

The multicontroller, 4-way button: Sometimes when trying to push it straight in, you can accidently go right or left, but it hasn't been an issue for me. I like how tt works when in Manual mode, use the up/down for setting aperture and the right/left for shutter speed.

The sliding cover feels like it could be fragile if you are rough with it but I am always careful, so I don't know.

One issue I have with it is difficulty of manual focus. It is too hard to tell by looking at the LCD how well you are focused. I usually only try manual focus for very close up shots though. Fortunately, the autofocus seems to work well for regular shots. I don't know how this compares to other cameras.

That is just my experience; others may be different.

[bigdave]

Well, i worked at a digital camera store for 2 years, and I can definitely give you some insight on both models.

- You're right about the navigation button, but i find it's no problem if you select by pushing with the tip of your thumb.
- The battery life only becomes an issue if you use the lcd screen all the time. I use mine with the lcd for periods of about 1 and a half hours. Without the lcd I can get up to 2 and a half hours, but just the same I recommend you purchase an extra battery.
- You made a good choice in the s30, what few realize is that the iso range is higher than the s40.

I've taken a TON of photos with my S30, if you want a preview of what you'll be able to do, visit my gallery below.

[Jerry Vanderberg]

I've been very happy with the S30. I agree with the points made by the others here. My biggest complain is that you cannot read the LCD screen outdoors in bright light. This is a problem not only for using the screen to frame your image, but also because you cannot see settings that you have programmed in, and you have to struggle to find out what your camera is set for. I don't know if there are any digital cameras that allow you to see such settings through your eye level viewfinder (as is standard for SLR film cameras).

[zumogrrl]

I purchased my S30 in March and have been really happy with it. I have take some 4,000 photos. I practice, I try many different settings and I am usually excited with the results. I purchased another battery but would no matter what camera. I don't want to miss anything. The slider on the front isn't an issue. I researched a lot of cameras and have been very happy. No technical problems. I take lots of macro, and people. Not too many problems that I haven't been able to work out. It also takes great landscapes.

Now, as for the S40, my brother-in-law has this camera. It is essentially the same as the S30 except for megapixels. I am still very very pleased with my camera.

I had a gift certificate and HAD to purchase it at best buy. He bought the S40 on line for the same price as mine. The S40 is usually about $100 more than the S30.

Now, there are a lot of new cameras on the horizon, if I had not purchased a digital camera already, I would not buy the same one or not. As I was shopping around I noticed a lot of cameras were being discontinued. New digitals are out and look very exciting.

[mako]

Hi Digione

I've got my S30 now for a month after much considerations & am very happy with it. The pro's definately outweigh the issues sited.

The performance of this little jewel is wonderful, fast!..little shutter lag, quick pic-to-pic.

Its compact == portable & looks stylish. (Everyone in the family likes it & wants to use it...==u also get yourself into the picture rather than always being the photographer!) :)

It has full auto==point & shoot functions to full manual controls plus additions for the techie freaks!

why I chose the s30 over the s40:
- 3 megapixels sufficient for my usage (most of the time I use lower..1024x768) s30 has 3.2 meg active vs s40 3.9+ meg active pixels.
- faster response on s30 vs s40(prob. cos' of smaller pic. file size)
- an additional high ISO setting over the s40
- cheaper than the s40 so I can spend on other stuff like add. CF cards

-do a side by side comparision @ this great site:
//www.dpreview.com


The selector does need a little gettting used to, but it has not posed any significant problems to me.

For battery life, I like a longer battery life, there's a aftermarket piece with ~ 50% more energy, do a search in this forum, U'll find it & also seem cheaper than the original piece.

there, your doubts are over, GO BUY THE S30!!

-cheers!
-Gilbert-
Singapore

[rcpage]

I beg to differ.

My advice is ALWAYS go for the highest resolution. I have found on many occasions that I wanted to crop part of the picture and having that extra resolution lets me do it. At a recent wedding the full shot was ok but within the shot I had a winner. I cropped in and consequently I still had a 10x8 print.

My advice is go for the S40, plus a spare 700mah battery from www.batterybarn.com and if you can afford it a 340mb microdrive. That package is sweet.

All you need in addition, is a third party case.

[Gibbs]

Be happy. These are great little cameras. Of course you need to do things like get an extra battery. Most users do that anyway - like a spare tyre.

I keep an S40 in my reporters bag all the time. No problems with lens cover or the multi-controller. I have tweaked some of the settings, I seldom operate on Auto, I use the metering pattern that I like, and use the focus lock function (halfway on the shutter) and have captured some great action and candid moments. I have been more than pleased with the quality and colour of the images.

If the money's right - go for it.

[cio2001]

Hi,

I am also thinking about getting S30 or S40. Two
quick questions...

1. Is there a way to include date stamp on images?

2. From various review sites, I know there is no battery
indicator to indicate the strength of battery for S30/40.
Is there any low battery warning before the camera
dies?

Thanks!

[Gibbs]

Hi'ya

The date can be set on the S30/40 and that information is included in the EXIF data of the photo. So you do not have a date stamp on the actual image, but the info is there for later retrieval.

There is a low battery indicator, probably at about 10% of the charge left. I have taken quite a few pictures with the 'low battery' indicator showing and you can extend camera use by turning off the display and minimizing flash usage. I have not found the battery life to be a problem, but then I always have a spare in my bag.

Hope this helps.

[delphinus]

Got my s30 for 6 months now, been happy with this little camera's performance. What made me buy S30 instead of S40?

- 2048x1536 resolution, not different much with S40's 2200 something resolution
- Supports ISO800 which S40 doesn't have
- Reportedly lower noise level of picture with same ISO setting than S40
- 2,3 fps burst mode compared to S40's 1.5,2.5 fps burst mode
- Cheaper. Get extra battery (found one 800mAh sakar battery from www.buydig.com) and 128 MB CF card

Regarding body design issue, I found no difficulty in using multi controller. The sliding lens cover was reported to break off sometimes though I've never experienced it. But even if it did broke off, there are no difficulty in attaching it back. Just snap it into its original position, no permanent damage.

Whether to buy S30 or S40? My answer is no to both of them, at least now. Wait until S45 and its review come. Even if you don't like S45, the appearance of S45 in the market will drive S30 and S40's price down.

Mako? Do you know whether any shop in Singapore selling S30/S40 filter adapter and >570mAh battery? Been looking for them, the adapter in particular, but cannot find it.

Delphin

[octathlon]

If you want to print the date stamp onto the photo, that is something the software would have to do.

Breezebrowser is one program I know of that can automatically put EXIF info such as the date on the photo like a watermark.