my new Canon S70

[UnknownVT]

I had to buy a new digicam -

my previous Canon A70 (3mp) was worn out after 21 months and putting some 60K shots through it - it became unreliable I often missed shots because of its bad bahavior.

However I stuck and survived with the "devil you know" for my 3 weeks trip in China (photo links at bottom of post) and ordered my new digicam as soon as I got back.

It's a Canon PowerShot S70 (7mp) a little on the more expensive side - but I do a lot of photography - eg: I retrieved the thing last Tuesday (June/7/2005) evening from FedEx - charged the battery - went out that night to 3 venues and took 97 shots - by Thursday June/9 - I had accumulated a shot count of 371.

While the digicam is still new to me and the battery duration unknown - I carry a spare.

Of course it's hard to do comparisons since my most recent digicam the A70 was malfunctioning. However the operation of my new S70 seems smoother - perhaps a bit faster and more positive.

Like the A70 the Spot auto focus would often indicate it was not focussing in darker environments especially if the lens was zoomed even slightly - and it's exasperated by the fact P, Tv, Av modes can NOT be set to the multi-point AiAF, and can only be set on Spot focus.

However when the focus indicator flashes to show bad focus - I just point the thing at the same spot and pre-focus again - and even if the indicator light flashes I force the shot (because otherwise I can't take the shot and will miss a great deal)
and so far (touch wood) all of those shots which had the indicator say bad focus, all seem to be well focussed - at least to my satisfaction.........

The photo quality of the S70 - the much larger pixel count aside - seems much higher than I had experienced with the 3mp A70. I have taken some shots which I know would be pretty low in possibility of coming out well on the A70 - that have surprised me with the S70 quality.

Please take a look at this album all taken on my new S70

Swamp Cabbage 2005 (http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/unknownvincent2/album?.dir=5f66)

and this album where there are A70 shots, and last 10 photos marked 050607 are on the S70

Electromatics 2005 (http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/unknownvincent2/album?.dir=97cd)


in particular this telephoto shot (bad focus indicated) which I know would have a very low probablity of success on the A70 - was outstanding in its quality on the S70 (ISO100, Tv, 1/5 sec)

LeeGoodness050607.jpg (http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/unknownvincent2/detail?.dir=97cd&.dnm=9305.jpg)

I decided on the S70 because 7Mp had been my target to replace film (ha-ha :D remember those old arguments?) since it gives 10"x8" at 300ppi -
of course my previous 3mp A70 basically surplanted any film photography, because of its satisfactory quality up to 10x8 and mostly economy...... even my previous 2mp Digital ELPH S100 eventually displaced film too.....

However the reason for the S70 was that I needed a camera that I could literally carry everyday (I'm NOT kidding - I did this with the A70 and previous to that the S100 - in excess of 5 years now)

Much as I covet and desire a DSLR and was VERY tempted with the dropping prices of the original Canon Digital Rebel 6mp - the 7mp S70 with better tested resolution would curb that temptation - whereas if I bought the other digicam under consideration the Canon A95 some $150+ cheaper - that temptation would still very much be open .....

I might still consider the new Canon Digital Rebel XT 8mp - but I think for now the S70 is satisfactory - since it has the zoom range of (equivalent) 28-100mm probably ideal for my type of photography.......


FWIW - My China photos [all taken on an intermittently faulty Canon A70 (3mp) ] -

Beijing (http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/unknownvincent2/album?.dir=/347b)

Shanghai (http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/unknownvincent2/album?.dir=/504f)

WeiHai (http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/unknownvincent2/album?.dir=/437b)

--
Vincent

http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net

[UnknownVT]

I mentioned that my new Canon S70 seemed to give better images than the A70 - discounting the obvious fact the S70 has many more pixels.

What did I mean?

Well, although I said it subjectively - even I wasn't too sure how to show this quantitatively.

I tried an ad-hoc experiment - taking the following photos -

Canon S70 (7mp)
7mp with SuperFine JPG
7mp with Fine JPG
3mp with SuperFine JPG
3mp with Fine JPG

Canon A70 (3mp)
3mp with SuperFine JPG
3mp with Fine JPG

With both cameras I zoomed to the maximum telephoto (S70 = 100mm, A70 = 105mm equivalents - so the A70 lens is some 5% longer - resulting in a full-frame which is linearly 5% larger - everything else being equal) and took all the photos within minutes of each other:
TestTree.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/UnknownVincent/Test%20Images/TestTree.jpg)
I then cropped the tiny area marked in red - to get:

100% crops compared - top row SuperFine JPG, lower row Fine JPG -
FullSizeCrops.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/UnknownVincent/Test%20Images/TreeS70A70Comp.jpg)
The 3mp images from the S70 seem better than those from the A70 -
Notice I can see very little material difference between the SuperFine and Fine JPGs in any of the pairs.

The 7mp crop was DownSampled to get approx the same size as the 3mp image crop -
DownSampled7mp.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/UnknownVincent/Test%20Images/TreeS70A70DownSComp.jpg)
Here the downsampled 7mp image does seem better than those from the A70.
They should in theory be the same as the 3mp images from the S70......

3mp images from both the S70 and A70 were UpSampled to the same size as the full 7mp crop - and sharpened to bring out the details -
UpSampled3mpA70.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/UnknownVincent/Test%20Images/TreeS70A70UpSComp.jpg)
This is the most telling image since one can see better.
The Upsampled 3mp image from the S70 is not quite on par as the original 7mp crop -
but in practice printed, one probably would not see that much difference.
Any of the S70 images seem to me to be better than those from the A70.

What do you think?

Comments please?

--
Vincent

http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net

[UnknownVT]

Here are some more reasoning (justification? :o ) for getting the Canon S70 -

Compact size - I need a digicam that I can literally EDC - so it has to be compact enough. (I consider the Canon G6, Sony V3 of this world too big for daily carry everywhere. This counts double for DSLRs - even though I covet their quality - they are just too bulky for EDC)

Shutter Priority - I use a lot of slow synchronized flash for my work - often called "dragging the shutter" - although "Night Portait" mode would do for some - often I have to use shutter priority to control the amount of motion I capture.

Wider angle than 35mm - although I had been getting away and making do for over 5 years with 35mm as my widest angle - this really was a work-around. So going to 38mm (even narrower) like on the other digicam under serious consideration the 5mp Canon A95 - just would not do it - I would be even further compromised. Both the 5mp Canon S60 and the 7mp S70 have 28-100mm optical zooms. (other digicams with wider than 35mm are the 6mp (12mp interpolated) Fuji E550 32.5-130mm, and the 5mp Fuji E510 28-112mm - unfortunately they both have more than one report of difficulty focussing in darker enviroments - which is exactly where I take most of my photos.......)

Optical viewfider - I use this all the time and hardly ever the LCD monitor except for precise framing for still life macro type shots.

Lastly 7mp - why? I covet the quality of DSLRs mostly good quality 6mp and now some 8mp - even though I know I can get away with 5mp (in fact I had been getting away with 3mp and even 2mp....) The 7mp offering seem to show better image quality in terms of noise, color rendition, dynamic range than the 5mps -
and this last point is personal and economics - the 7mp Canon S70 would basically stop me from even considering the now bargain priced 6mp Canon Digital Rebel..... and probably inhibit/curb my desire for the 8mp Canon Digital Rebel XT too.

The Canon S70 has had some glowing reviews:

Very comprehensive reviews -

Review Sample Images on Imaging-Resource.com (http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/CS70/S70PICS.HTM)

dpReview.com on the Canon S70 (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons70/)

and the often insightful reviews at -

dcResource.com on the Canon S70 (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_s70-review/)

:D

--
Vincent

http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net

[UnknownVT]

Here's another set of photos from the Canon S70 -

Howlin' Wolf Fest - 2005 (http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/unknownvincent2/album?.dir=5842)

You might notice the date of these photos - they were taken on the same night as those of the Swamp Cabbage - at a different venue.........

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More comparison tests - this time of the macro/close up ability - cropped area shown in Red

Dollar bill and coins -
Flash ON - 7mp Fine JPG
Dollar Bill Flash ON (JPG) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/UnknownVincent/Test%20Images/TestDollarFineFlash.jpg)

NO Flash - 7mp Fine JPG
Dollar Bill NO Flash (JPG) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/UnknownVincent/Test%20Images/TestDollarFineNoFlash.jpg)

Compared to Scanned at 300dpi
Dollar Bill 300dpi Scan (JPG) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/UnknownVincent/Test%20Images/TestDollar300Scan.jpg)

100% crops - the Canon S70 image had about 2.75x the magnifcation of the scanned image -
Compared 100% Crops (JPG) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/UnknownVincent/Test%20Images/CompareFullCrop.jpg)

Notice there is some overall softness to the 100% images from the Canon S70 - the Flash ON shot shows lower brightness due to the reflection of the quarter choking down the exposure overall.

Resized Canon S70 crops to match the scanned image -
this is kind of more realistically what one might see on print -
Compared ReSized Crops (JPG) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/UnknownVincent/Test%20Images/ResizeCompare.jpg)

Here on the resized comparison - although there is a distinct color tint difference between the scanned and the two Canon images - the definition and detail are terrific - there is absolutely NO post processing - other than the resizing. Amazing.......

Ever since I was able to afford cameras - I always longed for a compact/pocketable camera that would match the quality (first), and some of the flexiblity of my SLRs. With 35mm some point & shoots came close - but I always felt some lack of confidence - more so than when I was using the SLRs.

But without being conscious of it - I think with the Canon S70 I may have finally realized that dream of carrying a pocket sized camera that could almost match the quality and everything I can do on an SLR -
with more confidence -
since I can review the images immediately after I've taken the shot........

--
Vincent

http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net

[puttick]

Fine photos of the bands, Vincent.

I've just bought an S70 to take on a walking trip in the Alps, replacing a well-used (and now unreliable) 4MP S400, and because my 350D (RebelXT) is much too big & heavy! The quality you are getting certainly suggests I've made the right choice for this applcation - I hope landscapes are equally good.

Cheers
Nigel

[DG_Canon]

Have fun with your new camera.
One especially nice feature of the S70 is its realtively wide angle capability.

[UnknownVT]

The quality you are getting certainly suggests I've made the right choice for this applcation - I hope landscapes are equally good.
Many thanks for the kind comments.

Landscape photography can be very demanding on the photographic system.

The beauty of the 7mp Canon S70 is that it matches the resolution of DSLRs (better than most 6mps and almost matching the 8mp) at the lower ISOs - along with what seems like a very good 28-100mm zoom lens.

To me it's matched my desire for the ability of producing a 10x8 at the "magical" 300ppi - which means about 16x12 at the commonly accepted 200ppi - plenty good enough for my usage.

Here's another experiment to see how changing the ISO sensitivity affected the image quality on the S70.

Using the same "Test Tree" and the S70 zoom extended to maximum (ie: 100mm) I took shots at ISO100, 200 and 400 - with Fine and SuperFine JPG. Also ISO50 with SuperFine JPG as a control - using the same tiny 105x105 pixel crops (as shown in the previous post) -

ISOcompare (JPG) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/UnknownVincent/Test%20Images/ISOcompare.jpg)

I could see very little significant difference between ISO100 and ISO50 SuperFine or Fine JPGs.

ISO200 starts to show some image degradation in terms of loss of detail, quality and noise. But again I could not see a significant difference between Fine and SuperFine JPG versions of the ISO200.

I feel that the ISO400 shots to be marginal - for me - probably for use in emergencies only - there is even more loss of detail, quality and noticable noise. But again I could not see any significant difference between the Fine and SuperFine JPG versions.

For me I'd be happy to shoot my shots on Fine JPG - normally at AutoISO (most probably ISO50) for the Scene Modes and Full Auto (it's the only ISO setting available) and for P, Tv, Av and M modes at ISO100.

SuperFine is not necessary, using more storage space than needed for my typical usage and quality requirements -
If I really wanted maximum quality - then I would use the RAW format.

I would use ISO200 if needed but understanding there will be noticable degradation.

I would avoid ISO400 unless absolutely necessary - but I would probably shoot some at ISO200 just for backup.

Backing up - for landscapes I'd shoot ISO50 and RAW with SuperFine JPG - just knowing I am shooting at the "finest" mode......

--
Vincent

http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.Net
http://UnknownVT.cjb.Net
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.Net