Superb Digital Camera, May 22, 2004
Reviewer: TuMahler
After researching other cameras in its class including the Panasonic DMC-FZ10 and Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z2, I finally decided on the Canon S1 IS. Having taken a few hundred pictures with it, I am completely satisfied with my purchase.

With this camera I have the flexibility to take pictures with point-and-shoot ease while also having plenty of manual capabilities available to take more artistic pictures. Although the camera has "only" 3.2 megapixels this is more than compensated for by the 10x optical zoom. With this zoom you simply don't need as many megapixels (although it would be nice) because you won't be cropping out as much of the picture. Instead of cropping out excess, you just zoom in while you are there and have a nice original to begin with. Furthemore, more megapixels don't necessarily mean a "better" picture. There are other factors like the lens, cmos, and other processing that will affect the image quality just as much as the megapixels if not more.

Image stabilization is an awesome feature and until now has been reserved for the more expensive cameras. This feature definitely helps with the long zooms and low-light conditions. With the long zoom you can do shots where the primary object is very clear while the background is all blurry. This isn't as easy to do on cameras with less zoom.

The physical layout and the menu interface are excellent. The placement of the buttons are very intuitive and the menu setup is among the best I've ever used on any electronic device. It allows me to use all the manual settings with ease and speed. I can't really think of any better way to set it up.

Although the viewfinders tend to make images look like they are overexposed I think that as the viewfinder ages and dims (as any LCD will do over time) the picture will improve and not look as overexposed. So, I think it is excellent foresight on Canon's part to make the pictures seem overexposed. Personally, I don't find it to be a major issue because I view all the pics on my computer before deleting them anyway. The swiveling LCD is a feature that is indispensible. Not only does it protect the LCD if you flip it around, but you can take pictures of yourself (or others next to you) or and you take pictures at weird angles (such as close to the ground or high above a crowd) without contorting yourself.

I don't find battery power to be an issue. Just get 2 or 3 sets of NiMH batteries and you should be fine for a long day of heavy shooting. Plus the fact that you can use AA instead of a proprietary module means you can use regular AA alkaline batteries in a pinch.

The movie mode is great not only because of the high quality movies, but also because you can zoom while taking the movie. Most cameras will not let you zoom and you have to leave it where it is. The only downside is that you will need a high-speed compact flash card (like the Sandisk Ultra II) to take the highest quality movies. Slower cards can't keep up with the high amout of data being written.

The focusing system is also great and not usually found on cameras at this level. You can move the autofocus box to any postion you want and set an autofocus lock so it doesn't change once you've set it. You can also use the manual focus if you can't get a good focus in low-light situations. There is a meter that pops up showing the approximate distance to the object that you want to focus to which is quite helpful. With the manual focus, I've been able to focus on any object without too much trouble.

There are only 2 things I would like to see improved. One would be some sort of battery meter but it would be wildly inaccurate without some sort of proprietary battery (which they don't make you use) so I'm ok with them leaving that out. I would also like the lens cap to 'click' on instead of just sliding on. I understand why they made that decision though: they want the cap to slide off automatically when you turn it on which is a convenience so I don't have to take it off every time I turn it on. These are just minor suggestions and really just personal preference things. Otherwise, this camera is perfect for the price and what you get.

I highly recommend this camera to anyone to both point-and-shoot people and people who want that along with some artistic flexibility. The feature set is unbeatable and the picture quality is amazing.
You can view my my gallery of S1 IS pics to judge for yourself at http://www.pbase.com/tumahler
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Love it, despite its (minor) limitations., August 17, 2004
Reviewer: Thomas Chou

This camera has an amazing list of features which other reviewers have already noted. But the main reason I bought this camera was it's size - it's currently the only camera with a 10x zoom that also has image stabilization (which is VERY useful on big zooms) AND fits in my shirt pocket (albeit barely). This fact means that I can take this camera anywhere. I could have gotten a larger camera with the same zoom range that takes better pictures, but then I would have left my camera home half the time. And don't be turned off (like I was at first) by the fact that this camera has "only" 3.2 megapixels - the image quality is quite good - better than most 3 megapixel cameras, and rivals at least some 4 megapixel cameras I've seen.
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