Canon PowerShot S10

Opinion: it is weird, but 10 years later i still sometimes enjoy shooting with this camera, utterly obsolete as it is supposed to be.

2mp still does the job for shots destined for web and facebook use, and the s10 still produces good ones!

and the built quality - hey 10 years later it is still going strong. i am not sure if my G9 or S90 will be still going in 2017 or 2019 respectively...

Opinion: DIY- make your S10 battery

Corresponding to last message post by Dick and many people knows the battery problem, I am going to share my experience about making a replacement/spare battery here.

However this is written for people has some knowledge about electronics and how to operate a solder. If you cant follow what I say, its wise to buy the battery pack instead :)

Here's the idea:
You can buy 5 AAA NiMH battery and connect (solder) them up (so 1.2v*5=6V, same as original battery) Stack the batteries in ladder shape like the original battery! You must solder/arrange carefully so that the DIY battery can fit into the battery compartment.

Make metal contact ends(eg, use foils) and connect to the 5 battery pack. Becareful of insulations so not to short circuit the battery itself. Especially two ends.

Here's a picture to give u some idea what I had done
http://tdatemp.uhome.net/S10/S10battery.jpg

Sorry my instructions is not complete, the idea is use 5 AAA NiMH batteries. My experience is it isnt easy to make and need some effort! But it's good to see it works *longer* than the original battery - the low battery sign always come up at last moment.

One warning is I dont dare to put this battery in the original charger for resaon that it is so plain and no other components, so I also made another charger for it. Try at your own risk!

You may contact me at: polarbearhk@yahoo.com

Opinion: Does anyone use battery packs with the S10
I've bought my S10 in december 1999 and didn't have any problems with it. My indoor pictures with flash became better after the firmware update. BUT battery life: after two months I bought my second rechargeable battery but since the last half year they don't last 20min anymore.
My question: does anyone have experience with battery packs AA? Do I need 4 AA of 1,2V=4,8V rechargeable or 5AA 1,2V=6V. How do I connect them to the S10 using the Powerbatt of the charger unit or what?? (What's in the powerbatt from the charger + - and other - In the middle or is there some electronics inside????)
Does anyone have info, answers or redirections to sites where to get this info please inform me
Thanks and good shooting whith your S10
Greetz

Opinion: Excelent entry level camera

Opinion: The batteries on this camera suck. After a year of light use, my batteries will not even hold a charge. They are expensive too!

Opinion: Since purchasing the Canon S10 in Fall 2000, I have taken over 4000 pictures with it. It's most difficult enounter was a 10 week backpacking trip through the mountains and cities of New Zealand.

I kept the camera in an extra sock while tramping through the bush, but it definitely took a beating. There are various scratches and some rather large dents in the camera body. One of the dents now causes the card slot door to stay slightly ajar, but not enough to impede my use of the camera. I had two 340MB microdrives and was very worried about the abuse they were taking, but I have never had a problem. Without a doubt, this camera is solid and very well built.

This is definitely the first camera I have ever extensively used. I owned a point and shoot 35mm film camera for many years, but probably only shot 6 rolls that whole time. Film developing hassle and the worry of running out of frames always put me off from using my camera much. With that said, the S10 has been an exquisite introduction to the world of photography. Keeping away the complexities of aperture sizes and shutter speeds, the S10 allowed me to learn about image composition. I now have a great desire for a more manual camera precisely because I have grown in the types of pictures I realize I want to take. This is an excellent camera for someone new to the field and art of photography.

Some of my photos are web accessible. The username is "tomato" and the password is "potato". Here are some links:
* New York - http://www.theory.org/~brainsik/pics/ny-oct2001/
* New Zealand - http://www.theory.org/~brainsik/pics/nz-upload/
* Santa Cruz - http://www.theory.org/~brainsik/pics/sc-01/

Opinion: I bought my S-10 at the end of its reign as a blowout price, hence I rate it an excellent value. I am very happy overall, for the same reasons as most reviewers, but I must be objective about its shortcoming. The greatest flaw I found is the high contrast that results. A plus is that it comes with a 2-step contrast adjustment, and simple editing software to further adjust contrast. But one may question if some image quality is compromised by adjusting contrast after the image is recorded. Another known shortcoming is the poor indoor color fidelity. One can play around with the white balance settings (with and without flash) and in essence trick the camera in greater color fidelity, but this falls outside of the intended use. The final shortcoming for me was having only 2X optical zoom. Using digital zoom, especially 3X on a 2 mgpixel camera erodes the image when a file size adequate for printing is necessary. If you need telephoto for print images, this is not your camera.

Opinion: The S10 is well built and easy to use in the basic mode. The small size is great!!! I do find the menu's a little harder to manipulate than some of the othe cameras I have owned. (JVCGC-S1, Casio QV-8000SX and Olympus C-700) But as a back/ knock around to the C-700n it works well.

Opinion: This is my first digital camera. I took more than 5000 images the first year. Excellent camera.

In most cases the image quality is excellent. However, some action shots in low light are difficult to capture without using the flash to increase the shutter speed. Still shots are a breeze. Macro shots from the S10 are unbelievable - captures every detail.

I use the manual picture setting most of the time to adjust white balance to the setting that looks the best. And the menu system makes it easy to adjust anything.

I recommend using a tripod when possible for any shots. The miniature varieties fit in a small camera case and are very handy. Got mine at Wal-Mart for $6.

The only drawback to model is that it does not come with a rechargeable battery and charger. That costs another $100. You will definitely need that so consider it part of the price.

Overall, the S10 has worked well for me as an introduction to digital photography. I highly recommend it.