Canon PowerShot S40 Review: 5. Operation & Controls: Digital Photography Review

Top of camera controls

As you can see all of the top of camera controls are concentrated on the right side, the single recessed record mode dial and multi-controller (4 cursor directions and SET button combined) are in reach of your thumb, the zoom controller and shutter release located for your forefinger.

Because of the combined sliding lens cover / power switch the S40 doesn't have a dedicated power dial, instead the lens cover is used to power the camera on and off to record mode and the sliding PLAY lever on the back of the camera is used to enter play mode. This new play mode is 'shooting priority', that essentially means that (assuming the lens cover is open) a half-press of the shutter release at any point in play mode returns to shooting mode.

Zoom Controller (Record mode)

	Zoom telephoto Zooms the camera's lens towards the telephoto focal length, maximum optical zoom of 105 mm (35mm equiv.). A full zoom from wide to tele takes 2.0 seconds. If the camera is already at maximum optical zoom and digital zoom is enabled the camera will apply increasing levels of digital zoom.
	Zoom wide angle Zooms the camera's lens towards the wide angle focal length of 35 mm (35mm equiv.). A full zoom from tele to wide takes 2.0 seconds.

Zoom Controller (Play mode)

	Image magnify (zoom in) Magnifies the displayed image, the first press goes to 3x, the second to 6x.
	Image magnify (zoom out) If the displayed image is magnified pressing the zoom lever towards wide zooms out of the magnification.

Exposure Modes

	Automatic Exposure Camera has complete control over exposure, point-and-shoot operation, the majority of manual features are disabled, you can't alter exposure compensation, ISO or use RAW mode. You can set flash mode, macro and image size.
P	Program Auto Exposure Very similar to AUTO exposure but you have access to all the normal manual controls, can set the ISO, exposure compensation, use bracketing etc. The S40 also features program shift, this is activated by half-pressing the shutter release and then pressing the meter button, you can then select from various equivalent exposures by pressing left and right buttons on the multi-controller. Example (metered 1/50 sec, F4.0): • 1/30 sec, F4.5 (left button twice) • 1/40 sec, F4.0 (left button once) • 1/50 sec, F4.0 (metered) • 1/60 sec, F3.5 (right button once) • 1/80 sec, F3.2 (right button twice)
Tv	Shutter Priority Auto Exposure In this mode you select the shutter speed and the camera will attempt to select the best aperture for a proper exposure. Shutter speed is displayed on the LCD, press the left / right arrows to select different shutter speeds. A half-press of the shutter release causes the cameras exposure system to calculate the aperture, the LCD view changes to reflect the look of the final image. If the exposure is outside the cameras exposure range the aperture will appear in RED. Available shutter speeds: * Note: Aperture / shutter speed rule, below 1/1500, 1/1250, 1/1000, 1/800, 1/640, 1/500, 1/400, 1/320, 1/250, 1/200, 1/160, 1/125, 1/100, 1/80, 1/60, 1/50, 1/40, 1/30, 1/25, 1/20, 1/15, 1/13, 1/10, 1/8, 1/6, 1/5, 1/4, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8, 1, 1.3, 1.6, 2, 2.5, 3.2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15 secs (Shutter speeds of 1.3 seconds or slower will enable the cameras noise reduction system).
Av	Aperture Priority Auto Exposure In this mode you select the aperture and the camera will attempt to select the best shutter speed for a proper exposure. Aperture is displayed on the LCD, press the left / right arrows to select different apertures. A half-press of the shutter release causes the cameras exposure system to calculate the shutter speed, the LCD view changes to reflect the look of the final image. If the exposure is outside the cameras exposure range the shutter speed will appear in RED. Available apertures: * Note: Aperture / shutter speed rule, below Wide: F2.8, F3.2, F3.5, F4.0, F4.5, F5.0, F5.6, F6.3, F7.1, F8.0 Telephoto: F4.9, F5.6, F6.3, F7.1, F8.0
M	Full Manual Exposure In this mode you select the aperture and the shutter speed from any combination of the above. Left and right arrows select shutter speed, up and down arrows select aperture. When you half-press the shutter release the camera meters the scene and displays a numeric indication of how far over or underexposed the image is (compared to its metering). This value is in EV's (exposure value / stops), if the exposure is under or overexposed by more than 2 EV's the camera simply displays -2 or +2 in red. During the half-press the LCD view changes to reflect the approximate look of the final image.

* Aperture / Shutter speed rule

Just like the G2 the S40 is limited by the fact that it uses a single iris mechanism for both aperture and shutter. The iris opens at the beginning of the exposure to a certain size for the selected (or metered) aperture and then closes again at the end of the exposure. The speed at which the iris can go from a wide aperture to completely closed creates a limitation as to the maximum shutter speed available at different apertures.

The limitations are a little more complicated with the S40 as it also depends on the zoom position.

Zoom position	Aperture	Max. Shutter Speed
Wide angle	F2.8 - F3.5	1/1000 sec
Wide angle	F4.0 - F8.0	1/1250 - 1/1500 sec
Telephoto	F4.9	1/1000 sec
Telephoto	F5.6 - F8.0	1/1250 - 1/1500 sec

Scene Exposure Modes

The exposure modes described below are designed to be easy to use camera presets. Macro focus, image adjustments (ISO, contrast, sharpening, saturation), AEB, AE Lock, FE Lock, metering and RAW file format can not be selected in these modes.

	Portrait In this mode apertures are kept as large as possible (small F number) to produce a blurred background to help define the subject in a portrait shot. Note: Macro focus IS available in Portrait mode.
	Landscape In this mode the flash is by default disabled (although you can enable it) and focus is locked at infinity. Apertures are kept as small as possible (large F numbers) to produce the largest possible depth of field. Macro focus is also disabled. Designed to be used for taking landscape shots.
	Night Scene Known on other cameras as "Slow Sync Flash". Put simply in this mode slow shutter speeds are used to capture a dimly lit background (buildings at night for example) and the flash fires briefly to illuminate a foreground subject.
	Fast Shutter Instructs the camera to uses the fastest possible shutter speed for a particular exposure, this often means the largest aperture (F2.8 at Wide, F4.9 at Tele) in combination with ISO 100. Useful for capturing sports events.
	Slow Shutter Instructs the camera to uses the slowest possible shutter speed for a particular exposure, this often means the smallest aperture F8.0. Useful for blurring moving water.

Other Exposure Modes

	Colour Effect This new exposure mode replaces the B&W setting on the G1. It allows you to select between four different colour settings. Each of these settings has a slightly different effect on colour output: • Vivid - colours are enhanced (saturation increased) • Neutral - colours are toned down (saturation decreased) • Sepia - image takes on a slightly brown cast B&W • B&W - image is shot in black and white
	Stitch Assist Designed to make shooting of panorama / stitch shots easier. You have a choice of five different stitch modes: left-right, right-left, down-up, up-down or 4-frames in a square. The display changes to show previously shot frames in the sequence to help alignment of each frame. Exposure and White Balance are locked to the first frame.
	Movie Mode Record short movie clips: • 320 x 240, 15 fps, max 30 secs (including audio) • 160 x 120, 15 fps, max 120 ses (including audio)

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