Canon PowerShot S60 Review

August 2004 | By Phil Askey

Review based on a production PowerShot S60

On May 19th of this year Canon announced the PowerShot S60, the replacement to the fifteen month old PowerShot S50. Despite the '60' in its name the S60 has the same five megapixel CCD as the S50, this will no doubt be the cause of some confusion for buyers who will assume that it is a six megapixel compact. There are a wide range of differences and improvements with the S60 compared to the older 'S' cameras, here's a summary of changes since the S50:

New body design, smaller and lighter (with a much improved sliding cover mechanism)
New wide angle lens: 28 - 100 mm equiv. (3.6x), F2.8 - F5.3
New image size option: 2048 x 1536
New movie clip size: 640 x 480, 10 fps, up to 30 sec
Max shutter speed up to 1/2000 sec from 1/1500 sec
PictBridge support
Higher capacity NB-L2H battery

UA lens technology

Canon are keen to point out that the S60 has a lens which utilizes 'UA lens technology'. This has lens elements which have 'ultra high refraction index glass' which allows the entire lens system to be thinner (yet maintaining the same image quality).

Key specifications

Street price	• US: $499 • UK: £399
Body Material	Magnesium alloy
Sensor	• 1/1.8" CCD, 5.2 million total pixels • 5.0 million effective pixels
Image sizes	• 2592 x 1944 • 2048 x 1536 • 1600 x 1200 • 1024 x 768 • 640 x 480
Movie clips	• 640 x 480, 10 fps, up to 30 sec • 320 x 240, 15 fps, up to 3 mins • 160 x 120, 15 fps, up to 3 mins
Lens	• 28 - 100 mm equiv. (3.6x optical zoom) • F2.8 - F5.3
Focus	• 9-point AiAF • Manual focus • AF assist beam • Minimum focus: 50 cm (Normal), 4 cm (Macro)
Shooting mode	• Auto • Program AE • Shutter priority AE • Aperture priority AE • Manual • Custom • Portrait • Landscape • Night Scene • Fast Shutter • Slow Shutter • Stitch Assist • Movie (with sound)
Sensitivity	• Auto • ISO 50 - 400
White Balance	• Auto • 7 presets • Manual
Image parameters	• Contrast (3 levels) • Sharpness (3 levels) • Saturation (3 levels)
Continuous	• High: 2.0 fps, up to 8 frames • Normal: 1.5 fps, up to 8 frames
Flash	• Modes: Auto, Flash On, Flash Off, Manual (3 levels) • Slow Sync: On, Off (1st or 2nd curtain selectable) • Red-Eye Reduction: On, Off • Range, Wide: 4.2 m, Tele: 2.0 m
Storage	• Compact Flash Type I or Type II • FAT32 supported (cards >2 GB) • 32 MB CF card supplied
Viewfinder	Optical
LCD monitor	• 1.8" TFT LCD • 118,000 pixels
Connectivity	• USB 1.1 (inc PTP) • A/V out
Power	• Lithium-Ion NB-2LH rechargeable battery (supplied & charger) *n • Optional AC adapter
Other features	• Orientation sensor • Wireless remote • Interval shooting • Histogram in playback • Movie editting • Sound memo • Direct print (Canon & PictBridge)
Weight (no batt)	230 g (8.1 oz)
Dimensions	114 x 57 x 39 mm (4.4 x 2.2 x 1.5 in)

If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help you understand some of the terms used).

Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions.

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