Canon PowerShot S80 Review
Review based on a production Canon PowerShot S80
Just over a year after the launch of the 7 megapixel PowerShot S70 Canon revealed its replacement, the new S80, which boasts a slight redesign, an extra million pixels and a few new features - including the latest DIGIC II processor. The S80 is smaller and lighter than the S70 yet it packs a much larger (2.5") wide viewing angle LCD monitor, a control wheel / 4-way controller, XGA video capture (15 fps), USB 2.0 High-speed and SD/MMC storage. Some may, however, be a little disappointed to hear that RAW capture has been dropped.
- Wide-angle 28-100mm (35mm equivalent) 3.6x Optical Zoom Lens
- 8.0 Megapixel CCD and UA Lens Technology for Superior Image Quality
- Full photographic control
- 21 shooting modes
- 2.5-inch Wide viewing angle LCD screen
- DIGIC II Processor
- USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
- Newly-designed easy-to-use interface
- High Resolution (1024 x 768 pixel) XGA Movie Mode
Canon PowerShot S70 vs PowerShot S80 (main differences)
 Canon PowerShot S80 |
 Canon PowerShot S70 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Effective Pixels | 8.0 million | 7.1 million |
| Processor | DIGIC II | DIGIC I |
| Max image size | 3264 x 2448 | 3072 x 2304 |
| Storage | SD /MMC | CompactFlash |
| Raw mode | No | Yes |
| LCD screen | 2.5-inch, 115,000 pixels | 1.8-inch 118,000 pixels |
| Max movie size | • 1024 x 768 at 15 fps • 640 x 480 at 15 or 30 fps |
• 640 x 480 at 10 fps up to 30 secs |
| Shooting modes | • Auto • Program AE • Shutter priority AE • Aperture priority AE • Manual • Custom • My Colors • Portrait • Landscape • Night Scene • Night Snapshot • Kids & Pets • Indoor • Foliage • Snow • Beach • Fireworks • Underwater • Digital Macro • Stitch Assist • Movie |
• Auto |
| Continuous shooting | Approx.1.8 fps | Approx.2.0 fps |
| Connectivity | USB 2.0 Hi-Speed | USB 1.1 |
| Dimensions | 104 x 57 x 38.8 mm (4.1 x 2.2 x 1.5 in) | 114 x 57 x 39mm (4.4 x 2.2 x 1.5in) |
| Weight (excl battery) | 225 g (7.9 oz) | 230 g (8.1 oz) |
Key specifications
| Street price | • US: $514 • UK: £399 |
|---|---|
| Body Material | Metal |
| Sensor | • 1/1.8 " CCD • 8.0 million effective pixels |
| Image sizes | • 3264 x 2448 |
| Movie clips | • 1024 x 768 at 15 fps • 640 x 480 at 15 or 30 fps • 320 x 240 at 15 or 30 fps • 160 x 120 at 15 fps (3 mins max) • Duration limited by card capacity (streaming), 1GB max file size • AVI (Motion JPEG) |
| Lens | • 28 - 100mm (35mm equiv) |
| Focus | • TTL |
| Shooting mode | • Auto |
| Shutter speeds | • 15 - 1/2000 sec • Slow shutter speeds of 1.3 sec. or slower operate with noise reduction. |
| Apertures | • Wide: F2.8 / 3.2 / 3.5 / 4.0 / 4.5 / 5.0 / 5.6 / 6.3 / 7.1 / 8.0 • Tele: F5.3 / 5.6 / 6.3 / 7.1 / 8.0 |
| Metering | • Evaluative • Center-weighted average • Spot (Center* or AF-point) |
| Sensitivity | • Auto • ISO 50 • ISO 100 • ISO 200 • ISO 400 |
| White Balance | • Auto • 7 presets (Day Light, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash, Underwater) • Custom (manual white balance) |
| Image parameters | • Vivid |
| Continuous | • Approx.1.8 fps • Large/Fine mode with LCD monitor off |
| Flash | • Built-in flash |
| Storage | • SD /MMC • 32 MB card supplied* |
| Viewfinder | • Real Image Optical • Approx 80% coverage |
| LCD monitor | • 2.5 inch type, low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT color LCD • 115,000 pixels • picture coverage 100% • Wide viewing angle |
| Connectivity | • USB 2.0 Hi Speed • AV out |
| Power | • Rechargeable lithium ion battery (NB-2LH/NB-2L) • Charger included |
| In the box* | • PowerShot S80 Body |
| Other features | • PictBridge and DPOF compatible |
| Weight (inc batt) | 268 g (9.4 oz.) approx |
| Dimensions | 104 x 57 x 38.8 mm ((4.1 x 2.2 x 1.5 in) |
* Supplied accessories may differ in each country or area
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. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C. |
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