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.
 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) |
| 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. |
 |
This article is Copyright 2005 and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author.
Canon Powershot S80 8MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide Angle Optical Zoom | $65.00 |
Canon Powershot S80 8MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide Angle Optical Zoom | $65.00 |
Canon PowerShot S120 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 1080p Full-HD Video | Too low to display |
Canon PowerShot SX510 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 30x Optical Zoom and 1080p Full-HD Video | $249.00 |
Canon PowerShot Pro Series S5 IS 8.0MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom | $749.00 |
Canon PowerShot G16 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 1080p Full-HD Video | Too low to display |
Canon PowerShot SX260 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 20x Image Stabilized Zoom 25mm Wide-Angle Lens and 1080p Full-HD Video (Black) | $229.95 |
Canon PowerShot S90 10MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3-Inch LCD | $539.90 |
Canon PowerShot SD1100IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Blue) | $299.88 |
Canon PowerShot Pro Series S3 IS 6MP with 12x Image Stabilized Zoom | $799.95 |
Canon PowerShot SD1100IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver) | $349.00 |
   |
|
Connect with dpreview
|
Comments