Canon Powershot S10 Review, Phil Askey, October 1999

The Canon S10 caused quite a stir when I broke the news back on the 14th of August, at that time I'd received brief specifications and an image of the camera from one of my industry insiders, we were both in two minds as to whether it was a product or just a company mockup, thus the news article title "Product or Prototype?".

Just a few weeks later a Canon Press Release confirmed the S10 as a real product. A 2.11 megapixel digital camera of the same size and design as previous Canon mini digital cameras (A5 Zoom, A50). Additionally the S10 case featured a more metallic look, stronger construction and a brushed metal lens housing.

The S10 is an interesting progression from the A50 and may be an indication of Canon's approach to digital cameras, leaning on their expertise in making compact cameras and lens systems they're now well placed to churn out sophisticated pocket powerhouses (we have yet to see a successor to the Pro 70 or indeed a Pro digital SLR to rival Nikons D1).

And the S10 could certainly fit under the "compact" label, not only is it small, light, strong and pixel-packed but its also feature rich, fast and flexible. Best of all? Image Quality is superb and the camera is responsive and well designed.

The S10 is positioned well as a Christmas 1999 stocking filler and Canon should sell bucket loads of S10's.

If you're new to digital photography you may want to read the Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this review (it may help you understand some of the terms I use).

This review is Copyright 1999 Phil Askey and the review in part or in whole may NOT be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author: Phil Askey. For information on reproducing any part of this review (or any images) please contact: Phil Askey.