Is Powershot S2 Worth It

Just want to know if it's worth buying have seen all the reviews but would like to know if it's worth the price... also how are the photos at night time or low light situations, at the moment i have the Sony DSC-T1 and its no good in low light, would like to upgrade but need un-bios opinions. Come on get invoved..

Not sure that you're going to get a lot of unbiased opinions about an S2 in a Canon forum.

Seriously though, the folks here are very helpful if you ask specific questions and let them know what you're looking for in a camera. I didn't really consider the S2 so I can't offer much advice.

--
Chuck_ri

Proud owner of a BRAND NEW P r o 1!!!!
Still have the trusty (though slow) S 3 3 0
Rebel2000 SLR w/ 28-105mm
AE1 Program

http://chuckbro.smugmug.com/

...and then again it might not.

james_clark said:

Just want to know if it's worth buying have seen all the reviews
but would like to know if it's worth the price...

Click to expand...

Very feature packed and flexible camera for the price.

james_clark said:

also how are the
photos at night time or low light situations, at the moment i have
the Sony DSC-T1 and its no good in low light, would like to upgrade
but need un-bios opinions. Come on get invoved..

Click to expand...

Terrible. Most P&S cameras aren't too good in low light but this one is particularly bad. The only good thing is the IS. The sensor is noisy, it's 2/3 of a stop less sensitive than an S1 and it has a weak flash. If you want a good low-light camera and don't want a dSLR, I'd suggest a G6. It's very usable at ISO 400 where the S2 really isn't, and it has a fast lens. These two combine to make the G6 about 2 stops better than the S2 in low light. Plus, it has a hot shoe which means you could mount a powerful flash like the 580EX.

Lee Jay

In my opinion, the S2 is not terrible. The S2 is my 7th digital camera and it is fine, capable, fast and responsive; the best I've ever owned. Like every other digital camera, it has strong and weak points.

Why not read some professional reviews and choose the features you need most when deciding between the S2 and some of the other fine super zoom, image stabilized digicams in it's class.

dpreview: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons2is/

steves: http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/s2is.html

dcresource: http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_s2-review/index.shtml

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gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Canon S2 IS & A510, Panasonic FZ3, Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-camera-blogs/index.htm

Mine does well in low light. Not as well as my XT, but certainly has no problem with focus in low light.

Sorry about that....

Here's an active link:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_s2-review/index.shtml

--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Canon S2 IS & A510, Panasonic FZ3, Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-camera-blogs/index.htm

I just had mine about 1 week. I have no problem with focus or exposure in low light. I enjoyed to touch and use it. It is easy to use. I didnot read the manual. I had a Kodak DX.7590 I traded it for S2 because of The more features and easy to hold with 1 hand while taking picutre, which Kodak did not have.

It is hard to decide a perfect camera for the money. The S2 will be with me for few years. I believed It is worth for the money I spent.

ltd.

I've had my S2 for a week now. I'm new to the superzoom user family but I think that comments from everyday users can be just as helpful if you are at the same skill level. I love the outdoor shots I've gotten with the S2. Nice, with very little manipulation of the camera's settings. I used it tonight for my son's Grade eight graduation and am devastated at the results. I tried virtually every setting on the camera and could not come up with a nice, low-light image. My pics were taken in a gym, lights were on but the stage was fairly dark. I should have been in flash range(less than 14 ft.) Not only were the pics dark and noisy, the IS didn't seem to work well and the camera had alot of probs. focusing. Perhaps it's my inexperience but one would think that the night and/or auto settings would take half decent pics, otherwise what is the point of them being on the camera? I tried changing white balance, flash modes, set aperature and shutter priority and nothing seemed to work.(and again, I was holding the camera fairly still, the shake warning kept coming on and the IS didn't seem to work) I'm tempted to bring the S2 back to the store. It's frustrating that the outdoors pics are so nice but the indoor pics are horrible.

trilou said:

I should have been in flash
range(less than 14 ft.)

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The S2 has a flash guide number of 4.2 meters or 13.7 feet. Allow me to explain how that works.

The guide number is the distance at which the flash can provide all of the light when the camera is at ISO 100, f1.0. As you (hopefully) know, the S2 has ISO settings from 50 to 400. Also, the lens is f2.7 to f3.5. To calculate flash range, use the following formula:

sqrt(ISO/100) GN/f-stop. So for ISO 200 (the highest usable on the S2) and f2.7, the flash range is sqrt(2) 4.2/2.7 = 2.2 meters = 7.2 feet.

The S2 has a moderate speed lens not a fast lens, crummy high ISO performance, and a weak flash. That's why you had problems.

So what could you have done? You could mix flash and available light. Try Av mode, -1 EC to - 1/2 EC, ISO 200-400, with flash. That will mix exposing the ambient light 1/2 to 1 stop dark with the flash filling in the rest which will definitely give the flash extra range. If you do shoot at ISO 400, you'll probably want to run some noise reduction or the results will be terrible.

Lee Jay

Let's do that calculation with the G6 and a 580EX (GN 58m) as an external flash.

sqrt(4) 58/3.0 (at the long end) = 38.7m = 126.9 feet. Big difference, huh (S2 is about 7 feet)?

How about the 20D with 50/1.4 and 580EX? It works out to 234.4m = 768.9 feet.

Lee Jay

So...what you're saying is, the flash range sucks on the S2. Is it worth buying the slave flash? I take alot of indoor action shots of my kids(hockey)in the winter.

In this case, in the gym, I tried using ISO 100(due to the noise level above that setting) didn't change the EC and used the flash. I also tried AV set at f4.0, with flash set at flash, fluorescent and Auto...to no avail. I'll give your suggestion a try next time I'm taking indoor photos. Thanks for the advice! Trina

trilou said:

So...what you're saying is, the flash range sucks on the S2.

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Not just the S2. All of the P&S cameras have really weak built-in flashes. The S2 is just average. The fast lens and high ISO capability of the G6 helps it, but an external flash with serious power helps more.

trilou said:

Is it
worth buying the slave flash? I take alot of indoor action shots of
my kids(hockey)in the winter.

Click to expand...

You'll need tons of flash power for that. If memory serves, the HF-DC1 has a guide number of 22 meters. So, at ISO 200, that would give the S2 a range of 29 feet. Doesn't sound close enough for hockey. Most people shooting hocky use a dSLR with a f2 lens and ISO 1600. Unless you have the brightest rink on Earth, that's going to be tough with the S2.

trilou said:

In this case, in the gym, I tried using ISO 100(due to the noise
level above that setting)

Click to expand...

Should have gone higher. In order of annoyance, 1) motion blur, 2) noise, 3) image softness. Since motion blur is the worst, do what you have to to get rid of it.

trilou said:

didn't change the EC and used the flash.
I also tried AV set at f4.0, with flash set at flash,

Click to expand...

Should have gone wide open (f2.7 to f3.5 depending on zoom position).

trilou said:

fluorescent and Auto...to no avail.

Click to expand...

Auto should have been okay for WB.

Lee Jay