S100 owners: Is the S100 difficult to use?

Before I decide to buy it, can anyone recommend the best settings for someone who's in the beginner level? I used to own the SD500, so I'm basically used to simple point and shoot mode for taking pictures. The camera is currently on sale at Best Buy for $363.99. Given reports of lens error for this camera, I'd rather deal with them directly since they told me I can exchange for a brand new one within their 30-day return policy.

No, it's not difficult to use, you can generally just use AUTO or P mode.

You can get more out of the camera if you learn a few settings, but most of those are in the "the auto mode couldn't guess what you wanted to do no matter what the camera" kinds of things.

I was able to use my S100 for the first time last week at a Nascar race. I was impressed with the hi-def vidio and sound; The lug wrences were clear as a bell from over half way up in the stands, and I was able to zoom in to just one car with steady hands. Shooting in Auto and just point and shoot is mostly what I do anyway. One thing, I loaded up my photos in adobe and they were all marked jpeg even when I thought was at the highest setting. I'll have to research this in the manual as the menus are still a little hodgepodgy. If your sending photos over the net you do want jpeg. This is a great camera for the beginner enthusiest.

tenstripe said:

. . . I loaded up my photos in adobe and they were all marked jpeg even when I thought was at the highest setting. I'll have to research this . . .

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Just to clarify, that "highest setting" is the one for highest quality JPEGs, i.e., less compressed lossy image files that convey more detail/nuances but are lossy anyway. OTOH, files marked as CR2 (i.e. RAW in Canonese) are about a whole another setting (page 89 of the manual).

Thankyou, I looked at page 89 and cannot get to the same screen as in the manual, mabey I have a different Cannon S100!

Ok, I have to be in P mode. Is that even in the manual? I don't care.

tenstripe,......

In the manual, see Chapter 5, beginning on page 79.
It explains , "HOW TO USE THE VARIOUS FUNCTIONS in "P" MODE.

rhoadsV........

Using the S100 is extremely easy......You can use the camera in (1) Auto mode, ........ (2) "P" Mode ( as I do ) ....auto mode with some control or (3) more advanced Manual modes if you prefer.

As many have noted (Gail may be the best to ask) the S100 is not entirely geared towards Auto mode like some of the other PowerShots in order to achieve optimal results.

rhoadsV said:

Before I decide to buy it, can anyone recommend the best settings for someone who's in the beginner level? I used to own the SD500, so I'm basically used to simple point and shoot mode for taking pictures. The camera is currently on sale at Best Buy for $363.99. Given reports of lens error for this camera, I'd rather deal with them directly since they told me I can exchange for a brand new one within their 30-day return policy.

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Easy to use, but capable of more than just point-and-shoot.

As for the lens error problem, it's overstated. Affects a very, very small percentage of the cameras, and then mostly those from early production. Covered by warranty anyway. Ignore it.

--
Doug Collins
Hermosa Beach, California

image quality? According to some owners who reviewed the camera, JPEG won't give you the best results. If I boost the custom setttings, will pictures come out sharp and clean? Low light pictures, especially at ISO 1600 is said to be smoother than S95 but it comes at a sacrifice of losing details due to more aggressive noise reduction - can anyone corroborate this claim?

So here's my dilemma: Buy a pre-owned S95 on eBay for anywhere around $250-$290 or buy a brand new S100 locally for $363.99 at Best Buy (or Amazon, to save on tax).

If you were in my position, what would you do?

What would I do?

Stop obsessing and just buy the S100.

I've owned the S90, S95 and now the S100. (I think they're so great, I push my old ones on to family members and then get the latest for me.)

BTW, I also own a Nikon D300 with 18-200 VR lens. If it doesn't involve wildlife, I can't tell the difference in the photos.

The Canon S100 allows you to choose between 3 noise reduction levels....

low, standard ( which I use ) and high* ..... I also use the default sharpness level. You can also choose to ..(in camera)....reduce or increase sharpness level.

I couldn't find a 1600 ISO photo as I generally don't shoot over 800 ISO , but here is one of my 2000 ISO photos , shot in "standard " high ISO mode ...

I also kept my S90 for a backup camera.....

I forgot to mention,.....all my photos are JPEGs.

They show nice details and are pretty sharp. I take it there weren't a lot of post-processing done. I'm very impressed there is very little noise showing on both pictures. I think I will be buying one tomorrow from Best Buy. Amazon would save me $28.20 in sales tax but God forbid, should I ever encounter Canon's infamous E18 error, I don't think they would accept such return. Best Buy, on the other hand, told me I can swap for a new camera within the 30-day return policy (I don't think their extended warranty will cover lens error; I'm pretty sure I will have to deal with Canon. So it might not be worth spending the extra money for their extended warranty).

Regarding my obsession, yeah, I can't help it. I've been reading a lot of reviews on Canon, Best Buy, Amazon, and other websites, and for every positive comments I read, the negative ones would drive me nuts. Luckily, though, expert reviewers and happy owners on forum sites such as this one, have convinced me it's a superb camera.

Thanks everyone, and I hope to post some pictures down the road. Please try not to get too annoyed if I ask for advice on how to get better pictures with the S100.

Just held one in the hand.
Superb.
Wonderful.
Wonderful to hold.
Thumb grip at the back is great.
The RHS finger grip at the front is great too.
Elph/Ixus too small to hold in the hand; esp no thumb grip area.
S100 so slim and such a great size.
Just the right size?
Thick metal, heavy, solidly feeling body.
Controls feel great.
Front left hand control ring with teeth drive feels great.

Still must wait till RX100 out to make final decision.
Could go either way.
In some ways, S100 too close to mobile phone camera, so RX100 wins.
In other ways, S100 is a great size, while RX100 too big, such that S100 wins.
Must wait till RX released to make final decision...

I don't recall whether there was any p.p. on the two photos above; however these 3 photos are straight from camera ( S100) no post processing except down-sized for web ........All JPEG, shot in "P" mode.

Full disclosure ...... I ordered the S100 from Best Buy , end of Nov. 2011..Rec'd camera on Dec 3..... In mid March (2012) after shooting St Patrick's Day Nite, suddenly got LENS ERROR. Called Canon Customer Service next day.... excellent service ( phone answered by human on 3rd ring, rec'd instructions for sending camera to Canon Repair Center..... 7 days from date sent, the camera was returned to me , lens fixed ...... and so far, still working fine. Apprehensive at first but I do have the S90 as backup.....S90 bought Nov 09....over 25,000 photos , still working fine.

I made my S100 purchase using my Am. Ex. card, therefore getting an extra year warranty.

good luck with whatever camera purchase you make.

1. Forget the "lens error".

2. No, just shoot on Auto. It does just fine.

See, it's simple, not difficult.

Amazon has a 30-day return policy for any reason.

rhoadsV said:

Amazon would save me $28.20 in sales tax but God forbid, should I ever encounter Canon's infamous E18 error, I don't think they would accept such return.

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With Full Auto and a variety of scene modes, the S100 can be very easy to use. But it also offers sophisticated features for those who like to tweak settings.

snapshot09 said:

As many have noted (Gail may be the best to ask) the S100 is not entirely geared towards Auto mode like some of the other PowerShots in order to achieve optimal results.

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I prefer to use P Mode. It's fully automatic but I can change some camera settings if needed (eg. fill flash, Exposure Compensation, White Balance; AE/AF Exposure Lock). Adjusting a few settings, particularly in difficult lighting situations, can make a difference.

FWIW, my S100 settings are listed in my blog:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-logs/canon-s100/my-canon-s100-camera-settings/

I've tested Full Auto mode and consider it very good for the limited time I've used it. It works similar to Full Auto on my s90, which I gave to my daughter. She wouldn't want to adjust a camera setting if I paid her!

She uses Full Auto Mode exclusively and gets excellent shots in all types of lighting. Not every shot is "perfect," but, hey, that happens to even experienced photographers who fuss with settings.

As you may know, the S series camera have an Intelligent Auto mode that not only selects exposure settings but senses the scene (eg. landscape, portrait, close-up, backlit) and makes adjustments accordingly.

I have a variety a sample pictures taken with my S100 in my pbase gallery. Please note that I edit all my images:

http://www.pbase.com/gailb/canon_s100
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My S100 Galleries ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb/canon_s100
My Canon S100 Blog: http://www.digicamhelp.com/topics/camera-logs/canon-s100/