Well, after almost an year, what can I say more about this little great camera ? Now I own a Nikon D200 but always carry with me the S80...just in case. The only thing I really miss, is the RAW capability. Despite this flaw, this is a fantastic camera. And it even has an intervalometer....
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Everyone has its own "loved brands" in terms of cameras. Mine were and still are, Nikon ,Minolta and Olympus on the 35mm SLR film cameras, and Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Pentax and Sony on the digitals. I have started my photographic life 33 years ago and still have my BW laboratory at home and still develop also my own colour transparencys and the transition from film to digital was the natural trend I had to adapt myself to.
So it was an hard decision to make, as I wanted a "compact" ( the S80 it´s compact but not so pocketable ), to carry anywhere, delivering quality pictures, on par with my other SLR film cameras (only Nikons F2 and F ) and the two other digital cameras (Sony's DSC S-85 and DSC F717 ) I own.After too many reviews I read, not only here at DPReview and after having the "contenders" in my hand, - not too many, as the S80 is on a league of its own - the Canon was the chosed one.
No doubt that at Canon,they do know what they are doing (sometimes...) and the S80 it is a really good "quality"companion, for the other cameras.Points of decision to buy it: the 28mm wide angle ( OK image sometimes is not the desired and expected one but I already knew that ), the absolute manual control that I can have over it (old photography school...) and least but not last, an optical viewfinder - it is very hard for me to compose correctly without a viewfinder,even a very small one as the one the camera has.
And with these characteristics and overall impressive quality,I think the S80 is "alone" on the market. As an assumed Nikonist and Sonyist ( no problems with either brands in anyway,just the opposite ) it was hard for me to buy a Canon...but, racionally, this was the best compact camera I could buy, for the purposes I wanted. A bit expensive but it oozes quality in almost every field. And to be honest,the resulting pictures do have to do not only with the camera capabilities and lens quality, but also with the experience of the photographer, but even so, even my youngest son can take amazing shots, on fully auto mode, with the little S80. The only glitch it has - and I do not understand it - it is the absence of RAW support, that the S70 has.Why, Canon? Hope to have it on a future firmware...if possible.
However and despite this lack, image quality is excellent,although one has to be carefull when having strong light in front of that beautiful lens. But, even in such conditions, I have had great surprises at 28 mm, with no flare,when I expected some. Colours are very natural and detail is very good. Image sharpness is good, - on the soft side - although in some shots I have to post-process this parameter.Nothing to worry about, really. At 28 mm vigneting is noticeable, as well as a little deformation, very common ,but easily corrected on post processing - in my case with PT lens software and only when desirable. I do a lot of night photography and I've made a photo session, together with my Sony F717,just to compare results. And although both cameras behaved quite well, I think that Canon has a more natural aproach regarding tonal balance. Noise is well controlled in both cameras - nevertheless, I allways shoot at the lower iso settings - and detail is quite good on the Canon, despite I think and feel that overall detail - specially on shadows - is better with the Sony, even with a difference of 3 megapixels in resolution.Probably I am wrong and I will do further testings just to clear up my mind on this subject.
Flash performance is amazing - much better than the one with the Sony, that even at the lowest output,delivers overexposed photos ( the DSC S85 is much better in this particular field). As said, Canon flash is the best I have worked with so far on digitals, . Perfectly exposed - if a bit under exposed sometimes but as said by DP reviewer, I also prefer a bit underexposed than overexposed - tonality is great and amazingly...little red eyes whatsoever ( and with redeyes reduction mode turned off...). Besides, we have the possibility to adjust flash output. Great.
The functions this camera offers are excellent,either for the amateur or for the more advanced photographer and we can extract from this beauty, a lot, if we know how and do not forget , never , that we are in the presence of a "compact" camera, that offers a lot for its size. And the result is that I keep the S80 always with me and in terms of functions and performance, it is quite a great companion. Let's say that it is a "super-compact".
Handling the camera, is a matter of habit. It feels very solid - it is indeed solid, well builted ,assembled and...a bit heavy for its size,but it is the prIce of quality. Never had problems with the lens cover or batery compartment door being accidentaly opened,never had problems with the main dial being accidentaly rotated, as said,it is a matter of getting used to it. I agree that the LCD should have a plastic cover but for the time being,no scratches,no dead pixels, nothing. We must be careful...as the little S80 deserves it and rewards us with great pictures. Composing with the viewfinder is a must for me, - asking for more info on the viewfinder would be to ask for too many things - although the real image is a bit bigger and with more angle than the one we are viewing in the viewfinder.Question of habit and of keeping in control the amount of "image data" we have , through the LCD. But I hate LCD's for composing.
Believe me that I was no fan of Canon - the old and common rivalry between Nikon owners, over Canon - but I am starting to be, as I am really impressed. I intend to buy me a DSLR in the near future ( just waiting to see what Sony is going to do with the acquisition of Konica/Minolta ) and if Canon was already in the priority list,along with Nikon - my good old brand - now it will be another hard decision to make, as both brands - and probably Olympus and Sony on the new DSLR ( I hope Sony will make a revamp of the excelent Minolta Maxxum 7D, (a real photographic tool,much similar in handling and control to the good and old school of film SLR's ) as if they do, it will be a strong contender ) - have excellent products.
In the company of the S80, I do not have any more excuses to miss "that picture",because I left the camera at home. It packs easily on a pocket, - let's say on a shirts pocket or baggy pants pocket.
The S80 it's a a quality companion. And this is what this is all about: Quality.
And the little S80 delivers it
Expensive? Yes, no doubt it is expensive, - although we get what we pay for :Quality. And yes, this is evident at the moment we take it out of the box from the first time: a sense o quality, robustness, a sense of "well made".
Expensive, of course it is. If we take into consideration that for more 290 euros, I could buy me ,for instance an Olympus E500 DSLR with the two "pack" lenses or even for more 150 euros, the Konica-Minolta Dynax 5 DSLR, the S80 it is really expensive. However and despite I liike these two brands of DSLR's, the two models mentioned above are not the ones I am shopping for a DSLR in the future,although the Olympus is a great value . I am seeking more on the level of the Nikon D200 or Canon EOS 30D ( a good newcomer,with SPOT metering, at last, as I did not undesrtood the lack of it on the EOS 20D, which automatically have put the 20D out of my priority list ) or 5D ( the Nikon D2X and canon EOS1 MKII are far out from my budget,but who knows???).
And what I needed for the moment, was a pocktable compact camera, not a DSLR. And I am surely pleased with this little Canon
Problems:
Pay attention to the lens sliding lid. If you put the camera inside a pouch and if it opens by hazard, you'll get serious problems with the lens, as it will be blocked and you have to send the whole thing to repair. I am a very cautious guy but ...it happened to me. A spare battery is a must. Last shooting session I just forgot to carry it and I have regret it, as I was used to the InfoLithium of Sony´s,where we know exactly where we stand in terms of battery life, but not with Canon, despite the average good life the battery offers.
A carrying case is also a must have. If this can help others, the Rezo 40 from LowePro , is a tight fit for the S80 and you can add a spare battery to the pack.
----------------------------
Everyone has its own "loved brands" in terms of cameras. Mine were and still are, Nikon ,Minolta and Olympus on the 35mm SLR film cameras, and Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Pentax and Sony on the digitals. I have started my photographic life 33 years ago and still have my BW laboratory at home and still develop also my own colour transparencys and the transition from film to digital was the natural trend I had to adapt myself to.
So it was an hard decision to make, as I wanted a "compact" ( the S80 it´s compact but not so pocketable ), to carry anywhere, delivering quality pictures, on par with my other SLR film cameras (only Nikons F2 and F ) and the two other digital cameras (Sony's DSC S-85 and DSC F717 ) I own.After too many reviews I read, not only here at DPReview and after having the "contenders" in my hand, - not too many, as the S80 is on a league of its own - the Canon was the chosed one.
No doubt that at Canon,they do know what they are doing (sometimes...) and the S80 it is a really good "quality"companion, for the other cameras.Points of decision to buy it: the 28mm wide angle ( OK image sometimes is not the desired and expected one but I already knew that ), the absolute manual control that I can have over it (old photography school...) and least but not last, an optical viewfinder - it is very hard for me to compose correctly without a viewfinder,even a very small one as the one the camera has.
And with these characteristics and overall impressive quality,I think the S80 is "alone" on the market. As an assumed Nikonist and Sonyist ( no problems with either brands in anyway,just the opposite ) it was hard for me to buy a Canon...but, racionally, this was the best compact camera I could buy, for the purposes I wanted. A bit expensive but it oozes quality in almost every field. And to be honest,the resulting pictures do have to do not only with the camera capabilities and lens quality, but also with the experience of the photographer, but even so, even my youngest son can take amazing shots, on fully auto mode, with the little S80. The only glitch it has - and I do not understand it - it is the absence of RAW support, that the S70 has.Why, Canon? Hope to have it on a future firmware...if possible.
However and despite this lack, image quality is excellent,although one has to be carefull when having strong light in front of that beautiful lens. But, even in such conditions, I have had great surprises at 28 mm, with no flare,when I expected some. Colours are very natural and detail is very good. Image sharpness is good, - on the soft side - although in some shots I have to post-process this parameter.Nothing to worry about, really. At 28 mm vigneting is noticeable, as well as a little deformation, very common ,but easily corrected on post processing - in my case with PT lens software and only when desirable. I do a lot of night photography and I've made a photo session, together with my Sony F717,just to compare results. And although both cameras behaved quite well, I think that Canon has a more natural aproach regarding tonal balance. Noise is well controlled in both cameras - nevertheless, I allways shoot at the lower iso settings - and detail is quite good on the Canon, despite I think and feel that overall detail - specially on shadows - is better with the Sony, even with a difference of 3 megapixels in resolution.Probably I am wrong and I will do further testings just to clear up my mind on this subject.
Flash performance is amazing - much better than the one with the Sony, that even at the lowest output,delivers overexposed photos ( the DSC S85 is much better in this particular field). As said, Canon flash is the best I have worked with so far on digitals, . Perfectly exposed - if a bit under exposed sometimes but as said by DP reviewer, I also prefer a bit underexposed than overexposed - tonality is great and amazingly...little red eyes whatsoever ( and with redeyes reduction mode turned off...). Besides, we have the possibility to adjust flash output. Great.
The functions this camera offers are excellent,either for the amateur or for the more advanced photographer and we can extract from this beauty, a lot, if we know how and do not forget , never , that we are in the presence of a "compact" camera, that offers a lot for its size. And the result is that I keep the S80 always with me and in terms of functions and performance, it is quite a great companion. Let's say that it is a "super-compact".
Handling the camera, is a matter of habit. It feels very solid - it is indeed solid, well builted ,assembled and...a bit heavy for its size,but it is the prIce of quality. Never had problems with the lens cover or batery compartment door being accidentaly opened,never had problems with the main dial being accidentaly rotated, as said,it is a matter of getting used to it. I agree that the LCD should have a plastic cover but for the time being,no scratches,no dead pixels, nothing. We must be careful...as the little S80 deserves it and rewards us with great pictures. Composing with the viewfinder is a must for me, - asking for more info on the viewfinder would be to ask for too many things - although the real image is a bit bigger and with more angle than the one we are viewing in the viewfinder.Question of habit and of keeping in control the amount of "image data" we have , through the LCD. But I hate LCD's for composing.
Believe me that I was no fan of Canon - the old and common rivalry between Nikon owners, over Canon - but I am starting to be, as I am really impressed. I intend to buy me a DSLR in the near future ( just waiting to see what Sony is going to do with the acquisition of Konica/Minolta ) and if Canon was already in the priority list,along with Nikon - my good old brand - now it will be another hard decision to make, as both brands - and probably Olympus and Sony on the new DSLR ( I hope Sony will make a revamp of the excelent Minolta Maxxum 7D, (a real photographic tool,much similar in handling and control to the good and old school of film SLR's ) as if they do, it will be a strong contender ) - have excellent products.
In the company of the S80, I do not have any more excuses to miss "that picture",because I left the camera at home. It packs easily on a pocket, - let's say on a shirts pocket or baggy pants pocket.
The S80 it's a a quality companion. And this is what this is all about: Quality.
And the little S80 delivers it
Expensive? Yes, no doubt it is expensive, - although we get what we pay for :Quality. And yes, this is evident at the moment we take it out of the box from the first time: a sense o quality, robustness, a sense of "well made".
Expensive, of course it is. If we take into consideration that for more 290 euros, I could buy me ,for instance an Olympus E500 DSLR with the two "pack" lenses or even for more 150 euros, the Konica-Minolta Dynax 5 DSLR, the S80 it is really expensive. However and despite I liike these two brands of DSLR's, the two models mentioned above are not the ones I am shopping for a DSLR in the future,although the Olympus is a great value . I am seeking more on the level of the Nikon D200 or Canon EOS 30D ( a good newcomer,with SPOT metering, at last, as I did not undesrtood the lack of it on the EOS 20D, which automatically have put the 20D out of my priority list ) or 5D ( the Nikon D2X and canon EOS1 MKII are far out from my budget,but who knows???).
And what I needed for the moment, was a pocktable compact camera, not a DSLR. And I am surely pleased with this little Canon
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Problems:
Pay attention to the lens sliding lid. If you put the camera inside a pouch and if it opens by hazard, you'll get serious problems with the lens, as it will be blocked and you have to send the whole thing to repair. I am a very cautious guy but ...it happened to me. A spare battery is a must. Last shooting session I just forgot to carry it and I have regret it, as I was used to the InfoLithium of Sony´s,where we know exactly where we stand in terms of battery life, but not with Canon, despite the average good life the battery offers.
A carrying case is also a must have. If this can help others, the Rezo 40 from LowePro , is a tight fit for the S80 and you can add a spare battery to the pack.