Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45101 in Camera & Photo
• Brand: Canon
• Model: C831001
• Platforms: Windows, Mac, Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP, Windows Me, Mac OS 9 and below, Windows NT, Mac OS X, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT 3.5, Windows NT 4, Windows NT 5, PowerMac
• Dimensions: 2.20" h x 3.40" w x 1.10" l, .46 pounds
• Memory: 8MB
• Display size: 1.5

Features

• 2.1 megapixel sensor captures enough detail to create photo-quality 8 x 10 prints
• 2x optical plus 4x digital zoom lens with autofocus
• Included 8 MB CompactFlash card holds 12 images at default resolution
• Connects with Macs and PCs via USB port
• Rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery included

Amazon.com Product Description
Canon's latest crowning achievement, the PowerShot S100, packs a high-quality digital camera into the tiny, elegant body of Canon's Digital Elph series. With this item, Canon becomes the first to produce such a small digital camera with high resolution. The super-popular Elph APS cameras were favored because users could slip them into shirt pockets and take them anywhere. Now the digital camera has truly come of age with this ultraportable model.

The PowerShot S100 uses the same durable stainless-steel case as the traditional Elph series cameras. It offers 2-megapixel resolution for high-quality photos and prints up to 8 by 10 inches. Canon provides the PowerShot S100 with a high-resolution, low-distortion, all-glass aspherical 2x zoom lens (and a 4x digital zoom as well). The 1.5-inch LCD monitor displays most camera settings with easy-to-understand icons and minimal text. The PowerShot S100 features a 0.37-inch CCD that creates full color or black-and-white images up to 1,600 x 1,200 pixels (it also offers a 640 x 480 pixel image size). The built-in flash uses a light guide and does not need a fresnel lens or a large reflector, making the camera even more compact.

The PowerShot S100 stores images on an 8 MB CompactFlash card. Adobe PhotoDeluxe and PhotoStitch control image management, editing, compositing, and printing, while ZoomBrowser EX or ImageBrowser produce self-running screen slide shows, automatic e-mail preparation, and auto layout. The camera uses a high-speed plug-and-play USB interface, plus it has NTSC-out so you can view your photos on your TV. It's fully compatible with both Mac and PC platforms.

Customer Reviews

Fantastic little camera - but needs a couple of accessories
This is the camera that I've been waiting 18 months for - decent price, small but well built, high resolution and great quality. After a week of ownership, overall I'm delighted with the product. However, it was poor of Canon not to include a pouch for the camera - no more than a $1 cost to them but essential in protecting the camera from an occasional knock, IMO. Also missing is an AC adapter to power the camera - the included battery charger requires that the battery be removed from the camera, meaning that I can't be charging the battery while transferring images to the pc

Note: If you are planning on buying this camera (or any other digital camera), be aware that you will need to buy a high-capacity compact flash card. If you go on a vacation and plan on taking more than 15 pics or so before you get back to your computer, then the stock 8mb card included with the camera won't cut it. I got a 64mb card (About $120) which should do nicely.
Also note: The battery only lasts about a day of moderate camera usage - you might want to consider buying a second battery if you plan on taking a lot of snaps.

What a great camera, with only minor flaws
I saw this camera in a showcase at the Wiz, and was impressed with how small it was compared to the competition. Given that I have an infant crawling around my house now, I found that I wanted to take instant pictures more and more, rather than taking 35mm and then sending them off for development. I have a Canon Rebel-G, which I love, but is a bulky SLR and I found that I didn't just carry it around. A digital camera was exactly what I had been looking for.

Now I take this little camera everywhere I go. For an ameteur, this camera is all you will ever need. I use the medium quality (1600 x 1200 compressed) and the pictures are outstanding, especially for email and digital processing. I haven't even tried taking pictures in high resolution (1600 x 1200 uncompressed), the quality is so good. Friends and family are blown away at the clarity.The limitation on the quality would be the printer, which now I think maybe its time to buy a photo printer with higher resolution.

Disadvantages:

1) The flash card that comes with the camera is too small. A second 8MB or one 16MB would be better. That gives you an equivalent roll of film (20 shots or so on medium resolution). I need to buy one.

2) The battery supplied with the camera does not last long enough, especially with the LCD display enabled. A second battery is a must, especially if you want to take the camera with you, and you don't want to lug the charger. Fortunately, the battery is recharged within an hour.

3) The camera gets surprisingly warm during extended use (a small nuisance).

4) Switching to digital zoom mode feels like it takes too long, and the camera does not stay in digital zoom mode when switching between reviewing pictures and taking pictures.

5) Red-eye reduction really doesn't help at all.

6) I wish a power adaptor to run the camera was standard. It needs to be bought seperately.

7) A camera case should come with the camera and doesn't. I highly recommend one be bought with the camera as the elegant stainless steel finish is likely to become scratched when carried about without a case. (I'm a bit fanatical about my electronics when I like them).

8) When flipping through pictures previously taken, the camera closes its lens. Not only is this a waste of battery life, it is annoying to wait for the lens to reopen for new shots.

Advantages:

1) Small size is fantastic! You can take it everywhere.

2) Powerful flash. Brightens images even 10 feet away.

3) Super-clear image quality. It feels like you can reach into the picture when you see it on the screen.

4) Awesome software. The camera comes with a USB cable, and when it is plugged in, the computer wakes up and downloads the images. The software is very easy to use, and highly intuitive. It makes digital editing a pleasure. A great feature.

5) Viewfinder or LCD display are both available for use, and the LCD can be disabled to save battery life. Very nice.

6) Optical and digital zooms work very well (though a bit slow). Image centering seems perfect in viewfinder.

7) Image processing is quick. You can snap a picture every two seconds without waiting for the image to process.

8) The lens is protected when not in use, and is self-stored.

Overall, I am thrilled with this camera, given the misgivings of many others. Canon is a trusted name in photography, and I highly recommend this unit.

A Terrific, Compact easy to use Digital camera
I purchased this camera recently to replace my Sony Mavica digital camera and to use alongside my Canon EOS 300 SLR camera.

My initial concerns that the camera would not be compatible with my Pentium III 800 running Windows Millenium Edition were unfounded. I had downloaded the appropriate driver from the canon.com.au website and installed this, rather than the driver was on the Canon CD that came along with the camera. There had been mention only of compatibility with W98 and W2K, so I was relieved to find the WME driver available.

Setup was quick and without a hassle. I was able to operate camera, and transfer pictures without having to open the manual at all.

This camera is very much an improvement over my previous digital camera. With super fast transfer of pictures by USB, its ultra compact shape and size, retractable lens system, and its 3-point autofocus system, the Canon Ixus has produced numerous images that I will keep.

I have found the ZoomBrowser software to be very easy to use, although other reviewers have mentioned their dislike of this particular application. The PC will automatically detect the camera when you switch it on and plug the USB cable in, and will launch the ZoomBrowser for you. You can even transfer pictures from the PC to the camera which comes in handy when you want to bring your CF card to a photo developer to produce prints for selected photos.

I bought an extra rechargeable battery to go with it and it turned out to be a good decision. I added a 64 MB Compact flash to the 8 MB one that came with it, as well. The 64 MB card will store 107 1600 X 1200 pictures or over 360 640x480 pictures.

Overall this camera gets 5 stars from me. It is a true pocket-sized camera with its light weight portability being a major plus!