Canon intros Powershot S2 IS digicam

Canon is rolling out a successor to their Powershot S1 IS. The S2 IS is a 5 megapixel unit with 12x optical zoom, 1.8-inch vari-angle LCD, DIGIC II image processor, USB 2.0 interface, PictBridge support and its namesake Image Stablization feature. Like its predecessor, it sports a bunch of camcorder features for shooting video at 30 or 15 fps at 640 x 480 with stereo sound.

[Alexandre Ludolf @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

seems sweet, but it doesen�t say nothing about the lens. the FZ-20 with F2.8 lens are awesome

[iZeitgeist @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Konica Minolta Dimage Z5 ROCKS!

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/konicaminoltaz5/page2.asp

[UFG @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

It says right on the lens there. It's an f2.7-3.5 lens. And nothing beats the Panasonic FZ series. Image quality blows away the long zoom Konica Minoltas.

[cuby @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

FZ is also more expensive, and on the whole much more bulky and heavy.

S1 is a camera whose versatility really makes it feel like more than the sum of its features. I ditched mine though, primarily because I had no confidence in the build quality; a lot of the buttons and rockers were -- by design, mind you -- loose and creaky. The images were also fairly noisy, and if Canon have not addressed these well-known issues, I can't imagine being tempted by this replacement.

[Jason @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Build quality of any digital camera seems like a non-issue to me. I never see throngs of people having to take their cameras in for repair, and besides, these things are only going to last three or four years anyway at which time a) they are close to worthless and b) we'll want a newer camera anyway. As for this new Canon, I wonder why they didn't make it 7 or 8 megapixel instead of 5? It makes little difference to me but it certainly leaves a lot of room for the competition (namely the Panasonic line) to remain popular. People go for them megapixels. One thing I like about these Canons is their flip-out screen, which no other megazoom digicam offers. I wonder how the focus speed compares to the DMC-FZ5 though, which is supposed to be much faster than the competition (even the DMC-FZ20).

[Jason @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Oh and cuby, the DMC-FZ5 is probably the smallest 12x megazoom digicam you can buy, and I'm pretty sure the price is only about $50 more than the Minolta Z5. You were probably referring to the DMC-FZ20.

[cuby @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Build quality is important if only because it makes you feel good using the camera. Even if a digital camera lasts only 3 years, you don't want to feel like you're working with a piece of crap that whole time. Especially not if you just spent 400 dollars on it.

I had more fun taking shots with my roommate's dinky little SD110 than the S1, because the SD felt like a solid little brick of metal, rather than the S1, which felt like a plastic mish-mash of fragile gears and motors. You're right of course, it wasn't about to break or anything, and I got some unforgetable shots that I couldn't have gotten with a non-insano-zoom, non-image-stabilized camera. But the user experience does count for something. That's why car companies spend millions developing the perfect *thud* for their car doors.

[cuby @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

yes, i was remembering the fz20. that thing was an anvil.

[PixelBrat @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Arg!! Why won't they put an external flash mount on this camera? C'mon Canon! Guess I'll be sticking with my FZ20.

[RRF @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

no wider zoom, no thanks.

[Galley @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

The S1 IS was on my wishlist, but then I saw the FZ20, and I knew that was the one!

[ajay @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

i would hv gone for the pana FZ if only it has VGA movie mode & AA bat. as it is now it's either minolta Z5 or canon S2 (which i can't wait for the review). hopefully they come out with black body as well..

[MAReK @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

Zoom should be wider! Then I would buy it.

[Mihael @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM]

I have this camera. My impression are very positive.

http://www.velikanagrada.com