Canon PowerShot S230 3.2 MP Digital ELPH Camera with 2x Optical Zoom and Coach Camera Case

Likes:
- It's truly small; very easy to carry in pocket, coat, briefcase or purse.
- Durable steel case
- Very easy to use
- Very good image quality.
- I am very happy with battery life. I do not agree w/folks challenging battery life on this -- I've used it liberally for a whole day of wandering around on vacation, taking photos, looking at images...more than 60 photos in a day. I have bought extra batteries for my other cameras but really haven't felt the need for this. (For me, having a big memory card and extra batteries makes a digital camera much more convenient for heavy picture taking dealing with a film camera and extra film).

Dislikes:
- Lots of red eye in indoor flash situations
- Some difficulty w/autofocus in low-light situations
- Relatively limited zoom (however, I don't think moving to the 330 with the 3x zoom is worth the tradeoff in size).

Recommendations:
- Buy a case. You'll want to carry this everywhere and a little case protects it from scratches and impacts.
- Buy at least 128MB memory card (256 even better if you don't want to worry about using up memory on a longer trip)
- Having experimented w/lots of digital photo editing software, I like using ofoto.com's software to pull photos off the camera, quickly look at snaps and upload photos online to share. It's very easy for the basics (crop a snapshot, zap out the redeye, upload some photos for sharing or printing 4 * 6's). For more serious editing, I use Adobe Photoshop Elements 2. The Ofoto.com software is free for the downloading off Ofoto's website; the Elements 2 software is reasonable if you take lots of photos and want to learn how to get the most from your photos. I find that Canon's software is too cumbersome for simple tasks and not flexible enough for heavier duty; Ofoto and Elements make a nice combination for me.
- If you're really just using this for casual snapshots, consider the Canon s200 for a significant savings. If you aren't going to blow up your photos the S200 would be fine for most simple shots. The 230 is great but may be overkill if you just want a fun, portable camera.


Excellent camera!   November 3, 2003
144 out of 147 found this review helpful

I have owned this camera for about six months now. I have taken over 2000 pictures with it, and very few have turned out bad. The detail this camera picks up is amazing! I am able to zoom in on objects in the photo and still have good detail. The 2x optical zoom is very disappointing and has been a limiting factor for some very nice shots while hiking. I have yet to use the included 16MB CF card. I ordered a 512MB CF card the same day I ordered my s230. At maximum resolution, and maximum quality, it takes over 300 shots! At maximum resolution, and standard quality, it will take 550 shots! (~15 rolls of 36 exposure film!) I have yet to find this to be a problem. A 256MB CF card is really all you need for this camera. A second battery would also be a good idea. You can expect about 100 shots from the battery with the flash and LCD on, along with constantly going to the ypicture viewery mode to show everyone the pictures.
The one major drawback that I have not seen mentioned is the mode selector switch. Its on the top-back edge. About 25% of the time when I pull the camera out of my pocket, the switch catches just enough to move from picture mode, to video mode. Then I take a nice video instead of a picture. This issue has been addressed with the s400.
I have also seen some complaints about the offset tripod mount and the picture button being on the other end so it shakes when you take pictures on the tripod. You can set the camera timer for two seconds of ten seconds. Set it up for two. Then you push the button, step back, and it takes a perfectly clear shot!
I have used many Canon digital cameras; they are a very good choice! Very solid, (I take mine mountain biking every weekend) and it takes great pictures.
The 100-240 volt charger works nicely too! Took it to china for a week, and had no trouble at all.


Great Camera and Reasonably Priced   November 20, 2003
IronCan (Cincinnati, OH United States)
66 out of 66 found this review helpful

I just got my Canon s230 from amazon for a real low price. Anyway, I must say I am very pleased with this little camera. Here is Why:
1)Small yet durable. Well constructed metal body
2)Made in Japan (well know for high quality in electronics)
3)Takes video at 640x320 (with sound), very sharp video you just have to see to believe (highest resolution around, better than even higher end cameras like nikons and s50 and s400)
4)Softwares as well as camera menus and controls are easy to understand even for beginners. Instruction manuals are well written as well.
5)High resolution LCD screen so you can see your pictures crystal clear (unlike competitions such as Casio and Minolta which have very low quality LCDs)
6)9 point AIAF is great technology that allows for nine focus points, and the flexizone even lets you choose which zone you want to focus out of nine, so you don't have to worry about leaving out a part of a beautiful tree or roof of a house just because you want to focus on your friends and family members when taking picture.
7)Professional and Efficient customer's service. If you have a question go to canon website to search for answer. You can also ask them a question and they get back to you within 24 hours (I was surprised).

My Thoughts about Some Complaints Others May Have:
1)2x optical zoom: this is a mini point and shoot camera and most of the time you can just stand closer to your subject if you need a closeup. I mean, I also have a canon s30 which is 3x, but I personally could not justify much advantage with a single x higher. (if you want to see a real difference pickup a 5x-8x optical zoom camera and you will understand my point, but be ready to pay an extra 200+ dollars)
2)Red Eye: Small camera means close proximity of flash to shutter = red eye. What do you expect? Plus this only happens at night, and can easily be corrected with software provided.
3)Technology: which other camera gives you 9 point focus? (not to mention Flexizone). which other brand give you 640x320 video? How often do you actually want video clip longer than 30 seconds? (if you need longer, if would be great idea to buy a camcorder, cause 512mb flash is only going to give you 8min at max)
4)Proprietary Battery: I challenge anyone out there to fit 2AA battery in this thing. There is no way.

One misconception I see alot in reviews is that people don't see the overall funtionality and quality of a product base on camera class. You can't expect this thing to perform like a huge camera, at least not in today's technology.
1) Just because a camera has the same 3 megapixel doesn't mean their picture quality are the same ... Some camera over compress the file so it looks a little grainy at full size, which for me is annoying.

Finally, I read numerous reviews and saw various cameras before I finally decided on my s30 and now s230 (my second canon baby brother). I catergorized digital cameras in general based on overall feature and performance with 1 being the finest and 5 being the most basic as follows: (Note Canon and Nikon are tie at first place)
1) Canon (sharpest,most color accurate pictures)
1) Nikon (sharp, outstanding macro capability)
3) Sony (great laser and lens, picture quality can be better)
4) Olympus (AA battery and good picture, high optical too)
5) Minolta,Casio,Fuji,Kodak (these you have to enlarge their sample photos to see what I am talking about, and understand why they are in the last place)
Don't just take my word. I encourage you to read more professional reviews. Just thought my research can help give you some insight.
Wish you all get to own a great camera for keeping precious memories of life!


Still five stars   January 26, 2003
S. Gould (Woodmere, NY United States)
49 out of 49 found this review helpful

There are some faults with the Canon S230 but they don't diminish the overall quality of this little camera. I previously reviewed this in December when I first purchased it and still rate it as five stars, but I will comment on some disadvantages now.

First is the red eye that appears on indoor, flash photos. This is true of most small digital cameras that I have used. The problem is the location of the flash close to the lens- unavoidable if you want small size. I've mitigated this by putting translucent tape or paper over the flash to lessen its impact or taking pictures without flash if possible.

The next problem is the battery. It works great and stays charged through many photos, videos and reviews of my pictures. It does not let me know when it is about to run out of power. As soon as the indicator for a low battery comes on the camera dies. This does not allow much time for changing batteries in the midst of an important event. My suggestion is to have an extra battery and to always use a newly charged battery for important events.

Now for some great features; I dropped this camera twice onto hard cement and the metal casing and components survived unscathed. I take this camera with me to sports events, skiing and hiking. The humidity of our school pool at swim meets has posed no problem. Its nice to know that it can stand up to even my carelessness.

The video clips are great. At an event I simply video each part individually. Three minutes is long enough for each race in a swim meet- even the relays (Okay, not the 500 free, but my arm would tire from that one anyway). I taped my son's All County orchestra concert- each piece was about three minutes- and even the sound was pretty good. I use a 128 MB card and can get at least a few events on each card. The 256 MB can do more.

So far I'm still very happy with this camera.


BEST "SMALL CAMERA" EVER.   November 16, 2002
46 out of 47 found this review helpful

My GOD. This is the best I've ever owned.

Goods:
1) The smallest camera/performance you can get. Period.
2) Camera is beautifully designed.
3) Software is not that bad.
4) Works with XP without software.
5) LCD screen is clear and useful.
6) Time between pictures is unimaginably short.
7) CF cards are cheap cheap cheap.
8) Fits in any pocket.

The Bad:
1) Battery is "so-so"
2) My nose keeps smudging the LCD screen!
3) I'm getting blurry pictures sometimes. (From lack of experience?)
4) Only 16MB CF Card