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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Canon Digital Elph S400: Small, Sexy, Beautiful
Product Category: Digital camera
Manufacturer: Canon
Where to Buy: Amazon [Affiliate]
Price: $364.94 USD
Specifications: 4.0 mega pixel sensor, 3x optical zoom, stainless steel shell, Compact Flash Type I card, 1.5 inch LCD screen, re-chargeable lithium-ion battery pack.
Pros:- Pocketable design;
- High-quality, crisp images, particularly good in well-lit situations;
- Sturdy, attractive design;
- Excellent battery life.
Cons:- Not as thin and light as some other competing cameras;
- Weak software bundle;
- Included memory card is tiny.
Summary:
As a mobility enthusiast, I�m constantly searching for tools that allow me to be as productive as possible while remaining as mobile as possible. In terms of hardware, this means devices that are as small as possible while still delivering top-notch quality. That�s not always as easy as it sounds, because there are inherent trade-offs when you shrink something down. The S400, however, manages this balance well.
Read on for the full review!
First Impressions
Canon�s packaged presentation of the S400 is adequate, though not extravagant. The packaging is attractive and small, with little wasted space. The retail package includes the S400, a battery, an excellent self-contained battery re-charger, a cable to connect the camera to the PC, a cable to connect the camera to an RCA video source (for showing slide shows on a TV set), and a meager 32 MB memory card. The software bundle includes several programs, detailed below. There is no included carrying case, but a small wrist-strap instead.
The S400 itself is impressive to look at � the all-metal casing feels very sturdy to hold, and it looks like it can take a beating. The metal casing is made of stainless steel shell, and unlike previous S-series generations, the body of the S400 doesn�t show fingerprints and smudges. As an S110 owner, this is something I can appreciate a great deal.
A Word About Memory Cards
If you�ve ever purchased a digital camera before, you�ll know the truth in this statement: if you don�t purchase an extra, larger, memory card with your camera initially, soon after you will. The reality is that the memory cards included with most digital cameras today are sufficient for perhaps one or two dozen photos at maximum quality (if you�re lucky). And what�s the point of a digital camera that can only shoot as much as a regular roll of film?
Specifications and Photo Geek Details
I�m not a professional photographer, nor am I a professional camera reviewer, so this review will focus more on anecdotal evidence and my experiences using the camera. If you�re interested in reading the single most comprehensive review of this camera that I�ve ever seen, please read the review at DPReview.
From a specifications point of view, the S400 is impressive. The CCD image sensor gives 4.0 mega pixel images, resulting in images 2272 x 1704 pixels in dimension and roughly 1.5 to 2.0 MB in size. The S400 boasts Canon�s new DiGIC sensor, which is supposed to have improved colour contrast, cleaner images with less noise, and promote longer battery life. Claims like this are difficult, if not impossible to prove, of course, so we�ll just have to take Canon�s word for it.
Figure 1: The Canon S400.
The lens has a 3x optical zoom, which is very impressive considering the size of this camera. The Canon G2 has the same level of zoom, but it�s much larger, so this underscores Canon�s strong engineering on the S400. Memory card storage is accomplished through a CompactFlash slot capable of accepting Type I or Type II CF cards, up to and including Microdrives. I�m unsure of how the Canon S400 would deal with cards over 2 GB in size, but since I don�t have one yet, it�s not a concern. ;-) Although there are smaller models out now from Canon, they�re based on accepting SD cards, not on CF.
I have 2 GB worth of CF cards (1 GB x 1, 512 MB x 2) dedicated to use with my cameras, so buying a camera that used CF memory was a requirement. As the costs of SD memory come down, I�m sure I�ll gradually transition over to that form-factor, but for now CF support is a must. As a Pocket PC user I�m somewhat frustrated that a killer device like the iPAQ 4150 is SD-only, so I might be making the transition to SD sooner than I�d like.
In the Beginning, There Was Bulk
My first digital camera was a Kodak DC265, and while it was a thrill to go fully digital, the size was an impediment. While I was on the Microsoft Mobile Experience Tour, traveling across the USA, I had that DC265 in tow. On the first half of the tour, which consisted of five different cities, I took perhaps 50 photos in total. Why? The camera was enormous! The size of the camera made it a hassle to carry around, which in turn resulted in less photos being taken. Halfway through the tour, I ordered a Canon Powershot S110 Digital Elph, and I took over 1500 photos within weeks. The difference? Size. The S110 slipped easily into my pocket, which allowed me to carry it everywhere. Size is undeniably a key factor in mobility and usability.
The S400 is nearly the same size as the S110, which gives it the same advantages as its predecessor. I find that I can easily slip the camera in my jeans pocket and carry it with me anywhere. Are there smaller cameras? Certainly � the Pentax Optio is nearly 50% thinner, and Canon�s own line of SD-based designs are both thinner and lighter. However, the combination of 4.0 mega pixels, 3x optical zoom, and CF memory support is difficult to find in those smaller cameras.
Sample Photos
Since I previously owned a Canon S110, it seemed like a natural point of comparison. The S100 and S110 were tremendously popular cameras, so the S400 will likely be under consideration by S100 and S110 owners looking to upgrade. The funny thing is after I set up several comparison shots, I had a very difficult time telling the difference between the photos taken by each camera. Take a look at the two photos below � you can click on each one to load the full-sized version. The images are untouched other than the resizing and JPEG saving on the images below (the full-sized images are completely untouched).
Figure 2: The Canon S400 photo. Click the image above for the original, full-resolution photo.
Figure 3: The Canon S110 photo. Click the image above for the original, full-resolution photo.
Can you tell the difference? Beyond the obvious jump in resolution, the images look identical to the naked eye. Even when I zoomed in and compared various parts of the car and background in each image captured, I couldn�t find any difference in the way the colours were captured, the overall tones in the image, or any difference in image noise. I�m sure a more detailed analysis and variety in shots (especially low-light photos) would expose the difference between the two sensors, but for all intents and purposes I consider the S400 no better than the image sensor on my S110 in terms of visual quality. That�s not a bad thing, however, because the S110 sensor was a huge improvement over the S100, and I�ve never had any complaints about the images I took with the S110.
What the S400 image sensor brings to the table is, of course, higher resolution � 4.0 mega pixels, enough to print 8 x 10� photos without effort, and passable 10 x 13� prints. Below are some further sample photos.
Figure 4: S400 outdoor photo, no flash. Click the image above for the original, full-resolution photo.
Close Up Where it Counts
When I�m in �photo journalist� mode at an event, taking detailed close-up shots of new gear is always my number-one priority. So having a camera with a strong macro mode is a must. The Canon S400 is adequate in this regard, though nothing exceptional. The images are crisp and clear, but using the macro mode can take some practice � I�ve taken far too many blurry photos, but that�s more the fault of the operator rather than the camera. ;-)
Figure 5: The S400�s macro mode takes impressively crisp pictures. Click on the photo above to get the full-sized image.
Figure 6: S400 outdoor photo, macro mode on, with flash. Click the image above for the original, full-resolution image.
Battery Life: Nary a Concern
At the top of my wish-list for any mobile device is great battery life. There�s no point in having a tiny device if you have to lug a power charger on a day trip. In this regard the S400 doesn�t disappoint � the 840mAH battery manages to keep this camera going for a surprising amount of time. On a recent trip to Victoria, BC, I charged the S400 battery before leaving and was able to take over 400 pictures before having to swap out batteries. Many of those were daylight photos with no flash, and I don�t use the LCD screen for taking photos, but the battery life is impressive nonetheless.
The S400 and S110 batteries are also compatible with each other, so when traveling for an extended period I typically carry an extra battery from the S110 (I have two) versus carrying the charger. On typical trips lasting only a few days, unless I�m planning on going into �tourist mode� and snapping photos of everything, I tend to only take the S400 with its one battery. Being able to travel light is a big plus.
Why Did They Bundle This Software?
As much as I like Canon hardware, they should focus on what they�re good at, which isn�t software. Canon bundles a variety of software, including ArcSoft's Camera Suite, but quite frankly none of the software is worth the CD it was burned on. Harsh criticism? Absolutely. I've seen countless digital camera owners buy beautiful camera hardware, only to be stumped by the software part of the solution. Canon should partner with companies that excel at digital photo software. Software like Picasa, ACDSEE, or Adobe Photoshop Album would all be a quantum leap in the right direction, and it would improve the out-of-box user experience.
In the same way that I always suggest people get a memory card reader and skip over installing the bundled drivers to connect their camera to the PC, I also suggest people skip over installing the software that comes with their camera. There was a term from back in the shareware days, prior to the glorious appearing of broadband, when software was distributed on CD-ROM discs. You'd get one or two great shareware apps on the CD, and fifty useless apps - commonly called "shovelware". The publisher would pay to put the good app on there, then shovel mounds of assorted junk to fill up the CD and make the overall offering seem more value. Canon would be further ahead by not bundling the 32 MB memory card with the camera, and taking the couple of bucks they'd save and put it towards a real photo management tool - and their customers would thank them for it.
In Conclusion, It�s a Winner
As you can probably tell by now, I�m impressed with the Canon S400. It combines small size with a useful 3x optical zoom, a crisp 4 mega pixel image sensor, CF support, and fantastic battery life. This camera is a solid device, and as long as you're willing to carry a slightly "bulky" pocket camera (in comparison to many smaller SD-based models), the S400 will not disappoint - as long as you have some good photo management software standing by!
Addendum: While preparing this review for publication, Canon released an updated version of this camera, dubbed the S410. I haven't done a detailed comparison, but on the surface everything looks identical, with the exception of enhanced direct printing functionality.
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