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Canon PowerShot S20 3.2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom

Canon PowerShot S20 3.2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom

List Price: $699.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Camera
Review: I have been looking at digital cameras for the past year, The prices just couldn't be justified for me... Until the 3million megapixel camera's came out. This isn't the right camera for professional shooting, as it does not take raw tiff's.. but the large superfine Jpeg's turn out close enough to raw images. This is a high end Point and Shoot camera, you do not need professional photography experience to take great photos. The camera is small and lightweight.. similar to the Canon ELPH camera's design.. so it can slide in your pocket.. And Canon has been known for their optics for years. The software works fine, I just use Adobe Photoshop to get my images though. The photostiching is neat, and works well, I took pictures in a circle around my apartment and stitched them seamlessly together to make a really wide panoramic shot.. using USB to get your images is FAST, I had no problems setting the camera up with USB or Serial. The cons of this camera is that it doesn't come with rechargable batteries (a MUST have) get the recharge/ac adaptor kit, or else you will spend hundreds on batteries. the 16MB CF card will fit about 100 average quality photo's, 34 above average, but only 7 SuperFine quality photo's (time to go buy a bigger CF card).. Digital camera's are going to be expensive, especially if you want quality and features, The higher end Kodak's, Sony's and Olympus's offer about the same features and quality, but the Kodak and Sony are much larger and bulkier. If you've used Canon camera's before, this will be simple to use

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good camera after getting around a few weak points.
Review: I have one of these in my glove box and use it all the time. My other Camera is a G2 and admit the G2 is far better than the S20. As most will agree the battery is flat too soon to trust for more than 20 mins. I've built some Li-ion batteries for this camera and solved the problem. I now can run almost 3hrs. before a charge in needed. Canon made a big mistake powering this with 5 AAA Ni-MH cells, should have been the Li-ion's like my G2. The G2 goes forever on a charge and the Li-ion batteries hold a solid charge with a very low rate of static dicharge.
The S20 is still a valid camera in my bag and many of my local news photos are shots taken with my S20. Its been a solid kick around digital thats hit the floor many more times than any plastic model could ever take, and if its too heavy for some then I guess you'd be crying about why Canon made the case out of plastic. Yes I have dents in my S20 but the case is why my S20 has lasted the many miles and bumps it has. OK so the S20 is a basic camera in todays market but as a used 3.3MP (Amazon's, header incorrectly states 3.2)
Digital its been time and road tested to be an Excelent example.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Miraculous
Review: I have used this camera for the last 6 months to take pictures of vacations, family, friends, pets, scenery and most of all my new baby. Before I bought a digital camera I would take maybe a roll of film's worth of pictures in a year. Since I got the S20 I have taken a couple thousand. It's truly liberating to take 10 pictures of a scene and pick the best one, everyone's eyes are open, the dog is not in the way, etc.

The S20 produces beautiful pictures, is simple to use and feels like a solid camera. I have dropped it twice and it still works like a charm. With a spare battery and a 128MB memory card I can take pictures all day long without a second thought. The camera is a breeze to use. My wife (who is not a technophile) easily thumbs through the menus and shows me the pictures of our baby that she has captured.

My only regret is that I waited until I could afford it, I wish I had put it on a credit card a sooner and gotten more pictures of my child's first few months.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing deal
Review: I just saw what Amazon is selling the S-20 camera for, and I just had to write and express my opinion about this item. This is simply an incredible deal. I've had years of experience in photography. (...) This little S-20 is so neat. It will fit into your pants pocket. And, in an instant it's ready to shoot a picture. The images it produces are extremely sharp and detailed. It allows manual control of several functions incl.: image size, flash, zoom focus, light balance, and many other items. This thing will take any CompactFlash brand card you shove into it, just hit the format key & it's ready to go. It will take a microdrive, which is something i haven't tried yet, but it sounds very interesting. And, if the rechargeable battery runs out, you can power up with off the shelf disposable batteries. (...)the main reason I like this camera is that it's the toughest little thing around. You can drop it on the ground, pick it up & it will still work. I've already dropped my S-20 several times without any negative results. Well, enough already. If you want a tough little camera, that fits in a shirtpocket & takes extremely sharp pictures, then this one is a no - brainer. I guess the only reason they're selling this for so lttle is that it's going to be discontinued. If that's the case, then get it. It's a classic.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Small Camera - Excellent Quality
Review: I looked at many models. I really liked the 3.34MPixel resolution. It is easy to turn out some really nice photos. I haven't owned another digital camera, so it is difficult to judge battery life, however, many of the digitals do not have a way to turn off the LCD. Doing so greatly enhances battery life. Also, instead of the IBM 340Mb micro drive, try the SANS 256MB flash card. It has much lower battery consumption and still holds 100-300 (in hi-res mode) photos depending upon compression settings.

Also, GET the battery charger kit! It has a NiCad included. I saved the original lithium as an emergency battery, plus I bought an additional NiCad. It adds slightly to the price, but you get a really light weight camera that is difficult to top at any price.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: EXCELLENT!
Review: I love this camera! It takes very clear pictures and is very easy to use! I did have to upgrade my printer so keep this in mind when you buy a digital camera. I purchased the HP 932C through Amazon and it works great ! Excellent pictures and I use the camera also to take pics for my auctions and it is 100% quicker! This is an excellent camera at a great price. I like it also because it is so small too.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Little Camera
Review: I love this camera. It is the smallest 3.3mp camera on the market and takes incredible pictures. The best part about this camera is its ability to take both type 1 and type 2 cf cards. This means that the S20 can use the IBM Microdrive (170 or 340 mb). With the 340 mb drive (@$400, with pcmcia card adapter), the camera can hold 379 shots at largest size with medium resolution, or 164 shots at largest size with best resolution. I literally shoot all day and sort the pictures out later. No more asking yourself, "should I take this shot, or will I fill the card too quickly." If you are not going to buy the microdrive, I really don't see the need to pay $800 for this camera. Its like buying a rolls royce and getting bicycle tires. Also, be aware that the S20 takes a proprietary battery (cannot be replaced by regular batteries in a pinch). When you buy the camera, buy at least one extra battery that day. Nothing is worse than having 150 shots left, but a dead battery. I love my S20, but be aware that after the camera, charger, 340mb microdrive and an extra battery, you are talking about $1350.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Beginner's Camera
Review: I originally bought this camera because of its size and the fact that I had a spare Microdrive lying around. After using it for a few days, I realized that it is truly a beginner's camera. There is little manual options and those that are there, are very "dumbed down." The resulting pictures from the 3.3 Megapixel CCD are extraordinary. They are very sharp and crisp. However, if you are taking pictures of objects further than about 5 ft. away, make sure there is ample lighting because the flash is sub-par. The Microdrive and the power supply kit certainly add to the overall price of the product, but IMHO, are true necessities. In conclusion, if you are a beginner and are looking for a simple, easy to use camera that takes great pictures, this is camera for you. But if you are an intermediate user who would like to control his picture taking a little more than 'point-and-click', look elsewhere.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Amazing
Review: I picked up this camera to do a web catalog photo shoot of flowers. I found it to be an impressive camera for its size. Get the IBM Microdrive because the 3 megapixel images will fill up a memory card fast!

Battery life was good but it uses a proprietary battery. It also takes 2CR5s but eats them up in a hurry.

Very good image quality, works well in macro mode. One thing I wish it had is the ability to review the image right after you took it. You can't do it easily, you have to switch camera modes and the lens closes up. With the microdrive you can afford to take extra shots and weed out the bad ones later.

Good transfer software although the serial cable mode is incredibly slow...go with USB.

All in all, I love this little camera which packs a punch.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great camara, small problem
Review: I purchased this camara after thoroughly studying the available digital camaras available. It performs outstandingly, and its small size is excellent for carrying in a pocket or purse. The images, at full 8X10 size when printed on photo paper by a decent printer (HP 932C in my case, about $200), were SO GOOD that people came from all over work to view them in my cubicle. The zoom is outstanding, the macro is easily as good, the ease of use makes it perfect for the novice, while the flexibility and carriability make it excellent for the most professional (or addicted) photographer around.

The ONLY problem I have is that the camara is EXTREMELY sensitive to moisture. The instruction manual does not make that clear enough, and my camara was ruined after three months by a humid environment. I can only say excellent camara, EXTREMELY POOR CUSTOMER RELATIONS BY CANON. Fortunately for me, Amazon went to bat for me on this purchase, and I highly recommend ANY Amazon purchase.

In summation, GREAT camara (even at the $600 I paid, and the $400 price now), crappy customer service by Canon, and truely proffesional sales and support practices by Amazon.

JUST DON'T EVER LET THE CAMARA EXPERIENCE EVEN SLIGHT LEVELS OF HUMIDITY!!!!!!!!


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