Canon Powershot S300 Review

The S300 features a new 3X (35-105mm in the 35mm format) f/2.7-4.7 all-glass aspherical zoom lens. When the camera is powered down the lens is retracted inside of the body and a built in shutter closes to completely protect the lens.

An advanced TTL AiAF three-point autofocus system permits the camera to automatically select the primary subject even when off-center. Focusing range is 22 inches to infinity in normal mode and macro coverage is 4 to 22 inches in wide angle and 11 to 22 inches in telephoto. The autofocus is light-assisted and works properly even in the dark (you'll see it next to the flash in the picture below.)

The built in flash offers Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye Reduction and Slow-Synchro modes. Flash range is 2.5 to 11.5 ft. in wide angle, 2.5 to 6.6 ft. in telephoto or 10.2 in. to 2.5 ft. in macro mode.

You can frame your pictures with the color LCD or to save precious battery power you can use the optical eyelevel finder. This is a coupled viewfinder and it zooms with the lens. It does not have dioptric adjustment. Next to the finder are two LED lights to indicate the flash and focus status.

Canon has now put a real mode dial on the S300, it has positions for Replay, Automatic, Manual, Stitch Assist (Panorama) and Movie. The power On/Off button is in the center of the mode dial and must be depressed for several seconds to actuate. Just in front of the mode dial you can see the microphone. Next to that is the shutter release. On the back corner of the camera are the zoom control buttons which also function as the thumbnail and zoom-in buttons when in Replay mode.

See the next page for the rear controls and menu system.

The monaural audio and video signal can be connected to your TV set with the supplied cables. Both the USB and serial data I/O is handled through one port.

The PowerShot S300 is equipped with a Type I CompactFlash card slot and comes with an 8MB CF card. It uses the same type of robust ejector mechanism as the S100 so be ready to catch the card as it really "pops out" when the button is pressed.

The S300 comes with a Canon NB-1L 3.7v 680mAh lithium rechargeable battery pack, same as the S100. Canon claims a fully charged battery can record 120 shots with the LCD on or 270 shots with it off and a replay time of approx. 85 minutes.

The supplied 110/240V CB-2LS 2-hour rapid charger (N. America) plugs directly in the wall socket and charges the battery "out of the camera" which is very handy if you have a second battery (highly recommended.)

Optional accessories include AC Adapter Kit ACK500 (which contains Compact Power Adapter CA-PS500, DC Coupler DR-500, and an AC Power Cord).