Canon Powershot S40 Review



Record Mode Screens & Menus
The green square (focus point) in the center indicates an autofocus lock, if the AF
fails to lock it turns yellow.
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Now in "P"rogram AE mode, flash is on automatic, sequential drive mode, spot metering,
white balance to fluorescent, exposure compensation is +1-2/3EV, flash compensation is
enabled, Superfine Large image mode, manual focus is enabled with distance indicator
now visible. Note the "[ ]" in the focus square, this indicates that spot metering is
currently selected.
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And here the camera is in "M"anual mode, flash is auto red-eye, single frame drive mode,
matrix metering, Superfine Large image, 1/50 sec shutter speed and F8.0 aperture has been
manually selected.
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When the manual focus is enabled and you are actively changing the focus with the Up
or Down control, the focus point is enlarged to aid in critical focusing.
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An animated look at the S40's screen displays when in the various recording modes.
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When in PAMS modes you can press the SET button and then use the 4-way selector to
choose the desired focus point, by default it uses the center point.
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Exposure compensation is useful when you want to override the auto exposure
system. There is a +/- 2EV adjustment in 1/3EV steps.
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You can set the white balance Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent,
Fluorescent 2, Flash or Custom.
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Set a custom white balance to obtain the optimal setting for the
lighting conditions by using a white piece of paper as a target.
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Auto Exposure Bracketing - In this mode, the camera automatically changes
the exposure within a set range to take three shots after you press the shutter
button once. You can adjust AEB settings in 1/3EV steps within the range of
-2EV to +2EV of the standard exposure setting. AEB setting can be combined
with exposure compensation settings.
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Using the flash exposure compensation you can vary the output of the flash
+/-2 in 1/3 steps to get exactly the amount of light on the subject that's desired.
![]() This is the menu of recording options available in PAMS recording mode:
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![]() The S40 can record motion video at 15fps with audio at 320 x 240 resolution for up to 30 seconds or at 160 x 120 for up to 120 seconds. |
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