Canon Powershot S80 Review

Switching into Play mode will bring the last picture captured up in full screen mode with overlay data for folder/picture number, current picture / total number of pictures, audio notation (if applicable), protected notation (if applicable) image quality and size, date and time of exposure.

You get all the picture information along with a histogram and visual highlight of over-exposed areas by pressing the DISPLAY button.  It's very complete and includes folder and image number, ISO sensitivity, exposure mode, shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation, flash compensation, white balance, metering mode, audio notation (if used), protected notation (if used), image size and quality, date and time.

The playback image can be magnified up to 10x by toggling the zoom control to the telephoto position. You can stop at any of ten enlargement steps and scroll around inside the image using the Multi Control dial buttons.

Toggling the zoom control to the wide angle position brings up the index thumbnail mode. Nine images per page are displayed, pressing the wide angle button a second time will take you to the JUMP mode, this lets you move quickly forward or backward a page at a time.

You can record up to a 60-second "audio note" that will be linked to the current image. These audio notes are saved as standard Windows WAV audio files. When in Play mode you display the picture you want to attach the note to and then press the continuous/self timer/microphone button. Once recorded, these audio attachments can also be played in-camera.

The Play mode menu with options for Protecting images from accidental erasure, Rotate to re-orient portrait mode images for proper display on a TV screen, Erase All images. Single images can be erased by pressing the button while they're being viewed. The Slide Show option lets you select an interval time between images and start and stop a presentation. The Print Order option lets you embed DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) information on the card so any selected pictures can be easily printed by DPOF-compliant printers or services. Transfer Order lets you specify which files to be auto-moved to the host computer via USB.

The SETUP menu, available from any menu.

Mute - Silence all camera sounds: On or Off
Volume -

Start-up Volume - 5 levels
Operation Volume - 5 levels
Selftimer Volume - 5 levels
Shutter Volume - 5 levels
Playback Volume - 5 levels
LCD Brightness - 15 levels
Power Saving - Auto power down and Display off settings
Time zone - Set home and travel destination time zones
Date/Time - Set time of day, date and date format
Format - format the SD card
File Numbering - Continuous or Auto reset when a blank SD card is used
Create Folder - Auto Create a new folder daily, weekly or monthly, or manually
Auto Rotate - Enable auto rotation
Distance Units - Feet or Meters
Language - set the menu language
Video System - output format NTSC or PAL
Reset All - Resets camera settings to their defaults

The movies playback full screen and the audio can be heard through the builtin speaker. You can also connect the A/V cable and play them on a television.

Pressing the DISPLAY button shows the extended movie image information. The red battery icon is a low battery warning.

The S80 allows for in-camera editing of the video clip lengths