Canon Powershot S80 Review



Click to take a QTVR tour of the S80
Picking up many popular features of its predecessor, the PowerShot S70, the PowerShot S80 retains Canon's powerful, high quality, wide angle UA (Ultra High Refractive Index Glass Aspherical) lens with a 3.6x wide-angle optical zoom (35mm film equivalent: 28-100mm). The camera allows users to capture a wider image area than most other compact digital cameras on the market, and with Canon's DIGIC II image processor plus 8.0 megapixels of resolution, the camera keeps image quality at its utmost. The S80's improved autofocus reduces the time required for focusing by up to approximately 20% compared to its predecessor. In addition, the refined exposure control under low-light conditions results not only in better exposure accuracy but also in better focusing performance. Canon improved the exposure control by a full stop, which allows for easier focusing and produces better photos in dark conditions. Thanks to its DIGIC II image processor, the S80 supports movie recording in XGA size (1024 x 768 pixels) at 15 frames per second for the first time in any digital camera . Compared to the previous maximum - VGA (640 x 480 pixels) - XGA recording has about 2.5 times more pixels, and the data amount is about twice as high. Continuous recording of XGA up to a file size of 1GB is available on the S80 model. Following the PowerShot S2 IS, the PowerShot S80 provides a choice between single frame and sequence frame for Movie Prints. When Single is selected, any frame from a movie can be selected and printed on a single sheet. Print quality depends on the mode used during movie recording, with XGA producing the best quality. In Sequence mode, the camera can, when connected to a compatible Canon Compact Photo Printer, print a series of miniature thumbnail images that provides an overview of the movie's content. Although it has a large feature set, the PowerShot S80 digital camera is amazingly compact. Simple yet impressive, the shape of the new camera fits snugly into the palm of the hand. Canon built the elegant design with a combination of aluminum magnesium alloy and high-gloss aluminum to create a sturdy and shiny body, which includes a soft-touch finger rest to improve holding stability. Silver banding on the camera highlights the predominantly black front piece. The S80 model also includes a creative rear panel design that offers convenient operation on the camera is possible through a new multi-control dial and omni selector. The Canon PowerShot S80 offers users 21 different shooting modes, allowing the camera to effectively handle a variety of situations. As with the S70 model, there are five modes in the Creative Zone, plus 12 new Special Scene modes as well as the My Colors mode, Stitch Assist Mode and Movie Mode. The 12 new Special Scene modes include Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Underwater, Indoor, Kids & Pets, Night Snapshot and Digital Macro. True to the PowerShot tradition, the PowerShot S80 model has many of the latest advances in Canon technology including the proprietary DIGIC II imaging processor. The processor enhances picture definition, vibrancy and quality, while helping increase the speed of the camera's startup, autofocus, shutter response, playback and image processing speed while reducing power consumption by 35% compared to the original DIGIC chip. Image transfer speed is accelerated thanks to the inclusion of a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port.
Like all PowerShot digital cameras, the PowerShot S80 works seamlessly with
Canon's petite SELPHY Compact Photo Printers - an essential PowerShot accessory.
Customers simply connect their PowerShot digital camera to a SELPHY printer - such as
the new SELPHY CP510, CP710 and CP600 models - press the lighted Print/Share button,
and within 58 seconds , images emerge. Presto! It's that simple. Canon's SELPHY
Compact Photo Printers are PictBridge compatible.
The PowerShot S80 Kit will include a full set of Canon's powerful yet easy-to-use digital camera software, including the latest versions of ZoomBrowser EX, ImageBrowser, PhotoStitch and PhotoRecord, as well as ArcSoft PhotoStudio. The standard kit also includes: Interface Cable IFC-400PCU and AV cable AVC-DC300, a lithium-ion Battery Pack NB-2LH and Battery Charger CB-2LW, a 32MB SD memory card, instruction manuals and a Wrist Strap WS-300. The PowerShot S80 will be available in October for an estimated street price of $549.99 USD. |
Physical Views








The Powershot S80 compared in size to a CD.
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Canon Powershot S80 Specifications
Camera Effective Pixels | Approx. 8.0 million | |||||||||||
Image Sensor | 1/1.8-inch CCD (Total number of pixels: Approx 8.3 million) | |||||||||||
Lens |
5.8 (W) - 20.7 (T) mm (35mm film equivalent: 28 - 100 mm) |
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Digital Zoom | Approx. 4.0x (Up to approx. 14x in combination with the optical zoom) | |||||||||||
Optical Viewfinder | Real-image zoom viewfinder, picture coverage approx. 80% | |||||||||||
LCD Monitor | 2.5-inch type, low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT color LCD (115,000 pixels, picture coverage 100%) | |||||||||||
AF System | TTL autofocus Focus lock and Manual focus are available 9-point (AiAF)/1-point (AF) 1-point AF: 1-point/frame can be moved manually (FlexiZone AF) |
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Shooting Distance (from front of lens) |
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Shutter | Mechanical shutter + electronic shutter | |||||||||||
Shutter Speeds |
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Metering System | Evaluative, Center-weighted average or Spot (Center or AF-point) | |||||||||||
Exposure Compensation | 2 stops in 1/3-stop increments Auto exposure bracketing (AEB) and Safety Shift is available. |
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ISO Speed | Auto*, ISO 50/100/200/400 equivalent * Camera automatically sets the optimal speed. |
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White Balance | Auto, pre-set (available settings: Day Light, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash or Underwater) or custom | |||||||||||
Built-in Flash | Auto*, on*, off, FE lock, Slow synchro and 1st-curtain/2nd-curtain flash are available. * Red-eye reduction is available. |
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Flash Range (Built-in) |
55 cm to 4.2 m (1.8 ft. to 13.8 ft.) (W), |
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Flash Exposure Compensation | 2 stops in 1/3-stop increments. | |||||||||||
Shooting Modes |
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Continuous Shooting | Approx. 1.8 shots/sec. (Large/Fine mode) | |||||||||||
Intervalometer | Shooting interval: approx.
1 - 60 min. (1-min. increments) Number of shots: 2 - 100 shots (Maximum number of shots varies according to memory card capacity.) |
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Self-timer | Activates shutter after an approx. 10-sec./approx. 2-sec. delay, Custom Timer | |||||||||||
PC-controlled Shooting | Available (USB connection only. Exclusive software program is included in the camera kit.) | |||||||||||
Recording Media | SD Memory Card, MultiMediaCard | |||||||||||
File Format | Design rule for camera file system and DPOF compliant | |||||||||||
Data Type |
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Compression | Superfine, Fine, Normal | |||||||||||
Number of Recording Pixels (Still Images) |
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Number of recording pixels/Frame Rate (Movies) |
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Playback Modes | Single (histogram displayable, effect possible), Index (9 thumbnail images), Triple Image Scrolling Display Magnified (approx. 10x max. in LCD monitor, forward or reverse selection through magnified images possible), Image search (Jumps over 10 or 100 images, to a movie folders, or to the next shooting date, or nine images at a time during Index playback) Slide Show (effect possible) Sound memos (recording/playback up to 60 sec.) Movie (slow-motion playback possible) |
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Direct Print | PictBridge compliant, and Canon Direct Print and Bubble Jet Direct compatible | |||||||||||
My Camera Settings | The start-up image,
start-up sound, shutter sound, operation sound and self-timer sound
can be customized using the following methods:
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Interface | USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (mini-B), PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) Audio/Video output (NTSC or PAL selectable) |
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Power Source |
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Operating Temperature | 0 - 40 °C (32 - 104 °F) | |||||||||||
Operating Humidity | 10 - 90 % | |||||||||||
Dimensions | 104.0 x 57.0 x 38.8 mm (4.1 x 2.2 x 1.5 in.) (excluding protrusions) |
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Weight | Approx. 225 g (7.9 oz.) (camera body only) |
The Canon Powershot S80 kit includes:
- Powershot S80 camera
- Wrist Strap WS-DC1
- Battery Pack NB-2LH (with Terminal Cover)
- Battery Charger CB-2LW
- Secure Digital Card SDC-32M (32MB)
- AV Cable AVC-DC300
- USB Interface Cable IFC-400PCU
- Canon Digital Camera Solution Disk (CD-ROM)
- User Guides
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