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AlbertWu · Dec 11, 2002, 12:48 PM

Wha'd y'all think of the Canon PowerShot s230?

Does anyone have any experience with one?

sworthy · Dec 11, 2002, 02:04 PM

I don't have any experience with the 230, but I do have experience with the 200. It is great! It fits in my pocket, and is no bigger than my wallet. It takes great quality pictures and it is so easy to use. Only complaint is that the optical zoom is a little weak at 2x. But realize to get a great compact camera, you have to give up a little on some specs.

Highly recomended, one of my best tech purchases ever (after my TiBook of course).

Hope that helped, let me know if you have any questions.

zigzag · Dec 11, 2002, 02:19 PM

I have the original Digital Elph 100 (the 230 is basically an updated version) and am very happy with it. I love the way I can carry it anywhere, anytime, in a shirt or pants pocket, without a bag or lens cover, and still get high-quality photos. Being so compact, it has its limitations (only 2x optical zoom), but other than that it's great.

It uses a proprietary battery, so you can't use AA's as a backup. You'll want at least one extra, and they cost $50-60.

The Minolta Dimage Xi is also a great compact - it has a 3x zoom and is even slimmer - but I prefer the way the Canon handles.

molala · Dec 12, 2002, 01:53 AM

i had the S110 (2001 version of these cameras), took lots of great photos. my only advice is to make sure sand and other small particles don't go into the lens barrel grooves. my camera died with the e18 error (fairly common with these cameras) because of it (after 15 months of use)... i didn't have a case for it and my backpack had some small particles. it wasn't worth repairing for 2/3 the price of a new digital elph.

chipchen · Dec 12, 2002, 03:17 AM

s230 is awesome.. my friend has one.. and I've been wanting that one. i plan to buy it soon. GET IT GET IT!!!

AlbertWu · Dec 21, 2002, 12:49 AM

thanks, y'all

ordered it, but it's backordered till the 29th, too late for xmas

ecost has the cheapest price, if anyone cared

tr · Dec 21, 2002, 09:20 AM

good choice. i just bought one for my sister for christmas...naturally, i had to test it and put it through it's paces before i gave it to her.

i've always been a film only person (35mm SLR and medium format), but i must say, this camera is excellent. great looking pictures, great manual control, really easy to use, and super compact. even the included software is pretty good (and they just had an X update a week or so ago on the software). and it works flawlessly with iPhoto. i'll mention what others have said: the 2x zoom isn't all that great, but i'd rather sacrifice zoom for a compact body. plus, i don't really care, the lens i use most on my SLR is an 18mm-28mm zoom!

but, alas, i guess i'm going to have to pack this baby up. but it has gotten me thinking that maybe i need one, just to play around with, for the times i don't want to lug my nikon around.

tr

G4ME · Dec 21, 2002, 10:16 PM

the specs of it are nice but, i like my 3X optical o m S330, basicly the only differance is the fact that the S230 is 3MP and 2X while the S330 is a 2MP and 3X,
the cases the S230 is slightly smaller, but i find that mine isn't too big, i have baggy pants so its not a problem.

MikeD · Jan 14, 2003, 01:03 AM

Just ordered an s230 but it won't be in untill early Feb!! Got it for about $335 from Dell.

I heard there are a lot of problems though with Red-eye on this camera.. it even says so in the latest issue of macworld.

Severed Hand of Skywalker · Jan 14, 2003, 01:28 AM

It is a great point and click camera. If you want to really get your money's worth though and have tons of pro features plus a better battery get the Canon S30. My friend was in the same boat last week and she decided on the S30 for all the right reasons. I think it is about $65 more at most.

MikeD · Jan 14, 2003, 11:05 AM

The thing is, I really like the form factor of the s230... It's REALLY small. For more pro stuff, I do also have a Sony F707 which is tough to beat at the moment. Someday, I'd like a Canon D1s but they're just way too expensive for my taste right now. I really need something I can pocket and just P&S! I'm just concerned of all the red-eye editing I'll have to do when I get this though.

Mike

proux · Jan 14, 2003, 11:52 AM

Got the S330, great camera, bigger then S230 but still fits in any pocket. I don't care so much for 3MP vs 2 MP, but the 3X zoom is much better than 2X.

Only small gripe: sometimes the camera has trouble focusing in low light rooms...

zigzag · Jan 16, 2003, 12:06 AM

Originally posted by MikeD:
The thing is, I really like the form factor of the s230... It's REALLY small. For more pro stuff, I do also have a Sony F707 which is tough to beat at the moment. Someday, I'd like a Canon D1s but they're just way too expensive for my taste right now. I really need something I can pocket and just P&S! I'm just concerned of all the red-eye editing I'll have to do when I get this though.

Mike

Red eye is pretty much a fact of life, IMO, especially with such a small camera where the flash is aligned near the lens. Some cameras are marketed as "no red eye" but they don't necessarily work. I crop and retouch all of my photos in Elements anyway, so touching up a bit of red eye isn't a big deal for me.