Taking its design cues from earlier PowerShot models as well as the best-selling elph point-and-shoot film cameras, the Canon PowerShot S20 (AU$1999) comes in a sleek, stylish, all-metal case. Despite its small size, the PowerShot S20 has a solid, rugged feel. The PowerShot S20's size also has drawbacks: we found it more difficult to use than the other cameras reviewed here. Nevertheless, the PowerShot S20 is a highly capable camera with some innovative features.
The PowerShot S20 has a number of neat design features. The included CompactFlash Adaptor cradle lets you power the camera and externally recharge the battery simultaneously (the unit includes a 16mb CompactFlash card). And it's the only digital camera we know of that has an auxiliary battery to save time/date and other parameters when the main battery is tapped or removed. Fully charged, the camera will take between 55 and 230 shots, depending on the resolution and compression settings.
The PowerShot S20 lets you change the iso sensitivity level (100, 200, or 400) and manually adjust sharpness and contrast. You can't specify f-stops or shutter speeds in manual mode, but you can choose from five separate shooting modes: night scene, slow shutter, fast shutter, landscape, and black and white. The optical zoom lens has a 2:1 wide-angle/telephoto range, not the more common 3:1 ratio. In addition to still images, the PowerShot S20 can output video in either ntsc or pal formats. It was the only camera in our roundup that didn't have a focusable dioptre in the optical viewfinder, for those who wear eyeglasses.
In our test outdoor shots, the PowerShot S20's colours weren't quite as realistic as those of the others, but it exhibited a very wide dynamic range, with great details in both shadows and highlights. We saw slight clipping in the highlights when shooting indoors, but the PowerShot S20's performance in these tests was otherwise excellent. It was also one of the fastest cameras we tested, requiring just three seconds to catch its breath between shots.
Getting good results with the PowerShot S20 takes some practice. The buttons are miniscule, labelled using icons that are difficult to decipher, and easy to hit accidentally during shooting. To make matters more confusing, some buttons have dual purposes (one set of icons in black; the other in green).
The Canon PowerShot S20 is undeniably a technological marvel, packing a lot into a pocket-size (sort of) camera. But at this level, most will be better off with a little larger camera that is easier to use and has all the features.
Canon PowerShot S20
Price: AU$1999
Rating: 4 Star
Company: Canon
Ph: 02 9805 2570; Fax: 02 9888 1426;
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