Canon - PowerShot S2 IS Digital Camera Review

Overall 4.38 of 5 view all 26 reviews

shigadeyo
Harrison, OH

Takes great pictures for 2-3 years and then dies!

a techie, an early adopter

Pros

12X optical zoom, AA batteries, Hinged LCD

Cons

Not pocket-sized

APR

2008

Canon - PowerShot S2 IS Digital Camera —

I purchased a Canon PowerShot S2 IS for $500 when it first came out in mid-2005. This was my first digital camera and replaced my Olympus 33mm All-in-One SLR. The S2 IS was a very nice feature upgrade over the S1 IS that I had always wanted including higher megapixel, SD card slot, 12x zoom, image stabilizer, and autofocus assist lamp. Other nice features include hinged LCD viewer, many modes and settings, flip-up flash, good redeye, and more. However, after 2.33 years the camera would power up but screen and viewfinder would be black. The LCD wasn't dead as you could review pictures on the cards and stuff, but it was like the lens cap was on. This seems to be a common problem with the S2 IS. Just seach the Internet for the terms +Canon +S2 +"black screen" and one can find many forums covering this problem. Canon wants $135 to fix it or $175 to upgrade to a refurbished S3 IS. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people are experiencing this black screen of death after 2-3 years regardless of usage or care. There seems to be an issue with the optical assembly, but Canon won't admit a defect. This camera was a work horse for me for the 2 years I was able to use it. Unfortunately, now that it's dead I have purchased a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 to replace it. A $500 semi-pro camera should last much longer than 2.33 years! Canon usually makes pretty good products, but I will not buy another one again!

Last edited on Apr 10, 2008

Canon - PowerShot S2 IS Digital Camera is not recommended by shigadeyo

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Comments about shigadeyo’s Review

I won a powershot about 5 years back...It's been slowing down and it's a bear to snap pictures...Thanks for the info...I will stay away from this one!

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Brand Name	Canon
Model	PowerShot S2 IS
Camera Type	Compact Digital Camera Compact Digital Camera Point-and-Shoot Digital Camera Point-and-Shoot Digital Camera Point-and-Shoot Digital Camera SLR Digital Camera
Features	Auto Flash Auto Flash Auto Flash Auto Flash Digital Viewfinder Digital Viewfinder LCD Panel LCD Panel LCD Panel LCD Panel LCD Panel Optical Viewfinder Optical Viewfinder Optical Viewfinder Optical Viewfinder Red-Eye Reduction Red-Eye Reduction Red-Eye Reduction Red-Eye Reduction
Megapixels	10 or more 5 5 5 5 5
Optical Zoom	12X At least 10x At least 10x At least 10x At least 10x At least 10x
Tags	snapshot
Key Features	Image Sensor Type CCD Resolution 5.3 Megapixel Optical Zoom 12x Camera Type Standard Point and Shoot Weight 0.89 lb. Family Line Canon PowerShot LCD Screen Size 1.8 in. Digital Zoom 4x
Lens	Interchangeable Lens Not Interchangeable Lenses Optical Zoom 12x 35mm Zoom Lens 36 - 432 mm Digital Zoom 4x Focus Type Autofocus Focal Length 6 - 72 mm
Image Quality	Camera Resolution 5.3 Megapixel Image Resolutions 640 x 480 Image Sensor Type CCD
Video	Video Resolutions 320 x 240 Video Speed 30 fps Max Movie Length Without Limit (Depends on the camera free memory size) Video Format AVI
Exposure Control	Shutter Speed 15 - 1/3200 sec White Balance Auto Frames Per Second 1.5 Frames
Storage	Memory Type SD Card Compression Modes Fine Compression Type JPEG File Size (High Res.) 2.5 MB (51 images on 128MB card) File Size (Low Res.) 0.08 MB (about 1,600 images on 128MB card)
Flash	ISO Speeds Auto Flash Type Built-In Flash Functions Flash Off
Viewfinder / Display	Viewfinder Optical LCD Panel With LCD Panel LCD Panel Size 1.8 in. LCD Screen Resolution 115,000 pixels LCD Protected Position With LCD Protected Position LCD Screen With LCD Screen LCD Screen Size 1.8 in.
Interfaces	Interface Type USB 2.0 Video Interface Video Out
Power Supply	Battery Type 4 x AA Batteries Battery Life 130 Images
Included Features	Self Timer 2 Sec. Tripod Mount With Tripod Mount
System Requirements	Operating System Apple Mac OS X
Dimensions	Width 4.45 in. Depth 2.97 in. Height 3.07 in. Weight 0.89 lb.
Miscellaneous	Included Accessories 4 x AA Batteries Release Date 22 April, 2005 Product ID 24530880 UPC 013803051629 Family Line Canon PowerShot
Product MPN	MPN s2is