Product Reviews

Canon is building up a fearsome reputation for its digital cameras, with the PowerShot Pro70 (reviewed issue 63, p124) proving to be a benchmark for quality and its PowerShot A50 (reviewed issue 63, p123) gaining widespread admiration for its stylish looks. Not content with this, Canon is adding the PowerShot S10 to its range, increasing the number of pixels packed inside from 1.31 million in the A50 to an even more impressive 2.1 million in the S10.

In terms of looks, the S10 isn't too different to the PowerShot A50. Sleek and silver, the only feature to distinguish it from more conventional cameras is its 1.8in TFT screen. This is one area where the S10 excels, with the screen providing a bright and clear image even when the camera is taking pictures in subdued conditions. Although the S10's lost 0.2in compared to the A50's screen, you won't miss this in practice.

It's a good thing that the screen is clear - most of the camera's controls are operated using it. These aren't as intuitive as Kodak's, and they won't be immediately obvious to a digital camera novice - this is a shame as they're likely to be the S10's typical user. After spending a few minutes fiddling around with the controls, though, you should be able to perform the basic functions, like adjusting the image quality, easily enough.

The S10 also has a respectable number of more advanced controls. For instance, you can choose from a selection of white balance settings, change the EV level from -2.0 to +2.0, and adjust the camera's gain settings to the equivalent of ISO 100, 200 or 400. There are also a couple of other areas to test your creativity. A macro mode allows you to capture detail close to the lens - its range is 12 to 46cm - and you can opt for black and white if you fancy selling any of your prints to Athena.

One key area for any digital camera is battery life. Canon supplies a rechargeable æNiMH battery and predicts an average life of 55 shots per charge. This is based on you using the TFT screen, and the simplest way to extend battery life is to use the viewfinder for framing your shots - you can then expect around 200 photographs per charge. At least you don't need to worry about wasting battery life while transferring photos from the camera

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to your PC, as Canon's recharger doubles up as a mains adaptor.

Despite the PowerShot's compact form, Canon has managed to squeeze in a 2x optical zoom, which is equivalent to 35mm to 70mm when compared to conventional cameras. This is always a useful feature to have, even if it can't compare to the 38mm to 198mm of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F505 (reviewed issue 63, p135). If you want to zoom in even further, the digital zoom can extend up to four times more.

Due to the 2.1 million pixels on the S10's CCD (charge coupled device), the pictures are still decent quality, especially if you choose the Superfine compression option. The camera's maximum resolution is 1,600 x 1,200, so there's always going to be the need for some form of compression - a raw image would swallow 5.4Mb of space. Using the Superfine setting, the 8Mb CompactFlash card included in the package will provide space for around four photographs. Dropping the compression down to Fine increases this figure to 12, while Normal allows 24.

If you want to squeeze even more images into the camera, another solution is to drop the resolution down to 1,280 x 960 or 800 x 600 pixels, offering a maximum number of around 70 photographs. Alternatively, you could invest £312 in the 340Mb IBM microdrive (reviewed issue 63, p179) and stop worrying about compression altogether - this will provide enough space for almost 200 top-quality photos.

Canon cameras have always been impressive at reproducing colours accurately, and the S10 is no exception. This does mean that colours will appear less vibrant than its oversaturated rivals, such as the Kodak DC280 (reviewed issue 63, p128), but if realism is what's important to you the S10 is markedly superior. In terms of capturing detail, though, it can't quite match the substantially cheaper Ricoh RDC-5300 (reviewed p182).

But what really sets the S10 apart from the rest of the digital camera field is its design. No other manufacturer seems either capable or willing to design a similarly compact camera, and the S10's biggest competitor is probably Canon's own PowerShot A50. Thanks to its lower resolution, it can't rival the S10 for detail, but it does match the S10 for colour reproduction, and its £399 street price more than makes up for the lack of a USB connection.

Alternatively, if features and all-round image quality are more important to you than compactness, Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-F505 is the wiser bet. It costs £3 less than the S10, and the only factor counting against it is its unusual SLR-like design, which is bound to make the user feel more self-conscious than the more anonymous S10. Let's just hope that in the face of this fierce competition Canon is forced to drop the S10's price to below £500 - for that figure, its styling and image quality might just make it too tempting to resist.