Is the Canon S40 right for you?

This is written for a friend who's thinking of buying a digital camera.

She has a Sony TRV-17 DV videocamera. The camera takes still photos at 640x480. The photos are beautiful, at that resolution. Problem is, she needs to print out 8x10 headshots... I've tried printing photos at 4x6 from my camera at that resolution. Really bad results, though you can get better results with fancy software. She's a good photographer (judging from the sample she sent me), and can no doubt use a really good camera.

First of all, get one with high resolution. Go to 4 Megapixel right away.

So, would my camera (Canon Powershot S40 - they're now selling the S45) be right for you?

It's definitely useable, but I'd consider getting the big brother, the G3. I'll talk about the G2 (the older model), because I don't know enough about the G3 yet. Probably mostly the same.

I'm sure there are other brands, other models that you could use. Just remember that each have their downsides. What you get from me is a run down of the good and bad sides of this camera and it's big brother.

How good is it for portraits?

I've done quite a few portraits with mine, and as long as the available light is good enough so I get sharp focus, the photos turn out nice. I mostly do portraits with flash (I live in Norway, and we spend more time inside), and they're OK. The flash is hideous compared to studio flash, but the people I shoot don't know that... I sometimes get red-eye, but fix that with a graphics program. One really bad thing about this camera is that shooting into the light (like I often do with my SLR and the Tamron 90 mm) produces too much flare to be useable. I've also used fill-in flash outside. That's OK, but shine is often a problem (we had a hot summer this year...). I don't know if that has anything to do with the camera, it's just an observation after our midsummer garden party where many of the guests had horrible shine on their faces (I took portraits of all of them).

The downside to shooting portraits with a digital camera after being used to an SLR, is that it's a very different way of working. I often use the LCD screen, and that means a very different shooting stance. I also don't get exactly the shot I think I did. After years with a manual focus SLR with motordrive, I can anticipate a moment and know exactly what I get in the finished frame. With very animated subjects, you will always get something else than you thought with a digital camera. Shooting with my SLR means better pictures, hands down, but also more unwieldy. Even my stock photo agency is no longer interested in my slides, they've moved to digital.

One good thing about a good digital camera is that you often get people to pose who'd normally shy away, just by promising to delete the bad shots. They get very impressed when seeing me trash photo after photo, ending up with a few good ones. The ability to see the photos right away makes it easier, because they know what I got in the bag!

A comparison between the S40 and the G2:

The S40 has a lens that gets darker towards the telephoto range, where you'd use it the most. The G2 (predecessor to G3) has a different lens with the same f stop the whole way. Definitely better for your use, because it translates to faster shutterspeeds, and better focus if the light is low.
The S40 is small, while the G2 is kinda bulky.
The S40 doesn't have a hotshoe, though there are flash guns that are supposed to work with it. The G2 has a hotshoe for an extra flash. I don't know if you can use any flash with it, but it's still way better if you'll do lots of flash photography (which you probably won't, but still).
The S40 doesn't have a remote control - although that would only be useful for taking photos of yourself and hubby, I suppose. The G2 has both that and an LCD that can swivel.
What brings both of these cameras down is the response time from when you press the shutter till the photo is taken. That's typical of digital cameras, and I've only seen one Casio camera that's supposed to have solved that problem, oh and possibly the pro SLR cameras. It's not that much of a problem with your use, but try getting shots of a cat at play! Point and miss!

Other points to consider:

Get at least one compact flash card. The very least you'll need is 256 Mb. I got one of a lesser known brand (never heard of it before), because it was way cheaper. By now it's possible the 512 Mb cards have fallen enough in price so it's OK to buy them instead. But remember to look around. I got mine at a place where you wouldn't normally go to shop for cards, a mail order place with a regular shop. Looked very different from a regular camera store.
Buy at least one more battery. Ideally two, since you'll be doing a lot of travelling. They run out of juice fast, and take about 90 minutes to charge. Remember to bring your charger to the venue as well.

Conclusion: I love my camera for the most part. Every time I kick myself for not buying the G2, I remember how bulky and heavy it is, and settle down with the feeling that for me the trade off was worth it - I really needed a small camera. I'd love several cameras, but can't justify the cost... I'd love the Sony for the low light capabilities and image stabilizer, the Casio for the low response time, and the G3 for the more advanced features. But my camera produces top notch photos, and every time I look through my albums, I'm really pleased.

Also check out my other page about this camera (more general impressions and downsides)

If you want to talk about the any digital Canon camera, head on over to this message board.

This page was created by Ann Elisabeth Nordbo and has its home at http://www.annelisabeth.com/
Updated 12.26.2004

Created May 2002