Introduction
The Canon PowerShot S410 is the latest in the highly popular line of "Digital ELPH cameras from Canon. Canon's name is one of the few needing no introduction in the world of photography: Ask a photographer, be they professional or amateur, to name the first couple of camera manufacturers that they can think of, and chances are that Canon would be at or near the top of the list. In the digital arena, Canon has continued their history of innovation, with a broad line of products ranging from entry-level models all the way to no-holds-barred digital SLRs for professional photographers. In the consumer arena, their products are distinguished by superb design, sharp lenses, and excellent color.
In both the film and digital worlds, Canon has become known for their high-style, diminutive "ELPH" cameras. Long a popular brand for APS film cameras, Canon brought the ELPH size and styling to the digital world with the original S100. The PowerShot S410 is the updated version of last year's S400 model, carrying over a variety of improvements that first appeared in the previous model, including a Center-Weighted metering mode option, faster maximum shutter speed (1/2,000 second), and improved macro capabilities, adding a print share button. With the same great user interface common to Canon cameras and point-and-shoot operation driven by their dedicated image processors, the S410 is sure to please a host of consumers.
Near-Identical Twins: The Canon PowerShot S410 and S500If you've already seen my review of the Canon PowerShot S500, you can save yourself some reading here, as the two cameras are virtually identical, apart from the obvious resolution difference (4 megapixels for the S410, 5 megapixels for the S500). Other than resolution, here are the main differences I found between the two models. Compared with the S500, the S410 has:
The new flagship of Canon's digital ELPH series, the PowerShot S410 continues the line's small dimensions, stylish looks, and quality metal construction. Portable and quick on the draw (thanks to its smooth retractable lens design), the S410 offers point-and-shoot control with a goodly handful of extra exposure features. The S410's flat front panel (with lens retracted) makes the camera pocket friendly, while the magnesium body keeps the camera light weight. Equipped with a 4.1-megapixel CCD (4.0 effective), the S410 captures high quality images, suitable for printing snapshots as large as 8x10 inches with very good detail. Smaller resolutions are also available for email transmission, and a movie mode with sound captures short videos.
The S410 features a 3x, 7.4-22.2mm glass zoom lens, equivalent to a 36-108mm zoom on a 35mm camera, the same as the lens featured on its predecessor, the S400. Aperture is automatically controlled, but the maximum setting ranges from f/2.8 at full wide angle to f/4.9 at full telephoto. A maximum 3.6x digital zoom option increases the S410's zoom capabilities to 11x, but keep in mind that digital zoom decreases the overall image quality, as it simply crops out and enlarges the center pixels of the CCD's image. Image noise is likely to be higher with digital zoom, and details considerably softer. Focus ranges from 1.5 feet (46 centimeters) to infinity in normal AF mode, and from 2.0 inches to 1.5 feet (5 to 46 centimeters) in Macro mode. An Infinity fixed-focus mode is also available. The S410 uses Canon's sophisticated, nine-point AiAF (Artificial Intelligence Autofocus) system to determine focus, which uses a broad active area in the center of the image to calculate the focal distance. Also built-in to the S410 is an AF assist light, which aids the focus mechanism in low lighting. For composing images, the S410 has a real-image optical viewfinder, as well as a 1.5-inch color LCD monitor. The LCD reports a fair amount of camera information, but excludes exposure information such as aperture and shutter speed. In Playback mode, a histogram display reports the tonal distribution of a captured image, useful in determining any over and under-exposure.
Like the rest of the ELPH line, exposure control is automatic. The S410 does provide some manual adjustments, however, as well as a range of exposure modes for specific shooting situations. The Mode dial on the rear panel controls the main operating mode, offering Auto, Manual, Stitch-Assist, and Movie modes. A Mode switch on the back panel offers Record and Playback settings. Shutter speeds range from 1/2,000 to 15 seconds, with the 1.3- to 15-second end of the range only available in Long Shutter mode (which also automatically invokes a Noise Reduction system to eliminate excess image noise in longer exposures). In straight Auto mode, the camera essentially controls everything about the exposure except for file size, flash, etc. Manual mode provides more hands-on control, with White Balance, Exposure Compensation, ISO, and a host of creative effects. Camera operation is straightforward and simple, as you typically point and shoot most of the time. Halfway pressing the Shutter button sets focus and exposure, and the small LEDs next to the optical viewfinder let you know when the camera is ready to take the picture.
The S410 uses an Evaluative metering system, which means that the camera divides the image area into zones and evaluates each zone to determine the best overall exposure. A Spot metering option ties the exposure to the very center of the frame, and is useful for off-center or high contrast subjects, as you can pinpoint the exact area of the frame to base the exposure on. There's also a Center-Weighted metering option, which bases the exposure on a large area in the center of the frame. (The manual makes a mistake and shows the spot icon for both evaluative and spot metering modes, so be sure to notice the order as you scroll through the options: Evaluative is first, then Center, then Spot. With spot mode selected, a small bracket appears in the center of the LCD.) Exposure Compensation lightens or darkens the overall exposure from -2 to +2 exposure equivalents (EV) in one-third step increments. A White Balance option offers Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, and Custom (manual) settings. The S410 also offers a creative Photo Effects menu, which adjusts sharpening, color, and saturation. Sensitivity equivalents include 50, 100, 200, and 400 ISO settings, as well as an Auto adjustment. The S410's built-in flash operates in Auto, Forced On, Suppressed, Red-Eye Reduction, and Slow-Synchro modes. You can also lock the flash exposure in a similar manner to locking normal exposure. Halfway pressing the Shutter button and keeping it pressed initiates the exposure lock, signaled by two beeps, then you press the metering mode button, and an "FEL" icon appears in the LCD monitor as a preflash is fired. FEL stays in effect until the Shutter button is released or fully pressed so the photographer can recompose.
A two- or 10-second self-timer option counts down by flashing a small LED on the front of the camera before firing the shutter, giving you time to duck around the camera and get into the shot. (The two-second option is handy for times when you want to prop the camera to avoid the blurring that can come from hand-holding long exposures, but don't want to wait for the full 10-second countdown to elapse.) Stitch-Assist mode is the S410's panoramic shooting mode. The series of images can then be "stitched" together into one panoramic frame with the accompanying software. The S410 also has an improved Movie record mode, which records moving images with sound for as long as three minutes per clip, depending on the resolution setting and amount of memory card space. (Movies are recorded at either 320 x 240, or 160 x 120 at 15 frames per second for up to three minutes.) Finally, an improved Continuous Shooting mode captures a series of consecutive images (much like a motor drive on a traditional camera), at approximately 1.5 frames per second, for as long as the Shutter button is held down. The actual frame rate will vary with the resolution setting, and the total number of images will depend on the amount of memory card space available, as well as the file size. Through the Record menu, a High Speed Continuous Shooting mode is also available, capturing images as fast as 2.5 frames per second, slightly faster than the S500, likely due to the smaller file size produced by the 4 megapixel imager on the S410.
The My Camera settings menu lets you customize camera settings to a specific theme. Everything from the startup image to operating sounds can be assigned to a theme, either one of the pre-programmed themes or one downloaded from the camera software. You can also use shots on the CF card as startup images and record your own sounds right from the camera to substitute for the system sounds. A great way to make your camera too annoying for others in the family to use. The sounds and pictures are "registered" to the camera so that no matter what card is in use, the sounds and pictures remain. The S410 also lets you record short sound clips to accompany captured images, via the Sound Memo option, great for lively captions to vacation photos or party shots.
The S410 stores images to CompactFlash Type I memory cards. A 32MB card accompanies the camera, but I'd recommend picking up a (much) larger capacity card right along with the camera, as CompactFlash cards are available as large as one gigabyte, and the S410's 4-megapixel images take up a fair bit of space. The camera utilizes a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack for power, which accompanies the camera, along with the necessary battery charger. Because the S410 does not accommodate AA-type batteries in any form, I'd advise picking up an additional battery pack and keeping it freshly charged. The optional AC adapter is useful for preserving battery power when reviewing and downloading images, and actually has a "dummy" battery that inserts into the camera's battery compartment. A USB cable and interface software are also packaged with the camera, for downloading images to a computer and performing minor organization and corrections. Two software CDs provide the necessary drivers and editing software, both compatible with Windows and Macintosh platforms. One CD holds Canon's Digital Camera Solution Disk version 16.0 and the other features ArcSoft's Camera Suite version 1.3. Finally, an A/V cable can connect the S410 to a television set, for reviewing and composing images. The S410 is DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) compatible, with detailed print settings in the Playback menu. Canon offers a selection of direct-connect printers as well, which simplifies printing even more.
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