Quantcast
PCWorld.com is upgrading some back-end systems. Some site features, such as user registration, may be temporarily unavailable.
Subscribe to magazine

Digital Elph Scores High on Cool-o-Meter

The stylish Canon Elph hides in your pocket for snapshots on the go.

  • 0 Yes
  • 0 No

Too Much Style?

Along with its good looks, the Elph serves up a couple of design quirks. Because of the camera's small size, the optical viewfinder is correspondingly tiny and located too close to the right-hand grip. While looking through the viewfinder, I couldn't get a firm grip on the camera without pressing my nose against my thumb. The built-in flash is also small, and it doesn't provide enough of a light source for dimly lit photo opportunities. As a result, test photographs taken indoors and at night came out dark and lacked background detail.

For downloading pictures, the Digital Elph offers a Universal Serial Bus cable.

The overall package is decent. Canon includes its PhotoStitch software for merging photos to create panoramic shots, as well as Adobe's PhotoDeluxe photo editing package, a rechargeable NB-1L lithium-ion battery, and a recharger. In my informal tests--during which I shot through the viewfinder and checked images on the LCD--the battery ran out of juice after about 2 hours of shooting. (Operating the LCD uses up the battery quicker than any other activity.)

The Canon PowerShot S100 Digital Elph rates high on the cool-o-meter, and it takes handsome outdoor photos. But given the camera's features, the list price is a tad high. We found the camera available online at about $100 less than its list price. However, we were also able to find the Olympus C-2020 and the Nikon CoolPix 800--both 2-megapixel cameras that offer more manual features than the Elph--selling for about $600.

  • Recommend this story?
  • 0 Yes
    0 No

Featured APC Accessories

  • APC Back-UPS ES Safeguards your equipment from damaging surges and spikes that travel along your utility & data lines.
  • APC SurgeArrest Performance Highest level of protection for your professional computers, electronics and connected devices, as well as provides surge protection.

Deal Breakers

Special Offers for PC World Users

People who read this also read:

  • 15 Minutes to a Secure Business Get the Secure in 15 toolkit starting with the "15 Minutes Month-at-a-Glance" calendar. McAfee will send you additional tools and tricks to stay protected around the clock.
  • A Buyer's Guide to Data Protection Implementing data protection products and processes can be daunting. Make the right decisions by exploring what is available and what makes sense for your organization. Use this simple guide to evaluate different vendor offerings.

Sponsored Links