Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon S2is Digital Camera with Image Stabiliser [5MP, 12 x Optical Zoom]

i searched around for a good camera for ages, bought all the magazines and read all the online reviews, in the end i opted for this camera. i also bought the cannon rechargeable battery pack at 35 pounds. i was initially fearfull that the batteries would run out quickly but from super charging the batteries a couple of times, the camera managed to last for a whole weekend of sigth seeing in barcelona on a single charge. i took over 650 photos looked at them all each night, and managed to down load them twice to different computers and the batteries still didnt die. AMAZING!, the quality is fantastic, the macro shots are brill the super macro is soo good you can almost touch the object with the lens and it is still in focus. i also bought it for the videoing feature. the fact that you can do 48 times zoom while filming is fantastic, the zoom is nice and smooth and slow and stays in focus all the way, the sound it picks up is also surprissingly good (better than a lot of video cameras i looked at) also you get the added benifit of being able to connect differnt type lenzes to it (like wide angle)which you cant on a normal camera.
bargain of the century and the best camera out there. all the fearures rock. espcially the stictch where you take a sequence of shots and can merge them together to make a massive panoramic pic.
superb

I spent a long time looking at SLR Digitals (EOS 350D and 20D) but I could not justify spending £1000 plus after buying the necessary optional extras... then I found the Powershot S2. The spec sheet made for impressive reading as it contained the same (and more) features and capabilities as its' more expensive rivals. I have spent the last few days studying and experimenting with its' many features and it did not disappoint at all. It is solid and well built. It not exactly a compact digital, rather its' more like a compact SLR (in body) with substance with 12X optical zoom and great lens. The controls are easy to use and it feels good in the hand. A 512Mb SD and good quality rechargables are a must when buying! It comes with great software that helps the novice to organise their pics on the computer. You won't find another camera like this in this price range in this generation of cameras.

A brilliant camera, and fantastic value at this price!
Some comments to add to the other reviews.
The optical image stabiliser is a killer feature for me. Not only does it make hand held 400 mm shots a doddle, but for someone who hates using a flash the ability to easily hand hold shots at 1/8th second (and even 1/4) is a great asset. It largely overcomes one drawback c.f. a DSLR - the relatively smaller aperture.

The 'loose' lens cover is a benefit, not a problem - the number of times I have powered up the camera (with corresponding lens extension) without removing the lens cover first! Since it is tethered to the camera a tightly fittting cap would cause damage rather than harmlessly falling off. It has not yet fallen off otherwise.

Battery life (at least with 2000 mAh NiH) is fine - a 1000 photo's on a recent trip to Egypt only got through 1 1/2 sets.

Minor niggles - the EVF is low resolution and faint - made my attemts to use the camera for wide field astrophotography much more difficult (stick to an SLR). However, with such a long zoom I can see why there was little alternative. The main LCD is a step back from that on my IXUS 40 (I would prefer the bigger brighter display to the 'twist anywhere' ability). Neither allow decent manual focus, but then the autofocus has done a faultless job so far.

Although excellent layout of controls for use in 'landscape' orientation, there is a tendency to acceidentally hit the set and menu buttons when using the camera in 'portrait' orientation.

Overall though I have no regrets about buying this camera - an excellent alternative to a DSLR - the benefits (cost, sealed sensor, use of LCD to compose shots, no need to change lenses) far outweigh the drawbacks for general photography.

A fantastic buy! The S2 IS combines the simplicity of a point-and-shoot camera with its automatic modes, with advanced tweaking options as well. A really high quality camera with a host of really useful features that will make your photographs a lot easier to take and much higher quality as well. The 12x optical zoom is such an awesome feature as well. What's better is that you can take movies while using the optical zoom, so that you can zoom in without losing any detail t all.

To top it off, you won't find anyone selling it cheaper brand new than from Amazon.

Well worth the money.

I purchased the Canon S2 as an upgrade from my Olympus C740.
my requirements were for an image stablizer 5mp and much reduced
shutter lag.The S2 meets all these requirements.However after 3
months of use how much better is the S2 than the C740 it was to
replace.Well I am glad I kept the Olympus.The night mode on the Olympus is superb also with it being only a 3mp I certainly have
not noticed a great improvement in picture quality.The night mode on the Canon is awful not a patch on the Olympus.I now have an issue where the camera is asking for new batteries when I have just loaded fully charged ones.When selecting what camera to upgrade to it was between the Canon S2 and the Panasonic FZ20 or FZ5, I wish I had gone for one of the Panasonics.