Ultra Compact
Price (street) US$399
Also known as PowerShot S230 Digital Elph
Max resolution 2048 x 1536
Low resolution 1600 x 1200, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480
Image ratio w:h 4:3
Effective pixels 3.14 million
Sensor photosites 3.34 million
Sensor size 1/2.7 "
Sensor type CCD
Colour filter array G-R-G-B
Sensor manufacturer Unknown
ISO rating Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
Zoom wide (W) 35 mm
Zoom tele (T) 70 mm (2 x)
Digital zoom Yes, 3.2 x
Auto Focus Yes
Manual Focus No
Auto focus accuracy TTL, 9 AF areas selectable
Normal focus range 47 cm
Macro focus range 10 cm
White balance override Yes - 6 positions & manual preset
Aperture range F2.8 - F4.0
Min shutter 15 sec
Max shutter 1/1500 sec
Built-in Flash Yes
Flash guide no. 3.0 m (9.8 ft) 0 m
External flash No
Flash modes Auto, Fill-in, Anti-red-eye, Off
Focal length multiplier
Exposure compensation -2EV to +2EV in 1/3EV steps
Metering Evaluative, Spot
Aperture priority No
Shutter priority No
Lens thread None
Continuous Drive Yes, 2 fps, max 12 images
Movie Clips Yes, max 14/44/118 sec, audio
Tripod mount Yes
Self-timer 2 or 10 sec
Storage types Compact Flash (Type I)
Microdrive compatible No
Storage included 16 MB CompactFlash
Uncompressed format No
Compressed format JPEG (EXIF 2.2)
Quality Levels Super-Fine Fine, Normal
Playback zoom Yes
Video out Yes
USB Yes
Serial No
Battery / Charger Yes
Battery Canon Lithium-Ion & charger
Weight (inc. batteries) 250 g (8.8 oz)
Dimensions 87 x 57 x 27 mm (3.4 x 2.2 x 1.1 in)
Notes Full manual exposure mode, Movies up to 3 mins with fast CF cards
Dean - Nov 13, 2002 5:19 am - Voted 5/5
Untitled ReviewAmazing. This camera is perfect for backpacking. Small and light. I carry an extra battery and carry two 128 mb cards and I can shoot tons of pics.
Update Aug 24, 2004: I've retired this little camera and now use the Canon G-3 exclusively. However, even the G-3 is just about 2 years old and will probably get replaced sometime next year.
Update: Nov 20, 2005 I bought another Elph but one that is more uptown. It is the S 410 and it goes with me everywhere. I still use my G3 but it has to share time now. The 410 is half the weight but its pics are not as good as the G3's simply because you have to hold a small camera rock solid still to pick up a good quality image.