Canon Powershot S80

Canon isn’t shy when it comes to releasing new digicams. One year after the Powershot S70 hit the shelves, its successor, the Powershot S80, is now available.

Smaller and lighter than the S70, the S80 has a retro look to it, thanks mainly to the faux-leather design on the right hand grip. Sliding open the lens cover kicks the 3.6x zoom lens into action while a stunning 2.5in LCD viewfinder takes up the majority of the rear of the camera.

Equally impressive is the four-way control pad that doubles up as a scrollwheel, which lets you whizz through the menus.

Just like Konica Minolta’s Dimage X1, the S80 houses an 8megapixel CCD. Another similarity between these two cameras is the amount of image noise exhibited, especially with indoor shots.

However, in well-lit conditions we managed to get some decent results – colours were accurate and exposure was spot on.You will only really notice the noise when cropping in on detail or creating extra-large prints.

But it could be argued that if you’re not going to do either of these, why opt for an 8megapixel camera?

Canon has dropped support for raw files, which will disappoint enthusiasts, but both shutter and aperture priority are available along with a full manual mode. You can also fiddle with ISO speeds, exposure compensation and view a live histogram.The movie mode is capable of capturing films at a sizeable 1,024 x 768, but only at 15fps (frames per second). If you want smooth-flowing 30fps movies you’ll need to drop to 640 x 480.

The Canon Powershot S80 might be expensive, but you do get a lot for your money. The range of manual features will entice those who want to get creative while the build quality and overall design is top-notch.

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