First Look posted for Canon PowerShot S60!
By
Dave Etchells
(Tuesday, May 18, 2004 - 17:23 EDT)
Canon's mid-sized PowerShots have been popular ever since the original S30 and S40 were introduced nearly two years ago, as they've consistently offered great image quality, a rich feature set, compact size, and great build quality.
This year, Canon's leading off with a new model that uses advanced lens technology to pack a sharp 28-100mm zoom lens into the compact body. Until now, it's been very hard to make a high-quality, wide-angle zoom lens in a compact form factor because the thin optical elements required call for high-index optical glass, which has been next to impossible to mold into the aspheric profiles required to reduce distortion. Canon has apparently mastered the trick though, calling the result "UA" lens technology.
With the S60, they've also revamped the camera's user interface, making for considerably easier operation than with earlier models. (Despite the model name though, the camera's resolution remains at the same 5 megapixels of the previous S50.) I've had hands-on with a prototype of the new S60, and prepared a "First Look" of it.
As usual, since the First Look is based on a prototype model, there aren't any sample images or detailed performance measurements yet. (Although I can say, without actually showing the images, that the results from the prototype seemed encouraging.)
If you're looking for a camera with 90+% of the functionality of a camera like Canon's PowerShot G5, but in a much more sleek, compact case, the S60 could be worth waiting for. Meanwhile, check out my First Look!
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