Canon Powershot S40

It's compact with a high spec, but can the Powershot S40 deliver on image quality?

Canon has updated its Powershot range with the S40 almost two years on from the release of its predecessor, the S20. The camera's 4megapixel CCD sensor is capable of resolutions from 640 x 480 to 2,272 x 1,704, which is good for prints up to 10 x 8in.

The highest resolution, with minimum compression, leaves you with jpeg images nearly 4Mb in size. The S40 cannot store tiff images.

The 11x zoom quoted on the box is actually a 3x optical zoom, with the rest made up of a digital zoom. That equates to a 35-100mm lens on a standard 35mm camera. It can focus at as little as 10cm in macro mode, and the inclusion of a manual focus mode is an added bonus.

Exposures range from 15/1,500 to 1/1,500 second, but it's mainly an automatic affair, giving you merely white balance and exposure compensation from + to - 2 EV (exposure value) in 1/3 stops.

The dark chrome finish is a clear improvement over the champagne gold tackiness of the S20 and, at 112 x 42 x 58mm (w x d x h) and weighing just 260g without a battery, it's the smallest 4megapixel camera we've tested.

Despite its size, it is wide enough to feel comfortable, with logical rests for your thumbs, and the controls are within easy reach. The display switch button is kept separate from the mode selector and even when the lens is closed and the camera functions are off, you can still view your images.

At 1.8in diagonally the LCD screen is bright and large considering the camera's size. The clarity of vision through this almost renders the optical viewfinder (with dioptre meter) redundant.

The play option is kept away from the main control dial, nestled instead on a separate button. In play mode, besides the picture, the settings at which each picture was taken and a small spectrograph are shown.

This causes the size of the images to be drastically decreased. Although they are recognisable, you cannot really discern whether or not options such as white balance are correct, or pick out red-eye from a crowd.

The Powershot S40 comes with a 16Mb Compact Flash card; while we always hope for more, this is the most we tend to find in consumer digital cameras. It can also handle Type II Flash cards, and therefore IBM Microdrives, so 4Mb images become a more realistic prospect.

Up to two minutes of video at its lowest resolution (160 x 120) with sound can be stored on the 16Mb card. The microphone is situated at the front.

Next to the composite video out is the mini-USB connection. Both are located beneath a rubber flap, next to the AV-out. The rubber flap is a disappointment as it can tear off too easily. Although instantly recognised by XP, the S40 still requires drivers to be installed before it can upload images.

Image quality was quite a disappointment, particularly in the dark. When shots were taken in darkness using automatic white balance and without a flash, the resulting images were very grainy, and had an overall yellow tint.

There was very little colour definition in any of the images we took, in light or dark. Sadly, the performance of many 3megapixel cameras we've seen is vastly superior.

The S40 uses a Canon-branded lithium-ion battery which, on our test unit, was capable of no more than 15 to 20 shots; of course, taking high-resolution, low-compression images drains power very quickly, but this number is still unacceptable.

Aside from the drivers (included for 98, ME, 2000 and XP, and Mac OS 8.6 onwards) the main feature of the software package is Arcsoft's Photoimpression and Videoimpression. Both are basic programs and a little awkward to use, providing precious few editing options.

Rival 4megapixel cameras are few, to say the least, particularly of this size. The Olympus C40 Zoom is only slightly larger but has vastly superior image quality.

Casio's QV400 and Olympus' other 4megapixel model, the C4040 Zoom, are also superior in features and performance. All three are £100 more expensive and, while this is the most compact, in our opinion, the extra money would be well spent.

Contact: Canon 0800 616 417
www.canon.co.uk