Head to Head
Canon Powershot S2IS vs Sony Cybershot DSC-H1
We look at the two latest prosumer digital cameras that sport Image Stabilisation, high zoom and a 5 megapixel resolution.
Image Stabilisation is basically a method of reducing any shake that can occur when you’re taking a picture. If you’ve tried your hand even a little bit at photography and experimented with a few settings on a digital camera, you’ll know that if you set a slow shutter speed, the pictures come out blurry unless you have a tripod. Sometimes you can even get a shake in the picture at maximum zoom. Here is where Image Stabilisation steps in. What IS attempts to do is remove shakiness from images that may otherwise occur. This will no doubt come in very handy for night photography, as well as in scenarios where you’re using full zoom, such as in sports etc.
Features
The Canon S2IS is an upgrade from its predecessor the S1IS, but sports some major improvements and enhancements. First, most people complained that 3.2 MP was rather low in a prosumer camera like the S1IS so Canon bumped it up to 5 megapixel. This will be more than enough for A4 sized prints. Second, the image processor being used is now Canon’s DIGIC II, resulting in faster camera operation, better colour reproduction etc. Also, the zoom has been increased from 10x to 12x. Apart from this, you’ll find SD (Secure Digital) card memory expansion instead of CF (Compact Flash) and, a much larger and clearer flip-open style LCD display.
The competition comes in the form of Sony’s DSC-H1. As far as specifications go, this Sony offers features similar to the Canon variant. You get a 5 MP resolution, image stabilisation, 12x zoom and a good macro mode. The H1 also comes with a much larger 2.5-inch LCD display and 32 MB of internal memory. The camera supports memory expansion via Sony’s Memory Stick standard. Though, no memory card is included in the box, so you’ll have to spend an additional amount to buy a memory stick.
Canon has an advantage here with the fact that the LCD screen is of the flip-open type. So it’ll be less prone to scratches and since the screen can also be twisted and rotated, you’ll be able to get odd-angles without having to bend yourself as well! Equally important is fact that Sony Memory Stick cards cost a lot more in the Indian markets as compared to SD cards. If you’re thinking of arming yourself with a whole gig of capacity minus the enormous pocket-hole, consider Canon again.
Ergonomics & Build Quality
Holding the S2IS is a tad inconvenient. No matter how much you try to reposition it, it won’t fit snugly into your hands. Although the shutter button is placed spot-on i.e. exactly within reach of your index finger, the same can’t be said of the other buttons. The manual focus and macro-mode buttons are completely isolated from the rest, and placed at the far left, on the camera lens. A 4-way button is included for navigating the menus along with other separate buttons for functions such as flash, video recording and self-timer etc. On the whole, the buttons aren’t well sized and don’t sport enough relief for easy accessibility. Consequently, you’ll end up wasting a bit of time preparing for a shot.
The DSC-H1 comes out a winner here. Unlike Canon’s silver-coloured plastic body, this one has a dark silver metal finish, making the camera look a lot more stylish. Although the H1, at 591 gms, is heavier than the Canon which weights 420 gms, it doesn’t feel unwieldy at all. This is because of the fact that it’s very comfortable to hold and accessing the buttons isn’t a bother at all. The buttons are perfectly sized and can be perfectly accessed with one hand. In fact, you can operate the entire camera and take a photograph with one hand. On the whole, operating the Sony DSC-H1 is a lot more comfortable than the Powershot S2IS.
Performance
If you’re shooting in lowlight conditions and need to use a higher ISO setting, then you better look at the H1. Canon’s S2IS has good image quality till 200 ISO. If you go higher than this, you’ll find much noise in your pictures – something that you’re definitely looking to avoid. Sony on the other hand performs consistently with the least amount of noise across the various ISOs and also has slightly better colour reproduction. The images are a lot more saturated in terms on colour and contrast and feel warmer.
One problem noticed with both the cameras is a considerable amount of purple fringing - what is technically called as chromatic aberration. This appears as purple highlights on the edges of bright areas in a picture. For instance, if you take a picture of a tube-light in an otherwise poorly lit room, the edges of the tube-light with have very slight purple coloured halos around them. While this may not be visible in standard 4x6†prints, it’ll become apparent in anything larger than that. Overall the Sony comes out better here due to better colour reproduction and a low level of noise.
As far as battery performance is concerned, neither of the cameras uses any proprietary battery. You can pop in 2 ordinary AA cells for the Sony and 4 in the case of Canon. As part of the package contents, Sony includes 2 rechargeable AA batteries along with a charger. With these batteries fully charged, you ought to be able to shoot about 290 pictures before they need to be recharged themselves. Canon on the other hand ships with 4 ordinary AA batteries, so you’ll have to spend additional cash buying 4 rechargeables and a charger. But you’ll end up getting about 350 pictures with the Canon model.
In the end, the Sony comes out a winner. It looks a whole lot more classy and is much easier to use. Everything will almost be intuitive if you’re acquainted with digital cameras and have tampered with them before. Sony performs better too! The only thing going against it is the high pricing for memory stick media and average battery life. ~Me
