How's the movie mode on the Canon PowerShot S1 IS?

[statik213]

^^^^

 

[91TTZ]

From all reviews, it is very good.

 

[SynthDude2001]

It's great, I've used it quite a bit. In situations of pretty low light it isn't the greatest, but generally it's very good. Takes up a lot of space though.

Edit: Do you have any specific questions?

 

[dawks]

my brother in law has one and the quality is great!

640x480 at 30fps looks very nice. clip length is only limited by the memory card size.

Maybe I'll try posting a clip when I get home from work.

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: dawks
640x480 at 30fps looks very nice. clip length is only limited by the memory card size.

That's not entirely true; there is a "hard-coded" file size limit at 1GB, but it's still much better than you'll probably find in any other camera

 

[tami]

why not S2 IS?

 

[IceBlue]

I bought my Digital Rebel before I got the S1, so the S1 was my first digicam with a movie mode. I am very impressed with the video quality, especially outdoors. Inside in low light it's not quite as good, but still very acceptable. It is cool to be able to zoom while recording. I haven't played anything back through a TV yet, but playback on my computer the clips look great to my eyes. The Image Stabilization is also a great feature.

I usually record in the 640x480 30fps mode, but it swallows a 1 GB card in about 2 minutes. Them I use Windows Media Encoder to reduce the file size into "email-able" chunks. My parents love this, as they can watch how much of a mess my 1 year old made at dinner on the same evening.

Summary: Great camera. The S2 adds a few more features, such as 5 Mpixel and stereo microphone, but for the price Dell is selling it today(check out your favorite deals site), I'd buy another!

 

[91TTZ]

The movies produced by a Powershot S1/S2 will look much better on a computer than a MiniDV movie will, due to the fact that MiniDV movies are interlaced and about half the vertical resolution must be stripped from them during deinterlacing. In addition, the Si/S2's resolution is higher to begin with.

Read my post about this here

 

[statik213]

I'm sort of looking to get the S1 since it's going cheap.
I was wondering if it would serve as a replacement for a camcorder, I know that there are size limitations. BTW how much is 1GB of 30fps 640 x 480 movies? 30 mins at least?
The only downside is that it's 3.2 MP for stills and that's on the lowside. But I've heard 3.2 MP is good enuff for 8.5 x 11 prints....

 

[statik213]

Originally posted by: dawks
my brother in law has one and the quality is great!

640x480 at 30fps looks very nice. clip length is only limited by the memory card size.

Maybe I'll try posting a clip when I get home from work.

That would be great if you can post a clip.

 

[statik213]

Originally posted by: tami
why not S2 IS?

'cos it's abt 2x times the cost and does not take CFII cards. MMC/SD is still more expensive than CFII
BTW does the S1 take CF+ II microdrives?

 

[ActuaryTm]

Originally posted by: statik213
...'cos it's abt 2x times the cost...

Not if you catch it on sale.

 

[statik213]

Originally posted by: ActuaryTm

Originally posted by: statik213
...'cos it's abt 2x times the cost...

Not if you catch it on sale.

Still, a little too rich for my blood. But it's tempting

 

[dawks]

Originally posted by: statik213

Originally posted by: dawks
my brother in law has one and the quality is great!

640x480 at 30fps looks very nice. clip length is only limited by the memory card size.

Maybe I'll try posting a clip when I get home from work.

That would be great if you can post a clip.

Sorry it took so long. I completely forgot..

heres the clip

I had to encode it with WMV9 to cut the file size. The original video was a 32.5meg AVI. This WMV9 file is VERY close to the same quality, however, its only 9.5megs. So yes, the video straight from the camera is slighly clearer, just slightly though.

 

[statik213]

Hey, thanks a lot! That looks pretty good. I think I'm gonna get this cam next time it's on sale @ Dell.