The Hunt for the Best Ultra-Compact Camera
by Stephen Caston on October 5, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Digital Camera
Final Words
The Canon PowerShot S410, Casio Exilim Ex-Z40, and Pentax Optio S40 are cameras with similar dimensions and features. All three cameras offer a 3x optical zoom and 4 megapixel output. In addition, all three cameras have similar exposure controls allowing for the adjustment of white balance, ISO setting, exposure compensation, and AF points. In our tests, however, we discovered some major performance differences.Starting with speed, the Casio Z40 has the fastest startup and shutter lag times. Also, it matches the Canon S410 with a very fast shot-to-shot time. The Pentax S40 proved to be the slowest camera with its 3.75 sec. shot-to-shot time and its super-slow 12.2 shot - to-shot w/flash time. We were also annoyed by the startup delay of the S40 while the flash charges during startup. Fortunately, we were able to disable the flash to avoid this startup wait. The Canon camera performed well in respect to shot-to-shot time with and w/out flash and also pre-focused shutter lag.
We were very impressed with the Casio Z40's auto WB performance under tungsten light. Unfortunately, with all other settings, the Z40 was either overexposed or had a slightly cool cast. The Pentax S40 showed decent color reproduction other than the occasional cool cast and underexposure. Overall, the Canon S410 showed the most accurate color reproduction capability. In addition, the S410 consistently produced vibrant, well-saturated, and balanced exposures.
We not only found the Canon to have the best color reproduction, but also the best resolution. In our resolution chart, the Canon S410 and Pentax S40 showed similar performances. They both proved to capture great detail. However, the S410 produced the clearest chart with a bit more resolving power than the S40. The Casio Z40 showed decent resolution. However, we noticed some moiré at its limits. When it comes to noise performance, the Canon takes the lead again. At ISO 400, the S410 retains an incredible amount of detail. The Pentax S40 came in a close second with a fair amount of detail, while the Casio Z40 was the worst with a large loss of detail.
In the end, we had to choose the Canon PowerShot S410 as the best camera of the bunch. It produces bright, colorful, well-exposed, and sharp pictures very consistently. The Pentax Optio S40 would be our second choice because of its impressive image quality and long battery life. The Casio Exilim Ex-Z40 had a lot of potential to be a great camera. For example, it has the smallest build, largest LCD monitor, fastest startup time, extraordinary battery life, and wonderful auto white balance in tungsten lighting. However, it simply does not deliver images that are of the same quality as the S410. It produces images with jaggies visible along straight lines and a high level of noise. Also, there is no option to select metering and it does not offer TV-out capability. To top things off, it is the most expensive of these three cameras. The choice always comes down to the user. If speed is more important than image quality, perhaps the Casio Z40 is the perfect camera. We chose a more well-balanced camera with excellent image quality: the Canon PowerShot S410.
| Canon S410 | |
| Pros | Cons |
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| Casio Ex-Z40 | |
| Pros | Cons |
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| Pentax S40 | |
| Pros | Cons |
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Thanks again to Newegg.com for loaning us the Canon PowerShot S410, Casio Exilim Ex-Z40, and Pentax Optio S40 for review.
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stephencaston - Wednesday, October 6, 2004 - link
#11: For the continuous drive section of the specs, we use the results of our test. Canon is rated at 2.5 fps, but we found that in the highest resolution and SuperFine mode, we were able to take 3 shots at 2.8 fps.Thanks, I'll add a little note in the specs table.
flexy - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
i love my S230 with its 640x480 video capability. Believe me, once you get started with vids and a good editing program like Vegas you wont get back and pics are only the bonus :) And all that fun with such a tiny cam :)I consider the picture quality/optics of the Canon Powershots "ok" - if you consider it's a shoot and point and not a SLR with hyper-great image quality/zoom etc.
Its picture quality is 'overall good' - a great allround camera with nice features (esp. the vids :). I would prefer my S230 (or newer) any time over a big/bulky camera.
Pros:
nice 640x480 vids
IQ good for a point/shoot
size
stylish
Cons:
weak zoom
xand - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
Also, the continous drive information for the cannon in the specifications table is wrong.xand - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
The "best pictures" of this lot of cameras are almost a given; the S410 has a sensor of the same generation with an area of 38.2mm(1/1.8"), as compared to the others, which have 24.7mm (1/2.5") sensors.What would be more interesting would be a comparison of newer cameras by major manufacturers; generally they now all come with 1/2.5" sensors, including the new canons.
stephencaston - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
#8, Unfortunately, we were limited by which cameras we could choose and the S4i was unavailable at the time. However, we feel that the S40 is comparable to the other two cameras with respect to exposure options, size, etc. The S4i would have been a good option and we would have included it if it was available.rliao - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
How come the S4i wasn't reviewed? Isn't it more of an appropriate comparison?SleepNoMore - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
I looked at the Canon S series - they are very nice - almost bought one - THEN I found the Pentax Optio 33WR (now it's upgraded to 4 MP and called the Optio 43WR).It's WONDERFUL.
First of all, it's highly water resistant, has gaskets all through it.
Has about 13 programmed modes but I never need them really I just point and shoot and things look great. White balance is always right on.
Panorama/stitch modes, close-up modes, etc.
Takes SD cards.
Quicktime movies are a bit cheesy (320 X 160) it's more the sound I have issues with than anything but most of the time it's acceptable.
I'm guessing the Pentax 43WR goes for around 280 bucks - havent checked lately.
If you want a camera you can take skiing, snowboarding, to the beach or stand out in the rain without worrying about damage to the electronics, this is the one. It's also not gooney looking (i.e. bright yellow etc) like some other water resistant cameras.
stephencaston - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
#5 thanks, I have fixed the mistakeGumbico - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
Actually, the S410 only allows 3 mins of vid time. That's my only gripe about this camera.TheAudit - Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - link
I have the Canon and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve never been one to read through a manual and this camera was easy enough to figure out so I did not have to do so. I am always surprised at how crisp the pictures are. Of course, I am not a professional photographer but this camera provides everything that I want in a camera – good pictures and small size because I hate carrying stuff around.