Don’t leave home without it
By Lawrence I. Charters
October 30, 2001
Probably the best compromise between power and portability, the Canon PowerShot S300 Digital Elph (OK, so the name is silly) is an outstanding camera. Slightly larger than a deck of cards, I have learned to carry it anywhere, everywhere, since you can’t take a great photo if you don’t have a camera.
On a recent scientific expedition to Alaska, roughtly half the photos I took were made with this camera, as well as all the QuickTime video clips. Under brutal environmental conditions (bouncing boats, vibrating ships, dim light, mist, fog, rain, glaciers, bears, puffins) the camera did an outstanding job.
Two recommendations: buy a big CompactFlash card (the included 8 MB card is a joke) and buy a second rechargeable battery. With this camera and a USB-equipped laptop (I used a PowerBook G4), plus the excellent software included in the package, you can do amazing things.
Update:
While I no longer have this camera, over the course of seven years I took over 11,000 photos and video clips. It may have been “only” a 2 megapixel camera, but it was the 2 megapixel camera that I had, and it had a viewfinder, placing it well ahead of the curve when it comes to taking good shots compared to a smartphone.