5. The Greatest Photos

The photos produced by the S200 are the classic 1600 x 1200 pixel size. The 2x zoom is, in an equivalent 35mm camera, a 35-70 mm with apertures of f/2.8 through f/9 in wide angle, and f/4 to f/10 when used with a telephoto lens. In view of these modest apertures, a flash is certainly required in poor lighting conditions. While on the subject, it is a pity that the camera merely flashes its diodes on and off when lighting conditions seem to be poor, instead of clearly indicating the speed and aperture selected. Furthermore, especially when compared with the Dimâge X, it would be nice to have a larger zoom capability. But if that is a requirement, you will need to buy the S330, which is a little more expensive with its 3x zoom . The only consolation, even if it is less powerful than that of the Dimâge X, is that the S200 zoom produced more images than the Minolta.

Whether displayed on a screen or printed, photographs produced in wide angle or zoom mode are often very good. The exception that proves the rule is that the S200 does no better than its competitors in artificial light. Under such conditions, manual adjustment of the white balance becomes essential. On the other hand, is has a huge advantage in that not only can errors be corrected in manual mode, but white can be user-defined.

Sharpness And Speed

Manual focus and automatic exposure both proved to be very efficient in both indoor and outdoor lighting conditions, in standard mode and in macro mode at around 15 centimeters (6 inches) from the subjects. Note that the zoom function is available in macro, but in this case the camera should be held further away from the subject to get the correct focus.

The images captured are very sharp, in our tests they actually came out better than those of its three rivals Fuji, Kodak and Minolta. This translates logically into prints of better quality than those of the three other cameras tested. There was greater detail and the colors were truer than in the Kodak and Fuji. In this respect, only the Dimâge X is a serious contender, though its images are not as sharp. On the other hand, the Dimâge X is better in time tests. The S200 needs 2.8 seconds to power up and a second and a half per photo.