2005 June 10

Smileys are everywhere. Emoticons, they were once called. I still remember the first time I saw one of those sideways smileys. I thought it was nothing more than a flaky modem connection – until someone physically tilted my head to the side (simultaneously curing me of a stiff neck). Well, now I've seen a few banners with animated smilies proliferating popular Web sites. As if you needed graphics to fully express the way you're feeling at this very moment. Ponzi thought they were missing something, and decided to improv a few improvements. I decided to capture it on digital film for you here (just click the paper clip icon).

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The Best Digital Camera, Ever
As a rule, I don't buy a new device unless I've sold the old one first. The only Nikon I'll ever own went to a happy geek just north of Seattle, but not before I could get my hands on a hot little replacement: the Canon Powershot S2 IS. Canon's back, baby! I welcomed them back onto my shelf with open hands. They've finally made a camera just for folks like myself. I'm not quite the average consumer, but I'm not always a prosumer. I want at least 10x optical zoom, and unlimited VGA movie options. The PowerShot S2 improves upon the S1's weaknesses, according to reports (no surprises there) – and I'm very much looking forward to what Canon does with the eventual PowerShot S3 release. Until then, I'm ready to claim that this is the best digital camera I've ever owned.
At first, I was a little put off that the S2 relied on AA batteries – until I realized the freedom that gave me as a consumer. I'm loaded with Energizer 2500 mAh quadruplets, so there's no need to buy any proprietary or needlessly-branded add-on (are you listening, Sony?!). This probably saved Canon some money, and they're passing that savings directly on to buyers. The flash is manual, and won't pop up when needed – which can be good or bad, depending on how much you want to remain in control of your digicam experience. I'm struggling to think of things that I don't like about the PowerShot S2, really – the good strongly outweighs any shortcomings that I can uncover.
I love the speed on the Canon PowerShot S2 – it's faster than fast, in every possible way. Turn it on, snap a immediately successive series of high-quality photos, turn it off – done. No hassle, no wait, no kidding. I can also snap a photo right in the middle of taking a video (although that very action is recorded in the video) – major time saver, especially when time is precious. The zoom works wonderfully as well (to the tune of 12x optical, with image stabilization). The access panels to the SD card / batteries are quite tight, too. Swivel screen, a must. Stereo mic recording, amazing. Audio only recording, podcasteriffic. 5 megapixels is enough for most users; 8 was overkill, as I don't print photos. The PowerShot S2 IS's automatic scene modes work above par, according to my experience – but the real winner is in the on-board software.
I've never used a camera's integrated Sepia, Grayscale, etc. filters. Why bother, when software can do it all for you? Canon kicked it up a notch with their Color Accent and Color Swap tools – accessible directly from the Function menu. The PowerShot S2 IS's Color Accent allows you to isolate a color in real-time, graying out its contrasted surroundings. It's easier to show you with the photo I took the other day to demonstrate the feature to a friend. Wow? Yeah, WOW! No retouching on that image, folks – that's all the PowerShot's work. Color Swap is best illustrated with my Hulky fiancee. Again, I didn't edit these photos – the camera did everything for me. I love the way the Canon engineers are thinking, and I really can't wait to see what they do next.
The Canon Powershot S2 IS is a beauty that you must see, hold, and use to appreciate. The $500 price tag is quite attractive, given the versatility and size of this particular digicam. Dude. DUDE! This is exactly the camera I've been waiting for all these years, and it's finally sitting right next to me. No buyer's remorse here; I've learned my lesson. I'm rooting for you, Canon – and I hope this is just the beginning of another fantastic series of digital cameras.

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Immediately after realzing that Sony was screwing over the industry, I sold my DSC-S70 and moved over to a completely different brand. Everybody had good things to say about Canon, and they were a recognized name. My first Canon was a PowerShot G2, based on countless reviews stating that the company had listened to its G1 users and implemented revisions in the sophomore effort. I love when corporations do that, don't you? Sure enough, the G2 was an amazing camera for its time – even though it was competing head-to-head with a Nikon unit. I was thrilled with Canon's UI and feature set – so much, in fact, that I blindly upgraded to the G3 and eventually the G5. A few months ago, I got a bit restless. Canon's Web site had announced a G6, but it wasn't anywhere near as “slick” as the G2. More megapixels? Megaboring. I needed something new, and I was afraid that Canon was losing their edge. They've always been my favorite digital camera family, but it was time to find a close cousin (in the Nikon Coolpix 8800).

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I've owned a few digital cameras in my life… starting with the Sony Mavica FD7 (and continuing throughout the Mavica floppy series up to the FD95). That was back when serial cables were the norm, and removable media was very expensive. There are times I miss the idea of recording to a floppy disk – until I look at my system and realize that I don't even own a floppy drive anymore. Well, at least Sony is continuing the thought with their CD line of Mavicas (although, they're not as much fun – and certainly not worth the price). I jumped to the Sony DSC-S70 when the time was right, and enjoyed that with a couple of 128MB sticks of memory. Ultimately, however, I dropped all Sony products like hot potatoes after I realized the Memory Stick was a total farce. Sorry, Sony – unless you support another miniscule media format in your line of digicams, I'll never go back (even though I'll soon own a DUO for my PSP). Never.

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