Canon PowerShot XS40 HS

One of the advantages for being known as the "hobbyist photographer" at work - sometimes the folks at work give you fun photography-centered assignments outside your normal job scope. Case in point - I was asked to spec out a replacement for the facility's aging point and shoot camera. Aging, indeed - the current camera is a circa 2003 Kodak Easy Share model.

The requirements - something that wasn't too small, with a decent zoom and low light capabilities.

I chose the new Canon Powershot XS40 HS with 35x zoom, IS stabilization and sized smaller than a compact DSLR.

They even let me play with it first.



The handling is decent, with an articulating live display screen and an electronic view finder.
In addition to full Auto, there is a command dial, with DSLR modes - P, Av, Tv (Shutter priority in Nikon speak), even Manual Mode and some User Defined modes.
I tried to use some of these modes, but found myself extremely constrained due to the lens capability, especially in Av mode.


But I'm not the main user of this camera - the engineers in the plant are, and they don't care about having shallow depth of field!

They want the zoom and this is where this one shines.

The view of the bookcase in my office, as I stand behind the desk, using the camera's widest setting:


A mid-zoomed view, still standing behind the desk:


Zoomed all the way in:


All photos SOOC, taken in AUTO mode and no flash.

I also tested out the camera's Macro Mode:

Meh, it didn't do much for me - I couldn't zoom in to get the detail I wanted.

So this work assignment was a fun change of pace from my normal every day work duties. I also learned a bit about myself and my camera preferences. See, I've been considering a more compact camera to take with me when I can't take my DSLR. I learned that these pseudo-DSLRs aren't a fit for me.

In summary, the camera is great for those who desire a wide zoom capability, decent low light capability in an easy to use package.