Video Out
The S100 comes with a video out jack that allows you to connect the camera
to a television set for reviewing images or composing shots (US and Japanese
models come set up for NTSC and European models for PAL). An accompanying
VC-200 video cable features a USB adapter on the end that connects to the
camera, meaning that the S100 uses the same output jack for video and digital
connections. The television can be used as a viewfinder in all modes except
Stitch Assist.
Power
The S100 utilizes a Canon NB-1L rechargeable battery pack for power, which
is a little disconcerting as it's less convenient than the standard AA batteries
(which are readily available in most grocery and drug stores). The good
news is that the battery pack uses lithium ion cells, meaning you can recharge
it at any time without worrying about permanently reducing its charge capacity.
Lithium ion batteries also have the advantage that they don't "self
discharge" (lose charge just sitting there) the way the more common
NiMH batteries do. Canon estimates that a fully charged battery pack will
provide approximately 85 shots with the LCD monitor on and about 270 shots
with it off. In Playback mode, Canon estimates that a fully charged battery
pack will provide about 50 minutes of playback time. These numbers are fairly
consistent with our own measurements shown below. (Due to the odd battery
compartment shape and special battery, we weren't able to measure power
consumption directly as we normally do. Instead, we timed how long the camera
would operate in various modes with a fully-charged battery. An optional
AC adapter is available and highly recommended for use during image playback
or when downloading captured images to your computer. There's also an Auto
Power Off function that can be turned on through the Setup menu and which
shuts down the camera automatically after three minutes of inactivity. The
table below details power consumption in various operating modes.
Operating Mode
Operating Time
Capture
Mode, w/LCD
57 minutes
Capture
Mode, no LCD
5 hours(!)
Playback
Mode
79 minutes
Included Software
Learn what the manual left out -
How to *use* your camera.
Camera manuals are (sometimes) fine for
knowing which button does what, but where do you go to learn
how and when to use the various features? Dennis Curtin's "Shortcourses"
books and CDs are the answer. (Cheap for what you get, too.)
Order
the Shortcourses manual for the camera reviewed in this
article.
Packaged with the S100 is a software CD containing Canon's Digital Camera
Solution Disk (ver 1.0), compatible with Windows 95/98/NT 4.0 and Macintosh
OS 7.5.3 or higher. The Solution Disk software provides an image browser
tool that handles image downloading, manages files (displays, moves, copies,
etc.), sets up images for printing and allows you to set up images for e-mail.
As part of the Solution Disk, the PhotoStitch software allows you to connect
your panoramic sequence images by automatically arranging them into the
correct order. The software also assists with cropping and alignment. Another
CD packaged with the camera contains Adobe PhotoDeluxe, which provides image
correction and manipulation tools, as well as a variety of templates for
creating greeting cards, calendars, flyers, etc.