Canon S120

[Dave_S]

Following on from an earlier discussion on buying a new compact camera for Mrs S, I have bought her the Canon S120, which I think will suit her needs nicely.

Fit into the handbag, point & shoot or more adventurous options if desired, 5x optical zoom plus image stabilisation etc.

Genuine UK stock, and £349 inc delivery from Devon Cameras. £364 from WEX and Jessops.

£30 cash-back from Canon, brings it down to £319, so not a bad deal.

I look forward to having a play with it myself

Dave

[mikep]

Re: Canon S120

Nice one Dave.

I'd be interested in hearing what you think of it in action, as the 120 is the one I am thinking about as my carry everywhere, always camera!

Once you've had a play, perhaps a review? I'm interested mainly because of it's size and it shoots raw. Concerned about the 5 times zoom... My wife's 280hs is 20 times optical. I understand why only 5x though, as it's such a small form factor.

Hope you and Mrs enjoy the 120!

Mike.

[Dave_S]

Re: Canon S120

It will get some good use soon Mike, as we are off on a Cruise, and as I always felt a bit apprehensive walking around foreign ports etc, with the 7D hanging on my shoulder, that apprehension might move up a notch now, with the 5D Mklll + L glass.

So I might just share the s120 when doing this, and leave the 5d locked in the safe.

I'll feed-back my views on the s120, when I've had a good play with it.

Dave

[Hereford_EOS]

Re: Canon S120

Happy cruising Dave.

[Dave_S]

Re: Canon S120

The camera arrived today and initial impressions (handling and usability etc) are very positive.

However, one very disappointing aspect is the user-manual. Just six pages, and the only info provided is how to insert the battery and memory card. How to switch it on, set it to auto mode to take picture., view and erase images.

Not a mention of the M, Tv, and Av modes etc, menu settings, or even what the rotating ring around the lens does. Ok if you know your way around cameras, but compacts like this this aren't aimed at the hobbyist photographer.

I downloaded the manual from the Canon web-site, and this comprises some 213 paged, not six as supplied with the camera.

Sorry Canon, but I think its appalling not to supply a user-guide with the camera, even if it was on DVD. Your 'penny pinching approach' does you no credit at all.

If I had just given the camera to my wife, she would have been at a loss as to the facilities the camera has, as there is appallingly little info provided with the camera.

Even my 430 EXll ffash guns came with a proper manual, and these were much cheaper than the S120 camera.

Dave

[Dave_S]

Re: Canon S120

Well, I e-mailed Canon UK to have a whinge about the lack of a manual (on Disk or printed) provided with the Canon S120.

Here's what they had to say:

"We are apologizing for the fact Canon doesn’t provide printed manuals anymore, due to environmental reasons. We understand you are disappointed, we don’t supply manuals anymore with purchased products."

Environmental reasons my arse, more like 'penny-pinching'

Ok, so a printed manual in 20 different languages might be expensive and wasteful, but the whole lot would fit on a single CD.

Nowhere in their advertising, or any of their retail outlets advertising, does it state that a user-manual is not provided with Canon products, and that if you want one, you have to buy it from a third-party source.

Sorry Canon, but as a lifelong dedicated Canon user, I'm not impressed!!.

Dave

[S_J_P]

Re: Canon S120

...and what I find even worse is that when I download/print the manuals I have "C O P Y" plastered across every page

I'm with you Dave, a full manual in A6 format should be included with the product!

[anderson.council]

Re: Canon S120

I wonder if that is the case in the US where I get the impression that the consumer has a bit (way) more power than we do here in the UK ? The US web site is a case in point as it contains a lot more, in-depth information about their products compared to the "scanned in leaflet" that seems to be good enough for the UK.

Scott

[nickorando]

Re: Canon S120

I wonder if that is the case in the US where I get the impression that the consumer has a bit (way) more power than we do here in the UK ? The US web site is a case in point as it contains a lot more, in-depth information about their products compared to the "scanned in leaflet" that seems to be good enough for the UK.

Scott

Don't know where you get that impression; we're much more protected by consumer legislation over here, and as such, have way more power.

[Columbarius]

Re: Canon S120

I've taken to downloading the manuals to my tablet & reading them with the Kindle app. I almost always have the tablet so there's no extra weight & the manuals are pretty easy to use.

[Dave_S]

Re: Canon S120

I wonder if Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, or Fuji adopt the same no supplied manual approach?

Dave

[anderson.council]

Re: Canon S120

Don't know where you get that impression; we're much more protected by consumer legislation over here, and as such, have way more power.

Sorry Nick I wasn't really clear on that. I didn't mean an individual's legal rights. I should have said that as a result of simple power of numbers they are better catered too. Again that's just the impression I get from reading forum posts about how people will make a purchase often as part of a comparison and return the model that comes of worse in their test. Happy to be proven incorrect on that.

I still think the US web site is better than ours though.

[Dave_S]

Re: Canon S120

Just noticed that the EOS Mag shop sells these Manuals.

S120 printed manual £14.95.

I bet you won't see Canon or its retailers stating S120 £364, manual to show you how to use it, an extra £14.95

Dave

[S_J_P]

Re: Canon S120

Like Russell I download the .pdf's, but I store them in Dropdox/OneDrive/GoogleDocs for easy access. Unfortunately i invariably forget where I saved them and/or have no signal to download them

[nickorando]

Re: Canon S120

Sorry Nick I wasn't really clear on that. I didn't mean an individual's legal rights. I should have said that as a result of simple power of numbers they are better catered too. Again that's just the impression I get from reading forum posts about how people will make a purchase often as part of a comparison and return the model that comes of worse in their test. Happy to be proven incorrect on that.

I still think the US web site is better than ours though.

That is as a function of their legal rights, though - nothing to do with power of numbers. We actually have similar rights under distance selling regulations.

Agree about the US site!