Canon PowerShot S410 Digital Camera Review

by James Murray
Published on August 25, 2004

Navigation
Intro	Testing / Performance
Physical Tour	Components
Design / Layout	Modes
Control Options	Image Parameters
Connectivity / Extras	Overall Impressions
Conclusion	Specs

Color (8.08)
To test the color representation of the Canon PowerShot S410, we use Imatest Imaging Software and a GretagMacbeth color chart. The test measures the extent of variance in each tone from its ideal hue. Below is a copy of the chart with the outer square representing the camera’s produced color, the inner square being the camera’s corrected color, and the small inverted rectangles as the ideal tones.

The graph below is a depiction of the Canon PowerShot S410’s color production. The circles represent the actual colors produced by the camera, while the squares are the ideal tones. The line linking the two is the margin of error for that color. The greater the length of the line, the farther the camera’s produced tone is from the color’s ideal.

The Canon PowerShot S410 earned an 8.08 overall color score. With a 116.6% mean saturation, the colors produced by the S410 are quite over-saturated. The benefit of over-saturation is more vivid and lively colors. This is a common trend in the digital camera world, as often manufacturers create cameras that inherently over-saturate colors to achieve richer tones, particularly with skin tones. The S410's saving grace is that while many of its colors lean towards over-saturation, they do not stray too far from the color's naturalistic roots. The 7.44 mean color error the Canon PowerShot S410 scored attests to the camera's overall color accuracy and sets the camera apart from many of its point-and-shoot peers.

Still Life Scene
This is a shot of our evocative still life scene taken with the Canon PowerShot S410.

Click on the image above to view a full resolution version (CAUTION: The linked image is very large!)

Resolution / Sharpness (2.9)
We evaluate the resolution of each camera by taking exposures of an ISO resolution chart and running the results through Imatest Imaging Software. The imaging software reads the image and produces a “real resolution” score based on the actual pixels within the frame. While each camera has stated megapixel capabilities, these numbers are often inflated and will vary greatly from the actual resolution within the images themselves. Therefore, a camera that can capture over 80-89% of the manufacturer’s marketed megapixel count is considered a good performer, while over 90% makes it regarded as excellent.

 

The Canon PowerShot S410 scored a real resolution score of 2.9 megapixels. This is 74% of the marketed megapixel count. Although this may seem like a steep decline, the score itself is not all that bad. While the ideal would be to surpass the 80% mark, the 74% the S410 received is respectable and will provided adequate images for most point-and-shoot users.

Noise Auto ISO (5.13)
The Canon PowerShot S410 is similar to most point-and-shoot cameras in that it offers both automatic and manual ISO sensitivity settings. When in automatic mode the range is the same as in manual (50-400), but it is controlled automatically by the camera. The Canon PowerShot S410 has an impressive ISO range on the lower end, making it very useful in outdoor situations. However, when the lighting gets dimmer the noise levels get larger. Noise is the appearance of monochromatic dots on the surface of an image (similar to grain on film images). Noise levels get larger as light decreases and ISO sensitivity increases. Even though the appearance of noise is unavoidable, some cameras handle it better than others. The Canon PowerShot S410 is unfortunately is not one of those cameras. The overall automatic ISO function produced a score of 5.13, which is mediocre compared to other cameras in this range. However, it performed better than the camera’s manual function, allowing for the user to be lazy (and opt for automatic) without sacrificing image quality.

Noise Manual ISO (3.95)
To test noise levels we tested the Canon PowerShot S410’s performance at each manual ISO setting under fixed lighting conditions. Using the GretagMacbeth chart and Imatest Imaging Software we gauged the variance in image quality as ISO levels increased and used a regression analysis to determine an overall noise score. The following chart displays the performance of the Canon PowerShot S410.

As you can see above, the noise increases dramatically in the 400 ISO setting on the Canon PowerShot S410. This is to be expected, but not to this degree. With a manual score of 3.95 I was very disappointed in the S410. In low light situations this camera will have to be used with a flash to preserve image quality, but it will do well when out and about in the sunlight.

Speed Timing
Start-up to First Shot (7.6)
The Canon PowerShot S410 took almost 2 and a half seconds to start up and take its first shot. This is a pretty fair start-up time comparatively, but won’t be especially useful if you need to quickly capture a scene.

 

Shot to Shot (8.0)
There was an average of about 2 seconds in between consecutive shots on the Canon PowerShot S410. This enough to be noticeable, but few digital point-and-shoot cameras are devoid of this annoying lag time.

 

Shutter to Shot (8.2)
Similarly, the time between pressing the shutter button and capturing an image had a small lag time of 0.4 seconds. Although this time seems minuscule it is enough time for your desired image to move slightly or blur. However, the Canon PowerShot S410 performed well for its range.