Editorial - DR. Mac 

Dr. Mac - Jag-o-Canon

By Bob LeVitus

Canon's sent me a PowerShot S40 4 megapixel digital camera and a six-color S830D photo printer to play with for a while. But before I provide you with my impressions, I want to stress that is all they are--my impressions. As I've said before, I am not Macworld Labs. I don't have the skills, the equipment, the time, or the inclination to test hardware that way. Instead, I test using my patented "Dr. Mac" methodology--I use the heck out of the product in real-world situations. I shot hundreds of pictures and printed most of them at the highest-resolution the printer allows. So I can't give you benchmarks or MTBF figures, but having used a lot of cameras and printers in my day, I can tell you how they felt to me.

The PowerShot S40 is a mid-priced camera with many high-end features including a 3-point focusing system, a dozen automated shooting modes (plus manual mode, of course), and adjustable ISO settings (from ISO 50-400) that mimic film speeds, a huge benefit for low-light shooting.

I particularly liked the sliding door over the lens, which also acts as an on/off switch. The color LCD viewfinder was crisp and clear even outdoors, and slightly larger than you find on most digital cameras. Finally, I loved the high-speed continuous shooting mode. It can only grab five frames (in less than 3 seconds) before pausing to catch its breath, but it allowed me to get some incredible shots of my fast-moving soccer-playing son.

Moving right along, the S830D is Canon's newest reasonably priced photo printer, with resolutions up to 2400 x 1200 dpi and 6 ink colors in individual tanks.

The printer's Advanced MicroFine Droplet Technology(TM), "improves resolution and detail by ejecting consistent prescribed-volume droplets in ultra-fine sizes with remarkable precision and accuracy," according to a Canon press release. I don't know much about that, but I can tell you that the pictures I printed were drop-dead gorgeous. Every person I showed them to thought they were developed the old-fashioned way, with fixer and chemicals. Pretty impressive for a sub-$400 printer.

My favorite feature, though, was the "silent" mode, which was almost silent. Even with the printer a few feet away, I couldn't tell if it was printing by ear alone. That's impressive, too.

I printed photos, but I also printed many pages of text mixed with graphics, to determine if this could be my one and only printer. Those pages looked great and printed fast (less than 30 seconds) and the answer is a resounding, "yes I could." Of course 8 x 10 photos take longer--around two minutes--but they're worth waiting for.

Finally, the S830D is one of the first printers that lets you print direct from the camera, bypassing the Mac completely. A CompactFlash PCMCIA Adapter is included, so you can pop the CompactFlash card out of the camera and into the printer, or connect the camera via USB cable if you prefer. I like iPhoto and Photoshop so I didn't use this feature much, but it could be appealing to those without computers (or those with Pcs, which don't play nearly as nice with digital cameras as our Macs).

The S40's picture quality was exceptional and the excellent focusing options and bright LCD let me achieve a higher-than-usual percentage of clear, in-focus, and usable pictures. If I needed a digital camera or printer today, these are two that would be high on my list of possibilities.

PowerShot S40 (camera). Street price $550. S830D (printer). Street price $325. Canon USA. Lake Success, New York. 516-328-5000.

Bob LeVitus is a leading authority on Mac OS X and the author of 39 books, including Mac OS X For Dummies and Dr. Mac - The OS X Files, (or, "How to Become a Mac OS X Power User").