Areas for improvement
There was one consistent complaint I had while using the S1. The play, pause, rewind, etc. buttons were in an inconvenient place and struck me as difficult to operate. They are on the left-hand side of the camera, above the TFT screen. They are small and recessed into the camera body. To view the screen and press a button at the same time takes some dexterity, since you have to come at the buttons with the left hand, which blocks the screen. If I wanted to see which button I was actually pressing I could no longer see the screen, because I had to turn the camera. A screen that swiveled out more than 90 degrees would easily solve this problem, I think.
The playback buttons are small, hard to read, and in a difficult place to access easily.
Another small complaint is the fact that Canon uses Mini SD cards instead of the more popular and more common SD cards. That meant I wasn't able to use the SD card I already had from my other Canon digital camera. The S1 does come with a 16MB card, but anyone who's ever used a camera before knows that that's not much storage. S1 owners will have to invest in a card with greater storage if they don't want to worry every time they snap a photo whether that's the last one.
Conclusion
Canon has made a camcorder fit for home-movie novices and old hands alike. The intuitive controls let just about anyone pick it up and start recording. It also has more sophisticated functions for video aficionados who want to personalize their recordings more. But no matter how many bells and whistles this camcorder has (and it has a few), not enough can be said for its size. Canon seems to have found just the right balance of size and weight to make this camcorder completely tote-able, yet with enough bulk to make it shoot smooth and steady video — and feel satisfyingly substantial in your palm.
As I found out during my short time in Germany, there's a lot to think about when you're trying to make meaningful videographic memories, and the fewer distractions you have, the better. If I'd had bulky equipment, I would have been less likely to use it often, and endless searches for important functions would have made me regret even bringing a camcorder along. But the S1's combination of user-friendly features and good design made things effortless, so I could get on with enjoying my vacation.
