Am I expecting too much of the S2 IS?? (pix inside)

[Nico18]

In the gallery of the review on this site I found pretty much all of the pictures too blurry. Check this one out: http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_s2-review/IMG_0009.JPG

And after fiddling a bit with Xnview:
http://xs43.xs.to/pics/05344/IMG_000y9.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs43&d=05344&f=IMG_000y9.jpg)
thats the kind of sharpness Im expecting of the S2 IS! Go on and compare! Am I utopic?

[JTL]

In the gallery of the review on this site I found pretty much all of the pictures too blurry. Check this one out: http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_s2-review/IMG_0009.JPG

And after fiddling a bit with Xnview:
http://xs43.xs.to/pics/05344/IMG_000y9.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs43&d=05344&f=IMG_000y9.jpg)
thats the kind of sharpness Im expecting of the S2 IS! Go on and compare! Am I utopic?That is SOOOOOO way over-sharpened that I cut my eyeballs on it!

[Nico18]

Maybe it is, but in my eyes thats how reality looks like!

[mauricio]

You're not "utopic", though you may be accused of having unrealistic expectations when it comes to sharpness, in particular, and image quality, in general, of a camera that has:
* a 12x zoom,
* 5MP on a 1/2.5 sensor

You can't have that much zoom (the lens quality has to give), and pixel density without sacrificing something. In this case, sharpness is the price you paid when you made your choice of the S2 IS. If image quality was your objective, you should have purchased a G6. Simple as that.

[reyval2k]

Here's a sample of post-processing to "refocus" your picture, so it doesn't appear too blurred or soft. Camera-shake maybe?:

[Nico18]

I heard the CCD sensor is too small for really sharp images. (1/2,5") In SLRs its much bigger. (please correct me if Im talking bull Im a digi-b00n as of yet)

[bluevolume]

I heard the CCD sensor is too small for really sharp images. (1/2,5") In SLRs its much bigger. (please correct me if Im talking bull Im a digi-b00n as of yet)

CCD size does not affect the sharpness of the image unless you are blowing it up past 100%. Sharpness is affected by CCD quality, image processing, and optics. The S2 is excellent among its class, and produces images on or above par for cameras in its price range. The only camera I've used that beats it is a Kodak Pro DCS -- but at about 5x the cost.

The image you reference is a bit soft, but keep in mind that you are looking at a 3D landscape that has been flattened into a image. Your eyes wouldn't be able to see that whole scene completely sharp if you were standing there in real life -- your eyes would have to re-focus as you looked at different areas of the scene.