Canon Powershot S90 Ratings,Reviews and Owners Manual
October 27th, 2009 • Filed Under•104 views
The pocketable PowerShot S90 gives powerful everyday shooting. Shoot quickly with a lens control ring and get superior low-light performance with a high-sensitivity 10.0 MP CCD and f/2.0 lens.A high-sensitivity CCD sensor gives outstanding image quality in a wide variety of lighting conditions. Even images taken at high ISOs show exceptionally low noise levels and a wide dynamic range.A bright f/2.0 aperture allows exceptional versatility, capturing low-light images and fast-moving subjects at higher shutter speeds. A wide angle of 28mm lets you put more in the frame, while Canon’s optical IS reduces blur caused by camera shake.
Index of Canon Powershot S90 Expert Reviews
- Wired—“WIRED Awesomely fast lens. Granular control over just about any aspect of your shots that you can think of. Slick control ring. Quick startup and shooting. TIRED Slightly bulkier than the smallest pocket cams. Backside controls are a little cramped. “
- Ken Rockwell—“The S90 has the good, traditional Canon menu system when you tap the FUNC button, not the crummier new one I’ve seen in some Powershots that require more button presses and remove some features. I’ll let you know more when I get my hands on a production version. From the prototype I used, I’m dubbing the S90 as the best compact digital camera that Canon, or anyone, has ever made.”
- DPReview—”The image below should give a good impression of how the Canon S90 compares size-wise with Panasonic LX3. It’s a touch smaller and more IXUS/SD-like than the LX3, its simplistic overall design making it visually appealing in an understated way.”
- LuminousLandscape—”With the S90 and its stable mate the G11 Canon has shown that it is paying attention to the needs of photographers who require pocketable cameras with raw capability. Indeed the S90, because of its diminutive size and decent controls, may just be the current market leader in this category. But, with the emergence of a new generation of large sensor / small sized cameras such as the Leica X1, Panasonic GF1, and Olympus EP-1 / EP-2 the industry is now turning in a new direction, and Canon hasn’t yet shown an inclination to play in this new arena.”
- DigitalTrends—”This camera is white hot – forget about getting a good deal for months. Checking legit online retailers, we only found list price and higher! Now is $429 a deal for a point-and-shoot? Yes, if you want the portability of an aim-and-forget camera, excellent low-light shooting, convenient tweaks galore via the control dials, and quality shots. However, if you want DSLR response, you won’t find it here, with its 1 fps speed. So as always, it’s a trade-off. Patient shutterbugs will love this camera as we did, but the slow speed will try the patience of many others. But as a second, handy camera for a DSLR owner, the S90 is really hard to beat.”
- CNET.uk—”The Canon PowerShot S90 has so many strengths that its weaknesses, such as they are, scarcely matter. Here at last is a compact that really does have dSLR-style features, really does approach dSLR image quality and, crucially, really will fit in your pocket. Bravo! “
- TrustedReviews—”The Canon PowerShot S90 is an excellent high-spec compact camera with the emphasis on image quality and controllable versatility. The range of features, build quality and results are excellent, although the fiddly controls and slightly sluggish performance are minor disadvantages. The only real problem is the extremely high price compared to rival models.”
- DigitalCameraReview—”I enjoyed taking pictures with the PowerShot S90. It takes excellent photos outdoors and very good pictures indoors as well. It has a high quality lens with minimal distortion. Leaving the flash off in most low light shooting situations was another bonus. It features excellent build quality and is quick and responsive.”
- DPInterface—”I would highly recommend the Canon PowerShot S90 to anyone else who wants a capable, imaging-savvy compact camera that excels at taking pictures. The camera’s image quality is easily better than most of the competition and its overall value will make buying the Canon S90 something you’ll –never– regret.”
- Pocket-lint—”The Canon PowerShot S90 brings some powerful creative controls in a package that fits right into your pocket. But it is a compact camera first, and as such, delivers impressive point and shoot performance. For those looking for a little more fun, then the S90 delivers it by the bucket load.”
- Camera Labs—”Canon’s PowerShot S90 is an ideal choice for enthusiasts who want a pocket camera without compromising on control and features. By essentially squeezing the PowerShot G11’s quality and control into a considerably smaller body with a brighter lens on the front, the S90 becomes one of the most desirable models in Canon’s current range.”
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(4.50 out of 5)
If you think 4x is weak, why not just go back to the SX-20? See, there are no good 20x ...
Both are good brands. I'd check at CNET.com and see user reviews on each. Each model is different.
Comment by
Mac User on 27 October 2009:
I decided to purchase a new pocket camera to take on a trip to Disney World. I needed low light capabilities for indoor and nighttime pictures without a flash and a wide angle lens. I purchased two cameras and compared them for several days prior to the trip. The two cameras were the Sony WX1/B and the Canon S90. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. The Sony is smaller, has better battery life, and does HD video. It has some unique and interesting modes including the rapid 10 shot and slick panoramic modes. The Canon has faster glass (f/2.0), full manual controls, a unique flexible control ring/dial, RAW capability, great build quality/feel and very low noise levels for a pocket camera. Its battery charger requires only two hours. The downsides of the Sony include a slow included battery charger (6 hours but you can buy a faster charger for $50), cheaper build quality/feel, and really poor auto white balance requiring constant manual tweaking. The contrast and exposure levels on the Sony images were also inconsistent and almost always worse than those on the Canon requiring a trip to Photoshop for corrections. The Sony also had higher noise levels at all ISO values than the Canon. The downsides of the Canon are it’s larger size (but still pocketable), the lack of HD video, worse battery life (buy a second battery) and its narrower zoom range (28-105 mm equivalent vs. the Sony’s 25-120 mm). The bottom line was that I was getting a camera mainly for pictures and while I will miss the HD video and some of the Sony’s special modes, the picture quality of the Canon was superior to the Sony. Its low light capabilities were also greater with the faster lens, its own lower resolution high sensitivity mode, and lower noise levels. I sent the Sony back and kept the Canon. I took about 700 pictures and shot about 50 videos with the Canon on my trip and feel that I clearly made the right choice. While the Sony was good, the Canon was the winner for me. Even in auto mode, the Canon took consistently good pictures. This was important when handing the camera to someone to shoot a picture of me. For me, it was all about the picture quality.
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Comment by
A Reader "Karl" (North Bethesda, MD USA) on 27 October 2009:
This is a great compact camera for serious photographers who want to be ready to shoot at all times but cannot lug around bulky SLRs and lenses everywhere. Why?
1. Image quality is the about the best you can get in a pocketable camera. First, Canon has made the optics and image sensor as large as possible for a camera this size. Second, they have kept the sensor to 10 megapixels, which means less noise in the images.
2. The LCD screen on the back is full size and makes it easy to compose shots. It also instantaneously shows the effects of changes in exposure compensation, white balance, etc. I really like this feature!
3. The camera has a separate control knob on top for setting the shooting mode, from full automatic to completely manual. Just like a digital SLR!
4. There is a customizable control ring around the lens that makes it possible to adjust a key setting very quickly, without digging through menus or pushing tiny buttons.
5. Another control ring on the back of the camera allows a further setting to be adjusted very quickly. And if that is not enough, there is a programmable shortcut key.
6. The camera is fast for a compact. It turns on in less than one second. Focusing takes a couple of tenths of a second, though your mileage may vary. Once focused, there is no noticeable shutter lag. Get a good memory card for best performance.
For example, I often shoot in aperture priority mode. Here, by default, the lens ring sets the aperture, and the ring on the back of the camera sets the exposure compensation to get your lighting just right. I have set the programmable shortcut key to adjust the white balance. Very efficient!
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Comment by
I. Seligman on 27 October 2009:
I’ve fallen in love with a camera!
The Canon S90 is 2009’s best of the smaller digital cameras for those who highly value a 28 mm wide lens, superb low light capability, manual control of shutter and aperture, and RAW capability. There are numerous bonuses, such as the two programmable rings, and a third programmable button, for fast control of things like focus, exposure, ISO, or white balance, instead of scrolling through a hodge podge of menus. If you want a 10x zoom, interchangeable lenses, or a larger camera for your grip, look elsewhere.
I don’t like using flash, and the f 2.0 lens and superb high ISO resolution is wonderful. I took photos in a very dim restaurant took photos of friends and my food, and the photos are clean and fairly noise free at ISO 800, and quite good at ISO 1600. Photos at 3200 are surprisingly good if shooting in dim light, not darkness. If you blow them up, sure you’ll see noise, however on my wide screen monitor, they are quite good. The photos at 1600 and 3200 are not the quality of a new higher end Digital SLR, however at this ISO, they are far, far better than any other “point and shoot” sized camera to date. To be fair, the S90’s chip is a small fraction of the size of an APC or even full frame sensor chip, and thus does a wonderful job in low light. The S90 does “drop” image size to about 1.3 Megapixels to get the ISO 3200 photo if light’s truly dim. This is a minor drawback to some, not if having “a decent” photo is far better than “no” photo to you.
The LCD screen is large and bright. Focusing is easy. Overall picture quality, colr and macro photography are superb. The antishake stabilizes well-I take photos at 1/6 second, and letters on a menu in low light are sharp-slower speeds than that and I brace my arms or camera. While point and shoot cameras can take a few seconds between exposures, the S90 has a “continuous” setting in the “candle” low light mode and in “P” mode, that, as long as your finger presses the shutter button down, it lets you take numerous photos slightly faster than every second, for over a dozen photos, if in decent light.
One drawback-the expensive Canon OEM battery only gives ~200 shots. Canon should put in a more powerful battery. Some cheaper off brand NB-6L compatible batteries offer 1300 mAH instead of Canon’s 1000 mAh NB-6L, and folks have been happy with those batteries in other Canon cameras. 300 more mAh means 30% greater capacity, not a different voltage. Whether you buy Canon OEM, or another brand, it’s best to have two batteries with you. Sometimes 3 batteries as a safety factor if you use the flash a bit, take videos, and will be unable to charge up for a while, Play it safe if you are at a wedding, or once in a lifetime event. Another minor drawback-the back adjustment ring is looser than I’d like, as it can be moved too easily and change settings if you are not vigilant. The front ring around the lens is a dream to work with.
I have used the Nikon D80 and D90 for serious work, and have kept the Canono SD 850 in my pocket to take photos anywhere, anytime. I am in low light often indoors, and the S90 trounces the SD850’s mediocre ISO 400 and up performance. I bought a hard carrying case that slides on my pant’s belt. While the S90 is just a tad too big for fitting in tighter jeans-it fits easily in looser pockets.
This gets 5 stars, and I’ve just started to learn its many capabilities and quirks.
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