back to article Canon Powershot S90

The S90 marks the re-introduction of Canon’s acclaimed PowerShot S series. Aimed at the serious amateur or professional photographer, it combines full manual capability with the simple design of a point-and-shoot, all in a pocket size camera with near-DSLR performance. Unsurprisingly, it comes with the hefty price tag of £449 …

COMMENTS

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  1. Dazed and Confused

    Damn!

    that wasn't what I was looking for. :-(

    My S50 has died and I want a replacement.

    But this misses the boat. There is no view finder. OK I often used the back screen but there are loads of cases where this doesn't work. Even my D300s screen can't be used in bright sunlight.

    Pixel count, who cares, it's just become a willy wanging competition from the manufactures. How big do you want to print the damn things anyway. The S50's 5MP often captured details that the kids 8MP camera can't - the Canon lens is good, the cheapy camera the kids use has a cheapy lens that means you get 8MP of blurred picture. The move to F2 rather than F2.8 could be useful, that is impressive for a zoom. Glad to hear the lens is good too.

    Speed was the old S50s Achilles heel and I'd love a replacement to be more responsive. Again, not worried about the frame rate, when I want that I can get 8FPS out of my Nikon. But the thing that drives me nuts with all the compact digitals I've used is the shutter lag. It makes then useless for photographing all sorts of things, anything that moves, kids in particular.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    SX200

    So what exactly do we get for the extra £150 (for the S90) over the Canon SX200?

  3. Dick Emery
    Alert

    OK here we go.

    I have read the review and taken onboard what you have said. It's true that this is not an 'all bases covered' compact camera. It has it's strengths as well as it's weakneses. I believe it's strengths far outweigh any weakneses IMHO.

    Some of it's weaknesses can be addressed by third party addons. I feel Canon really missed a trick with the ergonomics.

    A third party grip made from machine grade aluminium can be purchased at...

    http://www.kleptography.com/rf/#camera_s90

    This simple stick on grip does wonders for ergonomics with the shutter finger naturualy falling into the correct position and thumb iinto the groove at the back. It also prevents you from hitting the rear wheel as often and allows you to get a sturdier grip on the camera. You can even hold it one handed with not too much fear of it slipping out of your hand. Highly recommended.

    If you require the use of filters Lensmate now provide a stick on adapter allowing the use of 37mm filters.

    http://www.lensmateonline.com/newsite/S90.html

    Or on fleabay they do a S90 adapter tube that attaches to the hotshoe (Search for 'Canon S90 adapter').

    Also get a spare battery. It is a no brainer.

    As for cases it depends on preference. I just use an iPoo sock derivative and slide it in my pocket. Less bulk and protects it somewhat.

    I never use the flash. I find it a waste of time and would only ever use it in emergencies. I turn it off by default and never use fully auto mode. If I need proper flash lighting I will use an optically triggered external flash handheld and set the internal flash to low.

    BTW you forgot to mention that the included hand strap is complete crap. It's far too big and has no slider on it to make it more secure on your wrist. Dump it and use a third party wrist strap or use a neck strap like I do.

    You also get exposure bracketing for HDR/Exposure blending. Very useful!

    If you want to see what this baby can do and discuss further checkout thes following Flickr groups (Soon to be merged hopefully).

    http://www.flickr.com/groups/canonpowershot_s90/

    http://www.flickr.com/groups/canon_s90/

    1. Dick Emery
      Stop

      @Dick Emery - Slight correction.

      I of course meant tripod mount for the adapter tube available from fleabay as opposed to hot shoe (It has none) as I previously posted.

  4. BlackMage
    FAIL

    Shutter Lag...

    ...is the one thing I could never reconcile myself to with compacts which is why I bought an SLR a couple of years ago and never looked back. So many missed shots with compacts and their shutter lag :( I got used to the bulk and weight of an SLR very quickly so when there's a compact with SLR-like focus speed and shutter delay, that'll be news. Until then, this is just another compact with the failings thereof. RAW, face recognition, low-noise at high ISO are meaningless unless you get the shot.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Pics or it didn't happen

    I'm so ashamed.

  6. Steve Carr 1
    FAIL

    Why did they kill the Powershot Pro?

    I love my Powershot Pro1 - a totally awesome camera that still embarrasses DSLR's, four years or more on! Professional level lens, full on manual, and all. Now *that* is what Canon need to do again, not a quirky retro compact like this one!

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    re: Pics or it didn't happen

    I think you will find there's a court injunction preventing publication of those tiger "photos"...

  8. Adam Williamson 1
    Go

    Price? Yikes.

    Holy crap, you unfortunate British-dwellers are getting ripped off on this one; it's $429 plus tax (so about $500) in the States - hell, even in Canada we only get ripped off an extra hundred bucks ($529). I love mine but I'm not sure I'd have paid nearly $1,000 for it.

    If you want a viewfinder and a grip (and a flash hotshoe), then you want the closely-related G11 - http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/canon_powershot_g11_review/ . The S90 is for those of us who want top-class image quality but don't want the bulk and weight those features add.

    For those talking about shutter lag - it's pretty decent on this camera, not SLR level, but good. And against all the shots you may miss on a compact due to shutter lag, I place all the shots you may miss on a DSLR due to not being able to fit it in your pocket. Which, for me, would be all of 'em. This isn't meant to replace a DSLR, it's meant to be the best camera you can get for the situations where you don't have a DSLR (or micro 4/3) with you (or for people who don't want a DSLR at all as they know they'd never take it anywhere).

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